mattb73lt

I'm sure the quality of that new casting is way above the original. when I had my frame completely apart all of my aluminum castings were of pretty poor quality, never mind the years of use and corrosion damage. A lot of them needed repair and re-machining.

Painted everything black with POR-15. A lot of this stuff was pretty crusty and had to be rebuilt, mostly the lifting frames and the bed cross members. Everything is heavily coated, but it's unlikely this truck will see Snow and salt again. I got some smaller stuff hooked up today and painted to piston that slides the body. It seemed to be the best was to do it, because it's so long. Next week should see the hydraulic lines go in and some more equipment mounted. I'm thinking later next week I may slide the body back on. I may do it with the other truck by reversing the body on the bed and rolling it onto the new truck. Or, I may call my friend and borrow another lift. That may be the easiest way to do it.

1 hour ago, mechohaulic said:

everything looking great,  definitely looking forward to day of seeing it complete and operational . have to admit I'm confused as to how it works. understand long piston for body slide. two rear pistons lower 1- for stability ;2- raise the body. assembly has 4 pivot points (2 per side) .  could understand if had two fixed positions to work off of. have to wait for the day to see it work . can use the excuse of not understanding operation due to fact I 've been sick as a S O B  last few days .  covid/ flu some bull s--t , no sleep or food. 

body going to be red or black ?? 

I hope you feel better. This one operates differently than the one on the B42. That one is a Chevron body that has fixed pistons to the frame. You can unlock the body, raise it and drive around to reposition to hook a load up. This one you put the landing gear down, then run the body out and then raise and lower it with the landing gear. That's really the main difference. Other than that they operate the same. The body is repainted black and will remain so. One, it's a lot cheaper to repair or repaint it black vs red.

The truck grew 6+ feet in length, today. Added both upper and lower lifting frames and all three hydraulic pistons. Lots to hook up and connect. But, edging closer to adding the deck onto it, pretty soon.

It’s always darkest before the dawn. Keep at it and once you start fixing things and laying on some primer to make it one color it’ll start looking like something! At least it runs moves and is mostly complete. You’ll turn the corner soon.

And I’ll say this, I feel blessed surviving what I’ve done and now enjoying the fruits of my labors. Three combat tours and 21 years as a state trooper.  Five years away from home from 2003 to 2013. I’m just so glad I’m able to do what I want and fixing up this truck up as I want. A bunch of people I served with never had this opportunity to enjoy what they earned.

4 hours ago, doubleclutchinweasel said:

You know, it is my considered opinion that this truck SUCKS!

And the only way I can think of to make it "cool" is to...give it to me!  Then it would be cool!

I can't wait to see this thing finished.

Thanks. But it'll be a while before I get tired of driving this one, then we'd have  to duke it out before I give it up(LOL)!!

Utilizing my amateur woodworking skills today. Ripped down the oak for the frame rail strips. Drilled and countersunk all the holes for mounting and now treating the wood with preservative. I’ll give them a few coats before I mount them. Ordered up some parts from Jerr-Dan for the sliding pads and some hydraulic line protector for the winch lines. Mocked up a NOS control box I found to replace the crusty one where the valve body mounts. Ordered more hardware to attach all the bed bed mounts and guides. All the new hydraulic lines should be back next week. And…. Busy day getting a lot of things ready for the bed. Thinking I might make Gerhart’s this year(maybe)!!

Well, that was fast. Thought deck would be done towards the end of next week from what I was told when I set this up. Got a call this morning that it was done and ready for pickup. Jumped through my ass and got the B42 up to Torrington by 11:00, loaded and headed back to the house by 12:00. Glad I shopped this out. I don’t think I could’ve done it cheaper by myself, plus the mess of sandblasting. They guy I dealt with said it took 6 gallons of paint to cover it. It’s done now I’ve got to hustle it up and get it mounted. Painted all the mounts and guides for the frame, today. I have the oak for the frame top, where the bed slides and rests on. All my hydraulic hoses should be headed out to be fabricated tomorrow or Friday. Lots to do and source, but it’s coming together pretty quick at the moment.

On 8/8/2023 at 10:27 PM, mattb73lt said:

Do what you can when you can. You've made great progress so far. It's a busy time of year and you gotta make money when you can. I ran my own train off the tracks taking on a 1941 Ford cruiser for the State Police Museum. Thought it would be a winter project, but my engine woes burned that time up. I promised to get it done and make it roadworthy and they've been bugging me to get it done and they are footing the bill for all the parts. So now it sits in the shop burning up my time. I was able to move the flatbed deck to my friend's shop tonight, plus all the steel to repair it. That'll take about a week, then it'll go to get sandblasted and painted. Thursday, I'm taking the B73 to a spring shop to add a helper leaf to the left front spring. It was re-arched as the two top leaves were bent when I got the truck and it started to sag a bit when I put the engine in.

This is the Saturday Evening Post cover from 1943 that this car replicates and a recent photo the department did as a tribute.