46 Chevy

[enjenjo]

I finished the right door today. Since it has metal inner panels I installed rubber sound deadener on them, and a layer of bubble insulation in addition to the two layers of insulation, and two of sound deadener on the door itself. Now back inside the cab for a while.

[kb426]

When I was working on the doors on the 51, a friend came by and said: you're trying to get rid of all the 51's sounds. He meant, door closing, window rattles, road noise, etc. It appears you are doing the same.

[enjenjo]

I have the rear bumper on. I used a 48 to 54 bumper and braces. He wanted the bumper tucked in closer to the body, so I shortened and re-drilled the irons and bolted it up. I think it looks pretty good.

[kb426]

Looks nice. Boy am I dumb. I thought you would have a pic of it going down the street.

[phat46]

I have the rear bumper on. I used a 48 to 54 bumper and braces. He wanted the bumper tucked in closer to the body, so I shortened and re-drilled the irons and bolted it up. I think it looks pretty good.

Frank, do you have a tough time redrilling  bumper brackets? I drilled some and just ate up bits, they were spring steel. I ended up heating them to soften the steel.

[idrivejunk]

It does look good sitting right there.  );b(

[enjenjo]

I have the rear bumper on. I used a 48 to 54 bumper and braces. He wanted the bumper tucked in closer to the body, so I shortened and re-drilled the irons and bolted it up. I think it looks pretty good.

Frank, do you have a tough time redrilling  bumper brackets? I drilled some and just ate up bits, they were spring steel. I ended up heating them to soften the steel.

Not really, sharp bits, a drill press, and lots of lube. I suppose it took an hour to drill three holes in four parts. I did pilot drill the holes, and touched up the edge on the drill between holes. It was just a HSS 1/2" bit.

[39deluxe]

The bumper looks real clean tucked in. Nice work.

Tom

[enjenjo]

I have been working on this as I can, there has been a lot going on lately.  

I had no power to the AC compressor clutch, I had to tear the dash all apart to find the problem, I had a wire that unplugged itself from the temperature control, apparently when I was messing with some thing else back there blind.  I also had an AC relay that was actuating when ever you connected the battery, after tracing that wire I had the power source hooked to constant 12 V, rather than switched 12V, I moved that connection and it works fine now.

I replaced the NAPA coolant thermostat with a Robert-Shaw, and that allowed me to run it long enough to get the timing set properly, so no more overheating.  

With every thing installed it was not possible the see the timing mark on the flywheel, I set the crank to line the mark up, and marked the vibration damper and the cross member so I could read it under the radiator in the front. You can shine the timing light right through the crank hole in the apron to see it.

I still have a problem with the temperature gauge, it reads 230 degrees at 180 degrees measured with a laser temp probe. After corresponding with the guy who built this dash, he tells me it reads 0 to 30 Ohms, and I can't find a sender in that range. I'll get it figured out.

I have been fighting the automatic choke on this since I first started it. I decided that with the split manifold there was not enough heat to open it. I went looking for an electric choke that would fit it, and found that one from a 1975 Chevy 292 six would fit the carburetor, and the thermostatic spring rotation looked the same, so I ordered one. Well it still wasn't opening, so I powered the electric choke off the carburetor, and it worked fine. After some investigation the carb rebuilder had installed the thermo spring backwards when assembling the carb. I reversed the thermo spring on the electric choke, no mean feat since it was soldered in place, and now it's working correctly.

So now all that is left is installing the front end and doors and it will be done.

No pictures, it all looks the same.

[kb426]

Kool! That carb deal was a little different.

[enjenjo]

Kool! That carb deal was a little different.

Well KB when you are installing a Rochester choke stove on a Carter carburetor that is 30 years older, some changes may need to be made.

All the electrical problems are fixed, and the choke works great, so I moved on to installing body panels. I started with the left front fender. It had some body work done while it was off the truck, and it fit like it was for a different brand. It took two days of tweaking and cussing to get all the bolts in without damaging the paint. Then to the right one. It fit fine, all the bolts went in with a minimum  of prying in about an hour.

Next, I started on the hood. He sent a new center hinge, and brass rod of the correct size for the side hinges. The side hinges went fine, just a few minutes to do both sides. The center hinge, not so much. Both sides had been painted, and the right side still had the old hinge riveted to it. I drilled out the rivets, and found considerable rust between them. So I cleaned it up with a rotary wire wheel, and some scotchbrite discs, treated it with rust neutralizer, etch prime and satin black top coat. Then the new hinge was not drilled the same as the hood. One out of 13 holes was right. So I redrilled the hinge to fit the hood. Instead of the original rivets, I used short 10/32 button head bolts and lock nuts to assemble it.

I also have all the AC vents and defroster vents piped in, I still have to install one louver in the center.

Excuse the bad photos, I was not at my best today. These are the best 7 out of 21 photos.

[kb426]

It's still progress, Frank. Most of us understand that not everyday is as we wish. It's still going to be a great truck when you finish. The owner will be so happy with all the modern touches making his world more comfortable.

[idrivejunk]

I don't guess I've seen many 46 Chevys. Gonna be pretty cool looking and I bet a hoot to drive around in. I can see know-how all over the thing. Thanks for taking some pics!

[UGLY OLDS]

Frank...Don't you just love those " bolt on accessories "   :?:  :?:  
Just follow the instructions & screw it together ....      

It's looking good & hopefully the owner realises the amount of extra work needed to make things right .....

Bob...

[enjenjo]

The last two days I have been working on the running boards.  I has about 12 hours straightening them last spring, I think I posted that. So yesterday I finished straightening the  backside apron that goes under the cab. That took a jig and some heat. I tried doing it cold, but it's old enough that it would just go back where it was. On the rear of the running boards where they meet the rear fender there is a 16 ga doubler that was completely missing on one side and mostly missing on the other. So I started with the worse one, worked it straight, removed what was left of the doubler and used CAD to make a pattern for a replacement. I cut the replacement from 16 ga. 409 stainless, and drilled the mounting holes in it. I drilled the mounting holes in the doubler, and plug welding holes in what was left of the old end. Then I used rust kill between the panels, and a coat of hi temp paint. I bolted it together, added some clamps, and plug welded it together, adding a few welds into the deck of the running board to add some more strength. I also had several places where the board had some pin holes on areas too thin to weld, so I put patches on the back so I can weld them up. I'll seal the backside after paint, and undercoat the bottom side. The top side is getting bed liner to cover the defects.