1941 1/2 ton project Hannah

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it IS a chevy. I dont have any fords. YET :)

gentlemen avert your gaze as hannah takes a bath. dirty girl hasnt had a bath in probably 50 years.



IMG_7348 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7350 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I want to be sure I can work on it without breathing squirrel or rat poop.this power washer is the best thing I have bought in a long time, if you are on the fence about one, I cant even tell you how many times I have used it in a month.

there is a bit more rust repair needed than fenix or even the other one I have in the back. but since I have started, I will finish. most of the patches will be nice and flat.

IMG_7352 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I didnt show a step. the windshile hinges were STUCK, immobile. same with the regulator. I damaged fenix's regulator beating on it to turn it out a little to get the bolts out, so I didnt want to do that here. luckily, there was a gap of about 1/8, almost twice the space my 3/32 spinny wheel needed. I got the regulator side loose and then was able to pry for a little space at the top and got the hinge bolts.
IMG_7353 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

this one... doesnt look to bad. call me insane but I think if I soak it a while and take it apart I can retape the glass in it and rebuild the rest. the brand new one on fenix was a nice time saver and a high quality piece but waste not, want not. the original frame on fenix was just north of junk and way south of a good time.

it doesnt look it, but the dash is loose and ready to be pulled, just a couple stubborn nuts on the bottom.
 
hoo eee this thing has a big problem. I took the gas tank out and there is a 30 inch swath of the floor missing all the way to a couple inches up the back wall. this should be fun. I picked up some 24x24 patches to fix the rear wall and rear floor but under the gas tank I will need to replace probably all the way to the sills.


I tacked in a panel to hold things together and cut out the part under the tank. it kind of blends in, I just pushed it out the back, its the GIANT RUSTY THING. this is going to be a real challenge, but I can do it. I picked up 3 more pieces of sheetmetal today, dont judge yet its just temp to keep the truck from sagging, which after I thought about it, it cant, because it has that big heavy brace at the back of the cab stil. nevertheless, it will all get rebuilt.

IMG_7355 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

decided that if I was going to give someone advice I should try it myself first, so after suggesting this crossmember to a couple guys on another forum as a quick way to move an engine back, I decided to order one myself and give it a shot.

Messages Image(817050647) by Joe Doh, on Flickr

pretty good deal for 75 bucks with the mounts included. needed to spend $25 more to get free shipping, so I ordered the matching trans crossmember with a 2" drop.
Messages Image(4025115421) by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I will let you know how it goes
 
they showed up today, maybe tonight I can give it a whirl!


I had to powerwash the cab again after taking the tank out, it was full of squirrel mess.

IMG_7377 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I forgot what a real pain in the butt getting the dash out is, so many things attach. I got it out, and the windshield regulator too. needs rebuilt of course, I will probably just do the exchange this time. I repaired the one on fenix but it still needs some help going in and out.

IMG_7378 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

got the sheetmetal brake bolted down and tested a 28" piece of 20 gauge. works just fine!

IMG_7373 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7375 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

heres a new one. when a got the truck I knew that 95+ trucks with a 4.3 and a 5 spd have 8.5 rear axles. but this truck doesnt. I didnt think about it much till today, I wanted to take the mismatched tires off and put on my roller set. the back wheels will not budge, not even a mm. I have tried heat and wedges.

IMG_7380 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7382 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

nothing. looking at the axle it is missing the weighted collar at the pinion that most trucks have, and it looks to be a series 2 carrier. what I THINK has happened is the guy replaced the axle with an 82-94 axle. between 1st gen and 2nd gen s10 they changed the centerbore, the 1st gen was slightly slightly larger. second gen wheels dont fit unless you open the centers a tiny fraction. well, someone just pounded these on I guess. I will take any suggestions on getting them off.
 
yankee, its a chevy. I have the front end and bed and rear fenders in the back yard.

I am not pulling the axles to save a 50 dollar pair of wheels. have plasma cutter, will travel.

found my largest puller, looks promising, the wheel actually budged about 1/4 inch

IMG_7383 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

nope.
IMG_7384 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


snapped a picture of the motor mount

IMG_7385 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
 
Just put the lugs on like 3-4 threads and then drive it back and forth. It will pop off.

Oh and I can't keep up with your builds! Lol[cl
 
I have gotten drums off by stinging between the studs with a ball peen hammer. may work with the puller hooked to it and sting it with the hammer
 
I got them off, I used a sledge and that was enough for the drivers wheel, the passenger popped off after I repaired my puller. the tape on the tire is for counting revolutions, I have another piece on the pinion, 10 tire revolutions was about 15 and a third pinion revolutions, double it, divide by ten, so the axle is a 3.08.

IMG_7406 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

the oil cooler lines were leaking all over everything, so I decided to remove it. the spin on adapter is held on (tight) by an allen hex in the center, turns out its the same allen size as the metric brake calipers.

IMG_7394 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

then a torx to remove the two bolts holding the cooler adapter on. well, on anything except one of my trucks, the second torx bolt stripped. I am not certain why every 10 minute project has to be such a giant pain in the **** on my trucks but there we go again.

IMG_7403 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I thought about welding a nut on and even tried a pair of vice grips but since I was removing it, and it was broken anyway, I just drilled the head off the bolt.
IMG_7404 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

ahh look at that worthless thing. you will never drip again.
IMG_7405 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
 
made good headway today, the trans crossmember had two slots but the mount has a single pin, so a quick slice
IMG_7408 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

pulled the motor, was so worried about that 700lbs in the air that I didnt pay attention to the radiator, which caught on the frame as I lifted and broke the upper hose connector off. coolant everywhere. I love these carts, I bought this one and the body cart with 4k lb springs, use them all the time
IMG_7410 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7413 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

another motor, another broken clamshell. I think these come new in a box broken,
IMG_7411 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

trimmed and installed the motor mount crossmember, 10/10 would do this again. I farted around longer at home depot buying the parts for my home made mounts than I did trimming and welding this. note that its offset to the passenger side and has a 4 degree down angle
IMG_7415 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7418 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

fixed the reluctant passenger turn signal on fenix
tuuuurns by Joe Doh, on Flickr

and said goodbye!
IMG_7416 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
 
the green on this truck is darker than I have seen, with a lot of blue in it. most green trucks are more yellow and lighter. I wanted a can of rattle spritz to blend in some of the rustier parts, the front fenders and rear fenders dont have any paint at all and I am not a fan of that look, I would rather have matching color than straight surface rust.
IMG_7422 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I picked up a couple cans of greens at the hardware store and the first one was it. if you cant see it I have spritzed it on looking right above the lid. good match! matched even better dry.

IMG_7427 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I saw an ad for a garage sale that said old car parts, so I popped over and got some goodies, some 1/2 ton running boards, a 1940 cowl support rod, a toe board, a garden cart, a rolling storage cart, and a 55 chevy gauge surround.
IMG_7429 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7430 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7433 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I filled up the tires on the cart and used it right away, it said 400lb capacity so I used it to rescue my cherry picker.

IMG_7431 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


it was a good idea to pull the motor, I degreased it and now I can put a coat of paint on it.
IMG_7436 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

more to come
 
painted the parts under the engine I wouldnt otherwise be able to reach with the motor installed and plopped the motor back in.
IMG_7437 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7438 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I didnt show this before but I marked the angle of the engine/trans with a bubble level and set it that way again to install the trans crossmember
IMG_7447 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

trimmed the trans crossmember to fit the frame after setting the centerline of the trans and welded it in
IMG_7444 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7445 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

"but Russ," I hear you asking, "how will you get the trans out if the crossmember is welded in?"

well give me a little credit. the crossmembers came with a pair of bolt in ends each, total of 4. I had no plans to bolt the engine mount in, so I used all 4 on the trans crossmember. I had slipped them on before welding the crossmember to the frame, then I lined them up with my mini magnets (they have notches on the bottom to use with tubing) and tacked one side, then cut the tube with a sawzall, then bolted up the other side, and tacked it in too. I will take it out to weld it solid when I clean up the frame and redo the front cab mounts, they are just tacked for mockup and will need checked again when I fix the floor of the cab.
IMG_7448 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7449 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7453 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


while I was running around with the sawzall I cut the frame in a much more expeditious way than the last truck, since I know what needs to clear now.
IMG_7450 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

and I finished the oil cooler removal too, popped a filter on because there was some serious sludge in the pan so I will run a quart of motor flush through it. I have extra filters.
IMG_7454 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


and I have decided on the look for this one, I am going with artilleries again, gloss black with the chrome 41 caps this time, no trim rings, and BLACKWALL bias look radials from coker. the dash will be shiny black, the seat recovered in black vinyl and jet black carpet for the floor. hannah will be a true fallen angel in her dark juniper green paint with orange horn stubs and black interior and the only chrome will be her grille and bumper and taillights. I can SEE IT.
 
I had a 47 and it had a rusted dash glove box , and painted grill on the dash,, a school bus had dash in it just like mine at the junk yard, so I robed the dash grill and box lid . it looked good too , all chrome .
 
boxing in the frame, yay for plasma cutters.
IMG_7477 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7478 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7476 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

decided that I have talked about doing a small diameter dual exhaust with glass packs long enough. ordered some 30" smithys and some mandrel bends from speedway and used my coat hanger trick to get the right bends from the exhaust shop.
IMG_7479 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7480 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

took the forms to the muffler guys and in a couple minutes had my parts, tacked them in and they are perfect fit. Just tacks, I will take them loose again when I have the rest of the exhaust
53004839269__AB8D9B32-910D-402C-B17C-A3903EE6FA95 (1) by Joe Doh, on Flickr

hope the mufflers show up by saturday, I did the fuel line shortening and replaced that rotted brake line. I stripped the rear hose fitting taking the rotted line off so I replaced that too.
IMG_7482 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

you can see I had them add an O2 bung, I tried a pipe wrench and a 3 ft breaker, I even turned it over and put the O2 sensor hex in the vise and used a 6ft pipe to try and turn the piece of exhaust. no movement, and even if I got it loose now the hex is ruined, so I will buy a new one.
IMG_7483 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

here is the 55 TF donor the other day, not much rust at all except over the windshield. I am still wrangling a fair deal but man I sure like omaha orange.
IMG_7461 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
 

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