That is great. and a great job figuring it out. Are the 56 cabs not tapered?

I was looking at your signs on the wall. Is that a Penn State Oil sign? I never heard of Penn State Oil products.

Yes the '56 cabs are tapered, but since the w/s posts are vertical that makes them easier to use.
Yes, the Penn State oil sign is one of the oldest I have(20's?)

Thanks for posting that, never seen that one before. Some interesting ideas there.
Looks like I might be the first to attempt non suicide doors...

Excellent work Scott. Sounds like you have it all figured out. And that's a nice sunroof over the back seat too!

As opposed to modern crew cabs, this back seat will have oodles of legroom. Almost like being in a limo! Will you be installing a bar for the party in back?

Ha! Contrary to popular thought, I do NOT have it all figured out. I'm making it up as I go along.
Yes the whole point of a crewcab is plenty of room....
No on the bar

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John, this cab will end up on a newer chassis built as a car hauler. I'm just using this one as a "jig" so to say. Seemed simpler as the front cab is already bolted down.
When I get both cabs fitted together solid I will remove it/them. This truck takes up a lot of floor space.

..............................

So I got the 2 cabs welded together and the floor all finished up.
It will get primer and seam sealer later.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...05e473991b.jpg

I also reinforced the pillars at the upper hinge area......these need to be really solid. Will finish off the inside of the pillar once the upper part gets built.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e548d471b6.jpg

wow nice work ,and nice project !

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Not the entire cab(s). Any of the spots with surface rust or sketchy paint will be stripped.

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Nice job, looks like lots of work!!

I gotta say, every time I watch a thread like this, there's bits and blots where I say to myself
"I think I'll do that differently."
Not here, so far...
Do you have a pic looking at that post from the exterior?

Earnestly note-taking,
JML

Tinman,
Greta fab work on a big project. I too would like to see the exterior at this stage. Way bigger than anything I would every tackle! Enjoyed the pictures.
Regards,
Chris

Great Scott, you are good at fabrication. Im so glad you take the time to share your work with us all. OK ROCK ON my friend

Exterior pic for those asking....disregard the tape across the top, I was checking roof alignment.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...93ffbe74d1.jpg

I removed the wheels/tires to get it closer to the floor.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d326aee283.jpg

Thank you Jim, and everyone for your kind words!

tinman,
Thanks for posting these pictures of the two cabs joined! I can start to see it now! You have taken on a big project but your work looks very good.

Regards,
Chris

I'm glad you told us what the tape was for or else we'd think you were using Red Green's method of joining two vehicles together.... But he used duct tape and lots of it.

subscribing. Interesting project for sure

Cool progress!

This might be a silly question, but since I've never tackled anything like that I don't know how to do it. When you weld those floor pieces in do you have to completely weld up those seams or do you just stitch them in (like in the pictures) and then go over them with seam sealer?

Keep after it, its going to be a great looking truck!

Bobby

Bobby, those floor pieces are not structural, just filling in holes. So stitch welding is fine. They will be primed, seam sealed and eventually covered with sound deadener.
Any structural pieces or external panels will be fully welded.

Scott

Great progress and nice work, as always.

It was a bit surprising to see the crew cab length; I was imagining a "super cab" look when you started. There is going to be a ton of room when finished.

Look forward to the next instalment.

The longer cab makes it a lot more comfortable/usable for rear seat passengers. The super cab length would make it pretty tight for rear seat passengers.

Scott,

Thanks for the info, that makes a lot of sense.

Bobby

I had to take a break from this for a few days over the holiday.....it was making my head hurt trying to figure out the rear doors,
Much more difficult than I thought, these doors have NO right angles, parallel lines, or symmetry at all. But after much head scratching, I have a plan and am back on track.
Pictures in a couple days.

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Oh sure....

drop a big tease like that and leave us hanging.....

...9th time checking FTE today *mostly* to see what Scott's amazed us with in his shop...
No pressure, but hurry every chance you get. Some of us are addicted to this thread in an almost bad way.
JML

There's a reason I decided I was just going to cut them vertically and join the back halves of two doors on each side. I came to the conclusion that dealing with the warpage from welding and cutting out the hinge areas and welding them into a rear section of a door was going to be easier. But I usually end up doing things the hard way.

That inner structure around the hinges may be difficult to integrate into the rear part of the door.. Either way is a lot of work.
Will try to get some pics up tomorrow.

....there you go again...

you big tease....LOL

Okay, pics finally.....I'll try to explain as I go along.
Started by cutting out the A pillar from the cab and door. Door was cut right behind where the division bar mounted. Not pictured is the inner hinge support that had to be trimmed away.
The plywood in the window is holding the upper door straight.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...aa661e43d8.jpg

Next I cut the rear piece from the opposite door.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b47ee81fe3.jpg

Initial mock up tacked in place. 5/8 plywood or mdf fits in the window slot nicely holding everything straight.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...2ddb48dd22.jpg

First mismatch......the lower edge of the window opening is not level, it goes uphill toward the front slightly.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...238022bc50.jpg

The inside is worse......the door also curves inward where it met the dash.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...2deeaa1dbc.jpg

A relief cut brings the outer skin in line

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...42cff4117e.jpg

The inner was a bit more challenging, requiring a relief cut and adding metal to the upper piece to bring it out.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b6f0a25b53.jpg

More to follow......

Scott,
Very nice! I like to watch your fabrication techniques! Thanks for posting the pictures!
Regards,
Chris

So here is the door fully tacked


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...76b3c09d8f.jpg

On to the door jamb....pretty much the same drill. The opposite side piece from the donor cab

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5482850104.jpg

Keep trimming till it fits. If you want the window opening symmetrical the jamb and the upper door need to be joined at exact center.
The drip rails were a quandry for a while.......I wanted one continuous straight drip rail from front to back. That's pretty much impossible without chopping the cab to level the roof.
So they will stay as is, at least for now.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d8c4427194.jpg

Side shot. There are a lot of conflicting angles going on here, and the rear door window looks huge. I see now why many of these have shortened doors or a massive B pillar.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...ae9171ef21.jpg