All, I am in the process of assembling my 54 3100. My splash apron's that go between the bed and the running board will not fit. The rear fenders are new from our host and the splash aprons are the originals. There is simply not enough room between the cab and the rear fenders to fit the splash aprons. What could I be doing incorrectly as a part of the assembly? Any and all help is always appreciated. Thanks, JP
Is the bed lined up with the proper holes in the frame? Is there any room to manhandle the cab foreward a few inches? If those are the origional splash aprons, make shure the fenders are lining up with all the holes in the side of the bed, it is always possible that the fenders may be a little tweaked.
JP, you may have already tried this, but if not, loosen all of the bolts holding the fenders onto the bed sides, loosen the bolts attaching the splash aprons to the runningboards, loosen the bolts holding the runningboards to the frame, etc etc, then man-handle all of the above until you get an adequate fit on each piece, then start tightening them. These old trucks are like a jig saw puzzle, but if you jiggle, adjust, cuss, mainly cuss, walk away, come back, they normally end up fitting together. Good luck! Ken
Yes, they do like loose assembly........and be creative with the language. I find it makes others in the vicinity laugh, which in turn lightens the general mood. If you create any new words, please share!
Pay Attention ! To the wise words here , when I had this problem , it turned out my wooden bed support blocks were all shot and I wound up replacing them to make the aprons fit . snug lil' buggers they are .
I usually put the fender on last. Fitting the splash apron later means squeezing it in to fit the back of the cab, running board, and bottom of the bed. You can loosen the front bed mount bolt, put a temporary spacer under the bed mount block, and fit the apron to the cab, bed, and board. It's obvious when the apron is matched up to the back edge of the board which means the front of the fender will draw to it without a big gap. Remove spacer, tape over contact areas to protect paint, and slide fender forward till it contacts the board and apron. If it won't slide forward far enough for the holes to align I'd be suspicious of the new fenders because it's unlikely both the cab and the running board are out of position. The running board brackets are slotted for in and out adjustment but very little forward and back so if they are not bent the holes should line up when the fender is against the back of the board.