1948 Thriftmaster

[Burgerman]

Good to keep the in-house building inspector happy. Nice work Bill.[cl

 

[MercuryMac]

Nice work Bill, although I wouldn't want it.
I don't like Root beer that much either.

 

[Old Iron]

Awesome!!
Where do you buy sassafras wood? I've never heard of it before. It is nice. [cl[cl

Sassafras trees get pretty big and are in almost every unmaintained fence row here in the Ozarks.
Now one does anything with them here, I don't know why cause it's beautiful wood and the roots make great tea. [dr

 

[Torchie]

Sassafras trees get pretty big and are in almost every unmaintained fence row here in the Ozarks.
Now one does anything with them here, I don't know why cause it's beautiful wood and the roots make great tea. [dr

I have a walking stick made out of it. People are always asking me what kind of wood it is.
Build is looking Great.[cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[joedoh]

beautiful wood! [cl[cl[cl

 

[BillM]

Thanks again everyone. A little more progress...the bed wood is all oiled and dry ready for installation, as are all the steel parts that go along with it - all painted and sealed. I'm trying to get all the last few loose ends tied up under the bed floor before it goes down - muffler hangers, parking brake, fuel pump and sender wiring, taillight wiring. Hopefully I'll put the floor down this weekend. Best part is, my steering column finally showed up yesterday! No U joints or shafting yet, but at least I can finalize my mounts and get it painted.

 

[DozerII]

Looking really good Bill, getting closer all the time. Ordering parts up here is painful at the best of times, it downright hurts during the pandemic.

 

[bob w]

First class, high quality work, Bill.

 

[BillM]

Thanks guys! Your comments are appreciated. Finished up the tail light wiring, and installed them and the bed wood today. None of the strip bolts or angles are tight yet, but I'm super happy with the look of it. I'm sure my inspector will be too.

 

[forbigpicture]

Love the wood, love the color choice on the trim ....[cl[cl[cl
I think you got it going your way Bill.

[P[P

 

[Torchie]

Torchie

 

[BillM]

Did a little work on mounting the steering column. I couldn't bring myself to spend the dollars they want for a column drop so I opted to make my own, and built the 3/4" offset into it. The funky on it leg ties into the brake pedal mount, just for added stiffness. Right now I am planning on a conduit clamp, but I may opt for a U-bolt if it's not strong enough. I just don't want it to look like a muffler clamp! I still need to fab up the lower mount, but need to confirm exactly where the column sits so that I can intersect the DD shaft coming up from the rack. It's really ( I mean REALLY) tight in two spots - the lower U joint to the bottom of the motor mount (I had to put in shorter grub screws), and coming up between the frame and the header. It's going to fit, but I need to find the sweet spot. Once I'm happy with everything, it will all be painted green so that it doesn't stand out.

 

[joedoh]

looks good! I would chuck a steering wheel on and put the seat in too, might be the angle but looks way into the seat.

finish yours so I can copy it on that 52 I am working on haha. [cl[cl[cl

 

[dutch]

coming along really nice Bill. That bed turned out way cool too

 

[BillM]

Thanks for the tip JD, but I'm pretty sure it's just the angle of the picture playing tricks. It's a 30" column, and I have it tucked down as low as I can. I do plan on double checking with a wheel and the seat, but it probably doesn't matter what I do - my 6" foot frame won't fit real well inside these cabs at the best of times, not to mention that my reach is 6'-4, so no matter what I do my "knuckle dragger" arms are going to be folded up!

 

[joedoh]

yeah when you keep the stock bench seat in these trucks you end up steering with your gut. that almost rhymes.

 

[BillM]

Sorry for the sideways pictures. Here are a couple of better ones, now that it's nearly finished off. Just the holes to drill in the corners of the floor mount and it can all come back off for paint.

 

[bob w]

You must be a professional rod builder.[cl

 

[Torchie]

[cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[joedoh]

[cl[cl[cl