I just bought a 51 panel that had some work done to it to keep it on the road and made to look pretty in the window. It is fairly stock but some one in the past has hidden some big ole rust spots with some kinda glass work which when i started poking at them fell out in big ole junks so now i need to get the rear fenders off to patch some metal the proper way but have no idea how they come off? Were they spot welded on or bolted and i just cant see the bolts through the rust? I also want to put a set of seat belts in, the wife bought me a generic pair that will work just fine if i knew how to attach them? I am picturing 2x4 crossmembers and chains to the frame that are keeping me up at night. Can i just drill a hole the size of the bolt and bolt them to the sheetmetal beneath the seats? How much are do I really need to double up on to prevent the things from ripping out? Ok last thing that bugs me is the speedometer, This truck originally hada 3 on the tree and was replaced by a fourspeed on the floor so the speedo is reading 25 when im actually going more like 40 or so. How do i get the gearing to account for this? thanks in advance Bill I dont wear a Bow-Tie I drive one.
Welcome! Welcome, Bill! First off, thanks for the avatar! Great looking ride! (Even if it IS with holes...) Seat belts are no big deal~ I believe you'll find plenty of info if you do a search. I plan on installing shoulder belts. More tricky, but... What do you have for a power source? Picture of the inside? Anyway~ do some searching, ask questions. You've come to the right place!
Welcome, Bill, The seat belts need to go in the floor, not the frame. If they go through the frame and you have a crash that knocks the cab loose..... Anyway, belts usually come with big old washers that should be sufficient to keep them from ripping through good sheet metal. Put them on the underside of the cab of course. If you do a google search on speedometer calibration you should be able to find a procedure that will allow you to figure the right adapter for your setup. One way is to get out on the highway with a stopwatch and set a certain speed and hold it between two mile markers while using the stopwatch to see how long it takes. With a little math you can figure out how far off you are and tell the folks who supply the adapters. There is also a formula where you mark off so many feet on the ground and count the turns of the speedo cable as you push the truck that many feet. Again, all this should be available online. Try Scott's Speedometer first to see what they have. Good luck with that nice panel! Gater
There is a site called Bow Tie Overdrives than has a table you plug your tire heigth and rear end ratio into and it prints out the speedo gears needed for a correct reading. I put in 29" for tire heigth and 4.11 for gears and it came back 15 teeth on the drive gear and 42 on the driven gear. Extrapolating this shows the driven gear needs about 2 3/4 times the teeth of the drive gear. If you went with a set that was 2.75 to 1 instead of the the recommended 15/42 the error would be less than 7% or a little over 3mph at 50mph. Close enough to avoid a ticket.
I went to the Juliani site and then to Deves and found that info there very helpful and i havea good idea what i need to do with the seat belts. How do i determine the gear ratio of the rear without taking it apart?
Just checked out your pics! Nice ride! You said that you think the engine is a 235. I think I agree with you, based on the valve cover. Be aware that Nate will take points off for the "passenger type" cover. circa '57 with the oil filler/breather in the middle of the cover Have fun with it! The panels are getting rare!
Pictures ? Where ?? These days , pretty much everyone gets a pass just for having a ' Cast Iron Wonder ' under the hood , even if it's a passenger car engine .
It is fun so far. Part of me wants to keep it stock and part of me wants to make a Hto Rod out of it drop the front end put a V8 and the like not sure yet? Big part of me wants to make it safe for the road that is why I want the seat belts in it, Thanks for the Juliani suggestion great how to photos there I have that on the top of my list to do. After that I think I will finish the interior enough so the wife will ride in it, door panels and headliner and somewhere down the road a new floor in the back. I saw on stovebolt a guy redoing a Suburban floor but it was Plywood or sheet material of somekind mine is planks? I prefer the planks but I am not sure which is "correct". Still need to figure out the Speedometer issue but atleast I have some direction now. ONly other concern is the Rust and Rot along the seam of the rear fenders which I cannot see any fasteners for? Bill
Bill, I have a '49 panel beyond repair! It's all original, but pretty much eaten up. I will have access to the "carcus" next week, so if you need pictures, measurements, descriptions, etc, let me know and I'll look at it and provide you as much info as I can. It's been sitting in the woods behind my mother's house for 25 plus years, and as such, probably doesn't have many, if any, salvageable parts. For that matter, I'm almost afraid to put a bug bomb in it for fear that it will fall apart. Anyway, let me know if you need some info that I might be able to help with.
Nate, here's another one for you! That was one of several trucks we bought from Mr. Mitchell, the local distributor of Gordon's Potato Chips. Here's a shot of my favorite one, complete with "artillery" wheels. https://talk.classicparts.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=214&ppuser=5385
The '46 retired and moved to Florida several years ago. A guy saw it in the yard and threw some seriously stupid money at Dad. I understand that he makes the circuit in Fla and gives out Gordon's potato chips at each show.
