mattb73lt

Finally, on to the roof and gutters!! Some fabricating and repair to it and the gutters before they get re-attached. But man, it's starting to look good!! Door gaps seem to be no better or worse than the factory. Some of the stuff Mack did putting these cabs together...leaves a lot to be desired. My door jambs came out good, it's tough working with used metal. So nice to work with the fresh stuff I've had fabricated.

Not likely, although I could bring some of it on the back of the B42.

Thanks for that. It's been a long time since I dragged this truck home. Tough at times to stay motivated, especially with this part of the restoration. It is great getting positive comments and different opinions and ideas as the whole thing is kind've fluid as I move along. Some things I'm set on, but others like products or methods people have used really help. I'm also amazed how long this thread is since I started it way back in 2015. The momentum is definitely building as things get completed.

A little teaser of things to come. Mocked up my mirrors and drilled holes in my brand new door and relocated the holes on the passenger door. Boxed up the mirrors, they shouldn’t be sitting too long!

That's really nice. Would that have the drop floor cab on it, just curious?

I had the idea, at one time, to fix the mechanicals and put it on the road as is. I think the cab would have fallen apart quickly and I would've had nothing to work with. Plus everything was coming apart. This was really the only way to do it.

It did do a lot of damage. The lower and upper center panels were replaced. It crushed the center vertical cab support, bent the center horizontal support and broke the lower rear frame of the cab. All of which have been replaced or straightened. The owner never said how fast he was going, but it had to of been hard or a fast hit.

The original owner told me the story. He came to get his trailer on a Sunday evening to start his week and he thinks some kids cranked it up higher after he left it.

There’s a L model cab, fenders and hood off a fire truck on EBay in Egypt, NJ(?) right now. Don’t know where your located, but there’s stuff out there.

I would say very tough to come by. Once in a while you'll see some pieces come up, a radiator shell, hood. I haven't seen fenders in a while. Cabs are tough, there was one (it was complete) on Ebay last year in Canada. Cabs can be rebuilt and parts fabricated, but it's slow and costly. I'm rebuilding a L cab for my B-73, it's hard and takes a lot of patience. But, keep hunting, you'll stumble on stuff.

Neither can I. Never thought I'd go this far into it. I always liked this cab on the B. I think what saved it and allowed me to go this route was the shoddy repair that was done after the original owner crashed into his trailer after missing the fifth wheel. It was literally pop riveted back together and the two replacement panels were falling off. They did a lot of damage too, as they chiseled the spot welds apart instead of using a cutter. Like i said, I can't wait to get this part done.

I’m pretty well equipped, but once in a while I come up short. It would be nice to have a shear and a brake for fabrication, but I don’t usually get this deep into a vehicle.

I had to special order them. needed them to reach the hard spots. 24" reach!!

Strapped, clamped, bolted and pinned together. Gaps and panels all lined up and now all welded together in one big piece. Just the roof to attach and a whole bunch of fine tuning before bodywork. Big progress in the last few weeks and can't wait to have this part behind me.

Nothing like new. Scored this early N.O.S. LJX (3 hinge, no vent window) door while buying up a bunch of B model parts up in Massachusetts a few years ago. Just needed to remove the forward window channel to make it work. Sanded off the 70+ year old primer to etch prime it. I found one minor ding on the door, but its perfect and will save a lot of time trying to fix the original.