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With all do respect these trucks were not built with laser alignment. They were built by eye sight, and that was good enough. I would venture a guess that 95% of the restored vehicles today are over stored and are far better than they were when new. A concourse winner is over restored and not a true representation of how the average car or truck left the factory. Regards Bruce
Bed sides and Running boards... I think we have it now.
Well... when you build something that requires fabrication, there's usually some things that require multiple attempts... this was no exception.
I think we have the basic shape where we want it now...
* The running board has the final seam in place so that the running board and the bed can be separated.
* The bed sides come down and have a nice curve into the running boards.
* The seam in the bedside has been kept on purpose to keep in line with the fender lines.
* We boxed the front post to "square off" the front corner.
* We used similar styling to redo the area behind the fender as well.
Driver's side -- all running board rough fab it complete -- still some finish work to be done but all of the basic form is now set in place
Driver's side behind rear fender now has the basic shape set as well -- styling used in front now flows at the back as well.
boxed the front post to give the front corner a more finished look.
Passenger side behind the rear fender -- all the rough fab is now complete... lots of finish work to do.
Passenger side running board / cab skirt still in process... battery box now in place where we want it (hidden behind removable panel)
... keeping my head down and plowing forward... one step at a time.
Wow, that will look very consistent and well thought out when everything is done. I'm always impressed at builds that take time to do high quality work and end up with a consistent look (kinda the opposite of the ugly trucks threads...).
That is a great look you are going for with your truck, it is shaping up really well. I came across this dual cab version very similar, (well apart from the different model year of course) looks good, I wondered if it might be of some interest or curiosity to you, and also include a photo of another COE just because it looked as though it too has had a fair bit of work to get the look he wanted. What do they call that sedan, is it a fleetline?
That is a great look you are going for with your truck, it is shaping up really well. I came across this dual cab version very similar, (well apart from the different model year of course) looks good, I wondered if it might be of some interest or curiosity to you....
I've seen this pic before... My friend is going to take a '48 COE and make an extended cab... my single cab is enough fab for me... especially considering that sheet metal fab isn't my forte... I'm much stronger on the mechanicals.
About a year ago I created a Pinterest group called "Ford COEs" and there are about 300 pictures of '38 - '56 Ford COEs in every configuration imaginable...
We are getting so close to getting the fab done... It's been one of the most time consuming and ... expensive parts of the project... I cannot wait for this part to be over.
This is the 95% photo... nearly all of the fab is complete. a small panel will be installed on the front underside of the bed to match the lower cab skirt... and a few tabs need to be welded where the running board meets the rear fender... other than that, stick a fork in it... 'cause the fab work is done.
I'm tackling the Fulton 700 Series SunSheild sun visor next... after quite a bit of searching, I finally came across a copy of the original installation instructions that have been helpful... picks to come later this week.
[QUOTE=50COE;
About a year ago I created a Pinterest group called "Ford COEs" and there are about 300 pictures of '38 - '56 Ford COEs in every configuration imaginable...[/QUOTE]
That is a laugh, I am pretty sure that is where I found the picture of the dual cab, there are indeed many great looking COE's there. I have long admired the ingenuity, skill and perseverance of many custom vehicle builders. All the best with your build, you seem to be powering along with it.
I finally found original installation instructions for the model 700 Fulton sun visor that I bought used a while back...
the visor was made for a split window vehicle and fit about 75 different cars according to the documentation.
Even though I know I'll have to fabricate a roof / center bracket, I think the visor will give the truck a bit more attitude
It was made mostly for vehicles from the 30s & 40s but does actually list 48s and 49s in the the manual.
Unfortunately the visor doesn't quite fit with just the directions / adjustments.
After making the center adjustments to make it as narrow as possible, it still was about 1 1/4" too wide. So I had to cut 5/8" off each wing.
After reassembly, I clamped it back in place... I decided that 14 1/2" from the bottom of the drip rail to the bottom edge of the attachment bracket is the place that I feel it looks the best.
From the side, I think it looks fantastic... straight on, it looks a bit boxy to me but I think it's going to look great after paint.
I think I'm going to flat black out the underside and make the rest match the body color. I was talking with one of my friends and was kicking around the thought of the polished aluminum look...
fortunately this one is in really good condition / I'll only have to fix one of the mounting bracket areas and almost nothing else.
You can see how snug the bracket now sits against the drip rail...
Wow Wow!!! Amazing work. That is going to be one fine looking truck. Keep at it and it soon will be done, then you can reap the reward of driving and picking up parts for the next project.
I like the visor, I think it does give it even more of a cool look.
I wish I had a laundry list of things to show you all but I've been super busy with work and family and everything else that takes priority in life...
Working on "my" projects brings balance in may life ... and I've been out of balance the last few weeks and I don't see an end to that for a while...
Well, I made some decicions on:
Lighting
I have 5 new old stock -- exact replacement clearance lights for the roof -- originally the truck had 3... but I'm placing 5 These have the original GLASS amber lenses and look fantastic. These are arrow #39 clearance lights
Front turn signals:
The two small lights in the grill will not quite be enough and I'm not bolting the surface mounted fender lights back on... I decided to look for something that was about 4" round to French into the front skirt... this is what I decided on:
These are just under 4" diameter GLASS amber lens Arrow #49 marker lights. I will have to replace the socket with a dual fillament style socket so that I can have both parking and turn signals... but I believe these will look great.
I'm going for the glass lens / period correct look on the lights... I'll likely try out LED replacement style bulbs. Anyone have good experiences with these?
I'm still searching for tail lights... I'm hung up on the glass lens thing for some crazy reason I can't explain... I never thought picking out these details would take so much time...
Hey Brian,
Your light choices look great! I always liked the cab running lights ...just looks fantastic.
Did you have to fix a bullet hole just above the driver's side windshield? We had some sort
of issue in the same area.
Keep up the momentum....doing a little bit each week keeps the progress going.
Looking good over there in Virginia!
06-28-2017, 11:35 PM
Wow!!! Amazing work. That is going to be one fine looking truck. Keep at it and it soon will be done, then you can reap the reward of driving and picking up parts for the next project.
