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Mr.Crown

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 20, 2010
Messages
257
Location
Calgary Alberta
Been getting burnt out on the bike I've been building lately, and I'm not heading east to see my folks and to check out all the piles upon piles of Model A stuff for another week and a half...

And rather than sit around and do sweet f.a., I decided that now was as good a time as any to FINALLY do the things I have been wanting to address on the old girl.

Quick recap for you guys...

This is how I bought Rosie:

rosie32-1.jpg


which then turned into this:

beartruck.jpg


Which now, after spending a few hours each night this week has become this ( so far )...

photo13_zps45a2613c.jpg


photo17_zps92c6ad89.jpg


This had quite the stack of springs on the rear. Typical farmer stuff I guess. The u-bolt nuts were seized on, so I just cut the u-bolts instead. To be expected after 60+ years of road grime...


Out of the 14 leafs and the 1 1/2" block of steel, I'm down to 7 and no block. In the end, I achieved about almost 4" of drop in the rear. I am pleased, and will now disassemble the rear end, and swap it out for a better geared Dana 60.

I found a guy who sells 2 or 3" inch dropped axles for this truck, so that will be my xmas present to myself this year I suppose. Some new shocks, and I'll be good to go.

But, the short(long) list of things to do doesn't stop here. I figured I might as well start to tackle the bed too.

This is what I have that once lived a life as a wood bed.

photo14_zps971b4fdc.jpg


I've been painstakingly taking the square nuts off of the stove bolts on the steel strips one by one, because I want to re-use them and keep with the rustic appearance. My neighbour across the alley has piles of fir, that he's donating some for the bed. I'll hit it with some dutch oil and clearcoat it once it's been cut and fitted.

I also am trying to figure out what to do about this awful hole in the tailgate.

photo16_zps8856ce26.jpg


I was told that this truck served as a tow truck of sorts, and that's why the hole is there...:confused:

So, if anyone has an old tailgate with the same letters, and wants to sell just the center section with the letters...let me know.

I also got a new carb in the mail the other day, and I'm not sure if it was gastrick or donsrods, but one of them drilled some holes in their a/c for better airflow...so, I did too.:D

photo15_zpse1fb49f5.jpg


I decided(finally) to also convert to 12v. So, while I'm doing that, I can finally fix the f-up's that I apparently inherited from someone a long time ago...oh yeah, and find some new tail lights...(long story).:rolleyes:

I didn't think this should go in the builds thread section, since I'm not really building this truck...and obviously, I decided against chopping this one, since it's pretty well complete and solid in it's current state...just some minor tlc, some weld repairs, some interior work and some fine tuning, and I think I'll have to focus on a potential new project...

Thanks for looking, and comments and concern are always appreciated.
 
That looks good so far. Keep the pictures coming. I think this should be in the Build section. That section is not just for complete ground up builds, but also for stuff like this. It's a place to get ideas & inspiration from guys like you - at least it is for me. I really like it. I'll be on the look out for upcoming pictures [P
 
Two Thunbs Up

Bravo, for not cutting this one up [cl
This is a fine example of all builds don't require cutting and altering the cab and bed :cool:
Maybe the Mod will move this thread to the build section :)
 
that hole in the tailgate with the metal strip on each side look to me like they were hauling loose feed with it..probably had a sliding "gate" that you lifted up to release the feed to pour it into a hopper of some sort..

Cool truck but I liked the original wheels better..
 
that hole in the tailgate with the metal strip on each side look to me like they were hauling loose feed with it..probably had a sliding "gate" that you lifted up to release the feed to pour it into a hopper of some sort..

Cool truck but I liked the original wheels better..



Ah, that would make sense.

I swapped the wheels because the originals were two-piece, which I'm not overly fond of. But, I may throw some firestones of proper proportion on and see what comes of it.
 
Tim...Ok really got me thinking today.

And the more I thought about it, and looked at the photos, the more I felt something needed change.

So, being in the aviation industry, and being the paint dept manager ( I'm the only guy who likes to paint in my shop ), I brought home a cup of heavy duty paint. This stuff is bulletproof and is pretty nasty, and the second I started painting, there was no turning back.

I've only done one coat on the one wheel so far, but at least I have an idea of how the whole rig will look once I'm done. They say the devil is in the details, didn't meet him, but painting every spoke is sort of like hell...haha

Won't be back in the shop for a while, work is kicking my ace...


Anyways, let me know what you think...

Near:

photo18_zpsb1ecae3a.jpg


Far:

photo19_zps09473b96.jpg
 
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So I had a little free time this evening, and while the light was still decent, I decided to take a crack at the bed.

Who knew that 60 year old rotten wood and rusty carriage bolts would prove to be a huge p.i.t.a.

But, I prevailed and got the crap out. The bed strips have proven to be a challenge in terms of restoration. Some(most) are much more flimsy than I had imagined. Some are rusted through, but I think I can fix them with patience, creativity and determination.

I've elected to scrap the wooden cross members. Although they've been pretty solid over the past 60 years, and new wood would last my lifetime...someone, somewhere, sixty years from now will encounter the same ordeal. That said, I'll put my thinking cap on and fab up a steel sub frame for the new wood. I've also got to level the box too, it's off by about an inch, and it's been driving me crazy ever since I got the truck...

photo20.jpg


I also picked up some nifty tail lights. These guys were on some pretty great WWII planes like the B17's. Since I'm in aviation, and I'm passionate about observing those who served and still serve to allow us our freedoms...these are fitting.


b17lights.jpg


Not totally sure where I'm going to mount them. Any suggestions would be great.

Anyways, that's all for this week. I'm off to scour in Saskatchewan for a decent cab for a future project.
 
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What's the diameter of those lights? that might limit where you can put them. And can you get more? they are really cool.

They're approximately 5" diameter and 3" deep. I was actually considering mounting them on the back of the cab, on either side and just below the rear window. Possibly some additional supet small bullets on the rear, tucked under the bed, below the tailgate...

I'll ask and see if there's more of them available, and I agree...they're pretty cool.
 

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