46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[Desoto61]

The other fender mounted in much the same way. I also cut the rear steps back and added some clearance to the fenders, they won't look like they blend into the fender, the lines don't really support it in my opinion and that tie-in piece was really just an ugly mess.

That meant moving onto the tailgate. After lots of thinking I started down a path. First was some hinges. I got Alex to cut me some tabs and got a pair of long bolts to be the hinge pins. I mounted them inboard of the D-rings (I want to save them). Then used a piece of tubing over those, which is when I learned the bolts I bought weren't straight, but for mock-up purposes it suited my needs.

I used a piece of plate on top of those as the basis for the hinge. I had a piece of 1/8" diamond plate cut to fit the opening and notched it around the D-ring humps. The plate will curve back toward the cab when closed, but that gives me space to mount a pair of door latches to keep it closed (with locks removed). I'm having Alex cut me some ribs that will follow the contour of the bed sides and will skin it, at least that's the plan.

[Desoto61]

I had to break and re-tweak the position a bit to try and get the angle and alignment straight (still didn't but I'll get there), and to get the room for the latches.

Once I was happy with the positioning I pulled it loose and worked on finishing up the hinges. That meant welding it up better, since all the weight on the tailgate will be across those two hinges I went overkill (because me but it also matches the feel of the bed) and added some gussets on the hinge as well. The tubing was a bit thin and so had to be careful welding it up (I learned the hard way). Ended up having to use a drill bit to ream the tubing afterward to get rid of a bad spot, but it worked, other than the bent bolts, for that I decided to make my own pins.

[Desoto61]

I used some weld-thru primer on the hinge faces and welded everything up. To deal with the bolts I got some bar stock and welded a washer to one end drilling the other for a pin. I wanted to drill them for a grease zerk, but had some issues drilling the bar stock on one of the bars, May just end up installing it in the outer barrel instead.

I put the tailgate back in place and cycled it which is when I found out one of them must have gotten tweaked or just wasn't right originally. It's a little off straight and caused a bit of binding. Too late to fix that so I tweaked the mounting tab on the bed and then welded those.

The washers have a flat in them so I welded a raised area in the tab to lock the pin from turning. Should prevent wear on tab surfaces and pin and keep the lock pin from rotating or being damaged.

It's not as smooth acting as I would like, but it works. I'll need to figure out some chains to hold it when down, but the basics are coming together. Hard part will be figuring out how to install the outer skin.

[Desoto61]

I've had an intermittent issue where the alternator will be slow to start charging. Never sure if the belts slipping or just slow for the regulator to kick in. The other day I started the truck and the voltage gauge (and also the tach since it uses a signal from the alternator), showed it happening for longer than the normal second or two, tried to hop out and open the hood but by the time I had all was well with the alternator, but I did see that one of my AC hoses had broken.

The fittings are aluminum and the feed hose from the pump to the condenser is fairly short, apparently too short as there wasn't enough vibration isolation and the fittings must have cracked and then broken at the pump.

I still have excess hose from the kit, but had to order some new fittings and a new dryer, this time adding length to get some extra isolation. I also had a hose under the dash that was not crimped properly and was leaking oil, so while the system is open I'll have a new one of those made up too.

The under hood hose is easy enough to change, though space is tight on the passenger side to route it, but the suction line under the dash is going to be a bear going back in. Luckily it's winter so other than to help with defrost it's not really necessary right now.

[Desoto61]

To build out the skin I traced out a template from some poster board along the side of the bed with the tailgate closed to get the contour and then cut that out. Trying to cut a bunch of duplicate ribs though would be tough manually, so I reached out to Alex J and his plasma table. I took the template and scanned that into my computer and used a CAD program to trace the shape and then I could modify and scale it as needed. Once I was happy I sent him the file and he cut and bent up six of them four with holes and two end plates without.

I blasted and cleaned them and hit the flat end with some weld-thru primer, then measured out the spacing on the tailgate and cleaned and primed those areas too then tack welded the ribs in place. To try and add some rigidity I clamped a piece of angle iron to the back side and welded a piece of bar stock along the top edge of the tailgate in between the ribs, but it wasn't wide enough and I still ended up with a bow in the tailgate once I released the angle iron.

[Desoto61]

To try and hold the tailgate flat and provide a durable surface on the top of the tailgate (in case you rest something long on it). I decided to use a piece of angle, welded to the bar stock across the back. It would give me a weird "C" channel shape which should be stiffer and the flat top surface would be much less prone to denting than the 18 gauge I'll use to skin the outside. it also means I don't have to worry about bending my skin panel.

Like the bar stock I cut and welded pieces in place along the back, forming a solid rib across, the bow was reduced but the ends specifically weren't quite right, mainly because the angle was bending slightly. To correct that I got a bigger piece of square tubing and clamped that in place, then I cut the angle in one or two places to let the tailgate flatten to the bar before welding those cuts up to lock it in. Still not perfect but close enough for my purposes.

I can get the area blasted and primed before welding the skin over it and finishing the outside, but first I need to work on the latches. I had cut the opening for the latch from the face of the tailgate, with the end plates in place I had to continue that cut into the sides for the pin to rest in. My template came in handy to trace out the opening and then cut it with a body saw and cutting wheel before fine tuning with a metal burr and small air sander. Last step is to mark and drill the mounting holes. I'll have to potentially counter-sink them as the button head bolts stick out too far, but it should work fine. Just have to repeat on the opposite side then start on the linkage to operate them, which is part of where those holes come in.

[Desoto61]

Got the correct fasteners and got the latches mounted. Ended up flipping them side to side so the latch mechanism was on the bottom side which made the linkage fit better in the door.

The release was a tailgate handle for something I picked up online to try. A simple mechanism it turned out to be too tall, so I managed to cut down the sides and I think it's going to fit well. A pair of rods from some round stock and some little lock clips completes the linkage. Neither the latch or the handle has a return spring so I drilled some small holes and added a set of springs.

Next I need something for those latches to grab onto. To get the pins in the right space I needed to space them from the side of the bed, and to fine tune the latch the pins need to have some movement, which means a captured nut. I used some square tubing as the spacer with a piece of plate on top. To capture the nut I tacked a pair of metal pieces to hold the nut toward the front of the spacer. The nut was a piece of 1/4" plate cut smaller than the tubing and drilled for the bolt with a nut attached to the back for plenty of grip. I punched a nice big hole in the top plate and then welded it to the tubing. After cleaning it up I sprayed some high zinc primer inside to try and protect the metal

[Desoto61]

I cleaned the side of the bed, installed the bolt in the spacer and then latched it into the lock to determine the position on the side of the bed. I tacked it into the bed side and tested operation. Once happy I welded it solid (though I did have to relocate them once or twice), then repeat on the other side.

I'm not real thrilled with these latches. They are kind of finicky and their release mechanism isn't very linear or light. A little lithium grease helped their operation but they're just not as nice as a traditional factory setup.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Loving how this bed is turning out, rough guess on what it will weigh?

[Desoto61]

Loving how this bed is turning out, rough guess on what it will weigh?

Thanks, I have no idea but some quick simple math says 900-1000 lbs is not unreasonable. Crazy part is that's still way lighter than what was there before since the boom and winch aren't going back in. Though my rear leaf springs aren't as beefy as the ones I removed either.

The good news is I was re-arranging vehicles for some yard work so I pulled the PW back to the garage so I can test-fit the bed and finalize a few things, and it still fits under my garage door with the new tires. That makes life easier for sure. Now I just need to figure out how to position it on the lift to let me set it on the frame.

Only problem is Doc said I need go easy for a few weeks, my daily runs have apparently started catching up with with me. Sucks getting older!

[Bob2]

Did you ever get the window leak and cowl vent leak fixed, what did you do?
Truck bed is looking good.

[Desoto61]

Did you ever get the window leak and cowl vent leak fixed, what did you do?
Truck bed is looking good.

Thanks, I'm happy to have figured out something for the tailgate!

Interestingly we haven't had the right weather to test the cowl vent leak, but it seems to be fixed. I purchased some thin closed cell foam weatherstrip and installed it on the underside of the cowl vent right around the inside edge. It was a little tricky while still installed on the truck but so far seems to be working, but again we haven't had a real soaker since.

I have not figured out the windshield gasket, though a similar fix should work. The reality is that the windshield frame probably needs tweaked as there is a big gap in the middle and no gap at the edges, but I'm not going to chance cracking the glass trying to tweak it. Removing it would be a bear I don't want to tackle.

[Desoto61]

The bed has landed (temporarily)

To get the bed back on the PW I had to remove the spare tire, and my temporary battery mount, and rear lighting and plate holder, luckily the truck rolls fairly easily on the garage floor.

I tried a few different ways of picking up the bed but had to grab it from the top in the end. Too many interferences from the bottom but the top limits how high I can lift the bed. It works but not ideal.

After a few times of having to jack the front or back and shift the truck slightly to get it lined up under the bed I got it just about right. I picked up some high density urethane strips to go between the bed and frame and space it a little higher since the cab is also lifted.

Had to make a cut in the bumper to clear the trailer hitch, which I knew would be needed, though it was larger than I thought as the bed sits lower than I had expected, but it works out and helps hide the hitch pretty well. I also had to open up the slot for the spare tire carrier.

Biggest problem I have is that the fuel filler on my replacement tank isn't in the same location as the original tank. It's close but I'm going to have to move the opening and hope I don't run into the rear fender. Still, it fits well, I should have no issues with clearance behind the rear lights, and it definitely looks good. It's quite close to the cab but the wheels are lined up in their openings so it seems to be where it belongs.

Have a couple of more test fittings to do, besides moving the filler neck opening I still need to figure out the stake pockets too and then drill holes for mounting bolts.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Still coming along and looking great.

[Desoto61]

Still coming along and looking great.

Thanks, I really like how that bed looks on the truck, though at this point I think any bed would probably do that. Though I still should have gone with the 37" tires! They look good, just funny how much this truck makes them look small.

And Matt the rear suspension definitely moved when I put the bed down on it, which is the first time I've managed to get it to do so. I can jump around on the back and get more flex from the tires than the suspension. It does however level out the weight in the front and flatten the stance better.