Restorable???

[JReed]

I have an original set of tow hooks from a WDX that I will probably not need. I'd rather see them on your truck than those aftermarket ones you have now. They are straight, just need cleaning and painting. I'm in Longmont, and will be in Ft Collins in a week or so if you want to meet up. I might also need a private tour of the project ;).

Best,
Greg

Hey Greg, thanks. I'm not actually in Fort Collins though. I just have the body down there with a guy for paint. I live in Grand Lake, so the rest of the truck is up here. Anyway, I don't think I'll be picking the body up until the last weekend of this month... chance he'll finish up by this weekend though.

I'd definitely be interested in those tow hooks if you decide you don't need them. And I could give you some cash for them. Really not a big deal. After shipping would'a been near $100 from VPW so we could probably work something out. And I'd love to show you the body after paint. I'll be hauling it back to Grand Lake through Denver and over Berthod most likely so maybe I could spin through Longmont on the way. Thanks again
joel

[JReed]

Looking really good! The LineX thing is dangerous, you quickly realize why people do entire vehicles in it, tough stuff! You're on the right track with the ground wires though, I doubt you have much if any metal-metal contact on that bumper back to the frame.

What hardware are you using for the bumper? Couldn't see any head markings in the photos. If it's stainless make sure to check the specs, most stainless hardware is not that strong and you don't want the toughest thing on the bumper to be the LineX.

The hardware is T-H-E 18-8 stainless. And I know 18-8 can mean a few different things. Anyway, not great specs, I don't think even the equivalent of grade 5. Still there are a lot of 1/2" bolts on there working together and there'll be a good bit of damage done to the bumper before bolts break. I probably won't be maxing that old winch out, but I think they'd hold up. Guess I could have used a hardened and tempered stainless, I think 410 or 416... or just grade 8. All the grade 8 at ACE Hardware up here has a pretty lousy zinc coating though and goes rusty after a season or two. What are you using by the way? I'm not sure if others use much stainless or not. But you're right, definitely not as strong as what should probably be on there.

[JReed]

Awesome! Thanks for posting the pics. Where did you get the rear bracket for the winch? Did you make it?

Clark

Hey Clark. I got the rear bracket from vintage pw. It would be pretty easy to fabricate one though, not much to it. Vintage has two different rear winch brackets for the power wagon's I believe. One for the 230's and another for the 251's.

[Desoto61]

I ran fine thread like the original fasteners and did all Grade 8 hardware. With the heavy duty custom bumper I have I was going for strength first.

Got all the fasteners from Fastenall since most of the other places don't carry much fine thread let alone grade 8 NF. It's yellow zinc plated and has held up OK, but I may go back and hit it with some of the chassis paint later.

Stainless is a tricky thing, when you start getting into the harder alloys you run the risk of chloride stress corrosion issues too, which reduces some of the benefit of running stainless in the first place.

[cj7ox]

JReed,

Just stumbled across your thread, man does that truck look good! Really enjoying your build! Keep up the good work.

[Greg Coffin]

Hey Greg, thanks. I'm not actually in Fort Collins though. I just have the body down there with a guy for paint. I live in Grand Lake, so the rest of the truck is up here. Anyway, I don't think I'll be picking the body up until the last weekend of this month... chance he'll finish up by this weekend though.

I'd definitely be interested in those tow hooks if you decide you don't need them. And I could give you some cash for them. Really not a big deal. After shipping would'a been near $100 from VPW so we could probably work something out. And I'd love to show you the body after paint. I'll be hauling it back to Grand Lake through Denver and over Berthod most likely so maybe I could spin through Longmont on the way. Thanks again
joel

At 8000 ft, I figured you were somewhere west of Ft Collins :) I won't be needing the tow hooks, so you are welcome to them. They came with a set of winch bumpers that Dana Singsaas gave me, so I'm happy to pass them on to a good home.

I'm going to be out of town the weekend of Jan 31, so we may miss each other. If you're plans change, it would be fun to meet somewhere. Otherwise I can mail you the tow hooks.

[JReed]

So I haven't been working on my truck much lately, but I picked the cab up from painting yesterday and I'm really happy with it. Turned out great and I don't regret changing the color. I was teetering between blue grey and some sort of off white which would have kept the truck looking more true to pre-restoration. Anyway the pics show what I decided. I'll be having the original badging painted back on the doors.... just might have to change the colors to make it pop now with a darker background.

I won't be able to get back to working on the truck right away, but when I do, I'll be posting progress here. Just been really busy with work.

[LFD270ben]

Where did you get it painted? I am looking for a painter/ body shop in Colorado.

[Greg Coffin]

Ft Collins Tomorrow

I'm going to be in Ft Collins Saturday morning doing CPR on a WC51. If you are in town I'll bring the tow hooks with me.

[53Crusher]

Cab Dolly

Joel- Couldn't help but notice how nice your cab dolly is. Not sure if that is what they are called, but sounds good to me :-)
Did you build it, and do you have any specs/plans? I am getting ready to remove the cab on my 53 and can see what you have would be GREAT!

[Greg Coffin]

Maybe we can borrow it from him when he's done! My cab is off, but a long way from paint. You can have first dibs. hint, hint...

[JReed]

Where did you get it painted? I am looking for a painter/ body shop in Colorado.

Hey man. Sorry, been away from here a few days. Anyway, I had it done at a place called The Motorway in Fort Collins. They mostly work on old British cars. I happened to meet the guy who paints for them on a separate occasion so I ended up dealing with him on my own. He does all the painting for The Motorway up Rist Canyon at his own place. I'm happy with the job I got for the money. I got 12 estimates from different shops around the front range and a few up here in the mountains. Anyway, there's another place in Fort Collins called Custom Designs. Owners name is Royce Peyton. He's done some motorcycle stuff for my brother and it turned out well. If I were you I would definitely talk to Royce. He seams real reasonable and I think he knows what he's doing. I almost had him do my pickup... was kinda a toss up. You'd just have to take a look at some of their work and decide. There's a lotta options out there... Maybe this will help a little though.

[JReed]

Joel- Couldn't help but notice how nice your cab dolly is. Not sure if that is what they are called, but sounds good to me :-)
Did you build it, and do you have any specs/plans? I am getting ready to remove the cab on my 53 and can see what you have would be GREAT!

Yeah Tim, I built it, but no, no specs off hand anymore. Anyway, like Greg mentioned, I'd be more than happy to pass it on. I just built it with whatever extra steal I had setting around. A little too thin wall on one cross piece so it sagged a bit, but still wasn't an issue. It would be super easy to beef that up though. I was already taking it away when I noticed otherwise I'd have done it. It's got real good castors on it, so it's easy to move. And I set it up to be able to load and unload with forks too, just a piece that grabs around the rear of the forks to keep the whole thing from tipping off the front. Cheyenne isn't too far from Fort Collins, so maybe I'll get up there soon. I have to be in Denver the weekend of the 20th and I could get it to you in Fort Collins maybe for fuel. Ha. Anyway let me know. If you just want dimensions though I'll measure it up for you as soon as I get the cab off it...(hopefully this weekend).

Greg, thanks for the heads up, but won't be down quite yet. Like I said above, hopefully the weekend of the 20th. Good luck with that WC though. And yeah, I don't see any reason to tear that cart apart, we'll make it communal

[JReed]

Joel- Couldn't help but notice how nice your cab dolly is. Not sure if that is what they are called, but sounds good to me :-)
Did you build it, and do you have any specs/plans? I am getting ready to remove the cab on my 53 and can see what you have would be GREAT!

Yeah, just realized you can see the piece that sagged in the picture. That's why I c-clamped that extra piece of steel on there. Otherwise a real good cart.

[53Crusher]

Cab Dolly

Joel!

What a GREAT offer! I would be happy to meet you in Ft. Collins on the weekend of 3/20 or possibly even better I have a 10:00 a.m. flight out of Denver on Sunday 3/22. Am sure we could coordinate something. Will be happy to pay fuel as well as buy the cart from you. When I am done with it, Greg can put it to use! I will PM you with my e-mail and contact info.

Thanks!