1951 F16

[kb426]

O&S is plodding forward. I used the new plasma cutter for the 1st time today. It works fine. I free handed some cuts without a guide so there was some grinding involved to finish the parts. The lower a arm supports are finished. My ebay grille arrived. The description said "no bondo" As you can see in the pics, there is bondo. I did a little hammer and dollie work to straighten the lower portion and plenty of bondo fell off. I have sent an email to the seller to see if there is any adjustment on price for that.

[idrivejunk]

Will you need to narrow it? If so, where?

[kb426]

Yes, right next to the headlight buckets. I'm thinking 8" just as the grille you did in your 51. I will measure the original grille to be sure, though. I don't think there is any width difference between an f1 and an f6 but I don't know for sure, yet.

[idrivejunk]

I think I took out 6". About a headlight's worth. You gonna use the 51 park / signal lamps or do you know? Just curious.

[kb426]

No decision yet. I need to examine the ones I have to see if they are usable.

[idrivejunk]

That sucks that the "no bondo" grille has pull rod holes and of course damage. And bondo. Not that you can't use it but dang. Evil knows no boundaries.

My thought on the F1 was if not using stock signals, theres the flat spot on bottom of headlight hoops to deal with. Be a good spot to mount a different lamp.

Then theres the corresponding features in the valance to shave, plus another in the center either way. But those help locate the headlights and establish how much width to remove.

I noticed the headlight hoops are integral rather than seperate so it won't be any easier than what I did. Perhaps if 51 hoops were used, they could overlap the grille center like a 51.

Just points to ponder on that. I already got the new chassis thrill just seeing your rails together.

Carry on and pace yourself enjoyably.

[idrivejunk]

Just rattling your cage.

[WZ JUNK]

Just to add more confusion.  I like the looks of the front of a 47 Ford car grafted to those trucks.  But then I tend to march to a different drum.

[kb426]

O&S played catch up this morning after being gone for 3 days. Yard work and cleaning the 51. I noticed it got a pencil size rock chip on the front of a rear fender. It's ugly. I spent somewhere between 2 and 3 hours on the grille this afternoon. I removed the rest of the bondo and did hammer and dollie work. I need to weld up the holes but it won't take too think of mud to finish it. One of the hammers I used was a small sledge. I was gentle.

[kb426]

John, I looked and couldn't find a pic of a 51 with that front end. I have seen the 47 truck with the car front end before. That was an improvement. Matt, I won't take the v out of the middle. I did find the lower air vent to be interesting. I have done no thinking about a center emblem. That could be way at the end. I spent some time talking to a guy I met 3 years ago from the Springs. He has a 63 Fairlane wagon he turned into a 2 door. It's plain and simple but has several custom touches that blend in so well that most won't notice them. My kind of deal. He told me it took 6 years to build. I got the impression that he was done. Turns out he has retired from being a body man. He's now doing a 57 Del Rio wagon. He started describing what he's doing and my mind went into gear. I started a list of things I'm thinking about doing to this truck. There was somewhere between 8 and 12 of these trucks at Pueblo. Many are stock appearing. Some have some mods. Most are in the rear at the roll pan or bumper area. I took pics of the rears to help me in the decision of tail lights. Many times I find that I see what I don't want rather than what I do want. Process of elimination.

[kb426]

O&S has reached a new slow. LOL. I pulled weeds for a while this morning before moving on to more desirable jobs. Yesterday, I picked up the seat that was in the F6. Plenty ugly. This morning I stripped it and threw the refuse away. I don't know if I will try to use the seat or not. It might have been thrown away so it's my mess now. I brought the mark 8 rear in and measured from the axle centerline to determine where the frame height will be in relation to the mounting points. I removed the front mounting arms and plated the remaining frame. I will flip the rear to weld the underneath side of the plates. I've been laying on my back to do this in the past. There's no reason to do this at this point.

[idrivejunk]

I enjoyed the crud pile pic and juicy mod talk!  

[kb426]

I spent a lot of the morning doing yard work so the next few days can be hot rod city. The rear fenders arrived right before lunch. One box had a hole in it. No damage there. A nice crease down the side of the fender, though. I filed a claim but I'm not optimistic on results. I moved then to the shed and disposed of the boxes. I did order some more parts today. Shortages are making decisions easier. I did bring in the rear and flip it and weld the underside of the plates I started on yesterday.

[idrivejunk]

Ouch on the gouge in the new metal. Rats. Those are some pretty nice fenders though, aren't they? They look to be F-1s like we got at work.

[kb426]

Yes, I believe they are the same that you have. I found many selling what they called "their" fenders. Eventually, the trail led back to Dynacorn. I found the best shipping and price and bought them. They were drop shipped from Dynacorn.
I filed a claim this morning on the fenders. We'll see. It was after lunch before I made it to actually work on something. I cut off the extra length of the frame rails and have a bulkhead tacked in. The bulkhead allowed me to level and square up the rails. It will have to have the driveshaft and many other items ran through it. After the rear is mounted and the other supports are in. I may remove it to machine holes in it. Maybe not. Unknown at this point. The 2x6 rails are ballooned some so clamping parts together to flatten the vertical side is part of the operation. O&S at less than normal speed.