Fresh Primer On Passenger Side

  Cleaned things up a bit, masked off the truck and shot some primer....

Running Board Re-Visit: Day 3

    I finished up with the filler today ... Somehow I crept up the fender a ways too. Actually, there was a ridge along the curve of the fender that I did not like so I tapped it down with the hammer and hit it with some filler.

The way I matched the running board to the fender:

    I bent the lip out from under the fender back to where the fender was modified years ago. Just before I go to that point I let it gradually go back under the fender. Then I fit a piece of metal to re-create the lip under the running board. I did not do that last part on the other side but you really can not tell ... I did not need to do it on this side, I just thought it would be more "professional" looking.

If you look closely you can see where the new piece was welded on. Not how it tappers off as it goes back.

    I also touched up a couple areas on the door....

     


 Primer tomorrow .........

Running Board Re-Visit: Day 2

    Well I did not finish the running board as I had hoped. I did get it welded back together and I ground the welds.  Then I bolted it back on to the truck.

    These two pictures are of the original modification to drop the bottom edge of the running board to match the fender .... Note how the two ends almost form a V on the bottom edge.

Here is where I am at so far. The pictures came out darker than I had hoped but I think you can get the idea .... I will get some good pictures when I prime.

I will still need to smooth things out a bit with some filler and prime.

Running Board Re-Visit

Every time I saw this running board it ate away at me. Finally I started fixing it. If you have been following along, you know this running board did not line up as well as the one on the driver side. I will get the lines to flow a little better.

Took the dust guard and running board off ...

Cut the area out ....

Putting it back together ....

I should be able to finish up the welding & get this back on today!

Bolting Up The Passenger Rear Fender

    I went ahead and marked up the fender bolt holes on the bed side. I had to manipulate the fender a bit to get it to match the other side. Did I mention I hate these fenders ...

Fender bolted on.

Fender bolted on... Oh, and it's missing one bolt! (HA)

     If these fenders where/are going to be permanent, I would need to do something about the bed side bead roll pattern, where it does not follow the fender. I am going to look into how the original fenders would fit and if I would need to get a wider than stock to fit the tire right or if I can set the wheel back (replace existing) to fit the fender. I think I would be a lot happier with this short bed set up if I could at least match a 35 truck fender with the location of the current wheel position and modify the running board one way or other to meet up to it. I could always get 35 running boards later as well. If I had the fenders and running boards I would be tempted to cut out and move the bed side bead roll to match the fender. That's the cheapest choice. A better choice would be to replace the bed sides with after market smooth style ones. So many options ... so little money (HA)

    I also marked and drilled the dust panel so it could be mounted. It gets one hole just under the stake pocket support, one on the top edge and one for the fender to bolt on. I think I may add one more on the top edge ... we will see. They also need bodywork to smooth them out  from my poor metal working skills!

Dust cover drilled and in place. Now that I see this, I need to check to see if the dust cover should touch the running board or not. If it did not it would reduce the chance of squeaking... I didn't leave room for a pad :(  hmmmm

    And I trimmed the end of the dust panel flush with the fender.

Trimmed dust cover.

    I need to come up with something for the exposed frame at the back of the fenders and the notch in the bed causing a gap. If I tried to cover it with the fender it would sit too high ... I guess I could have moved the fender back (crap more holes to weld up) and extend the running board???

Chrome wheel for identification ...

15" Reversed Chrome or Plain Chrome "Steelie"?

I would also like to identify the hub to make things easier when I need to replace any brake components ....

Year? Mopar? Rear is believed to be a Danna 44 (I will have to check the bolt pattern again but I think it was 5 1/2

I drove the truck around the block today as well. 

Some notes:
    

•         Takes a few minutes to warm up and idle on it's own (no choke)
•         It takes quite a while for the truck to reach max temperature, which so far is about 145. Usually 3-4 minutes warm up from a cold start and more than one trip around the block.
•         On a hard brake the truck pulls slightly to the right
•         Getting some over steer on fast turn left. I am looking into a pan hard bar option.
•         Noticed some grinding into first and reverse today, it appeared to only do it when the engine was revved higher than idle ... normal? Today is the only day since I got it going again that the gears have scraped.
•  Right now, when in neutral with the clutch released you can hear the throw out bearing, at least that's what I think it is ... do gears in the trans turn while in neutral??? That being said, I will probably play with clutch adjustment some more.
•         Still getting a bit of blow by but I have not seen any water, oil, or any other fluids on the garage floor.
•         It seems the transmission is noisy going down the road, especially in first. I don't know if what I'm hearing is normal and just amplified through the thin metal floor???
•         The hand brake will stop me coming down my driveway ... it is pretty steep, so this is good.
•         There is a rattle in the PS door that I will definitely need to find!
•         I need turn signals!

    Over all it has been fun taking the short drives and I am learning to lean back and relax a bit.

All about the brakes ...

    OK, well not really ALL about them, but today was all about the brakes. I had recently found out the brake lights were not working and I also knew I needed to bleed the brakes. I assumed the air in the system was causing trouble with the pressure switch for the brake lights.

    Not the case ... First off I removed the bleeder valve from the passenger side rear because it was not letting fluid out like it should. It had became clogged with something. Once clean I put it back and I bled the brakes and still no brake lights. After climbing under the truck I found I had pulled the wire loose from the switch. This must have happened last week when I was bundling some wires near the exhaust to keep them from melting. I will tighten the connector soon so it wont happen again so easily.

      I now have the brake lights back in order as well as the brakes. Everything seems to be working properly, including the emergency brake. I took several trips around the neighborhood today to test things out and it ran and stopped great! Life is good.

    Also, since tapping the freeze plug, I have not seen any water on the floor or driveway ... awesome. I still need to drill holes and secure the other rear fender .... hey maybe I will be able to venture a bit further soon!

    Sorry ... no pictures today. Not much to see really.

D.S. Rear Fender: Day Four - Final Major

    I finished up the major body work on the fender today and shot it with primer. . .

D.S. Rear Fender: Day Three

    I sanded down yesterdays filler and did some more hammer work for some high areas. The fender wanted to flex a bit while sanding , so I decided to drill the holes and mount it.

    I also took the opportunity to drill the holes for the dust shield and bolt it in. I went ahead and cut it flush with the lip of the fender as well.

    The I had just enough time to spread some more filler ...

    These fenders leave little to be desired. This one is especially bad. I will definitely replace these one day with something that looks better. I have tried to think up ways to modify these to work, but I dont think there is much hope for them.

I also hate that the bed body lines do not flow with the fender. Hidden on the front side of the fender and way off in the back. I am pretty sure I don't want to cut it out and put in a smooth panel .. maybe a new box down the road? For now it is what it is and will have to do until I have the funds.

I should be able to finish up on this fender in the next day or so.

D.S. Rear Fender: Day Two

More beating banging and sanding .. then filler.