The work begins

Today marked the first attempt to do more than get the doors open.  I started with the drivers fender knowing I was not going to keep it.  This gives me the opportunity to hack it apart without compromising anything I may need to reuse.  Once I see how something is put together, it's always easier to work through the next one.  It was also helpful to have the new cab there to go examine when I could not see how an element was laying together.  Today I was able to validate a few things.  1) This is going to be a long process.  2) I can get rusty bolts off if I'm patient.  3) How I have things planned in my head are not how things will play out.

My efforts today yielded half a dozen parts removed.

As I'm looking online and reading about other builds, I see one thing.  The options are so vast that I will change my mind on many things, many times before this is over.  I should not be looking at wheels right now(it's going to be a long time before I need them), but I can't help it! :)  As of now, I am drawn to the five spoke style wheels.  I also like the rally style.  And then there is paint.  Which color, colors?  Glossy or matte?  Ratrod or show finish?  It all gives me a headache and makes me smile at the same time.   One thing is for certain, this is going to be fun.

This blog allows comments, so make good use of that feature if you have something to add.  I'm open to suggestions.

Parts Run

Today I went to Bend, OR to pick up a cab and some other parts.  A friend and I left at 5:30 a.m. and got there in good time but had to take our time coming back.   If you don't live in the Portland, OR area here's some back-story.  Ok, it's Jan 11th (winter).   Bend is 167 miles away and the first big storm of the season is headed in... there is a mountain pass between here and there.  It made for fun and an adventure coming home.

With the cab coming from high desert, the rust isn't too bad.  It's still a little rough in places but I'm happy to have it and the price was good.  Thanks Rob.  Now I need to get to work stripping it down to the frame.

BTW - Thanks Dave for your mad skills as co-pilot and cameraman.  There's no way I could have driven and taken pictures of the snow!  :)

After a couple of days, I got the drivers door open...  The pictures will tell you why I was not troubled by opening it like a can of tuna.  The rust was so bad that the bottom of the  door did not even exist and all of the screws on the door panel were frozen.  The door latch was completely corroded and rusted to the point that I had to drive the latch into the open position once I removed the door skin.

What I have discovered is that the holes in the roof have led to a lot of cancer in the cab.  It has rusted through in the low places in the cab inner liner and has run down the pillars and through everything.  The passenger door looks to be salvageable if I can get it open without damage.  I've got some ideas. :)

With this discovery I went looking for a cab and actually found one from a 61 in decent shape.  The only catch is a 3.5 hour drive.  It now looks like this will be a complete frame off rebuild.  I will strip everything I can out of the old cab and likely use parts of the old cab to patch the donor.

I have found a truck site that looks like it will be a great help.  I hope that once I've gotten down the road with this project, I can contribute back.  For now daylight is fleeting and for the winter months it will be a weekend only adventure.  I am looking forward to longer days so I can tinker in the evenings.

A little cleanup

Today I spent my time doing an archaeological dig in the bed of the truck.  I found the hood, two bell housings, two fuel pumps, twelve pistons..... ok, I see a pattern here.  It's like that game on Sesame Street where you try and figure out which one doesn't belong.  Dad had commented that he had a couple of engines and my guess is that all the bits had landed in the back of the truck for safe keeping.  Time had taken it's toll on the parts and the bed.  Not much left of either of them.  I removed a full wheelbarrow's worth of mulch from the bed and engine compartment.  It will be interesting if I end up finding some bolts in the garden next summer.  This was not how I figured I would start this project (the gardening), but it did make for a fun afternoon!  With things a bit cleaned up, I will now be able to safely navigate through the rear window so I can start working on getting the doors open from the inside out.

The real bummer is the hood. Because of how it was positioned it filled and rusted really badly.  I decided I wanted to set the hood on the nose to give it a bit of dignity... did it work?

I had enough foresight to bring my GoPro when I went to get the truck.  I was able to set just set out the camera and capture the process of loading and unloading.  Compressed it down to a couple of minutes.  The trailer really was cool to watch at work.