Dave's 57 hemi build... or... how to get over stressed while still havin fun

Thought I should record what I'm doing as it gets built.
So to catch everyone up to date. 22 years in a field but solid 57 short stepside with a 6 cyl and a hole in the block from freezing. Body is in really good shape with most damage at the rear fenders and tailgate. It has had a few meetings with other farm equipment and vehicles.
First inspection
Windshield is busted, brakes are shot, steering is very loose, one tire flat, others leaking and one wrong rim. 6 cylinder is junk but 3 speed seems ok. a million scratches and dents, some bullet marks but no holes. Box floor is gone, seat is all there but stitching is rotten and a mouse family has lived there for generations.Tailgate is torn and rusted, someone has done some nasty welding on the rear fenders that are covered in cracks and tears, same on the tailgate. Pay the man!
Called a trucking company in to move the truck from near the USA border, all the way up through Alberta and about 5 hours north of the 60th. Cost me as much as I paid for the truck to get it here. Now, a motor. I saw a 331 on Hot heads forum going cheap so I called the guy. 1600 bucks! running! recent rebuild! Pay the man. Then I had to buy and register a trailer in Illinois to bring the motor back up north. OK, I probably could have bought a roadworthy 57 for just a bit more than I had into it by that point. But I wanted to build the truck I had when I was in my 20s. So keep working.
Changed the brakes (complete) I only kept 1 steel line that looked perfect, everything else was changed. Pitman arm was shot, replaced. Now she steers much tighter (a little slop in the king pins but it should get through the safety check) Pull the front fenders and grill, pull the 6 cylinder. Clean and paint frame and front suspention. Lift cab and replace mounts, paint frame under cab. Install the 331 with a bellhousing I got from a farmer (he didnt tell me it was a 5 speed bellhousing, the only one that wont work!)
Got the motor in but its tight at the firewall and the transmission input shaft wont reach the pilot bearing. This problem set me back many months before I found it was the bell housing and not the transmission at fault. Got tired of waiting and just stuck the transmission in after drilling the bell housing. A custom made (in flywheel) pilot will work out. Changed the column shift to a 46 3 speed floor shift with a little alteration it bolted to my 3 speed.
I'm getting close to what I had 35 years ago.
Repurchase many tools that I left at my house on the east coast. Sandblasting and dent knocking for weeks!
Pulled the box off, stripped the floor out and got new oak and strips to go back in. Ordered a gas tank for a 46 and it worked out. Get the truck in primer and work on the box.
The box now has a rough coat of paint on the inside, the box wood is ready to install. Painted around the windows so when the glass gets here I can install and mask it right away.
OK, other than about 5 grand in small stuff, your up to date with this build. She runs, she drives around, she stops and she is looking better every weekend that I work on it.
The windshield arrived today.... yay! not broken! It cost me close to 1000 by the time I paid shipping, broker, customs, taxes and the bond wharehouse (200 bucks for 2 days), all because I live so far north. But it is here!!!!
I will upload some pics by the weekend to show where I am. I'm hopeing to be driving this truck by September.
That was very long.... updates will be shorter and more regular. This post covers the last 2 years
Thanks
Dave

Cool write up can't wait to see some pictures

hey dave how about some pictures!!

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A little smoothing after the hammer and dolly work

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New box wood should look good

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Hammer and dolly only go so far

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My converted 46 floor shift

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Nasty previous owner welds

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Still available windshields are great but dont ship cross border, price doubled by the time it got here. Just waiting for paint to install now

Well that was last weekend. I'm hopeing to get paint on the cab, roof, hood andd maybe even the doors this weekend. Then I can get the floor in the box and reinstall it
If that all goes too well I will start on the grill but the front fenders are going to need a bit more care before paint. I guess the old farmer was pretty much blind by the time he gave up driving this truck! LOL

keep going dave, your doing great

man this is what i like. the story that comes with every project. any progress?

Into some paint work this weekend. I have done the roof, back of cab, hood and right door so far. I will have to strip the hood and do it again. My lighting is so poor in the shop that I missed three dents that showed up after I put paint on. I cant open the doors to the shop for light because of the bugs and traffic dust that come across my unpaved truckstop lot. The bugs are insane up here. We have actually had a study done that pinpoints the worst spot in northern Canada for bugs is right here. Mid June to mid September with snow by mid to late October (the stuff that stays on the ground, it actually starts snowing much earlier)
But the pay is good up here!
Pictures later this week on what I get done

Dave

The picture above that shows the side of the cab has 2, 1500 what halogen lights pointing at it from about 8 feet. You can see just how black this old tire shop is. The paint wont be perfect or even show quality. But if I can get it on the truck and flatten out some of the orange peel spots with compound I'll be happy. But the hood.... that's directly in my line of vision while driving, it has to be at least good paint or it will bug me every time I drive it.
Dave

Long weekend and I got some work done (of course not as much as I wanted, and some of it didnt turn out as expected but....)

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As I left off on Sunday night... too tired to continue

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Back of the cab and roof painted with window back in

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Passenger door and cowl painted

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Even got the hood, but that didnt work out as expected.

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Old hemi is getting pretty dirty looking with all this dust.
More to come
Dave

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I missed this dent in the poor lighting, it is amazing how much more you see when you get natural light on something (especially with my tired old eyes


Another hood dent I missed. This one is directly in my line of vision so I have to fix it or sell the truck!

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Tanks Inc makes a '47 tank that will work if you make custom brakets

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Still have some minor suspension issues from the last smackup this truck had. Someone had a stove bolt holding the front of the spring to its perch!! And this mess, already have the new perch and shackle

Well thats all the news that is news. I may be off the truck for a few weeks. I have to drive cross country on the 12th and wont be back till Sept 3, so unless I can sneak out for a few hours this Saturday.... I'll see you in September... (wasnt that a song? Man am I getting old)
Dave

We'll be here dave.

Sweet! I dont under stand what you mean stove bolt though?

It was a 12 or 14 inch round head bolt (like a bed bolt with a square piece under the head) that had just been jammed through the shackle perch when the pin that goes through the front eye of the spring was lost. With the box on it looked like it should be there but when I got the box off and saw this huge bolt sticking through the shackle and frame! I was not impressed with the level of repairs that had been done by the previous owners after the last accident. I think it was hit on the passenger rear corner which sprung the entire rear axle suspension and now requires new shackle perches and silent U's (or silent C's depending on the Dodge lingo of your area) The last picture will give you an idea of the condition of the shackles. I can imagine if I had just left it all as is, wound up that old hemi and dumped the clutch. At least she should hold together and go down the road straight when Im done.

I will see if I can find that old bolt and post a pic for you Joel

sounds like your talking about a carriage bolt

Exactly R.A.D.
I have whats called aphasia (lucky I can remember the word for it) that effects my ability to find the word I want even though I know the word. It is from 40 years of smoking that clogs the small arteries in the brain and causes dimentia (my mother suffered from it till she had a stroke and then really lost alot of brain function). Good news is I quit smoking in march so hopefully it wont get any worse.
Anywho, it is a carriage bolt that was 12 to 16 inches long in place of the front shackle eye pin. How anyone in the automotive trade would let something like that go out of their shop after a repair is beyond me. Maybe it never made it to a shop and the old farmer repaired it enough to get around the farm. I dont know but still glad I caught it.
See you all in September. All I got done Saturday was a little sanding so no pics to show, but when I get back if its not too cold...
Dave

alright dave

Got back on the 3rd from my cross country drive (left the wife in Nova Scotia for her year long internship)
Even managed to get a little work done over last weekend. Unfortunately it didnt come out very well. I painted the hood again and it's ok (looks much better) and the fenders came out alright except for a run or two. But the nose was a mess. I just cant see and my hands dont have enough feeling left after decades of hard work to tell where the low spots are. So I have to redo a section just below the hood on the right side. It has a couple of decent sized wobbles that show up like bird droppings on a shinny black paint job. But then again the nose has about 4 runs that needed to be fixed anyways. Eventually I will have a fully painted truck and as I tell everyone it should look good at 100 MPH. Any complaints about the paint I will ask for donations towards a professional paint job.
Here is the pics

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I'll try to get back at it this weekend but I need to do some mechanical as well
Dave

hey dave stick with it. its a little bit more work but if you paint your panel black first. you'll see all your imperfections. that way you can fix them before you put your final color on. if it looks good in black it will look great in any color

rapidtransitrick wrote:hey dave stick with it. its a little bit more work but if you paint your panel black first. you'll see all your imperfections. that way you can fix them before you put your final color on. if it looks good in black it will look great in any color

Thanks for the tip

I was doing this on the flat panels but never thought to try it on the compound curves. Besides, I still could barely see the blemishes inside the shop. Its only when your outside in bright sunlight and within 10 feet of the truck that you see anything other than shiny green.
Oh well, she'll still look great at 100 mph
Dave

I was able to do a bit more to the old girl two weeks ago but have been under the weather this past weekend with a back issue and a bad cold. So I'm definately behind on this project now and snow is due in about 3 weeks up here. Its already around 32F at night and daytime is dropping rapidly. So if I dont get some done in the next two weeks, she will have to wait till spring.
Here are some pics of the latest. I am having trouble lining up the bolt holes on the box crossmembers for some reason. Everything else lines up except for two members, maybe I have them marked wrong.
Anyways heres the pics

She is beginning to look like a truck again. At least she's green

Windows are in it, that should help keepin the bugs out of my teeth

Always hide your mistakes. My staining didnt come out as I wanted

Glad I redid that stain.

A few more issues before she's done

OK
Exhaust, emergency brake, throttle linkage, gas tank supports and those shackles and perches, I can finally put the box back on and finish the paint in the spring. Alot of work yet

But Im gettin there!!!

any updates?

hows it going dave?