1948 power wagon project

[Todd M]

Lesson learned today

ensure there is enough room on the side to remove the axle. Had to rearrange my chest freezer and the refrigerator beside it to make room. Fortunately I had one one of my sons helping me today.

Finished the remaining 2 wheels today and have bleed the brakes. I hope to take it for a short ride around the block tomorrow once I fill the radiator and figure out how to temporarily hold battery onto the chassis. No battery box as of yet - deciding to either create one a have it in the original location or mount it beneath the flat bed

[Todd M]

Sometimes it seems that one simple task turns into one major hassle. Fill the radiator turns into

1- tighten the nuts to the engine block for the engine temp gauge as they are leaking - simple.

2- radiator hose needs to be tightened; fortunately it is on the upper hose, however the clamp breaks and I now have a huge one on that will be replaced sometime in the future - simple but annoying.

3- heater shut off valve leaks. I am unable to get this valve to stop. Well just remove it and install a plug as the heater is not ready. Well of course it breaks in the process of removing. So it becomes a task and a half. Well after removing the piece and retapping the threads the plug is in. - Frustrating.

May be tomorrow I’ll get it on that test drive Always tomorrow.

[Matt Wilson]

Sometimes it seems that one simple task turns into one major hassle. Fill the radiator turns into

1- tighten the nuts to the engine block for the engine temp gauge as they are leaking - simple.

2- radiator hose needs to be tightened; fortunately it is on the upper hose, however the clamp breaks and I now have a huge one on that will be replaced sometime in the future - simple but annoying.

3- heater shut off valve leaks. I am unable to get this valve to stop. Well just remove it and install a plug as the heater is not ready. Well of course it breaks in the process of removing. So it becomes a task and a half. Well after removing the piece and retapping the threads the plug is in. - Frustrating.

May be tomorrow I’ll get it on that test drive Always tomorrow.

Sounds like many of my days working on stuff, especially the Power Wagon. I feel your pain. I'm enjoying reading up on your progress, though.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

We all have these days, and it is so true that the closer you are to the first test drive the more things that will break and or go wrong.
Have faith that one of the best things about your Power Wagon is that it will never be completely done and you will never be bored.
Good luck and have fun!

[Todd M]

Still no test drive. Went to the garage and found brake fluid beneath the master cylinder. Seems to have been a leak at the brake signal switch. Tighten up the connections- one may have been considered loose but I will wait another day to make sure it has ceased.

Went on on to other things like powder coating some small items - running board bolts, draft pad retainer pieces, and the old battery box base. Will attempt the glove box tomorrow and if lucky that test drive.

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[texcwa]

We all have these days, and it is so true that the closer you are to the first test drive the more things that will break and or go wrong.
Have faith that one of the best things about your Power Wagon is that it will never be completely done and you will never be bored.
Good luck and have fun!

TRUE STATEMENT. Six years into my build and I still can not see the light at the end of the tunnel!! I did get my seat bottom and back torn appart, blasted, painted and recovered. First time doing upholstery work and came out great with the help of Jens at VPW.

[Todd M]

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Thanks for for all the help from everyone on this forum.

[Matt Wilson]

Todd, I hope you and everyone on the forum had a Merry Christmas!

[Todd M]

Finally found the front fender welt hidden in my garage. Do not know what the easiest way to get a straight object on a curved edge used my pick to keep it in place as I worked on the previous split rivet.

I will I’ll have to remove the passenger side fender to install it as I have already mounted it

while installing these split rivets I also installed the cab and cowl hood lace. Love the drive rivets? Used on the cab.

Side note brake pedal finally has pressure after the third bleeding of the brakes. No air in any of the lines. The result came from an old thread I read where Gordon mentioned moderate pressure of the pads vs the light pressure I had on them. Fortunately my son was here to help jack up each wheel so the cam could be adjusted while rotating the wheel. It is killing me not to take it out for a ride but it is down pouring here and even though the truck needs a wash I would like to keep the wood dry.


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[Todd M]

It has been awhile since my last post.

Fenders have been mounted. Fluids checked again and my oldest and I took the truck out for a test drive New Years Eve. I made it around the neighborhood loop ~1 mile. No issues besides getting it into 3rd ever so often. My done then drove it around the loop so we are up to 2 miles. He had a terrible time getting it into 3rd. Feeling good we went for a third lap. Made it 1/4 of the way and it died. Tried multiple times without luck and found I had run out of gas which suprised me as I had 3-4 gallons in it a couple month prior to get the engine running. So either evaporation from not having a filler neck installed at this time or it is burning extremely rich would could explain some of the smoke it puts out.

What I found out while waiting for my son to get back with my truck is that my water pump had a leak, A pretty good leak of oil around my mechanical fuel pump that the fan then was blowing everywhere and several other oil leaks at the oil filter. After getting it back into the garage the next bay I noticed a leak from the rear seal of the transfer case that only started since the trips around the block.

To replace the water pump I decided to remove the front clip as one piece. It has been said that two men can do it. Well they both must be built like the Gronk as the three of us had quite the time. Maybe it was also not meant to be done with a PW with a winch.

Tips if if someone else decides to do it this way

- when radiator is drained remove the plug as my interference with the cross member
- fan blade has to be removed at this point so the fan shroud has clearance. I probably could have replaced the water pump without removing the front clip but it did not register with me.
- remove the inner fender support vs the single bolt that ties it together this is due to trying to get the inner fender back in place on install.
What was worse was the chip that occurred on the drivers bumper when my son was attempting to clear it. If that was the only scratch or chip since being painted it would be one thing but I have several from working in a tight garage on multiple projects.

[Todd M]

03CEE923-8E41-4719-AF57-A47A576704A1.jpeg10AA96B8-C0D9-4FF3-BE44-BF4E9A706561.jpegBC0A4434-ADE5-41DA-B8E1-32C739A52C0A.jpeg Hopefully all leaks are fixed except for the transfer case leak.

I have run run wires to the rear taillights, built a crude battery hold down strap, prepped the steel glove box for install, powder coated several more parts - redid the inside of the glove box to Army Tan as I noticed during the prep of it realized a lighter shade inside would be of great benefit unless I installed a light.

Rear window has been installed - wish they were all this easy. Vent windows screwed into place, Window regulators have been installed and one window has been set in channel tape before I ran out of tape. One headlight has been rebuilt.

[Todd M]

Glove box work is almost finished.

Removal of the 3 screws on the bottom that hold the door on did not go so well. I basically waited until install to remove them. Middle screw had to be cut out and I thought I would just add a flat piece of steel with a nut welded on the bottom.

Replacement did not go so well. After cutting a section out I had to clean out the insect nests inside. I could only imagine that would be a surprise if they were alive and came out driving down the road.

Welding of the plate was way more difficult than anticipated in the tight spot and mostly done blind. Here is the 2nd attempt with primer. As it will go unnoticed I decided to live with it.

Will have to work on one of the top screws as you can see it. I wonder if it can go without since it has 3 others. Had to use a much larger one due to the hole size I drilled in that spot.
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[texcwa]

Tod, Thats the one thing I still do not have in my cab "a glove box". did you have one with the truck?, buy one from VPW? or make your own?.

[Todd M]

Texcwa
I had an original cardboard glove box. Not to sure of the exact composition but it seemed very flimsy, could have been due to age or just what they were back then. I bought one from VPW and it fit beautifully. I just had to drill holes at the top for the 4 screws that go in. That is where I went wrong on - to large of a hole was drilled for one.

I do do not have the tools to bend sheet metal besides my hammer or cut it very easily. If i did I would have made an attempt at it. The hardest part would have been then cutting out the squares where the glove box ‘springs’ run thru.

If you want to attempt one on your own let me know and I can shoot you some measurements and more photos. I still have the best original glove box from one of my trucks if you would like.

[texcwa]

Thanks for the info and offer. I placed an order from VPW on Monday for a new glove box. Was told that the glove box springs can be a bit of an issue to install with box in, it's easy without. Guess I will find out in a week or two