1936 Diamond T with 6BT cummins

[bkvail]

I was putting this off for a while, and now I know why. I thought it was going to be hard to do, well - it's harder than I imagined, haha. It is turning out well though. Half the headliner is stitched, today I will do the other half. Hopefully I will be able to get it done faster than the 4+ hours this took....

 

[dutch]

looks sweet to me.... don`t hurry [cl

 

[earthman]

Really nice work and attention to detail. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[bob w]

You could turn pro. It's outstanding.

 

[bkvail]

Thanks guys! I got the second half of the panel stitched and applied to the panelboard. I also worked on more prep to the truck for the wood to staple the perimeter of the headliner to. I just have one more board across the back to secure and I can install the headliner!

 

[CORPO]

Man.. i am way behind on this build thread.. i need to go back and catch up.. but man.. LOOKING GOOD!

 

[bkvail]

Man.. i am way behind on this build thread.. i need to go back and catch up.. but man.. LOOKING GOOD!

Thanks Corpo, that means a lot coming from you (and Bob, Earthman, and Dutch!)

I am using this tutorial for the headliner (I have never done ANY auto upholstery before and don't even own an industrial sewing machine)
http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/headliner-installation.html
I am to the point where I need to stitch the headliner perimeter to the panelboard it is glued to - and my domestic sewing machine is NOT happy about it. I am going to switch from using my electronic machine to using my old 1940 Singer - hopefully it doesn't balk as much.....

 

[Skip]

Thanks Corpo, that means a lot coming from you (and Bob, Earthman, and Dutch!)

I am using this tutorial for the headliner (I have never done ANY auto upholstery before and don't even own an industrial sewing machine)
http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/headliner-installation.html
I am to the point where I need to stitch the headliner perimeter to the panelboard it is glued to - and my domestic sewing machine is NOT happy about it. I am going to switch from using my electronic machine to using my old 1940 Singer - hopefully it doesn't balk as much.....

Keep it well oiled, and go slow. Likely use the biggest needle you can find. At least that has helped me get through stuff that is likely bigger than the machine was ever intended for. Good luck. [cl

PS-- The headliner looks great!

 

[smallfoot]

This part of my project is still a piece down the road but I'm always running things thru the gauntlet of my mind in hopes that it makes it to the time I'm actually building that piece. [ddd
Could you show me a shot of the cab ceiling? And a hint? I'm interested in how ya'll are going to fasten that panel up. It looks great, by the way! I'm working on a 46 Chevy cab that has some features I may be able to use on doing panels like these. I think somebody else mentioned you could be a professional at that stuff but it would probably get old doing it all the time...

 

[Bamamav]

Beautiful work Karin! For sure has that old time vibe to it! [cl[cl[cl

 

[joedoh]

this truck is gorgeous! nice attention to even very small details [cl

 

[bkvail]

This part of my project is still a piece down the road but I'm always running things thru the gauntlet of my mind in hopes that it makes it to the time I'm actually building that piece. [ddd
Could you show me a shot of the cab ceiling? And a hint? I'm interested in how ya'll are going to fasten that panel up. It looks great, by the way! I'm working on a 46 Chevy cab that has some features I may be able to use on doing panels like these. I think somebody else mentioned you could be a professional at that stuff but it would probably get old doing it all the time...

I will try to get a pic of the ceiling - it has a piece of luan screwed to the steel bow that goes across the middle of the ceiling. The panelboard on the back of the headliner will get contact cemented to the luan. The panelboard will also be stapled to the perimeter of the luan and screwed underneath where the dome light will be. Then, the perimeter of the headliner material will be stapled to wood that I pop-riveted in place above doors, etc.

I tried my Pfaff and my 1940 Singer both to stitch the panelboard to the headliner - and neither were happy about it. Tried thin needles (they bent) and thick needles (machines needed help to get them through). So, I ended up borrowing my brother's industrial machine. It is a cheapo machine so it will be fun to see if it will work. It will be harder to use because it doesn't sit down IN a table like my machines do I have to wait until Brian is available to help - we were going to do it yesterday, but we did lots of other stuff on the truck (post coming soon after I go through pics). If it doesn't work, I might have to take it to an upholstery shop and have someone do it for me - which I guess wouldn't be the end of the world.

 

[bkvail]

OK, here is the 1/8'' luan that is installed in the ceiling of the truck, screwed the to original steel bow.


I left 1/4'' gap between the luan and the mount for the upper console - the headliner will be wrapped over the mount (glued) and stapled to wood that I pop-riveted to the back, then the console should be tricky to install, but will pull everything even tighter, haha. (the stitched headliner is mounted to panelboard and will be perimeter stitched about an inch away - then the panelboard will be glued to the luan and stapled around the perimeter to secure - then the material will be stapled to the perimeter of the truck ceiling)

This shows the Mighty Motors installed. We still need to pull the outside bezels and seal them from the outside though - next session maybe.



Brian got most of the wiring done - but the only thing that doesn't seem to be working is the tach. BOO. I did the W wire on the alternator - and actually the alternator only seems to be putting out 12v (or less), so I am not sure what went on there. I also installed a 1-wire ''kit'' (followed the directions to a T). So, we will have to do some testing to see if we need a new alternator or what. ::sigh::

But, we got the dash panels installed, the shifter console, and the dash top! We also got one windshield attached to the crank, but are lacking the correct bolts for the second one (one was #10 holes, so I got all #10 bolts, not realizing that the other one was #8 holes. The #10 side must have been tapped out at some point)




and the dash at night:

 

[smallfoot]

Thanks Karin for the explanation. I have some ribs to work with too. Gives me some ideas...Thanks!

 

[bkvail]

Thanks Karin for the explanation. I have some ribs to work with too. Gives me some ideas...Thanks!

http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/headliner-installation.html - this is the tutorial I am following for the headliner. It originally came from HAMB

 

[bkvail]

so, not much has been accomplished since the last post - I ended up picking up an industrial sewing machine to do the final stitching on the headliner (headliner to panelboard perimeter). My regular sewing machine was just not up to it. I picked up a military-issue Singer 111w151 - I think it's from the 50's, but Singer could not date it (?!) Luckily there are parts still available for it. I ordered bobbins and needles and a new bobbin plate - and a smaller pulley for the motor because it is TOO fast for precision work. Might rig up a reducer pulley setup if that doesn't work (too expensive to buy a premade one, might as well just buy a new motor for the price they ask for the reducers!). Anyhow, here is my ''new'' sewing machine. It is a needle-feed machine, pretty cool machine!

 

[bkvail]

I have been neglectimg our build thread, but here is a video of our progress:
https://youtu.be/kSkJyako6jg

 

[lowbudget50]

[cl[cl[cl

Very well done!+

 

[Skip]

As I have said before, you kids do pretty work. [cl

 

[kenny c]

Very nice.