2017 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

I have been tackling the wood portion of my roof in the last few days ....... and I have gained a great respect for our Aussie friends who are restoring trucks that has a lot more wood than mine.

Might be easier on a new vehicle but when trying to fit the wood to the steel that has been deformed, twisted, bent, cracked, stretched and heated to fill in numerous bolt holes it is frustrating.

The small "L" reinforcement in the 90 degree corner of the cab had cracked along with 3 inches of the roof...... of course it was spot welded with far two many spots...... which I removed by grinding from the inside with a stone and made replacements out of 16 gauge steel.... and welded back in place....using a grinder in that corner is very difficult....... at least part of my welding will be behind the wooden brace.

Now building a"jig" that will allow me to cut the bottom 8 or 10 inches off the back of the cab YET retain the same dimensions and not twist or sag. Will do one half at a time...... based on a newly made angle iron bottom. Not looking forward to the long "butt" weld which must be perfect as it is visible from both the inside and outside of the cab...... lots of stitch welds, hammering and grinding and more stitch welding, ect. ect......... not sure yet if I will spot weld the sheet metal to the angle iron or use the new auto body glue..... I have used it before and it did a good job...... no heat to cause warping and it seals the space between the cab rear wall and the angle iron .......an area prone to rusting.

Hints, comments or suggestions welcome.

Cheers