SUPER CREW!!!

[PToombs]

Hey! That's right up Calebs alley!

[m880cummins]

I won't tag any member in that mustang photo in order to avoid being ground to dust but they are out there!

Tinkered around today. Still have the intention of shooting some orange on friday. We will see....

Got the roof tacked in. Sandblasted skin:



Had to graft a small piece in each side. A royal pain in the a$$ to get right. Think it turned out ok. Still need to do some work to it.











Etch prime:



Tacked:





Pretty good alignment:



I also decided today that I will shorten my 2wd long bed frame to make it work for the shortbed. I will then convert the frame to 4x4 and box it in the full length with custom welded in cross members front to back... That will be fun...

Charlie

[cmann250]

Hey! That's right up Calebs alley!

The thing is, I looked at that thing when he first posted it up and I almost defended it. It's obnoxious and that's probably why I think it's funny. It needs air cleaners coming out of the fenders and bull horns on the hood.

[m880cummins]

Well, I think I am clean enough to touch a keyboard and sit in a chair. Had to shower off a pound of dust, grit and grease just to feel somewhat decent again. Still hacking up paint taste haha.

Had to help my dad swap his D60 front axles today in his 1977 dodge. Changed gear ratio by swapping the whole axle. Roof is bare metal now and so is cab back. Finished welding in roof skin, turned out pretty good. Have some warping but will see if I can improve it a little before some body filler. Today was definitely a long day... Will work on the truck again Friday.









Charlie

[Mark Nixon]

Um, now that you are done with putting in the front section of the roof skin, I gotta' ask.
Why did you use a STANDARD cab front skin section on a CREW Cab roof?
You do realize the 2 are different, right?

Mark.

[PToombs]

It looks like he did a great job no matter which one he used, so to you Mark!

[Mark Nixon]

It looks like he did a great job no matter which one he used, so to you Mark!

I know he'll have fun filling those low spots where the spot welds are, but that's neither here nor there.
There's ways to minimize the "dimpling", which involves aluminum heat sinking to draw the heat more uniformly, among other things.
I actually went back and looked and it does appear the SECOND skin (which I missed prior to my last posting) turned out to be from an E/C, Crew Cab, or RamCharger, which is why it appears to have come out okay.

Mark.

[m880cummins]

I bought a 70s standard cab roof top, that was rusted when I opened it up. Then got a 93 club cab roof at the junkyard which looked nice inside when I drilled out the spot welds.

The 1970s cabs, club cabs and crew cab all have the same ROOF PROFILE. The standard cab trucks from 1981-1993 have a slightly different stamping where the crease that is above the drip rail is higher and more prominent. Realize Chrysler was notorious for cutting corners so rather than design a new die for the club cab or crew cab in 1981 when they changed the standard cab roof, they just kept using them. It is also noticeable with 1980s-90s front doors. Do you think they faded out the upper door crease to the key lock for styling or for the cost savings of not making a new die to match the new door profile on the cab? They probably were trying to cut costs and update the body style enough to make the consumer not complain about or shy away from an outdated truck.

As for a ramcharger roof, it has no creasing in the front and is instead a rounded, smooth panel. I was looking into a ramcharger roof from a local yard but it wasn't close enough to graft in. It could be used but would be a messy job.

Anyway,

This consumed most of the day:



Had to wire it into the panel, remove drier/regulator from old compressor, change fittings around, make a bracket to mount it, new filter in drier etc. LOVE the new compressor, No leaks, quiet, and can keep up with the sandblaster and any air tools. 17cfm.

I made these to weld into the upper rear interior pillars for the shoulder belts. There were holes but no threads so I welded these in so I can make mom happy I have shoulder belts for at least 4 of the passengers.



Firewall almost done:





Sandblasted driprail and found 2 pinholes near where the new skin mated to the old skin. Was nervous about burning through too much and having to do a patch panel but the mig was nice and filled it right in:





Sandblasted some of the back of the cab:



Finished the other rear cab mount modification. Removed access cover that was caulked in, cleaned it out, ground the panel joints a little nicer then cut open the lower part of the cab mount box for easy cleaning and access. No more rusty rear cab mounts now....



Need to weld one crack in the rear panel, finish firewall, clean up bottom of driprail above windshield and then cab can be shot with epoxy primer in remaining areas, fill the roof areas and then it will be ready for paint. Getting closer.....

Charlie

[m880cummins]

Big box of engine parts will soon be on my front porch!

Engine block is finished. Hot tanked, bored .020, decked, rods checked and balanced, crank polished. Ready to go!

[oldestof11]

Drooling.
.
.
.
.
.
.
......................

[PToombs]

What, you find a candy bar?

[m880cummins]

Aside from getting my dunebuggy running, troubleshooting the heater and working on the Model A, I actually got something done! The whole week was running around and having time for nothing but sleep when I got home.

Started out saturday morning going to the junkyard and looking at my engine block at the machine shop. Finally got the trans cover. It was the best I have found in the last 3 months looking for one and then I ended up cutting off the base of it (some rot was present and it didn't fit right). The truck already had the large hump but it was hacked out from a previous trans swap. I grafted this in after sandblasting it and filling screw holes and the old shifter hole. Used hammers, dollies and heat and the result fits like a glove. Notice the rear part of the floor-hump area and how I had to stretch the metal to mate up with it. It turned out really nice! Besides the weld, you would think it was stamped that way! Now I have the bigger trans tunnel and the floor is back to a rigid state.






Finished roof prep and primed that as well as the floor patch:











Primed the rear seat belt hole where I welded in the pictured mounts from last week.



Messed around with the dash. Stripped it to nothing, welded up unwanted holes and then test fitted it and cleaned up the dash edges for a better fit:





Mocked up with 90s heater box. This is not going to work well. The controls are all mixed up. I have to go back to the junkyard to get the 70s AC box:





Gasser rad support I got at the yard Saturday in comparison to the diesel one I had. I'm using the gasser one as the aftermarket radiator and intercooler will be easier to use and look less hacked up.



Decided to ditch the firewall and start over. It will crack by the ebrake where there was filler so I'm taking the whole panel out, making a new one out of 16 gauge and welding that in and cutting the holes.

Charlie

[m880cummins]

What the HELL?!??!?! Saw this on my GENUINE Cummins +.020 marine headgasket!!!!



Charlie

[m880cummins]

Got engine parts, block bored .040 with a sleeve in one cylinder.

Genuine cummins, made in china headgasket!



Mahle deep dish pistons that I plan to fly cut for valve clearance.


Firewall almost done. Cut out the old, in with the new. Looks MUCH better! Finished stripping the final door and welded up all trim holes.

Looking at this Dana 80:









Hydroboost mocked up and leveled before I welded on the keyed index ring:



Done:







Still need to cut heater box hole. Integrated the steering column mount into the firewall as well. Will get more pics and updates tuesday:



Messing around in the shop





Charlie

[cmann250]

It's pretty safe to say you have a legit shop