I have made progress on various parts of the ’51 and have lost track of what parts have been documented and what parts haven’t.  The top chop and door opening job was done on a fill in basis between other things that were happening.  Life is like that sometimes.

When I decided to widen the cowl I also needed to widen the windshield opening.  The chopped windshield posts remained where they were and needed no changes.  I put the driver’s side windshield post in place with my normal inside reinforcing plates.  After it was all welded in I stood back and discovered that the post was not straight.   No matter how I turned my head the post still was not straight.  The only way that it looked right was if I turned the lights off.  Figuring that at some point the truck would be outside in the day time I cut the post loose and took a second stab at it.  Look twice and weld once. 

In the middle of all this confusion I ran out of welding wire.  I also ran out of shielding gas.  Apparently a lot of welding is going on.  Sadly with all the grinding a lot of the weld wire is ending up on the floor and being swept out the door.  I am trying to include plenty of sharp pieces in the sweepings in a futile attempt at keeping the neighbor’s cat from using the sweepings for a litter box.

After getting both windshield posts lined up and welded on I was faced with the little problem of the front of the door openings being several inches offset from the rear of the door openings.  I made relief cuts in the corners of the roof and then found that the inside of the front had a substantial inner structure that also required a relief cut.  I expect that the front inner structure will need further modification when the windshield opening is created. 

The relief cuts enabled me to pull the two parts of the roof into alignment and clamp them to a piece of angle iron.  The angle iron just fit into the groove of the rain gutter, this made a handy place to put the filler piece. 

When I went to cut the filler piece from the spare roof I discovered that there had been previous tenants residing in the roof.  Luckily they had moved on and only the trash was left behind.

Putting the filler piece in place revealed a pretty large gap between the roof and the filler piece.  I clamped a piece of copper 1/8” plate behind the gap and filled the gap with weld.  The copper holds the molten metal in place while it solidifies.  The weld doesn’t stick to the copper this allows the copper plate to be removed after the weld cools.  This is a handy trick for people like me who have a hard time cutting patch pieces the right size. 

After getting the filler piece in the door opening was actually pretty straight.  The rain gutter needs a little tweaking.  The door frame has a taper in it and so when the filler piece was installed there is some misalignment that will need filler to smooth out.  Overall the extension worked out pretty well.

 I intentionally left the roof piece short because I am intending to re curve the roof and the missing piece will be put in at that time.

I now have  “grand openings” for the doors.  All I need to do is to make doors that fit the bigger openings.  Speaking of openings, I quit my job.  This created an opening.  I also accepted a new job.  This filled an opening.  So life changes even if the ’51 is not done.

Norm

 I knew that I needed a windshield at least as wide as the current opening in the ’51 and I wanted one with enough curve that it would look and fit properly.  Other considerations included wanting a piece of glass that came off of a later model somewhat common vehicle.  The thinking was that somewhere along the line the windshield will get broken and need to be replaced. 

I have a couple of ’62 Studebaker windshields that would fit pretty well but getting a replacement Studebaker windshield isn’t going to happen.  The fact that the Studebaker people would tar and feather me if I cut one of the windshields up also came to mind.

The first thing that I discovered at the junkyard is that most windshields that are wide enough have very little curve in the center of the glass so that after trimming off the excess glass on the edges I would end up with essentially a flat windshield, not what I was looking for.  The next thing I noticed was that almost all of the late model windshields are glued in and so are very difficult to get out without damage to the glass and other things like my fingers

After my first foray to the used parts emporium I bought a windshield goop cutter since it became obvious that my pocketknife and putty scraper weren’t up to the task of cutting out a windshield.

A week later, armed with my newly purchased tool I was back at the junkyard where I discovered that some trucks and vans used rubber gaskets up into the ‘90s.  I have a stock replacement gasket for the ’51 but after widening the windshield opening I’m pretty sure that it won’t fit.  So I peeled a gasket out of an ’80 something GM truck.  The windshield was already cracked so no effort was made to preserve the glass and now I have enough windshield gasket material to do just about anything I want to in the windshield shape and size department.

Eventually I found a windshield that was wide enough, had some center curve and wasn’t broken.  It was in a ’90 Dodge Ram van and was also held in with a rubber gasket!  This piece of glass is almost six feet wide and two and a half feet high.  Huge, even.  I got it out and home without breaking it.  It is big enough that it might be possible to cut two windshields out of it.  Like I said, huge.  And heavy.  The heavy part comes from the fact that glass is made of silicone which is the same thing that rocks are made of.  Rocks are heavy, too.

After getting the windshield glass I realized that at some point I would need glass for the rest of the truck.  I have a set of stock corner windows for the rear and figure on cutting them down to fit.  The rest of the glass is missing, broken or will no longer fit the modified window openings.

Strangely enough, I know a guy who owns a junkyard.  In this junkyard are a number of school buses.  If you are looking for flat glass let me suggest a school bus, there are several acres of flat glass in each one. 

True, the side glass is tempered and can’t be cut but the front and rear glass is laminated safety glass.  I got the windshield (both sides) out of an International school bus of unknown vintage.  Each piece is about three feet square.  I have enough glass to do both side windows and the rear window of the ’51, assuming that I don’t break too many pieces while cutting them.

Of course while there I got to looking at other parts.  I’m kinda smitten by the international headlights and rings.  Smitten enough to take them home.

I’m not sure if they will make the cut and be installed on the ’51 or not but we will see.  I also have a set of ’55 Buick rings that are in the running for the front of the truck.  Maybe I will put a Buick headlight ring on one side and an International headlight ring on the other side to see if anyone notices.

Now to learn how to cut laminated glass,

Norm

Parts hunting is interesting because you don’t need a license and the bag limit depends on the size of the truck that you brought with you.  I have been known to take the Miata when going to the junkyard, thus limiting the amount of “gotta have it” stuff that follows me home.

I was specifically looking for trim pieces for the ’63 Mercury dash that I am intending to install in the truck.  I got the instrument cluster a year ago at the big Denver swap meet.  It has some serious wow factor.  I like it because of the ‘50s art deco look with lots of chrome.  It also has a lot of “shape”.

 It didn’t take me long to figure out that modifying my truck dash wasn’t going to be a practical exercise.  Speaking of practical, widening the truck has resulted in it appearing that the Mercury dash will fit without serious modification. 

I momentarily thought about making a dash that would house the instrument cluster.  Then I found a guy on ebay that had a dash for only $10.  The shipping was three times what the dash cost but that is what happens in e commerce. 

The new dash fit my instrument cluster but had no other parts included, so the hunt commenced.  I found an ashtray, glove box and trim in Idaho.  Not wanting to repeat the shipping fiasco I figured that checking out the local old car junkyard was a good idea.

The local old car junkyard had not one but two ’64 Mercurys.  It turns out that the ’63 and ’64 dashes were the same, at least as far as I can tell.  I got a chrome trim piece, the ashtray and the glove box.  I am really considering going back and getting the rest of the trim including the clock, radio and heater controls.  I’m waffeling a bit on it, I kinda like the look but I don’t want to have too much Mercury.  What do you think?

I also wanted to get a couple of ratted out front fenders to use for patch panels.  I think that the guy running the junkyard is starting to feel sorry for my insanity because he sold me a pair of fenders for $10.  They were both pretty bent but I am only looking for the lower back piece of each fender.

I’m feeling pretty good at this point because I’ve escaped the junkyard for a paltry $47.  This is making me happy as I’m cruising down the highway. 

Quickly down the highway. 

Quick enough to attract the attention of Johnny law.

This is how to make your parts expensive. 

Drive safely now, ya hear?

Norm

 The proper course of action at that point was to make the truck wider.  The problem was that I had already welded the cowl to the frame.  I got to use my plasma cutter to remove the beautiful cowl mounts that I had recently fabricated and installed.  The plasma cutter is quick but not neat. 

After I got the cowl cut loose I noticed that the rear of the cab was still held on with the C clamps.  I coulda sworn that I had welded it down in its proper position relative to the cowl.  Oops.

This discovery resulted in a pleasant afternoon in the garage with the “tape liar” and early photos of the cab that I took before cutting the cab up.  In the “before” photos I had placed tape measures on the various parts of the cab for reference.  An ounce of prevention, etc.  I was really glad to have the pictures so that I could get the rear of the cab back where it needed to be.  The cab rear is now securely tack welded onto the frame in the “correct” position.  What is correct anyway?

I guess that this is now a “frame off” nonrestoration.

 I then cut the cowl down the center.  This was complicated by the fact that in a previous incarnation of the truck I had welded the cowl vent shut and filled the gap with the dreaded Bondo.  Say it isn’t true! 

There are a couple of problems with plasma cutting in this situation.  One is that the edges of the vent and vent hole are turned down resulting in a very deep cut for the plasma cutter.  Not knowing in advance exactly where those edges are is also a challenge.  There is also the small problem of the plasma cutters inability to cut nonconductive materials, like Bondo.  I did manage to get the cowl cut in half while only using a couple of nasty words.

 I then fabricated new cowl mounts and reinstalled the cowl halves in their new wide track position.  These mounts are pretty heavy duty since they are supporting the front half of the cab and I don’t want a repeat of the “self channeling” situation that I experienced with the Studebaker. 

I also found that I could see through the passenger side lower cowl without using my X-ray vision.  I’m beginning to wonderif the whole cab will be made of patch panels.

 Note that I did not widen the rear of the cab as it was already 5 ½ inches wider than the front.  I am hoping to have a “square” cab when I am finished.  The front fenders should also be parallel to the doors, I hope.

 After getting the cowl halves installed there was quite a gap between them.  I got out the lower front part of my spare parts cab.  Everyone has one right?  I then removed enough of the center of the cowl to make a patch panel/extension.  I carefully lined up the three parts and welded it all together.  Then I noticed that it wasn’t straight from side to side.  Argh!  Cut out the weld and take another stab at it. 

The top of the cowl still has a gap because I am planning on modifying the windshield opening.  After the windshield position is established I will be able to complete the cowl top. 

I was so jazzed about the cowl that I got the front quarter of the roof out and started getting ready to weld it on.  This is when I discovered that by moving the front of the cab out the front of the roof no longer lined up with the rear of the roof.  I shoulda seen that one coming. 

Tune in next episode for “a dogleg in the drip rail” or “a twist in time”.

Norm

I was thinking about a wheel like the one that was in my first car a ’57 Lincoln Premier.  It had lots of chrome, black and white two tone and a really neat emblem in the center.  After a brief internet search I found a picture of one and discovered that the years had improved the look of the wheel in my memory.  Sometimes you don’t want to look at cherished memories too closely. The Lincoln wheel did have lots of chrome and a neato emblem but it was almost as big as the truck wheel.

Sometime in the mid ‘60s steering wheels got smaller and went to the soft rim racing type.  Since that wasn’t the art deco ‘50s look that I was after and the local pick your part didn’t have anything old enough it was off to the old car junkyard.

The old car junkyard is an interesting place.  They will allow you to adopt parts if they happen to be open and are in a good mood.  Oh yeah, you also have to bring enough cash to cover the adoption fee.

It was a good day when I got there, at least it wasn’t raining, the junkyard was open and they even allowed me to wander around unescorted.  This was a rare privilege I assure you. Of course it helped that I brought a friend that they knew and he vouched for me.

I wandered around for most of the afternoon and looked at a couple hundred possible steering wheels.  Eventually I narrowed my search to late ‘50s to early ‘60s full size GM cars.  The problem was that after 50 years or so in the sun the plastic on most of them was in pretty sorry shape.

Eventually I found a steering wheel and column in a ’61 four door Cadillac.  Although the rim had cracks the assembly was complete and the plastic was not powdering to dust.  The chrome had a few pits but was serviceable.  After looking at really bad wheels all afternoon I was happy to find one that was at least decent.

The junkyard folks “only” wanted $100 for the column and steering wheel based on the fact that “they aren’t making them anymore, ya know”.  Now understand that I’m not allowed to touch that much money let alone carry it around.  The junkyard people won’t take any kind of plastic but pointed out that there was an ATM less than a mile away and it wouldn’t close for another half hour.

Ten minutes later money changed hands.  They then allowed me to remove the steering column myself.  This was made easier due to the fact the steering box had already been removed so I didn’t have disconnect the steering joint.  Sometime after I got home I figured out that it also meant that I didn’t have a steering joint, rats.

The steering wheel is two tone blue with a matching color column so after fixing the cracks I will have to paint it to match the truck.  I also plan to make a GMC emblem to replace the existing Cadillac emblem.  This should be an interesting adventure, stay tuned!