MAIDEN Build. 46' IH Rat Truck

[Batwood]

This is inspiration

I only had time to check out the first and last page of your build so far. Looks just my truck the condition it was when you found it, even though mine was in a barn there were holes in the roof of the barn, water dripped over many years and rotted part of the cowl, part of the hood and fenders. Cab corners and lower front fenders need attention too. '58 and '59 front sheet metal is harder to find at least the hood. I am on a low budget. I like the seat you got at the part pull lot. We have one here too so I should be able to get a nice seat too. Good luck finishing, (never finished). Brian

 

[RAT IHC]

It actually does fit about perfect. I didn't look at the mounts yet but wouldn't be shocked if it lines up. It was nice to finally be able to sit in the cab and get an idea of the lack of room in these things!!! haha It's not that bad. I grabbed my column and wheel and held it in place with my feet and knees and just sat there for a minute with my hand on the wheel ; )

I did the exact same thing when I got my seats. Looks really good...nice score! Foot and leg room is going to be an issue with mine as well. Just plan to but lots of padding around where my legs will rest. I also need to adjust my steering column to give me more "belly" room !

Great job IM! [cl

-Troy

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

Scored some custom parts for the truck. There's a local guy who had designed some replacement parts for these trucks. He used to sell the parts but his regular CAD design business took off and he stopped building them. I bugged him for 2 years before finally getting the goods. The main thing was the hood latch brackets that are designed to use Rocky Ridge latches. Hood hinge arms, Front fender hangers, cowl vent handle, and door stops. All made of stainless steel. While I was at his place checking out his truck, we were talking and I mentioned I've been looking for a hood emblem. The earlier design emblem is a bitch to find, and is $$$. He reached over and grabbed one off his tool box and handed it to me. He said he's not using it and gave it to me! It was dented up, but I didn't care. I forgot to take a picture before I started working on it, but it took me an hour of so to get it looking good. I'll finish it up later but I'm pretty excited about it. That and one sold on ebay the same night for $205!!!!
Anyway, I also got a wild hair and started taking the truck down to bare metal. Should have it stripped down by the time the weekend's over. Looks sweet. I'll give a quick teaser.

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

Planning to run a pair of SS6 bags up front so I pulled the front coils. Looks sweet. Also welded some washers in the roof dents to try to pull them out. Guess I will try heating the area and using a slide hammer. ??? We shall see.

 

[rebstew]

Cool build. It's nice to see the kids getting into it too. Them pulling the engine was nice to see. Too many overlook getting the kids into our hobby. Mine are in the garage a couple times a week. It's a good thing. Keep up the good work the truck it's coming along nicely.

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

I try to involve them when I can. I had them both out there watching me remove the coil springs. I wanted them to know how dangerous it is and what safety precautions I used to help me get them out. I'm sure they are like.... whatever! But I hope it sticks in the back of their heads for future thought.
They will be more involved when I'm done with mockup and I'm actually putting the truck back together after paint. Cant wait.

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

 

[agdeuce]

Another great build

Hey "Iron" nice to see you have overcome diversity and continued on with a great looking build. Sometimes it helps to have a project to get our minds wrapped around to stay sane. Congratulations! Looks good. Steve

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

Thanks. You nailed it right on the head. It's this project that has been what keeps my head straight. This truck, the gym, and all the women I'm pulling these days ; ) Makes me wonder why I had ever got married in the first place. lol

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

So as you could see in the last pics I posted, the cab had started cracking where the front cab mounts rest. They were only about 1.5" wide and with the cab flexing on the frame, they just dig into that area of the cab. So I welded up the cracks and smoothed it out and widened the mounts so that they rest on the entire landing are of the cab so that it won't crack again in the future. Well, so I hope. Just seemed like a better idea than the factory design. Also, started on the new bed. The original bed floor I removed with a BFH and chissel to break loose all the spot welds. Well, it was a pain and tweaked the bed sides pretty good in doing so. At the time it didn't matter much as I had rot in that area of the bed sides so it was gonna get cut out and patched so no big deal. This bed is rust free and pretty much straight so I decided to drill out all the spot welds to remove the floor. Ended up being about 110 welds I drilled out!!! I will be filling holes and grinding them for days : ( But, it did less damage this way to the bed sides than the method used the last time, just more work. By the time the weekend is over, it will be sanded down to bare metal and ready to sit back on the frame. I need to figure out how I'm gonna mount it to the tilt frame and also see how much I need to notch the sides of it to give axle clearance. I'm gonna mount the bed so that it sits lower than it originally did. Giving the appearance that the rear is lower than it actually is. Saving me from having the C notch the frame.

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

118 holes filled in an hour. Let's see Wilt Chamberland beat that!

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

Been tinkering with the bed trying to get it just right. Still need to cut an inch or so off the frontside so it will drop down a little more. It's almost there though.

Front of the bed is too high. There is a piece spot welded to the front for the bed mounts. Removing it will drop the front a couple inches. Off it comes!!!

Yes, this is my shop stool. I'ved used this thing through the entire build to date. Does it qualify as a Rat Stool?

Off it comes.

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

Back on it goes.

Think it needs another inch or so. Better toss on the front clip to take a peek.

 

[IRON MAIDEN]

I'm gonna bring the front of the bed down a little bit more but it's taking shape.

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Lookin killer bro!!!