New life for the '30 Chevy

[Couper]

Looks great Old Stuff!

 

[Old Stuff]

Thanks Flipper!Can't wait to put in some air and watch the bed move!

 

[Old Stuff]

Looks great Old Stuff!

Thanks Mr. C. I will say that it's kinda strange putting this thread together from older pics. Looking forward to getting everyone caught up to date with me.

 

[Old Stuff]

Up front, I’ve always been the guy who wants to be different, the rebel’s rebel- I guess that’s what I love so much about rats. Many a cold drink and sitting/looking/thinking over some days gave me the thought of where I wanted to go with this. If anyone has seen the movie Mortal Engines, I love that kind of thing. Legit steam punk meets Orson Wells. That sci-fi Victorian era of crazy unique creations. Boiler plate type rivets, piping, etc- all with a functional purpose.

Having said all that (and scaring some ) this is where you start to get a sense of where this is heading. Lets jump on the cab. Wood was totally gone so went with 1x1 tubing.
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170064&stc=1&d=1640350938
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So many rats are chopped and low. Here’s where the “I like to be different” comes in to play. At 6’1” lets…… add to the top and give it more leg room and a more “big truck” feel. 6” in back and 5” in front.

https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170067&stc=1&d=164035117
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[Old Stuff]

Learning curve- picture links are showing up along with the thumbnails. What do I need to do to kill the links and have thumbnails only? [S

 

[bob w]

Can't help you with the pics. In fact, I have the same problem.

Here's my next project. I'm not a big/tall guy so I won't have to enlarge it.

 

[Old Stuff]

Can't help you with the pics. In fact, I have the same problem.

Here's my next project. I'm not a big/tall guy so I won't have to enlarge it.

That is absolutely too cool! [cl The quarter windows are incredible. I saw in the header it is a Fargo??? Late 20's?

 

[bob w]

That is absolutely too cool! [cl The quarter windows are incredible. I saw in the header it is a Fargo??? Late 20's?

Yes, the quarter windows are what attracted me to it. It is most likely a '30 Dodge. It was advertised as a Fargo but I don't think it is. Graham trucks are close in appearance too. There's a lot of wood, even the sills that tie the front to the back are wood. Very 20's in construction. I didn't have to take it apart. It fell apart on the trailer ride home.

I'm watching your cab reconstruction closely and I hope you don't mind if I copy you.

 

[Old Stuff]

Yes, the quarter windows are what attracted me to it. It is most likely a '30 Dodge. It was advertised as a Fargo but I don't think it is. Graham trucks are close in appearance too. There's a lot of wood, even the sills that tie the front to the back are wood. Very 20's in construction. I didn't have to take it apart. It fell apart on the trailer ride home.

I'm watching your cab reconstruction closely and I hope you don't mind if I copy you.

If you copied anything I've done I'd consider it crazy cool. I hope you'll start working on it sooner than later and am looking forward to that.

 

[Old Stuff]

Rivets- Carriage bolts actually. Grinding the numbers and letters off the tops left a divot in my grinder wheel. Over 700 of them. 90% were cut off/welded on the back side of the angle and flat bar. The other 10% bolts went through the frame. The goal was to place them where they’d “fully functional/purposeful”. The sheet metal cab corners where welded up but to help water proofing around the carriage bolt penetrations, I used a product called NP1. We used to seal/water proof leaks/potential leak areas in high rise buildings. Epic stuff…

https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170096&stc=1&d=1640447252
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[bob w]

Very cool stuff, old stuff.

 

[Old Stuff]

Around the doors there was so much to straighten up, bent back in place etc. I had started looking the how they'd seal up, wondering how good a job weather seals would hold out driving rain at 70 mph. (Keep in mind I'm no legit body man.) I do realize they used to drive them with the doors sticking out/overlapping the body but... Continuing with the "not typical" path, why not build some rain/wind deflection for the vertical front of the door and some unique drip edge for the stop when sitting out in the weather...

https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170120&stc=1&d=1640558733
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To be continued!

 

[Old Stuff]

Front windshield and rear glass. Gotta keep “the look” + gotta be able to replace the glass = (head scratch)

https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170127&stc=1&d=1640559341
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You see the outside fixed portion. On the inside I have a flat frame that will will sandwich in the glass, being secured buy square nuts (fastening on the carriage bolts/rivets). The glass will be sitting in rubber channel and sealed with the NP1 I had mentioned earlier.

Chicken wire rear glass??? Hmmmmm...[S

 

[Old Stuff]

T’was time to build a sun visor. I spent some time with a mock up, thinking about seat height and being able to comfortably seeing traffic lights. I’m real happy with the way it turned out.

https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170133&stc=1&d=1640560222
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I know I'm cramming lots of pics in a short time period but trying to take advantage of the Christmas break. Should get caught up to speed fairly soon.

 

[Old Stuff]

An overall pic taken a little while back might help...

https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170140&stc=1&d=1640560812
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[kenny c]

Nice work! The carriage bolts remind me of an early armored vehicle.[P

 

[MercuryMac]

I can't believe how the 'rivets' set the whole truck up. Very neat.

 

[DozerII]

That looks really cool , I really like all the ribits [P[P

 

[soltz]

Looks really good! The visor is a nice tough [cl

 

[Old Stuff]

Thanks all!

Let’s jump inside…

My cardboard mock up panel for the overhead console continued to morph for a while. Gauges, toggle switches, and indicator light paper pieces (all with blue tape on the back) have been moved around numerous times trying to find out what looks just right to me. Still have a fair amount of unclaimed space on the passenger side but this is what it started out looking like.
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170168&stc=1&d=1640696656

I've also figured out initial pathways for wiring from the console down to the lower dash. This I knew up front would be a challenge because the stock body had zero ways to get there. Following the theme/design of the truck I think the pathways work. The 4 small bronze colored pipes are home interior pendant light fixture extensions and the larger pipe is a piece of shower curtain rod that was the perfect dimension- all of which were throw away job materials I just knew I could use one day! ...
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170169&stc=1&d=1640696656

The left side bottom portion of the console where the conduits come up will be fixed in place with the remainder of the bottom panel removable for access to the gauges and such.
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170172&stc=1&d=1640696775
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The box that connects the pipes to the lower dash is from a piece of sheet metal that the original seat was mounted on. I made a one piece paper template, cut it out and did some bending. The metal cover for the box came from the lower portion of the back wall that I cut out and replaced. I hit it with the flap disk to take the surface rust off (before throwing some clear coat on it) and found the original paint ...
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170170&stc=1&d=1640696656
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Drifting back to the rear helper bags- I came up with I think to be a cool idea to release the air after hauling a load. Sometime back I’d picked up a vintage cylinder compression gauge at an antique store.
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170174&stc=1&d=1640696850

The 200 psi gauge will now stand alone monitoring overall system pressure. I reworked the threads to take another gauge (not the 30 psi in the pic but a different vintage 50 psi) monitoring the air bag pressure from inside the cab. For mounting it on the console, I drilled and tapped the main unit, then modified 2 brass spacers (stand-offs from an old microwave radio system) that fit between the upper console face and the main unit itself.
https://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=170175&stc=1&d=1640696918