1941 1/2 ton project Hannah

[joedoh]

yep welded in a nut!

I got the steering column in and its a half inch inboard like I thought it would be, but its not really noticeable. I have to say, man, planning is nice but some things just work on dumb luck. the end of the column points right at the firewall opening, and moving the mounts in gave just enough room at the seat. the pedals are in exactly the right spot, the seat is in the right spot so even a jabba like me fits perfect. (the wrinkle on the corner is from being stored on its side, it will relax)

53903435651__00F3FF95-B2F2-4A50-83B6-5E7D8B59F402 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8262 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8272 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8271 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

popped the new steering wheel on for a look see, gives another two inches in the lap.
IMG_8275 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8274 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

tomorrow I will sand the dash and paint it again, the first paint was just a quick shot to see the dings and dents. then its ready for the HVAC and wiring.

 

[49crazy]

joedoh,
the old style steering wheel looks nice in it's new home.

Dave

 

[Burgerman]

Steering wheel

Nice indeed. I may get one.

 

[Skip]

Nice new wheel. [cl

 

[joedoh]

thanks!

lots going on, seems like every weekend. I was sick for a week, then suz was sick a week, it all adds up. not complaining, I will be honest I am enjoying taking drives in the M3 lately.

anyway, taking care of some work I had been putting off. I buttoned up the front end, shocks, cotter pins, calipers, pads. I mentioned way back that the guy had replaced the upper control arms (complete) and lower balljoints but didnt put cotter pins in. well it turns out he didnt take the old ones out. I didnt know it was possible but he got the castle nuts off without taking the cotter pins out, so they were jammed in the holes. it only took a couple hours to get them out. ridiculous. no pictures, but the front is done.

painted the artilleries, was on the fence between cream and black and I think black fits the fallen angel better.
IMG_8348-1 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8353 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I got "chevrolet" script decals for the smoothie caps, they should look great.


got the shortbed tacked. those $6 butt weld clamps work great, I highly recommend.
IMG_8354 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8355 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

the tailgate is giving me a quandry, I am thinking of leaving it as-is, but I will probably just cut off the rusted top (its upside down in the picture) and weld on some muffler pipe as a repair.

IMG_8356 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I also got the seat mount lined out and the floor seam sealed. next is battery and wiring.

 

[Burgerman]

looks great Joe

Sure like those painted wheels. go with the muffler pipe on the tailgate. Gonna try those butt weld clamps. new stuff for me.

 

[joedoh]

the clamps were 6 bucks after using a coupon, even if they only work this one time its worth it!

I always start looking for a new donor truck when there is about a month to go, that way I can rest a second and start tearing up again. I saw an ad on craigslist for an 03 longbed and figured what the heck, right? I love the 03 as a donor because its got the LU3 engine (best series of the 4.3) and the 0411 PCM (fastest PCM of the era, best program too). the ad said collision damage, and I sure dont care about that. It also said it ran really good but that wasnt true, we got it to start, it had been sitting about 6 months, but if you tried to give it any gas it backfired immediately. he said he thought it was the cat and had cut it off, but I knew it had nothing to do with the cat. Here is the idle video, it idled so smoothly, but you couldnt even give it a gentle prod on the gas.

click to play
IMG_8249 (1) by Joe Doh, on Flickr

It was about 14 degrees so I told him I would come back with a cap and rotor when it warmed up, if it was still available. today was really nice, in the high 40s, so I called, the truck was still there. I dug around the shop and found a new cap, but no rotor, so I grabbed some sandpaper and figured I could clean the rotor up enough with the new cap.

hubris, friends. hubris. I took the cap loose and this is what I found.

IMG_8264 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

so I had to run from BFE to the nearest parts store which was actually right around the corner for a 9 dollar rotor. It worked. perfect running, well almost. the trans was a little sticky which I attributed to sitting and if the truck were a hip hop artist its name would be MC Loudas****. but other than that, I made an offer, he took it, and threw in the toolboxes and an extra set of swirlies. woop woop.

IMG_8265 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8266 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


he was super nice, I was happy with the deal and I think he was too, especially since it ran really well again, seemed like that made a difference for him.

I have some work done on Hannah too but I am on a different computer, so I will probably update Hannah tomorrow.

 

[Old Iron]

Those trucks do make great donors [P[P[P

 

[Burgerman]

Donor

Nice score Joe. Whats a little body damage. Just got myself a cheap donor, a 2000, runs, junk door hinges, stalls out. Drove part way home, towed the rest.

 

[joedoh]

I only tow the old (40's) donors, everything else has to make it home on its own. it was ~20 miles, I took the highway after being ginger about it for the first few miles, trans started shifting better and better.


pretty excited because I can cabbage parts from this to finish the 41. I need the bed bolts and the battery for sure.

 

[joedoh]

tires mounted, look great!

IMG_8359 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
54051522560__6562BCC7-5DA9-4CC3-8C61-AD082E0ACDA9 by Joe Doh, on Flickr



steering done too, well except a squirt of paint. I had another doofy moment, when I looked up how to use a support bearing it had a parts list and on the list was a double u joint, sort of like a double carden joint, so I ordered it from borgeson. I installed it all and cut the DD shaft to fit, and the side with the double joint wallered around like a broken leg. I thought, oh! I have the double joint on the wrong side of the support bearing, I will just switch it to the othe...

wait a minute. the double joint was the problem. I would have needed a second support bearing on the second shaft. so I ordered a single joint and everything works like it should. reading later, the double joint is for when you need more than 35 degrees of angle on the shaft, which I dont.

all the shafts are drilled for the set screws and its done.

IMG_8270 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I even used the factory rubber firewall seal for the shaft,, neat way to close it out.
IMG_8276 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

then I got the eastwood tubing bender and the factory power steering line yielded to my ministrations. it was upside down and bent the wrong direction, but this worked out perfect. waste not want not. need to get the return hose from the parts store, the original is a bit short.

54145728266__400BBF19-0389-4013-B255-AC5F8D9D3E4F by Joe Doh, on Flickr


today I finished the dash too. shaved the light switch hole and fixed a little damage. its not perfect but the only flaws are only visible because its so black and shiny. I was pretty floored how nice this came out for a rattle job. it will match the steering wheel perfectly.

IMG_8294 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

 

[Old Iron]

The dash turned out great.
I though it was done with a paint gun till I read rattle can [cl

 

[bob w]

Lookin' good, REAL good.[cl

 

[joedoh]

hey thanks!

the battery tray I had in the back yard was trash, it would have taken more work to fix than to just make a new one. so I made a new one.

IMG_8306 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

fits!
IMG_8307 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

you can still add oil, albeit after pulling the battery, but that will be easy enough.
IMG_8309 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

in a perfect world I would put the battery somewhere else but this will work.

 

[MercuryMac]

A guy who can make a dang fine hotrod like you can, shouldn't be stumped leaving a straight, and awkward oil filler tube, when an 'S' shaped one would put the filler cap just in front of the battery box, and handy.
Good luck finding a solution.

 

[joedoh]

someone suggested either flipping the valve cover upside down, swapping the valve covers side to side, or to buy a second passenger side and run it on the drivers side. I hadnt thought of any of that!

 

[Burgerman]

Look'n Good

Dash, steering, factory rubber seal, battery box. very nice.

 

[joedoh]

thanks!

I flipped the valve covers side to side and that worked ok till I put the air cleaner on. I cut the air cleaner snorkel (and stove pipe valve to fit and maybe I will just put on a nice shiny one.

IMG_8334 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8335 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

bolted the battery box in and fixed all the plug wires (they had come off whilst cherry picking. hooked up everything on the firewall and bobs your uncle.
IMG_8336 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

trial fit of the pedals, with my wife as a helper. seat is permanent now, slides back and forth like a champ

IMG_8323 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8322 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

waste not want not. flipped the section of the floor with the shifter hole with some creative measuring.
IMG_8337 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8338-1 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_8340 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

gas pedal needed some wrangling (re-angling)

IMG_8339 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

more to come!

 

[bruno]

I was going to tell you how nice your nails looked, then i saw that you wife was in the drivers seat Truck is looking great.[cl

 

[smallfoot]

Oh man, you didn't let her know she could reach the pedals did ya???[ddd