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mattb73lt

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Posts posted by mattb73lt

  2. Posted

    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.

    • Like 2

  3. Posted

    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.

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    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.

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    • Like 6
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  8. Posted

    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.

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    • Like 8

  9. Posted

    On 3/12/2019 at 2:43 PM, Freightrain said:

    When I bought my B, the rear mount area was weak.  The PO had run a piece of angle iron across and just let the cab sit on it.  Ya, you could wiggle the cab around.  I cut the rear cab patch off and welded new pieces across tying it into the rear of the cab structure.  Wow, the cab is rock solid.  Not quite as purdy as your repair, but functional!

    I lucked out with my B-42. It was owned by a tree company and was mostly used in the summer months and garage kept. It had a shag carpet covering the floor that was soaked in chainsaw oil. The floor and cab back were like factory new, with a sheen of oil on the factory paint. It also had less than 100K on it. It was a really easy clean up and repaint after I converted it to diesel. The B-73, not so much, used hard and then abandoned outside. That definitely took its toll. I had thoughts of getting it on the road, but I think that would have destroyed what I did have. This will be like new if I can keep going and get it done.

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    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. 

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    • Like 5
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  12. Posted

    On 3/6/2019 at 2:43 PM, mrsmackpaul said:

    WOW 

    That's one heck of a job your doing 

    Im not sure I am brave enough to get this far into a cab 

     

    Great stuff and thanks for sharing it with us

     

    Paul 

    Thanks, it's been a lot of work, so far. Looking at using Lizard Skin, like you mentioned for soundproofing. Under the cab, inner doors, roof, cab back wall and firewall. Pretty much everywhere that won't get standard paint.

  13. Posted

    13 hours ago, j hancock said:

    Absolutely Outstanding Matt!  You are making some good progress.

    As a super triple check on the door fitment and operation, verify the dovetails on the door and jamb and the door seal retaining strip with a new seal in place.  Much easier to make an adjustment while still in primer. 

    Ask me why I know....

    You mentioned you were having some issues with your cab, after getting it back from the shop that did the work. What did you do with the door seals and the metal retainer that holds them in place? Mine are not usable and I was thinking about using a self adhesive strip to seal the door. I'll be doing a lot of assembly/disassembly as I go before making things permanent to make sure it all fits.

  15. Posted

    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.

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    • Like 5

  16. Posted

    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.

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    • Like 6

  19. Posted

    10 minutes ago, j hancock said:

    Lots of puzzle pieces but it sure looks like it is going to be better than new!!

    I'm very optimistic about this. Alignment seems good and I keep using the old pieces to check. It'll all come apart again for finish work and heavy priming. I still have to attend to some issues with the lower A pillars.

  22. Posted

    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/

    • Like 2

  23. Posted

    6 hours ago, Vladislav said:

    Wow!! Looks much more exciting now!

    I'm sure you know what you do by my fingers will be kept crossed. What is the plan for that big 3" U-channel at the bottom of the back wall? Are you going to make a new one? Right at the moment I'm waiting for such part from fabrication but that one will be a straight piece. Hope to get it in the shape by cutting-welding-grinding. My new sills (or rockers?) are also in that order. At least I hope the shop folks will be able to bend what I have drawn :)

    I had another fabricated locally from a donor I picked up and cut apart for a pattern. Mine was too far gone and broken from the accident. The fabricator did a great job, considering how complex it actually is.

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    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    On 2/5/2019 at 4:56 PM, h67st said:

    You've got that thing torn apart!! My H67 cab didn't look too bad until I had it blasted and all the bondo was blown out of the rust holes...then it looked a lot like yours.

    Luckily no surprises when I got it back from the blaster. The areas that were slated for replacement opened up a little more, but the rest was solid. And no real bondo, several layers of paint was about it. Now to start putting it back together so it doesn't look like a rolling jigsaw puzzle when I'm done.

  25. Posted

    1 hour ago, AZB755V8 said:

    That is simply incredible!! The work that has been done and to just start to put it back together now. WOW!! It will be perfect I am sure. Are you keeping track of the hours and cost so far, what is the estimate on the total time and expenses you planned on? My L cab was in great shape to start when I restored it. I had a lot of money, my time and outside labor in it and NO body work was required, You are making a whole new body, just incredible. Is the frame, engine and all else being done to this level as well, it will be priceless!! I am starting to restore an 88 Superliner and almost ashamed to post the project compared to this. 

     

    Outstanding!!! :thumb::thumb::thumb:

    It's hard to estimate the man hours due to how long I've had it. It's always been a back burner project, as I was about to start my other B just when I found this one. So, I've done and collected what I needed over the years in between other projects. A lot of items are already done and stored, ready for assembly. This is the part I've dreaded, it's just dirty, time consuming work. I have the knowledge and experience to go this deep, just not all the equipment to do it. Fabrication is adding to it's cost, but it would be even higher to buy the equipment for what I see as a one time restoration. The cab has always been the roughest part. The truck was used hard up until, from what I could figure, around 1987 when the engine was removed and it was essentially abandoned outside until I found it in 1998. With that and the typical New England climate, rust has taken it's toll. Almost all of that is gone now, with new panels to go back in or existing ones repaired. It would have been nice to find one from your area, but getting it home would have been cost prohibitive. This style cab is somewhat rare and not easy to find. I saw one for sale up in Canada, but a close look at the photo's it looked like it might need similar work and again the cast of getting it home. This is certainly the most in depth restoration I've attempted and there won't be hardly anything that hasn't been touched.

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