1940's International Crew Cab Diesel

[TubularFab]

I've been really busy on about everything BUT this project. But, I was able to put some time in this weekend on the chassis. The main rail components are now in place, and I think it's looking pretty cool. For fixturing I drilled holes in the concrete and installed 1/2-13 female threaded anchors, and then used machinist fixturing studs to clamp the rails to the floor. I was getting tired of chasing it around the floor!

I also had to machine more of the "ladder rungs" for the back. They are very short, only 3" long before the notching. So, I made a block to hold them in the mill vise and then cnc notched them on both ends in one operation.

I did have to heat and tweak a couple of the bends, but it really fit together nicely!

 

[Old Iron]

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[36Binder]

Love the truck and the plan.
(Sarcasm voice)But might have to make it a double size sleeper so the kids will still fit.(sarcasm voice off)

Seriously though lots of cool fab work going here.

 

[TubularFab]

This cab is really rotted out pretty bad, which was why I decided to shorten it at the bottom. This is a good thing, as I'm not sure I would have been willing to do so much cutting on a good cab! I trimmed about 6" off all the way around, though in areas it barely required cutting. Here are some pics of the rust and the trimming. It was quite a relief to see that the cab fit the chassis as intended!


36Binder - at this rate the kids will be grown and out of the house by the time I'm done...

 

[TubularFab]

This weekend's work achieved an important goal - I was able to finally prove out my ideas on how the body, chassis, and suspension would fit together. Up until this step I was relying heavily on some crude measurements, a lot of thinking, and a lot of luck to make this 3 dimensional puzzle work out. I now know that the cab fits the chassis nicely, and that the frame rails will be exactly where I wanted them. Plus, I have lots of room to fit the suspension components where I want them.


The attached pictures show the last major trim to the cab - using a laser to mark the cut line to cut the entire back out, and then a lot of mock-up. I also blocked the frame up to ride height. Now that this is all proven and a ton of pictures were taken, I can remove the cab and do a lot of the work to finish it - including building the sleeper. I can also get to work building the front suspension parts and mounting them.

I should probably point out that I'm doing this in a back corner of my shop under a very low ceiling mezzanine. It throws the scale off a bit - this truck is actually not very tall despite appearing to be close to the rafters.

 

[TubularFab]

Wow - I guess 36Binder’s prediction that the kids will be grown is correct! The oldest is off in college already! So, it looks like my last post was right on the eve of Covid hitting. I did use that time to get more done - the engine was mostly assembled and I got more chassis work done. But, then it all came to a stop when my landlord for the shop put the building up for sale and made all tenants move out. 14 years in an 11,000 sqft building can be dangerous for a pack rat. I had to pack it all into storage for a couple of years until I could build a shop at home and move it all again. Well, I have a 30 x 50 building with all the tools behind my house now, and finally starting to get back to work on this build.

It’s a good thing I started this thread - rereading it helped me remember some details I’d forgotten!

 

[gene49]

Life has a way of throwing curve balls at us for sure. Happy to see your back on track now.

When I had the chance to read some of my old build posts (on other forums before I got here), it does have a way of reminding you what you were thinking and planning about then. Its even cleared up a few of those "What was I thinking?" questions that sometimes pop up these days. May or may not make those old decisions right, but has cleared up some of the reasoning.