46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[JReed]

It's lookin good man. I like your threaded inserts around the rear window. Mine has several different size sheet metal screws. Any time someone stripped one they just went up a number.

[Desoto61]

Finished assembling the hood halves. Blasted the hinge rods and greased them lightly then carefully tapped them back into place. Reinstalled the springs over the latches using some stainless metric washers (they had a smaller OD) between the cotter pins and the spring, and then re-installed the prop rods with some new hardware. I won't probably install it till I have more of the engine work done.

Installed the rear window glass, the glass shop gave me a tube of the urethane they use. I used some rubber as a spacer to help center the glass, and taped off the outside of the opening. Then I cleaned everything and put a bead around the opening and set the glass in place, pressing it into the bead. I went a little too light on the bead as it didn't quite squish out into the outside so I had to fill that from the outside after I glued around the window on the inside. I then removed the spacers and filled that area with sealant too. It's not a perfect job but it's definitely in there and sealed. I can clean up some of the outside after it sets.

I also did the side windows, cleaning the channels and then putting a bead of urethane in the bottom before pressing the glass into it. First time again wasn't enough so I had to back fill it from the top, second time was better. Biggest thing is making sure you get the front of the channel and glass right for each side, I wouldn't want to have to remove these.

Also spent some more time playing with the windshield frame. I cut two shims for the driver's side to help lower the frame, which helped somewhat. The passenger side needed to move up and in slightly, both of which were managed with adjustments to the stock hinges. Also modified the opener slightly to reduce the angle between open and close, and make it a little more stable.

End result is much better, the gap at the center is still a little big but the gasket is sealed. The opener struggles against it though, once it softens and sets into shape it should work a little better. I may have to consider using the stronger linear motor if not.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Your work and the way this truck is looking is amazing.

[Desoto61]

We had a warm snap, so I worked to get the last couple of pieces of the front end sheet metal painted today. That was the cowl, some trim, and the inside edges of the hood halves. Also picked up two items from the powder coater, one being one of the VPW rims I got, so I can test mount a tire once I decide what I'm buying.

With the painting done for the time being I can pull the frame back in the garage and put the cab on it and start installing things.

[Desoto61]

Thanks, I'm good at jumping in the deep end on this stuff. It's exciting and frustrating all at the same time.

I managed to get the two weld-in bungs for the inlet and overflow fittings. They probably would have looked better welded in from the back side, but that wasn't possible so they were welded from the outside, but they're not real visible so not a big issue. A pair of fittings finish it off, the bottom will come from the radiator, and the side will run down beside the radiator as an overflow.

I looked at another mount, there is a little flex in the rear wall, but most of the options I looked at would make later removal very tricky, so I'll leave it and see if it really needs additional support.

Also got glass installed in the windshield frame. Had it glued in, it will be a pain to remove again if needed, but it probably wouldn't be me doing it. My bigger concern was keeping water out, the frames are expensive and getting harder to find, and the tape just doesn't provide the same seal.

The gasket around the outside was a real bear, I read up on it before hand but in some places it almost seemed to go in too easily, and on others not at all, but I think I managed it. The problem came when I put it back on the truck, the fit is different, the center doesn't sit as close as it did before, and the opener mechanism isn't working quite right. It's always frustrating, since now there's paint everywhere to be damaged.

Removed the opener mechanism, need to think about this one a bit, go through it carefully.

[markymark]

amazing...

This is an insane build. Am amazed at your skill level AND tenacity. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing.

[Desoto61]

Looking good there, aluminum welding can be tricky but I think you have got the hang of it.

Thanks, surprisingly I found it easier than the steel TIG work I had done earlier. I'm thinking some of it is the Lanthanated tungsten vice the Thoriated, as even the steel welding I've done with them seemed to go better. But yes, it is quite different.

I ended up with about four small leaks and those only showed when I put some pressure behind the water and were easily fixed.

Though lesson learned: I had one corner that got pretty ugly and now that I think about it I was trying to weld the container closed, so I was probably getting air inside the tank pushing out and contaminating the weld site. Should have left it open till I drilled the filler cap opening and then finished it.

[Bob2]

Overflow Tank

Looking good there, aluminum welding can be tricky but I think you have got the hang of it.

[Desoto61]

Other than goofing up the one corner a bit, the tank came out pretty good. I then placed it back into the cowl and positioned it between the pipe reliefs and marked the cowl opening. I found center and used a hole saw to open up the top. After cleaning up the edges I carefully positioned the filler neck and clamped it down using a small C-clamp. Then came the scary part, trying to weld the heavier filler to the top of the tank without ruining either of them.

After tacking and moving the clamp around to get everything locked down the end result wasn't too bad. I didn't ruin either, the welds aren't the greatest but I'm happy with it.

Finally I bent up two small pieces of aluminum as mounting wings and welded them to either side of the tank. After positioning it in the cowl I could drill some locating holes and using nut-certs mount it to the back of the cowl.

End result I think looks pretty good, definitely not original, but it's functional. I still have the inlet and overflow bungs to install, and I may add a support at the front for some additional stability, but I should be able to start prepping the cowl for paint with the last batch of parts for a while.

[Desoto61]

The other project I started on was the surge tank for the radiator. I picked up a piece of 1/16" aluminum plate and cut and bent the center up based on a cardboard template I had built. It will sit in between the two charge cooler pipes and have a fill cap that sticks up through the radiator cowl. I found an aluminum filler cap on Summit Racing's Web site that was the right size and should look pretty good sticking up through the original opening.

I welded it closed, and then cut and started fitting the sides. Only got one done so far, but my aluminum welds are improving at least. Not all of them are pretty but so long as they hold together and don't leak I'll be happy.

[Desoto61]

I'm kind of bouncing all around now, so many different things to work on I'm like a kid with ADD. I'll work on this for a while then get sidetracked working on something else. I am trying to get parts put where they belong so I can make room. That started with hanging the door. I had tried to get everything lined up before paint. I then drilled an 1/16" hole in each hinge plate so I could line everything back up later. I had also painted some button head bolts for the hinges since regular bolt heads were hitting the door hinge and making closing difficult, so all that went in, but I still had issues. The lower corner was hitting while the top of the door was a little high. Some tugging got it lower but to get the bottom of the door to move out I ended up taking my dremmel with a burr on it and elongating the lower hinge holes so I could move the hinge outboard just a bit. Also had to carefully body work the corner out just a tad. It fits much better, though still some tweaking to be done.

I also re-assembled the side marker lights. I had drilled out the rivets and purchased new bolt straps, so they were blasted and painted separately, I then riveted them back together with the new mounting bolts. Need to get with my brother about building some LED bulbs for them.

One of my other diversions was to install some other lighting. I was trying to figure what I wanted for turn signals. I plan on making the side lights work as turn signals, I didn't really like the ones drilled and bolted to the fenders like my truck had originally. So I went with these LED ones. They work as a white parking/running lite normally and flash yellow with the turn signals. I mounted them behind the grill, and low mainly do to potential interference with the AC condenser hoses on the passenger side.

Also took a second to install one of the header panel covers. I used new clips but need to cut them down so you can't see them sticking out the ends. I did later turn up two of the originals so I may just swap them too.

[Desoto61]

Trying to get the next batch of parts painted before the weather turned too cold. Probably a little cold to finish today but couldn't be helped, and the heat in the garage should be sufficient.

Tried something different in painting parts of two different colors, worked out pretty well. The clear laid out differently with the cooler temps, so I got a little more orange peel in the first coat on the larger surfaces, but it also seemed to help with preventing any runs. We'll see how it ends up, but it's always gratifying to see the shiny parts.

[Desoto61]

Started laying out some templates to build an overflow tank for the radiator. Since my radiator fills through the back that leaves the hole in the top of the cowl open. So my plan is to build a tank with the filler that sticks up through that opening. I've ordered a filler neck that I think might look good. The tank will sit in the space between the intercooler pipes and probably bolt to the rear wall of the cowl. I'll build it out of aluminum, but will have to wait for the filler neck to see exactly where it needs to sit.

[Desoto61]

The fenders are painted and sitting in the garage so I wanted to start working on fitting them up. I should have had the front fender brackets lineX'ed when I had the rest of the parts done but forgot. Since it's a few small parts and the shop is a 9-5 type of place, I ended up using one of the DIY ones that come in a spray can. It's a little thin, but we'll see how it holds up. I can always have them re-done if it doesn't.

First I needed to install the fender welting, after doing some research on where the welting goes I couldn't find a very convincing answer, there was talk of a heavier gasket at the back where there are holes for the old split nails and then the lighter welting the rest of the way up. So I decided to use some of the excess hood lace for that on top of the fender welt and then just the welt the rest of the way forward. Rivets hold it at the back while some trim adhesive will hold it till the rest of the way till the bolts are installed.

The rear mounting brackets for the fenders were rusted off the truck, so I have reproductions, which don't have the holes drilled where they mount to the frame bracket, so I want to fit up the fenders so I can locate and drill the mounting holes too. I mounted the brackets and the inner fenders and then used a clamp to hold the rear bracket in place temporarily till I could sit the fender in place and start a bolt or two.

[Desoto61]

With the plumbing in place it was time to fit the radiator cowl. After marking the cut points I used a body saw to carve out the cuts, using some of the connectors to trace out the shape. I decided to try and mimic the lip that goes along the bottom edge around the opening.

I used a thin strip of scrap steel and bent it into the opening and then welded it into shape. I used the TIG with the lanthanated rods, which seem to be much easier to control, or I'm actually getting the hang of that machine, but I'll stick with the tungstens. Once finished I cut off the excess and sanded it to match the rest of the lip. The end result is small but it really makes it look like it belongs and not like I just hacked a hole in it.