Progress, however slow... but isn't it about the JOURNEY?

Enjoying all the technical details here.....

I was going to catch up on all my un read messages but my Son is racing his Domestic (RHD) Honda Civic Coupe @ Fontanna Raceway to - dayso I'm headed out a few hours early to get brekkie and walk a nearby Junk Yard before he gets o the track .

Missing you guys , I wish I was closer so I could bum a ride when this truck is finished ~ true Hot Rodding here , different in results than when I was young but the attitude and methods are the same : find an Oldie and modify it to suit using better parts tweaked as necessary to fit .

 

Steve,
I have seen a 1953 Penny. I have spent the entire summer working on the spot for her new home. Working with loggers, working with a sawyer to saw out some beautiful quarter-sawn Red Oak for all the floors and trim. Working with a sitework guy to turn 4-1/2 acres of what was typical New England woods (thick THICK) into a pasture that should see lime, fertilizer and seed this coming week. Pasture again, for the first time since the end of WW2. Yeah, this is a truck site, but that's what I've been doing. Thanks for checking up on me. Keep that Penny. I'll swap you a shiny new one soon enough.

Bill,
With the offset of the wheels I am running, the centerline of the tread has moved out 1" (on each side) from the original track width. With the added height (from the original S10 wheel to the current rolling stock) the scrub radius should be very close to stock.

AND...
It's late Sunday night, so no pictures yet, but I got the axles for the new (8.6") rear end back, they now have the proper hub diameter. A little more involved than what was planned, but pictures soon.

 

Yes it does and don't use them on cars other than the 1" adapters like 6 to 5 bolt or visa versa. On a truck the hub/spindle is designed with carrying a load in the box in mind so with the spacers and running empty the added stress on the front components is still within design parameters.

 

Mike,
Is the timber from your land what is being used? Around here red oak is the predominate tree and I like it much better than white oak even though the snooty ones insist on the white. A couple months ago I had some white oak sawed to factory thickness for the bed of a 1.5 ton 41 Ford truck. The saw mill is owned by a fellow I've known for 50 years and was a wonder to watch in operation. Damn thing is way smarter than me, all computerized so it gets the maximum yield from each piece of timber and once you throw a stick up in it you push a button and get out of the way. He had just finished some quarter sawn oak and said all that the trimmings from this process would give him a winters supply of kindling for his stove.

 

Evan,
Yes, the Red Oak is from our land. Interestingly, there is no White Oak growing in the town I live in (that I am aware of). Neighboring towns have plenty, just none here. White Oak gets the nod for rot-resistance ( a closed cell-wall structure, vs open in the Red). The sawyer we hired came right to the log landing with a portable band mill. We brought all the lumber to my house (a mile away), and sticked-and-stacked it to air-dry. The wood pictured is only a portion of what we cut (5,000+ board feet).


We also took advantage of all the left over slab wood, it will be dry and ready to burn when the house is done. We stacked it in pallet-cubes to allow it to be moved with the pallet-forks on the tractor.


The house will be a reproduction of a 1902 Craftsman-styled foursquare in a nearby town.


We've been pretty busy, but I haven't forgotten about my truck, don't worry!

 

Actually, 50 Chevy LS3 REALLY, LIKES THIS!
This forum is like a really cool magazine, full of interesting stuff. Truck related, and otherwise!

Steve.

 

Wow, you say the trees are from what was a pasture around 1946 and now it looks like a lot of full dimension 1x12's in the stacks. Those suckers really grew. My largest red oak was planted as a seedling in 1973 and now has a diameter of about 20" which just maybe would give a couple of 1x12's. If you could stand another woman my wife just might leave me for a Craftsman house; she loves them.

 

Evan,
There are quite a number of 1x12's in the pile- good eye! New England's climate is referred to as a 'temperate rain forest' (although this year the 'rain' part seems to be missing), trees grow very fast. We did cut one (approximately 160-year old Red Oak) that yielded a 12' saw log which measured 34" inside the bark, on the small end. The wood from that log is deeper in color, and the (quartersawn) grain is stunning.

I'm quite sure your lovely wife would soon see the error of her ways leaving a fine Texas gentleman as wise as you- my guess is around first snowfall! I do cook a decent brisket though... when the house is done, I will extend an invite. You could visit this weekend, but I do have car parts in every room of my current home!

I'll try to keep my thread a TRUCK thread... but I didn't want you guys to think I was out fishing (haven't been since 6/6- and that is a shame) and forgot all about Penny.
Who could forget with Steve's appropriate reminder?

 

NICE stack of lumber!!!
Balloon framing on your new old house?

 

Calling Mike~ Calling Mike~
Pictures of your truck progress or house progress, please...

 

Zig, Zig, Zig...
You had to ask for PICTURES.
First things first. Elaine shot her very first deer November 9th (opening day). My best day in the woods, EVER. I mean EVER. 110-pound spike buck, 107 yard shot. The girl can shoot.


I also have the new house design completed, to the point where I will be meeting with a builder friend of mine to go over schedule items.

Things are busy around here! A friend of mine is working in my shop on a timber-frame addition to his (timber-framed) home, as I have heat AND light- both of which are in short supply during the winter, so Penny's rolling chassis is (back) in my basement.

I know there isn't enough Penny in all of this, but I certainly haven't forgotten about her. There aren't enough hours in the day.

Mike

 

Update 2/8. Spent some more time on Penny's door, it received an ultra-thin skim coat of filler, the majority of which is now on the floor.
I dropped off the speedo housing today for some mods.

 

Most excellent!!!

We seem to be working about even. I've been re-doing my doors, finally. Yours appear to have been in better, original, shape.

Steve.

 

Steve,
The RH door pictured above is an original door. My Dad replaced the bottom of the door a few years back as a gift to me. The last few days I got it and the LH door (which is a repop) ready for primer. Now I need to get the paint code for the specific color the truck will be so we can tint the primer accordingly.

 

Question...
I went back to page three of this thread, to see pics of your doors. Your dad did a superb job of re-skinning that original door. Did he find a outer door skin that has the correct half round drains? If so, where?
Also, are you satisfied with the re-pop door fit-up, right out of the box?
What brand of new door is it? Counterpart....Dynacorn...? Do you remember?

Oh...and, YIKES!, Zig, Mikes talkin' about primer...for a finish coat. I better get after mine!

Steve.

 

Steve,
No "door skin" here, my Dad FABRICATED what you see. Half-round drains and all. He is a craftsman, in the truest sense of the word. He would MAKE "patch panels" for vehicles he was restoring before you could buy such a thing. And many of the vehicles he restored over the years were obscure to the point where there weren't ANY "patch panels" available. Here's the inside of said door, again, fabbed- not bought.


The repop door fit fine, as my brother essentially (re)built the cab "around" the doors to ensure a good fit. I spent Saturday removing the EDP primer from the repop. Metal needs to be "prepped" to optimally accept a finish, as in the pH needs to be right (repop stuff isn't prepped). My brother has seen EDP come off of repop parts IN SHEETS when blown off with a blow-off gun! We can't have that.

Modern paints don't "cover" like they should, so tinted primer gives you a better foundation. Penny will be basecoat/clearcoat.

Game on!

 

Well, looks like you are scoring the best from many worlds there, Mike! Congratulations, and thanks for the updates! (I was beginning to wonder the fate of Penny)
Glad to see you are still one piecing it at a time. I remember those days well.

 

Thanks Zig! It's funny how seeing progress others make can spur us on. I recall seeing Steve's (50 Chevy LS3) avatar change to his rolling chassis shot, and I thought to my self "WOW, that guy is making progress, and his rolling chassis looks awesome!" Then, shortly after, I had a rolling chassis!

And it gets better! Last night I ordered paint samples of 2 different copper colors... so a downselect to the final color can be made!

 

OUTSTANDING!!!!!
Did you say you were going to paint it as well? I forget.
Yes indeed~ If the good Lord gives us enough days, most ANYthing is possible!
Keep the pics coming!

 

Eeeeeeeeeeeeasy Zig!
We aren't painting the old girl (yet). We'll paint "coupons" with the different paint colors to decide which color wins.

Steve, if you already know what color your truck will be, you can take a "win" here and say you are one step ahead of me.