mattb73lt

All in primer now! Finished the cowl belt line patches today and primed the lower cowl panels. Now just a lot of small repairs and the windshield area before the body work starts. 

10 hours ago, Freightrain said:

Fantastic work.   Especially something that large.  The detailing is top notch.  The cubic money that was spent is surely not something anyone wants to count.

This reminds me of that big red 6x6 wrecker I saw at Syracuse.   

It has been impressive watching that truck come together. The scale of it is impressive, every piece is massive. The quality of the restorations that come out of Matt's shop only get better with each one.

11 hours ago, h67st said:

That bed is all new, I wonder if they bought one from a factory or if they built it. Either way it had to be several dollars. Gorgeous truck!

It is new and made locally. The original body was much larger and wider. The original picture Matt has of it is rather impressive and the body is silver. I think the reason for the smaller body was for transportability, you would need oversize permits any time it needed to move.

Well, this makes me feel pretty good about the progress on this cab. Everything lines up and it's almost all in one color, instead of the faded paint, primer and rust.

Scrounging parts, fixing, priming. The finished parts are stacking up, all the frame repairs are complete and it's fully primed.

I bought my first gallon of color, to paint all the mating surfaces on the frame. Also bought a ton of nuts, bolts and washers to start assembling the frame.

Slow and steady is getting it done.

Still slugging away. Took a break on the cab, after getting the sheet metal back. Doing some chassis work to get the frame mobile again. I have the front axle out and took the front springs to a local shop to be re-arched and matched up. The right spring was really bent and was a lot lower when it was in, even with the empty frame. Three work day turn around and the shop had everything I needed, even for both axles. Cleaned and primered all the parts and the right frame rail, but ran out of daylight to get the left one done.

A little before and after showing the reconfigured floor.

I've been posting a lot because I've had a lot of time to dedicate to this over the Winter and I'm trying to get as much done on it before things pick up at work. The cab structure is done, with only a few minor things to complete. I test fit all the sheetmetal this morning, before I take it to the stripper. It all looks pretty good, but I'm sure there are a few headaches awaiting me. I stacked up most of pieces that have been replaced, plus a bucket full of other scraps, as I was cleaning up the shop. Amazing when you line it all up as you lose track of what you've done, as you fix each issue. The rear cab structure really came out nice and clean, as all the damaged and crushed pieces were fixed or replaced. A lot of strength has come back in it with very little flex, compared to how it was. 

And one more from the bottom of the cab, after welding it all together and priming, before turning it upright. It looks so nice, considering what I started with.

HUGE sigh of relief today. I cut out the cage and test fit the doors to check my work. Everything lined up and the gaps appear very even around both doors. I've been so worried about shift, having cut so far into this cab to save it. Like I've been saying, this is the worst part and time consuming. But, being careful and thoughtful about how I've gone about it is paying off.

It's official, March 1st, I turned the page and started re-assembly by putting the cowl back on and today welded in the new sills and lower back frame. It was very helpful to remove the cowl and rid the pillars of rust. It also allowed me to put the cowl up on a temporary bench to work on it and repair the right cab mount, which had completely blown through and left a fist sized hole. Lots of other small, time consuming repairs were made all over the cowl/pillar area. Overall, I'm very happy with the results and alignment looks good. Not that far off from removing the cage and test fitting the doors. Once that's done, it'll be back to the sheet metal and re-installing it.

After finishing up the mock-up and marking everything for disassembly, I was trying to figure out how to get at the front pillars to get at some rust. Well, I guess I wasn't done taking it apart. So, I removed the cowl completely.. I can definitely get at them this way.

Seems like it will all fit together. Finished all the modifications to the right sill/jamb, then test fit it all together along with the new rear floor panels. Lots of assembly/disassembly, test fitting, fitting the old parts back in, seeing if it will all line up. Still a ways to go, but it's getting there.   

7 hours ago, Red Horse said:

Matt it will be a show stopper for sure.  You should feel good about all the progress you have made.  Easy for me to say but I do believe its all downhill from now on.  Brooklyn 2021 for sure!

Thanks, I'm trying to make it my best one yet. I really like the style of this truck. Trying to be patient and get it back together right. I've had to drop it several times and walk away for a breather when I found myself frustrated or rushing/