46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[jtearle1288]

I've been following your build for the past two years, very nice job. I started my build two years ago then put it in storage as I was building a new shop. I have it back home. I have a 4bt as well what are you having trouble with? Did you ad extra leafs to the front springs to help with the weight. The reason is I was going to copy your cut out on the pan to clear ther front diff.

[CSCameron]

That's a cool bed. If I was going to have a regular bed, this is the one I would want. Very nice!

Clark

[cj7ox]

Looking good, Desoto!

[Desoto61]

I still don't have a 2-post and only used one a couple of times, but wasn't sure. Again NICE work, looking forward to the completed job.

Thanks, though should post a few shots of my problems too. Have some paint that's starting to bubble, so I'll have to figure out how to fix that, and looks like I'll need to pull the oil pan and modify the cutout for the front axle.

The lift is a great tool, though I think I've used it more for stuff like this than I have for the traditional uses!

[W_A_Watson_II]

Yes, those spacers are removable and come in different heights, I put them in to prevent the bed from falling off the arm while I was working on it.

I still don't have a 2-post and only used one a couple of times, but wasn't sure. Again NICE work, looking forward to the completed job.

[Desoto61]

WOW, Very Nice! I assume you can remove the 2-post lift arms from between the pipe and bed sides?

Yes, those spacers are removable and come in different heights, I put them in to prevent the bed from falling off the arm while I was working on it.

[W_A_Watson_II]

WOW, Very Nice! I assume you can remove the 2-post lift arms from between the pipe and bed sides?

[Desoto61]

Slow progress, but progress. With all the wall areas patched in it was time to work on installing the floor. It had to go in from the bottom, which meant using the engine hoist was a no-go. So I lifted the bed, set the plate on some jack stands and lowered the bed back in place, then used the jack and the lift to get the floor lined up where it needed to go, then I could make a few minor modifications to make the fit right. Once I was happy I lifted the bed up and used the grinder to clean up all the welding areas on the bed and floor. Then I could put the bed back down.

I started at the back lining up the plate and then tacking it in place using a floor jack to get the plate leveled and lined up and repeated that around the rest of the bed. I had to use a strap to pull the bed square and then some others to take the bow out of the side and pull it in tight to the plate before tacking it.

Once finished tacking around the sides and back it was time to go back and weld it in completely a little at a time. I ended up with the driver's wheel well cover cut wrong and a gap at the bottom, as well as a slight issue with the side plate where I cut the shape wrong, so they will need to be redone and patched.

[Desoto61]

Not a lot of work over the holidays, but did get some daylight and weather to play on the cab outside a little more. Drove over to a local shop and had the alignment checked and adjusted. The steering wheel was too far off to get right with the alignment but I did manage to pull the wheel and correct that on the column instead.

I chanced a short drive to the local gas station and filled the tank since diesel is cheap right now. about 32 gallons later I had a full tank (from about 1/4 tank which was the 10 gallons I put in originally), which is also when I learned the fuel filler was leaking. I thought it was the cap but turned out there was a slight hole in the seam between the cap lock ring and the filler tube. A little sealer in that seam appears to have stopped that and the cap seems to be holding.

I did get some more seat time this last weekend, need to do some checks on the charging system, the battery seems to be discharging too quickly while sitting, so I'll need to see if I have some sort of parasitic drain. Have a bit of a belt squeak when cold to figure out too, worried it's from the alternator under a heavier load since I'm not sure if I have enough alternator wrap with my new belt routing.

Also spent some time adjusting the proportioning valve for the rear brakes. Was able to open it quite a bit and definitely improved the braking, didn't really find the limit yet but it's far better than it was.

Besides continuing the heavy metal work on the bed, I need to figure out tires and start getting an interior planned out.

[Desoto61]

The mirror is way cool. Any details on it?

Been a while but think I found them on e-bay. They come with short U-shaped arms designed to clamp onto the top lip of the door. I removed them and used some washers and I think had to drill out the end of the arm a little to accept the mounting stud. They probably would have worked and looked fine as designed though, and the arms have a hidden chase for the wire for a clean look also.

I drilled a small hole in the end of the arm and ran the wire down inside the tube, out through a second hole in the bottom and then in through the hinge inside the door where it ties into the wiper circuit.

[aeblank]

The mirror is way cool. Any details on it?

[cj7ox]

Looks good, Desoto!

[Desoto61]

Other odds and ends

With the truck mobile there have been some other tasks to try and get it closer to street legal while I'm finishing the bed. One was to install the side mirrors. I had picked up a set of reproduction arms, but they weren't really ready out of the box, so after some modifications I could re-coat them and install with new hardware. The mirrors I found on-line designed to clamp to the door post, but I managed to modify the mounting so they fit the ends of the arms.

They're chromed so I may scuff and spray them black, but they do have one cool feature you can see in the pics. Only problem is I can't seem to find the little clips that keep them from rotating seperately from the hinge, they're here just in some pile of parts.

I also managed to pick out my plates for the truck. I didn't want to go with Antique plates because technically in VA it severely restricts your ability to drive the vehicle for normal use. It's not heavily enforced but I like to be honest, plus I can pick a custom name. I also rigged up a temporary set of tail lights so it can be driven on the street.

I also found out about another set of wiper arms from Joe's forum. They're for boats but are adjustable and have a more modern, conventional, (and secure) wiper blade attachment method. They use a clamp style and are nice and heavy. They're adjustable but had to be modified as they don't adjust short enough. That involved drilling out the stop rivet, cutting about two or so inches off the end and then slightly bending the and to get the right angle to the windshield. They work well, look good, and take an easily found 11" blade.

[Desoto61]

Still here

I've been working on the bed but slowly. The short days and holidays make for seemingly less time to work on the Power Wagon.

I got the bed back from the blaster. They did a rough cleaning, not ready for paint but got all the surface rust gone well enough to see what areas need replaced and be able to weld in any repairs. Even though the bed is all 3/16" plate it's still in tough shape in places on the sides and around the wheel wells.

The floor is easy, I had a piece of new plate cut to shape. Problem is that the pattern is different than on the rest of the bed. There are actually two different diamond tread patterns, one on the sides and another on the front and rear wall. The new stuff I purchased makes a third.

The side walls use a very heavy and unique pattern. There were bad areas near the tool-box where debris had collected and in the front corner by the winch where water and salt could get through near the winch drive opening. There were also bad areas in one of the wheel wells from the back side.

Interestingly the diamond tread below the deck level couldn't be used as it was not badly rusted, but had "faded" enough that it didn't look consistent with the stuff above the floor level. Since I needed to replace on of the wheel wells and didn't have enough material I figured I'd cut out both and use as much as I could to patch areas above the floor level. They won't match the rest of the side walls but will be uniform and consistent with the floor.

The other rusted area was around the front bottom of the bed near the spare tire opening and on the driver's side where the tool box sat. Areas below the floor level I used the excess plate from the floor since it won't be visible once the floor is in.

The pattern matches, but had some inconsistencies, though most should be minimized once the bed liner goes in. Being heavy plate makes welding easy with the right prep.

[Desoto61]

No, I have three point belts on both sides. I bought them from one of the belt supply places with the install kit. They weren't exactly what I wanted but they'll work fine.

For the upper mount I ended up installing a brace into the top of the B-pillar. I found a piece of angle that fit nicely into the existing opening through the top and cut the longest piece I could fit without cutting a hole through the roof to slide it in. It's pretty heavy stuff, plus I drilled a hole and then welded the install plate to the back side. This then slid down into the top of the pillar and aligned with a hole I drilled for this purpose. I drilled a few more on the front and side and plug welded the angle in place. The plug welds are more to keep it in place than for strength as the real strength comes from spreading the force over a larger area. I think it's about 18"-24" long so should spread out the load pretty well for the upper mounting point.

The retractor assembly I installed at the bottom of the pillar using a similar method since I had to re-enforce and replace the lower cab support piece anyway I couldn't slide it behind the pillar so it welds to the top of it and had it extend down to the floor and welded it there too. Not as strong as the top but it's also coupled with the lower B-pillar support.



The other two mounting points I bolted to the seat frame which is bolted through the floor using some pretty stout grade 8 hardware with additional backing plates on the underside holding the captured nuts.