How To: C15a Wire-3 restoration

[Jordan Baker]

Finished making the front roof support today. The original was 1/8" plate bent. For mine I used angle iron and just rounded off the outside corner to make it look like it had been formed from bent plate. This will be a much better piece then what was left of the original part.

[Jordan Baker]

Work today involved cutting out the upright cab roof frame on the passenger side. It had been badly rusted through in a couple of spots. A new piece was made up from 1/8" angle iron and was welded in.

[Jordan Baker]

The past 4 days I managed to finish up the majority of the metalwork on my roof. I welded in a few large patches in the sheet metal skin where the cab bracing goes. After reading a lot on line and looking at pictures I managed to get a decent result from butt welding the patch in. I still had some issues with porosity but overall it was a very strong weld. When I removed the remains of the rear wall, in spots, the upper skin was torn away. I went back and cut out the bad sections with a zip disk and then welded in small patches. I found using a copper paddle tightly clamped behind the patch provided a strong backing and heat sink to keep the weld from blowing through. I also found that be cutting the wire tip each time and wire brushing I got a lot less porosity. It took me quite a few hours to weld in about 6 small patches but the end result is almost invisible. Any seams still showing on the inside will be covered up when the rear wall skin is welded in.

[Jordan Baker]

Once that was all done I took the roof and some other parts off to the sandblaster. Picked them up the next day and had to do some minor work on filling in a bunch of pinholes. I decided to try using JB Weld. Everything worked well except for taking a very long time to cure. I did find that by setting up a heater nearby it cured much faster. I think next time I will use the JB Quickweld. After this was done the usual POR15 steps were taken and then I began to spray the POR15 only to get one coat applied on the inside and I ran out. 6pm on a Sunday means the rest of the paint job will to wait until I can get another quart of paint.

[Jordan Baker]

Lastly I started fitting the fenders. The passenger side had taken a bit of abuse at some point in its life. I ended up bashing it somewhat back into shape with a carrier wheel as the hitting force. I dont want to but I may have to do some minor cutting and welding as when I re-curved the fender the rolled edge pushed out in a spot.

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Jordan

You may find it easier to work on the fender if removed from the truck.....

If you need a guiding curve make yourself a curved wood buck using the good side as a guide. Then you willnot have to flatten the tire to have more hammer swing room...... that is why it's flat isn't ???

You may have to shrink or remove metal if it is now buckled ..... maybe the result of the previous welding/patching and too much hammering has stretched the metal and has no where to go whenyou curve it. Some cab 13 had a short section of 1/2 round pipe welded to the under side for stiffness...... or maybe that is just in the front section of the fender.

A good 2x8 or even a few nailed together and properly curved should give you the guide you need...... you could even replicate the side rolled curved of the CMP fender using a drawknife.

I find that working with the fender off the truck gives you more control for hammering against a dolly from either direction then occasionnaly take it back to the truck to see how it fits.... you should not have to force it in place.

Happy thumping and remember better 5 medium taps to one big whammo.

Let us know how you make out..... with the fender!!!

Cheers

[Jordan Baker]

I wasn't doing the fender metal work while it was bolted to the cab. I only fitted it to see how it was fitting and for the picture. The tire being flat is unrelated and simply a tire that doesn't hold much air.