Work on My F8, No. 11

[Jim Price]

This was another short week being that Bob, my helper, was out on Monday. However, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday saw some accomplishment.

On Tuesday, we picked up the sheet steel, 14 guage, for the front panel for the bed, stopped to have a look at the engine I'm considering buying, and stopped at the hardware store for yet another expenditure for nuts and bolts.

The remaining two days we:

Installed the front panel to the bed. We drilled some twenty-plus holes for the bolts and then put 'er together. Looks good! We did deviate from the original when having the bed walls made in that we did not incorporate the outside "step" that was located around the outside about 2" below each of the three sides chosing instead to wrap them outside with 1" by 2" square pipe even with the top. We felt that this would better protect any riders from the original 1/4" wide edge plus give them a must better hand-hold.

Added the salvaged pieces to the new tailgate and installed it. We had been able to save the outside strapping, one of the closure hooks (The other was missing and Bob is fabricating another one which will match the original.) and the step which is located inside the tailgate. Didn't have the capacity to rivet it all together as originally done so bolted all together.

We must have either been very careful or very lucky as we had very little variance occur when fitting all these parts together. Things were really squared up!

That's it for now!

Regards,
Jim

[Alex van de Wetering]

Excellent work! It's good to see your 8cwt retained the step on the rear panel. My C8 also has it, but there is no movement whatsoever.

regards,

Alex

[Jim Price]

This has been a busy week! We accomplished the following:

Removed the damaged engine and pulled the transmission. The tranny is fine and will be reinstalled. Legal work on the damaged engine is proceeding.

Installed the copy of the tailgate hook that Bob, my welder, had made. See the picture of it and compare with the original shown in a previous posting; an excellent copy!

A second piece of bad news! The master cylinder began to lose fluid early last week and continued until it lost it all. Removed it and am returning it to the shop next week. It was a new one, too, not a re-build!

Installed the wood plank (ash) upon which the gas tanks rest. This involved the use of a router to make a pair of channels for the steel hold-down strap. It was also necessary to rout out a 1/2" by 3" by 5"space for the drain plug area. (Please, no criticism on the preciseness of the cuts: we are metal workers not carpenters! ) We also cut to shape, using a jig saw, the spacers for the top planks that cover the tanks. Holes for the drain plug access as well as the gas cap and emergency tank switch will be made next week.

When inspecting the original bed we noticed that the three vertical straps on each side of the bed did not continue under the bed to the opposite side but stopped at the bottom edge of bed. Sooo, we cut to fit 9 pieces of strap for each side, drilled holes in them and plug-welded them to the sides of the bed. We had noted the spacing measurements on the original beed so that the new bed would look the same. (Forgot to take pictures of these but will do so in a future posting.)

Welded a 3/8" thick by 2" piece of strap along the top of the front panel of the bed so that the profile matched the original configuration. We did cut a diagonal clip off of each corner as well.

Hauled the bed out to Bob's house for finishing off of all the plug and tack welds. Bob has been using a lightweight welder and wanted to finish all off using the heavy-duty one he has at home. Both are MIG welders. He'll also sand the finished welds. Pictures to follow in a future post.

That's it for this time!

Regards,
Jim

[king of obsolete]

enjoyed the updates after not checking the website for a few weeks. keep the pictures coming with details.

thansk
KoO
Published Author

[Jim Price]

Haven't done much the past two weeks:

Picked up the new (used) engine a week ago. It's a 1946 Mercury and comes with a guarantee from its owner! Bob has begun cleaning it in preparation for painting.

Began restoration of the control panel. Found that the speedometer and odometer work are in working condition. Ordered a new face panel for the speedometer and numbers for the odometer from Mac's. Picked up four new three-position push-pull switches for it. Checked all the guages and they appear to be ok. My order for a speedometer cable for the C4 transmission has arrived. Will pick it up next week.

Picked up the rebuilt master cylinder and reinstalled it. No leaks ...... yet.

Got a d--- bladder infection early this week and spent three days in bed with a bad fever! (Had planned on visiting my daughter for the week in CA with no work being done in my absence on the truck so timing of my illness was excellent! ) Recovery is progressing nicely!

Spent Thanksgiving by myself but had several neighbors drop by with the turkey and stuffing! Restored my faith in the human race!

Should have more to report next week.

Regards,
Jim

[king of obsolete]

i was wonder where you went, you still have gotten lots done is the last little bit. has the temperature cooled down so you can work all day????

thansk
KoO
Published Author

[Jim Price]

Had another short week. I had reserved two vendor tables at a local gun show and was there for 4 days starting on this past Thursday. Sales were good. Saved most of my earnings for the truck resto! In any case, we did accomplish the following:

Finished the cleaning and painting of the engine early in the week and installed it this past Wednesday.

Completed all the hooking up of all lines, hoses and wiring today. (Second time around!) Didn't have enough oil for the crankcase and no gasoline so will try to start up the engine tomorrow. No water leaks this time!

Got good news from my attorney that the seller of the engine with the holes in the cylinder walls has refunded the entire amount I'd paid for the engine. He picked up his engine this past Saturday. Was glad to have that sad affair behind me!

Used a round-over bit on the wood planking and cover for the gas tank to avoid having splintering and sharp corners. Used a hole cutter to cut the hole for the tank drain but have yet to cut the 5" holes in the top planking for access to the filler cap and spare tank switch and fuel line.

Purchased 5 tires from a tire wholesaler in Australia and arranged for them to be shipped in a conainer destined to another military vehicle collector/restorer here in my community. The tires are the MRF Sandgrip and they should arrive here early next year.

Picked up the fenders and braces today from the fabricator. Need to have the fenders panels arched and they'll be ready for the painter. (Thanks, Mike, for all the drawings and pictures!)

It's been 6 months since the truck arrived and I had hoped to have it finished by now. Have learned a lot in the intervening time and understand and appreciate all that goes into a restoration! However, it's been fun! The heat is gone and has been replaced with days in the low 70's F, much easier climate to work it!

That's it for now!

Regards,
Jim