Gordon Maney's 1948 B1PW lives on.....

[Sarahdodgegeek]

Last year, at the vintage power wagon rally in Fairfield, IA, I fulfilled a dream of owning a flat fender power wagon. I've been blessed with a knowledgeable, capable, and willing partner (my husband, known here as andydodgegeek) to help & guide me as I embark on breathing new life into this truck I've fondly named "Gordo".
I've got a few things chronicled so far, which I'll add in as I go, but if you've got a story about Gordon Maney & this truck, I'd love it if you could add it in here- I'm enjoying all the tidbits I've heard so far....
I've got a Facebook page that I've been updating with a lot of pictures as I go (sarahdodgegeek's 1st flat fender power wagon) if you're on Facebook you're sure welcome to check that out as well.
More to come soon!!

[Tom Petroff]

Looks like your making progress.
Nice work!
Keep it up.
TGP

[Dutch]

Thanks for posting. Looking good!

I too have one of Gordon's power wagons. I have to take time soon and post some pics like you.

[712edf]

Gordon would be proud!!

Bucky

[Sarahdodgegeek]

Looking for an assist... Just referencing the shop manual to see what the left front cab mount should look like. It's not yielding the helpful information I had hoped for... "All cab mounts (except the left front) are provided with a spring..." It then goes on to tell you about everything EXCEPT what i was looking for... Soooo... How bout that left front?
Can anyone clue me in on the proper left front cab mount, I hope? :)

[Sarahdodgegeek]

Got another question for all of you folks who were familiar with this specific truck: does anyone know if Gordon bought it already painted the yellow color, or if that was his doing? Just curious!

[53Crusher]

Cab mounts

Sarah - I can't fully answer your question, but can help a bit.
The front drivers side on all PW's was designed to be more of a solid pivot point with a larger bolt. On the 46-50 models wood was used. 1951 and up originally had a solid rubber piece in that corner with softer rubber on the other three corners. The alignment of the cab can be changed by adding or removing spacer washers between the insulators and the cab floor. Cab can also be rotated slightly which will impact the alignment with your box and hood. (Just found that out the hard way). Am including a picture of how to do a newer 51 and up which might give you some insight.

VPW has replacement wood kits for around $60.

[Sarahdodgegeek]

Thank you, Tim!! Very helpful!

[Sarahdodgegeek]

Thanks for posting. Looking good!

I too have one of Gordon's power wagons. I have to take time soon and post some pics like you.

I forgot to ask... Which truck do you have?

[Clint Dixon]

Sarah, Gordon bought that truck already painted yellow.

As far as the cab mounts, I am not sure what service manual you are looking at. In any case, the wood block and fiber spacer that resides between the frame bracket and the underside of the cab at the front corners on your year of truck are perfect mirror images of each other, left-to-right. What is different is that the passenger side has a long bolt that extends way down below the frame mount, with a spring slightly compressed between the underside of this mount and the nut on the bolt that is held in place with a cotter pin. The diver side is different in that it has a shorter bolt and no spring. Just tighten the nut up to the underside of the frame bracket.

The reason for this is that the other three corner of the cab can loose contact with the frame as the frame flexes by compressing the spring. This allows some compliance without binding the doors. The drivers corner cannot have this compliance. If it did, the steering column would be put into a bind. So, the drivers corner is fastened down tight to the frame.

Hope this helps.

[Dutch]

I forgot to ask... Which truck do you have?

I bought the dark blue one. I finally got started on it last fall.

[Andydodgegeek]

The drivers side front cab mount currently has a bolt and a big gap where I suspected a block of wood to be. The other 3 cab mounts have the block of wood and longer bolts with springs. So I was thinking of chainsawing some Red Oak blocks for that cab mount and new running board mounts. I do all my finer wood working with a chainsaw, I don't even own a circular saw. My cuts in plywood never look to good.

[Sarahdodgegeek]

I realized it's been a while since an update here, so thought I'd put some more info in... Progress is definitely being made! Good thing Andy is here, or nothing would be done. (I've been away on business and then laid up with an injury) so I'm very grateful for his willingness to make things happen when I can't!!
Here's a list of what's gone on so far:

Master cylinder
Wheel cylinders
Brake lines
Sandblasted and painted running board mounts, half are re-mounted
Pulled old running boards (deciding whether to patch or replace)
Replaced headliner (thanks to previous poster which provided some guidance & empathy)
Found the new fuel tank leaks
Found a crack in the block (gonna try some stop leak for this year)
Fixed oil pressure gauge
Drained all fluids, pulled oil pan, cleaned and painted
Blower motor replaced (thanks to to from Mr. Watson)
Replaced some heater hoses
Removed battery box-relocating
Replaced lf can mount thanks to Matt in Colorado's assist
Rewire of most everything
Replaced guts of cowl lights (many foul words shared on that job)
And I think that about sums it up.
Andy has been a very busy boy. :)

[Matt Wilson]

Wow, sounds like you are making great progress! Wish I could say the same for myself.

[Matt Wilson]

By the way, where is the crack in the block, and how did you find it?