46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[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]

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]

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.

[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]

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]

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]

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.

[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]

Still playing with putting things back together, way more fun than more sanding for paint. Plus it gets some of these parts out from under foot.

Just so no one is under the delusion I'm great at this stuff, I tried to put the center console in place the other night, and for some reason it was fighting me. Almost in but the screws just didn't want to go. So after some squeezing and pressing I got it to go. Well later I noticed I managed to crack the paint on the bottom, so I took it back down and realized I had applied some sound deadener inside the unit and it was pressing on the wiper motor and that's what damaged the paint. So now I get to figure out how to fix that!

I also worked on the cowl vent, gluing in the gasket and then mounting the unit and attaching the actuator. It works OK, the actuator is a short throw so it doesn't open very far, but It will be fine for my purposes. It closes pretty tight but the gasket doesn't compress as much as I would like so it remains to be seen how well it seals when closed.

[Desoto61]

Next I wanted to finish the trans cover, which required installing the draft boots I bought from Chris Case, and then putting some Lizard Skin on the underside to help quiet the panels. I also decided to do the same to the underside of the floor boards. I marked and drilled for some nut-certs and used some alen head screws to hold them down. I had to modify two of the covers because of the offset in the shifter, which made those holes tricky, but it should work out OK.

Then it was just a matter of scuffing, cleaning, and spraying the panels. They need lots of time to dry before doing a second coat so it takes two days, but it does help. It will be interesting to see how it holds up.

[Desoto61]

Last little detail was the windshield opener. I had the scissor assembly together and had ordered a new handle from VPW, but naturally none of the adapters that came with the hotrod window switch would fit. So I found the one that was closest and used a Dremmel to slowly work the grooves into the shape I needed.

It's still a little long, but the biggest problem is actually that the shaft is not perfectly straight in the hole, so the handle rubs on the bottom of the opening, making it a little stiff. I also keeps the handle from going in as far as it might. Not real noticeable from behind though. I might be able to open up the inside of the hole to help things out, or I might leave it.

Otherwise it's been just bolting little things back together and making sure it all works. Switches, vent pods, etc. Some of it will have to come back out but it's out of the way and it looks good!

[cj7ox]

It's coming together nicely IMHO!

[cj7and8]

Very cool build! I went back to the first page and have catching up on the progress over the last few days. Keep up the good work!!

[Desoto61]

Houston...

Thanks for the compliments, though I had one of those days in the garage. Seemed to mess things up as much as I fix them. Tried to put the trans cover in place, which doesn't line up well on the passenger side, I think due to some of the body work I did way back when. In trying to get it in line I ended up damaging the paint. Not sure how I am going to fix it, but it won't be fun.

Tried to connect the gas peddle linkage which is binding now for some reason I need to track down. I may need to clearance the cab floor a little more, which means exposing bare metal that will also need covered somehow.

Worst part was I ordered a Charge Air Cooler based off some measurements, but as I was mocking it up in the radiator shell I realized I had failed to account for the rear winch bar, which sits under the grill and interferes with the bottom of the CAC. I think I can move it up and still make it work, but I'm going to have to cut and modify the unit.

I did place an order for the radiator. The local shop never got back to me so ended up talking with a place in Alabama. Need to be very to get the drawings right there's not a lot of room to route things, but some preliminary measurements make me thing I can get everything to fit with only minor modifications to the grill.

[Desoto61]

Decided to work on some other tasks today, some of which worked, and some didn't. I picked up some rubber cowl lace and went to install it today. I used aluminum rivets and a dab of RTV to help seal the holes against any moisture.

Reconnected the windshield wiper arms. I had installed the driver's side upside down, turns out I had never re-welded the locating tab for the wrong position and during the body work had covered over the lower tab, so it was an easy fix.

Greased up the passenger side window regulator and went to instal it which is when I ran into another problem. The single piece window regulator is drastically different then the vent window version. And the large middle gear is hitting the door latch mechanism before it's the whole way up. So I may have to move the door latch, or try and clearance the mechanism, neither of which is a great. Might be able to use the vent regulators with a different window channel design, but I don't have those parts. Hate having to re-design something I thought was finished but that's what I get for changing parts mid build.