46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[Desoto61]

Very busy of the last few weeks, and not on the truck unfortunately. Hoping for a quiet weekend to make some progress, but I have found a few hours here and there to play with a few odds and ends.

I installed the lights, switches, and screen into the overhead console and added some sound damper. I need to cut another brace for the switches. The thin steel allows some of them to rattle in their openings.

I also started installing some of the little parts on the doors. New brass door bumpers, the two forward window channels all with stainless hardware. Added some sound damping panels inside the two doors. Also starting working on the window weatherstripping.

The inside of the lower opening has some rubber bumpers, the exterior has a felt wiper. There are small clips that hold the channel felt around the opening. The channel felt runs around. I have little pieces that fit in the forward section, but the flexible piece I ordered was long enough to go the entire distance and then some, so not sure of the benefit of using two pieces vice the one, other than the original is riveted into the channel and I may need to do something similar with the end of the longer piece.

Hoping to get a quiet weekend so I can get back to some of the body work as the weather starts to turn cooler.

[Desoto61]

By the way I saw you had found some repro door regulators. Do you remember where you got those?

They aren't reproduction, they're used ones I got from VPW to convert to single windows. Still need to figure out how to clean up one of them before installing.

[JReed]

Gotcha. Can't wait to see what you've got planned for the bed. By the way I saw you had found some repro door regulators. Do you remember where you got those?

[Desoto61]

Hey. Curious, did your line-x shop prime the surfaces first, or did they shoot the liner straight on raw metal? I had my running boards done at a shop and the guy shot um in the raw. When I had the other parts done, I took um to a different shop. They told me that everything had to be primed first, so they did it that way. Also, are you planning on lining your bedsides where they are exposed to the wheel well? I was planning on having mine done there, but I was going to do it with the bed assembled when the truck is done.

I primed everything before I took it down so it didn't flash rust. I had finished painted some of the parts on the surfaces I didn't want lineX'ed, like the inside of the splash guards. They ended up coating just about all the surfaces on everything but the fenders, they didn't want to leave an exposed edge as it apparently becomes the weak link in the coating. So the brackets and even the splash guards were coated inside and out, they just put a thinner coat on the non-road sides.

I do plan on having the rear fenders done too. I'm not sure how yet as I haven't torn into the bed yet, but I'll get it blasted and see what I'm up against for metal work. I'll probably haul it down there on the trailer since I'll have to rig something up to haul it to the media blaster anyway, and it will probably be easier to coat off the truck, but I'm not there yet so we'll see. Have some big ideas for the bed, just need to put the front end of the truck together first.

[JReed]

Also managed to get back down to the LineX shop and pick up some parts I dropped of. I had all the road facing surfaces of the front fenders, splash guards, and mounting brackets coated to help protect them against whatever the tires will throw at them. It's tough stuff, be interesting to see how well it holds up. Now I just need to work on getting the top side looking good too.

Hey. Curious, did your line-x shop prime the surfaces first, or did they shoot the liner straight on raw metal? I had my running boards done at a shop and the guy shot um in the raw. When I had the other parts done, I took um to a different shop. They told me that everything had to be primed first, so they did it that way. Also, are you planning on lining your bedsides where they are exposed to the wheel well? I was planning on having mine done there, but I was going to do it with the bed assembled when the truck is done.

[Desoto61]

Also managed to get back down to the LineX shop and pick up some parts I dropped of. I had all the road facing surfaces of the front fenders, splash guards, and mounting brackets coated to help protect them against whatever the tires will throw at them. It's tough stuff, be interesting to see how well it holds up. Now I just need to work on getting the top side looking good too.

[Desoto61]

Spent today working filler on a few of the rough spots that always pop when covered in paint. Tomorrow I'll top coat the areas with some primer and set up for the color and clear.

[Desoto61]

Spent the weekend preparing a bunch of parts and then cleaning for paint and got some primer sprayed on Sunday, which means I'm on a bit of clock to get color on it before the primer window closes. A set of fender brackets just needed two coats of chassis black, but I had a few spots that need some filler work on the driver's door and the glovebox door.

Also hosed down the interior cavity of the door as best I could, the detail gun I have fits pretty well inside so I just sprayed whatever primer I had left inside in any direction I could to hopefully get everything sealed.

[Desoto61]

I've been trying to do most of my sanding outside to keep the dust out of the garage so there's less clean-up when it's time to paint. So with the wetter weather we've had I have been getting a lot of the other parts around here prepped for paint, which means getting some use of the blast cabinet and air compressor.

I was missing one of the wiper cover panels and scored a set of ebay many years ago now cheap, so with three I think I can use one of them to build patches for the other two since I won't need the switch mounting holes for the new wiper system.

I also have a batch cleaned and ready for some powder coat, including the column support bracket, which was chromed but I blasted it back so I could make it black to better fit the truck.

And as I've been going through parts I found the fender supports I had finished long ago and those could also get bolted back in place, because that feels really satisfying.

[Desoto61]

I have a local radiator shop coming to talk about building the cooling package (aftercooler, radiator, condenser) assembly for the truck, for that I need the radiator shell back in place, plus I want a chance to actually bolt on some of these new painted body panels. So I picked up some new fasteners and started attaching pieces and parts. I may need to modify the top piece of the grill shell so I don't want to finish paint it just yet, but I can put it in place when needed to get measurements.

In the meantime it's more sanding and prep work. After a few rounds of filler and some hammer and dolly work I managed to get something presentable for the one fender and door and shot both with primer to seal the filler and cover any sand-through areas then went over it with the surfacer for a final blocking. The other fender also got the same treatment as well as the cowl vent.

[Desoto61]

The weekend weather wasn't the best for paint but while the primer was still "open" I wanted to get some other stuff done. Decided to do the inside of the splash shields with the Eastwood 2K chassis black for durability, also painted a few under hood parts that need the chemical resistance like the power steering reservoir. Plan is to have the outside of these LineX'd.

Also started the first rounds of filler and sanding work on the other door and fender. I hadn't missed this part! Half the time I'm not sure if I suck at sanding or my part is really that wavy.

[Desoto61]

Rain is coming this weekend, but I managed to get the parts that didn't need any filler work hung and painted today, that included the radiator cowl side pieces, all of my vent mounts, the grill trim pieces, and the gauge panel. The bad weather will be a good time to start spreading filler and sanding.

[Desoto61]

We've had some very strange weather the last few days for July, calm, cool, with low humidity. Perfect painting weather, so I've been trying to take advantage. There are a ton of little and large parts that need paint. The driveshafts were blasted and then the U-joints removed before priming, next I'll drop them off, the rear needs modified to connect to the center output of the T-case, the intermediate will need to be rebuilt or modified to bolt to the NV4500, and all three will need to be rebuilt and balanced before I paint them.

The door and fender will get filler work done while the underside of the fenders will get LineX'd as will the outside of the splash guards, while the inside will be painted black with some frame paint. While a lot of the smaller parts will just get a coat of blue and then cleared.

[Desoto61]

To shorten screws I put a nut on the shredded shaft clamp the part I do not want in the vise and cut the screw with a hacksaw. Then I file the edges where it was cut and then spin the nut off. If the nut grabs I spin it back on and file a little bit more,
Door screw hitting - Switch to a button head - they take up less room.

Thanks Bruce, but the door bolts are too long the other way, the pretty end sticks out too far and hits the door, if just barely. If I leave the washer off it's fine but then it doesn't tighten down correctly. I would either need to turn down the shaft so it can thread in farther, or turn some of the head off but it's a hex key head, so I'm reluctant to go there.

I'll look to the button heads, thanks.

[Bruce in BC]

Some thoughts ….little thoughts.

To shorten screws I put a nut on the shredded shaft clamp the part I do not want in the vise and cut the screw with a hacksaw. Then I file the edges where it was cut and then spin the nut off. If the nut grabs I spin it back on and file a little bit more,
Door screw hitting - Switch to a button head - they take up less room.