46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[Desoto61]

There is a slight curve to the door opening, the new panel was straight, so when it was attached at both ends it bowed in along the middle. A few relief cuts on the lower lip allowed the piece the freedom it needed to follow the curve.

From there I would move a few holes and re-clamp the panel to make sure it was tight to the inner lip. A body hammer was used to work the top lip tight to the cab structure before welding it in place. I repeated this down the lip till I had the piece welded in. The front lip was welded to the trim panel. Then everything got cleaned up including the relief cuts on the bottom.

I'll have a small piece to install in front of the door above the valance panel to close the gap and the exterior cab work will be done. Next is to sand everything with 180 grit to give the metal a key for the primer, then re-clean and start preparing the garage and cab to spray.

[Desoto61]

Still working, just nothing that is exiting to show, plus the weather is putting the brakes on things. Finished scuff sanding the exterior of the cab. Vacuumed up all the dust and then managed to push the cab out into the yard Sunday and wash it down with some soap and water to get it ready for paint.

After washing it I wiped it down with some clean clothes and blew out all the seams and standing water with the air compressor. Then I wiped the exterior down with some Eastwood AfterBlast, which is a zinc-phosphate cleaner. That removed any flash rust and left a protective surface till I can get everything ready for paint. Only thing I didn't get to is the underside of the cab since I couldn't wash it while sitting on the cart. I'll probably have to do that in the garage and just try to minimize the amount of water used.

While the garage was empty I went around and cleaned it up to try to knock down all the dirt and dust, that included a mop of the floor, and running the vacuum cleaner around all the nooks and crevices. I'll use some painter's plastic to wall off the work benches and tools to protect them from any overspray and the cab from any dust.

Plan is to spray the two to three coats of epoxy primer on the exterior of the cab and after the 24-hour cure time specified in the P-sheet apply the body filler while the primer is still "open". Then I figured I'd leave it alone while I worked on the interior metal work of the cab. That way I can come back to the filler work after the primer window without having to scuff the primer first. Plus I'm sure I'll have to cut, drill, or weld during the interior work, so I will be able to take care of any of those areas when I go to spray the inside and start working the body filler.

Unfortunately while the temps had been nice, it's also been very wet, so actually spraying paint will have to wait. I have heat in the garage so the cooler temps aren't a huge issue, but the humidity is a different animal.

[Macadoo]

Thanks for taking all the time your giving to leave all this info. I'm looking forward (not as much as you) to seeing the end result. I'm sure you will have a nice truck.
My project is also moving along well and I hope to be done in 6 weeks.

[Desoto61]

Paint!

Washed and prepared the underside of the cab the same was as the rest, though there are more tight spots, so the cleaning and prep was a bit more tricky, I also haven't dressed most of the welds so there are lots of things that can chew up the cloths and sponges.

With everything ready I spent some time masking off the openings. I think the masking paper I got was too thick as it was a real bear to get into shape over some areas. Then it was a matter of getting everything set up. I hung plastic wrap around the perimeter of the garage like with the frame to protect the cab from dust and the garage from overspray.

The prep reminds me of work, you have to think out the entire job and try to make sure all the stuff you need is out and ready.

[Desoto61]

Once I thought I had everything I suited up and wiped the cab down with the pre-painting prep and then mixed up the primer. I hit the cab with a tack rag and then started spraying.

I sprayed a test pattern on some masking paper first and then moved to the cab. I started on the bottom, this was one place the rotisserie was really nice. Every surface could be brought vertical and at a convenient height. A set of halogen lights helped to make sure I could see everything.

The P-sheet says 1-2 wet coats and the paint supplier recommended two, so I did the first coat, which may have been a little heavy, then waited the recommended time before applying the second coat. The bottom of the cab was tricky with all the curves and hidden areas, I played with the fan adjustment to try and make sure I got paint in all those hidden areas.

We had fairly warm weather for January, though it's supposed to get cold tomorrow so the heaters are on full bore to make sure the temps stay above 60.

[Desoto61]

Once the primer had a chance to dry for a day or two I mixed up some filler and started applying it to those areas that needed it. I've got the sandpaper and guide coat on order but the plan is to move move on to the interior repairs and modifications and come back to the body work once I'm ready to spray out the rest of the cab.

First step then was to put the cab back on the frame and bolt it down. The lift is great for this job. Roll the frame underneath and you can slowly lower the cab into place. I had to drill out one of the rear mounting holes in the cab due to the floor repairs.

I unbolted the rotisery attachment and installed the cowl support bars temporarily so I can work on some clearance issues with the engine as well. Plus it is very encouraging to see the truck start to look like a truck again, even if only temporarily.

After the cab was bolted down I installed the hinges and tried to mount and fit the driver's door. The original had a lot of issues so I bought a used one from Dave Horvath. It was solid but had a few issues. The biggest being a crease in the front between the hinges. Because it is so close to the front lip I decided to pull it out to make sure it wasn't affecting the door fitment.

Since I can't get behind it I had to use the stud puller. I welded studs every inch or two and used the slide hammer to start pulling the area.

[Desoto61]

The studs did a good job of pulling the metal, but left low spots between pins, so the first set of pins was broken loose and a second set welded in the remaining low spots. After the second set the area was pretty good. There are still a few low spots but the majority of the dent is gone. I used the hammer and dolly to work around the edge of the dent and along the front lip of the door.

Unlike more modern cars there's not a lot of adjustment to the stock hinges. They half in the cab can move slightly in their holes, but the door side is riveted in place. Any adjustments are done with good old brute force. Which is much harder than some slotted adjustments. Since the door had some damage from opening too far it's tricky to figure out what needs to be adjusted to make the door fit. Add to that that it's heavy and awkward and it becomes quite the ordeal to install, remove, tweak, and re-install.

After half a dozen times I still have too much of a gap along the top and front and not enough at the back. This also means the body lines don't line up at the back of the door. Trying to bend the hinge forward however causes it to hit the drip rail. This one is going to take a while.

[Jake]

[QUOTE= This also means the body lines don't line up at the back of the door. Trying to bend the hinge forward however causes it to hit the drip rail. This one is going to take a while.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure I've ever seen the lines at the back of the cab line up with the lines on the door on a Power Wagon. All of my trucks are the same as what you showed in the above picture but do have a little more space in between.

[Desoto61]

I had them lined up at one point but I had binding somewhere else. I should be able to get it to work, but I have the feeling it's goint to be quite the tedious process since you can't be as precise when the answer is to "bend it a little more".

I think the hinges need to move outboard slightly and then the upper hinge needs to move forward a bit, which may require a little clearancing of the hinge where it's hitting the drip rail.

[Desoto61]

Close

Been working on the door and I've gotten it very close. Some of the issue was further adjustment of the hinges, but the bigger problem is clearance. I installed new bolts in the hinges with washers behind them. The rivets on the door side of the hinge were hitting one of the bolt heads. Removing one or two of the washers allowed the extra clearance for the door to close properly and let me move the upper hinge forward enough for the door to close properly. I'd still like the door to move forward slightly but sightly is hard to do when you're trying to bend the heavy metal of the door hinges.

The gap around the door is better, though still very close in the bottom rear corner and a little wide at the front, but again, the hinges won't allow the door to go forward too much more. It opens smoothly though and the character lines at the front and back are just about right. The door doesn't sit quite flush in it's opening which will probably be the next job. Like the hinges the service manual calls for some brute force tweaking in order to correct it.

Once I'm happy I can look at trying to install the new lockable bear-claw latches.

[Desoto61]

The first shot tries to show the clearance at the upper hinge with the door closed. It's not much easier in real life to see it either. Took me a while to figure out exactly what was hitting where.

Second shot shows the mounting bolts for the upper hinge. You can see the inner two bolts still have their washers installed, but the outer two had to be removed for clearance.

I also remounted the peddle assembly with the brake and clutch cylinders so I can start working on where everything is going to go in the interior. I put some tape over the brackets to try and prevent scratching up the primer.

[Desoto61]

Managed to get the other door hung. It has a whole different series of problems, but since I had fit it once before when I repaired the lower A-pillar hinge mount it went a little faster. Biggest problem is that while the other side had too much room everywhere but at the bottom this one is the opposite. It's very tight in the opening everywhere but at the bottom.

Some of it came out by pushing the upper hinge rearward. I had to open up the holes in the hinges slightly to get them to drop lower as the door kept wanting to hit the drip rail. A little hammer and doly work at the front of the door also helped the door edges sit flush and stop rubbing the front of the door opening.

I tried to install the transmission cover. I knew it would need some modification to support the new transmission. The Chevy adapter for the Cummins tilts the trans a few degrees, Other then that it fits over the transmission almost like it was made for it. I'll eventually close the hole around the shifter better but that gets me in the ballpark.

The biggest problem I have is that the cover itself doesn't seem to fit well in the opening. Not sure why though, I don't think I shifted anything when I fixed the floors and it's enough it won't just flex into place. Not sure what the right answer there is.

[Desoto61]

Too many projects

There are so many tasks to deal with on the interior I tend to bounce around between them as the mood strikes me or I have the time to tackle.

I did manage to fit the center plate using a screwdriver to pry the holes into alignment, it's a very tight fit but will work without cutting and modification.

This led me to fitting the levers. The Paul's Imagevent site shows how to modify the Ugly Trucking V8 conversion bracket to fit the NV4500. I temporarily installed the lever bracket to the adapter bracket and installed the levers. I had already blasted and powder coated the levers and installed new bushings, but the mounting shaft is also warn and will need to be fixed or replaced.

My teardown pics were not as comprehensive as I would have liked here but I did manage to figure out how it all was supposed to go back together. Which led me to my next problem. I had already planned to re-re-modify my transmission mount because I don't like the clearance I have with the front driveshaft, but this kind of forces my hand. The inner shift linkage is hitting the mount, which creates the additional problem since now I have to clear the driveshaft below and the linkages above. Outside of that I'll need to redrill the forward mounting hole and fab up the lower support and then build the fill tube as per Paul's site.

With that project somewhat stalled I re-installed the hanging peddles and clutch and brake masters since a lot of things will need to work around them. I also need to build brackets for a brake light switch and clutch safety switch.

Use of Ray's hanging peddle kit usually requires you to toss the support bracket that goes from the lower dash/steering column mount to the firewall. I wanted to keep it since I think I will need it to help support the new steering column. A little trimming and a new hole seemed to solve the problem and uses one of the existing mounting holes.

Then I took a body saw and basically hacked the dashboard up. One advantage of all this body work is you get a little less scared of doing that kind of thing. The new gauges will be easier to mount and install with a custom cut panel. I'll weld some tabs to the dash and use some small socket head bolts to mount the plate for easy mounting and access.

[Desoto61]

In my spastic work on the cab I decided to work on a larger task over this longer weekend. I had decided to upgrade the stock door hinges to a more modern bear-claw style, with a locking ability. I bought the mounting plates with the hinges, so the first step was to mark the new mounting plate against the door.

Then I took the body saw and grinder and cut away the metal till I had a good fit. The plate puts the latch very close to the inside wall of the door, but with the window channel running where it does it would be more difficult to move it outboard as the lock and latch arms would interfere.

Once I had the patch panel in place I tacked it there till I was certain that was where it would stay. I mounted the latch in place and then took some measurements to determine where the door pin needed to go. The depth of the pin meant the existing latch recess was too shallow, plus I needed to remove the existing captured nut.

[Desoto61]

Door latch 2

I cut a piece of metal and shaped it to fit in the existing latch recess. The gap between the door and frame was big enough that I could fill the opening flush, so I ground down the patch till it sat just a little under the existing metal. I didn't cut the recess back figuring I liked having the adjacent metal to weld to vice just a but weld. Except for the front edge which did have to be cut open and bent flat so the door pin could get close enough to the edge.

Using the measurements for the pin location I had taken earlier I marked the hole for the latch bolt and drilled and over sized hole in the patch plate so I could adjust the bolt location to the latch.

To provide that adjustment to the door pin I cut a chunk of 1/4" plate and drilled and tapped a hole for the pin. Then I built a little cage to hold it and tack welded that to the back of the patch piece. The cage was probably a little too large in that it can allow the nut to spin, but it does provide plenty of adjustment.

All the interior surfaces got some primer for protection and then I fitted the patch, which required a little more trimming to fit the cage behind it. Then tack welded that in place and gave it a quick test. Once I was happy the door latched I welded it in place and finished the welds.

Leaving the recess in place let me go with thicker steel (14 ga) and get a good weld all around it for strength.