Turning the corner

Today marks an important day in my truck project. The work changed from disassembly to re-assembly mode. With the help of many friends including my welders Walter and Alicia the body of my truck has been ground, cut, welded, rebuilt, cleaned up and painted. With the help of my neighbors we were able to lift and remount the cab on new rubber mounts and bolt it back in position. This event marks a special achievement on my project schedule. Most importantly it means components can be put back on the truck.

I completed the installation of all the spring hanger components now the truck sits nice and square. The pins, shackles bushings all replaced and soon new front shocks too.

Blowing the doors off

You'd think a simple thing like removing the doors should go off without a hitch. Well with vintage vehicles nothing is ever easy. 16 bolts hold the doors on so of course 1 of them had to snap off and make the door removal a 2 day task.

As you can see the bolt broke off in the hinge so I could not slip the door off until the bolt was dealt with. Well I drilled and I drilled and I swore and I swore and then I bought cobalt drill bits and swore some more! I drilled several hours and only managed to put a tiny impression in the bolt. So I called on friends and the internet for help. My friend Richard suggested carbide rotary bits in a die grinder to shorten the bolt so I could slide the door out of the mounting pocket. Well I went to Richard's shop and borrowed some of his expensive carbide bits and 30 minutes later the door was off.

The tool did a little damage to the pocket but that was a small price to pay to get the damn door off at last! I then removed the kick panels from the cab and wire brushed the rust and crap off the door sill and coated the surfaces with Por15 rust paint. Now I have a fresh surface for new weatherstripping.