Sounds like fun Alan. I guess I ought to shake a leg to get those fenders cleaned up then.

 

We've seen what you do without one. Guessing just because it's quicker & easier?

 

Hey Dave

Looks like a good project to start.

slightly familiar fords15426378's Library | Photobucket

I took my cab off and got it blasted in walnut shell. When I got it back it was a little worse than I thought (the joy of blasting). I am no body guy but I have been picking away at it.

I just wanted to ask you a couple questions.

Where are you planning on ordering your cab mounts from? I ordered mine from Macs Antique Ford Parts and they aren't even close?
I think it will take a couple hours of modifying them to get them close. I have read on some forums that Carpenter Ford Parts is the place to buy them from. The originals look to be a two piece mount and the ones from Macs are one piece. I ordered the floor pans from them and with a little trimming they dropped right in (pass. side anyway, not to the drivers yet)

I used POR 15 to seal my floor pans up after I seam sealed everything, its expensive but seems to work well. Whats the price of that stuff you were planning on using?



This website has been a great help with some of the issues I have ran into.

 

Pat. Yeah, it's easier. It's like the difference between a brace and bit and electric drill. Both get the job done, but the right tool is definitely easier.

As far as where to buy panels, I buy 18 gauge steel from Wheeler metals in Springfield and make my own stuff. $40 for a 4' X 8' sheet and I can usually do a whole vehicle with sheet.

 

i like your build firing order..15423678.. looks like you are doing a good job.. i replaced a set of ford cab mounts a while back, they fit just right but cant remember where i got them.. just remember dave all it is, is work... but the end justifies the means..

 

I'm using the stamped steel ones I bought last summer at a local auto parts swap meet. I've heard that the ones sold by Dennis Carpenter are duplicates to the factory ones, but they're also twice the cost before you tack on shipping & handling. I also have the passenger side floor board that I got from another Mo chapter member for a case of beer.

Seeing as how I am just a humble school teacher, my budget is more myth than anything else. Much of what I'm doing now is to it is getting up to code so I can pass a safety inspection and put it on the road.

In all truth, if it weren't for the help I've had from the guys in the MO chapter, I know I'd still be dreaming about it rather than doing it. Thanks guys!

 

For what its worth I am a teacher as well. I teach auto shop at the local high school so I brought the chassis into the school for the students to work on (as you can see in the pics). They seem to love it. Budget is definitely a concern here as well. I just finished that T bird and she watching the account like a hawk!

I am doing all the body work myself and have little to no training in body work. Only training I have is what myself and one of my friends have done in the past. As for the cab mounts, they have me a little nervous. I was thinking about finding a solid floor pan and cutting it out but those are few and far between in Canada.

The ones you have, are they one piece or two put together?

Did you end up pulling the cab off the frame to install them?

I was thinking that I might just tack them in with a few welds for now and set the cab back on the frame to ensure proper alignment before I tack them in solid, it looks like alignment will be crucial to get them to line up.

Yours will be a fun truck to cruise around in for sure!


Thanks again guys!


Alan, You said you buy all your own steel and make all your panels. Post some pics of your cab mounts. Did you separate the two halves and make each panel and weld them back together prior to installation? Would love to see some build pics of those. Did you keep your cab on your frame or just jack it up?

 

They're a one piece unit just like yours. I think that the stamped mounts are more like the mounts used on the '73 - '79 trucks. I seem to recall that the Dentside cabs share the same basic structure as the Bumpside cab.

I'm not planning on pulling the cab unless I absolutely have to. The inner fenders on my truck are pretty rotted, so I am in the process of stripping the front clip down. Once that happens, I'll have pretty good access to the front mounts and can check alignment as I go. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm working on it.

Have you thought of making a jig that lines up with the mounting points on the frame and then use the jig to line up the mounting points on the cab?

That's a great idea having the students work on your truck. I wish I could do something like that, but having a classroom is in a men's maximum security prison kind of rules that out. I could haul my cab to another facility near the capitol and have it redone, but the 2 year waiting list kind of puts me off.

 

Ha! I'm back! Between the cold wet weather and sick kids, I haven't been able to do much on the truck. I did sneak off the the garage for a little bit to clean up the fenders and knock a couple of small dents out.



Driver side cleaned up pretty good despite having half a highway's worth of asphalt caked on the inside. RC - I didn't they even had that much asphalt down south... You can barely see where the rust has eaten out the fender close to the floor.



There was less asphalt on the passenger side, but there were a few small dents to hammer out. Like the driver side, there's some rust that needs attention near the floor. This is the section that I had cleaned up with a wire wheel and posted pictures of last week.

Hopefully I can spend some time removing the rest of the clip next weekend so I can decide whether I want to go check out the junkyard near RIch or drag them down to RCs to see if we can save the original ones.

Stay tuned fellow truck enthusiasts...

 

Aw, no problem Dave. Those patches will be easy to make.

 

I hate it when my brain is thinking one thing and I type something else. I meant to say that I'm not sure if the inner fenders could be saved or not. They are in considerably worse shape than the outer fenders.

 

Inner fenders are easy to fabricate too. Not to worry. I had to replace a good bit of the '66 inners.

 

dave maybe you can find some better inner fenders.. but most of the ones will look like something offa a 40+ year old truck.. and you already own yours.. i am not sure if the ones off that 74 out front would be of any help.. or weather it is better to just make the patches ya need

 

I know my local JY should have a set that might be better, I am trying to get that way this week to look for you.....

 

Thanks guys!

Why is the weather so nice when I have to work? It just ain't right....