46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[gmharris]

I've been turning a lot of body filler into a lot of sanding dust over the last week or so. The largest area was the roof, it was pretty rough, and I had quite a time working with the metal, but the filler definitely shows you the problem areas, unfortunately by that time it's a little late to take a hammer to it without causing problems. Still it feels a lot better under hand.

Next will be the area over the windshield, which has a very interesting contour.

Certainly not an expert body man, but I think you could get some good results by taking a pick hammer to some of the high spots. Just light taps all over the high spots, but especially on the "shoulders" of the high spots. The pick shrinks the metal and lowers the high spots. It shouldn't mess up what you've already done since you are just working the exposed metal.

From the photos, it looks like those high spots will always result in the primer being cut through if sanded.

In the end, you want to be able to sand away a guide coat without cutting through the primer.

[Desoto61]

Certainly not an expert body man, but I think you could get some good results by taking a pick hammer to some of the high spots. Just light taps all over the high spots, but especially on the "shoulders" of the high spots. The pick shrinks the metal and lowers the high spots. It shouldn't mess up what you've already done since you are just working the exposed metal.

From the photos, it looks like those high spots will always result in the primer being cut through if sanded.

In the end, you want to be able to sand away a guide coat without cutting through the primer.

Thanks, yes the high spots are where I cut through the primer. On the roof I've been weary about playing too much for fear I'll get into an issue with oil canning. With the filler basically level with those spots my plan now is I put a thin coat of cream filler over the areas and I'll sand the whole cab with 120 to get all the little imperfections filled and key the cab for a seal coat of primer so the filler is sandwiched between epoxy primer layers and also to re-coat those high spots, then spray on the primer/surfacer.

[Desoto61]

My motivation to make more dust hasn't been all that great, most of the rough sanding I think is done. I have a few other areas that need some attention. I need to close up the steering shaft opening a bit since the steering shaft is smaller then the old tube setup. Not sure if I'm going to use a screw-in panel or weld something in. Otherwise I'm going over the whole cab with 120 grit to smooth out my coarser sanding scratches and scuff up the primer for the seal coat.

My lack of motivation is coming to haunt me though, it's supposed to be 70 here this weekend but I'm nowhere near ready to lock this cab down in primer. Not sure when I'll have weather warm enough to do that again till spring. A nice winter break should help give me some time to make some progress.

[Tom Petroff]

You'll get there. We all go through motivation problems. I know I have.

For what it's worth the weather people have all along talked about a nicer than usual January thaw.
Now there saying a warmer than normal Jan. for most of the country.

TGP

[Desoto61]

Hard part is not to try and rush to get there. I'm more interested in getting it right than getting it done, and the more I go over the cab the more little things I see I should take care of now. Need to start making a list.

I wouldn't complain too much, don't need 70 but some 50s would do nicely. The plus side is that I still have plenty to do elsewhere if the weather stays cold. I can work on using my Eastwood powder kit on some of the small parts since I don't need the ventilation I would with paint and running the oven in the winter is actually a good thing.

[Desoto61]

I've been making progress over the holiday break, but it's not much to look at. Spent many hours cleaning and then scuffing the primer on the outside of the cab so I can spray a seal coat once the weather gets warm. The top side is easy enough, but the bottom and firewall has lots of nooks and crannies to get into. It's also a good time to find any missed areas. A few low spots meant more filler and sanding.

Then it was time to move onto the inside of the cab. There were a few areas that needed a little metal work. A small area at the lower rear door jam, a small patch piece closes it up. The other was to close the hole around the steering shaft. I had built a template while the new steering column was in, it was just matter of cutting and installing it. The weld isn't pretty but it also won't really be visible, so strength trumps beauty.

The inside needs to be cleaned, and then gone over with some sandpaper to key the metal for primer, then cleaned out again. Then move onto cleaning all the sanding dust out of the garage so I can be ready to spray primer once the weather is right. In the mean time I have other parts I can use the powder coating kit on.

[Desoto61]

Spent quite a few hours cleaning and sanding the inside surfaces of the cab with 180 grit. There are lots of nooks and crannies to get into so it's a slow and tedious process. Wiped down all the surfaces with some lacquer thinner, sand, then wipe down with some Eastwood afterblast, which cleans the surface and leaves a protective zinc coating till I'm ready for paint.

Unfortunately there are many areas I can't get into with sandpaper, so I'll have to hope that the protectant is intact and figure out how to try and get some paint in there.

One thing I can't stress enough is building a rotisserie for the cab. It's pretty simple, and makes life so much easier. I have mine hanging off my lift which lets me adjust height as well, but a set of stands (even of wood) with some rollers would work just as well and would make moving the cab around for cleaning, paint, or storage possible too. It's so much easier to sand the roof when it's the floor. It also allowed me to rotate the cab so all the grit and junk fell out of all the various hiding places where I could suck it up with the shop vac.

Then it was time to clean all that sanding dust (and general dirt and chaos) up from just about every surface of the garage. It's still too cold for painting, but with a clean garage I can powder coat. To help with that I re-purposed some PVC pipe to build a stand to hold the oven racks that the parts hang from while being coated.

[Desoto61]

Special Delivery

There are a few options if you want to get away from the original BUDD wheels and their split rings. While there is nothing structurally wrong with them, working with them is tricky, and finding shops that can can be even harder. Then there's the issue of tube and flaps, and fitting modern radial tire sizes which want a wider rim then the 6.5" BUDD.

A few places will build you new wheels by taking a steel wheel of your desired size and style and welding in a flat center with the correct lug pattern at certain back-spacing, but they can't replicate the dished profile or look of the BUDD rims.

I looked at a few of the aftermarket dually wheel companies, since they already produce wheels with similar profiles, but most deal in huge sizes and don't have anything in the 16-18" range.

A third options was to find someone who can cut the center out of the BUDD rim and weld it into a modern rim. A few have done this into 16.5" rims, but that size is unusual and tire options are limited.

VPW recently sent out an e-mail about their new rims. They have the BUDD centers cut out and welded into a modern 17x8" rim, so you get the look and back-spacing of the original rims with the size and capability better suited to a modern radial truck tire. They recently had a new batch come in, and while I don't need them right now one advantage of body work is it's cheap, so I have the resources to pick up a set.

As a picture is a better descripter than I I'll let them do the talking, but I will say that I'm happy so far, my only misgiving is that they are 8" wide with an 8-1/2" backspacing, which puts the extra width inboard, add in a 37x12.5" tire and it raises some clearance questions at full lock.

[Desoto61]

More pictures

You can get them powder coated black from VPW for a little extra, but I decided to buy the bare steel version and have the powder coating done locally as the place I've used to date is a known entity, and easier to deal with if there were issues down the road.

I'll get them powder coated and then once I pick a tire get one mounted to test for clearance before buying the other four tires.

[W_A_Watson_II]

As a picture is a better descripter than I I'll let them do the talking, but I will say that I'm happy so far, my only misgiving is that they are 8" wide with an 8-1/2" backspacing, which puts the extra width inboard, add in a 37x12.5" tire and it raises some clearance questions at full lock.

They look great, but their back spacing has been my concern. I spoke to Jens about it, but with the smaller tires they are happy.

I'm running 17x10's with a 7.75" back spacing (Stock is 7"). Based on your picture, you appear to be more like a 8.125" actual backspacing (measure the same way as my measurements).

By my my estimations your tire inboard surface will be about 3/4"-1" further inboard than mine, putting it close to rubbing the drag links. In the rear I already rub the inner fender side when under hard articulation.

Look forward to your results.

[Desoto61]

Well if the purists were upset with my changes so far this one should do it. The taller seats and small rear window should make visibility tricky. A backup camera seems like a good idea, but I don't want some screen taped to my dash. So I settled on trying to fit something in the overhead console. The screens are remarkably cheap, if a little low-res. I found a unit designed to flush mount, it was a little large but I thought I could make it fit. Hardest part is I have no way of knowing unless I start cutting. After a lot of measuring and head scratching I went for it.

End result isn't too bad. It sits a little lower than I wanted, but shouldn't interfere with sight lines and still be easily visible. I'm not sure if I want to wrap the cover in fabric, or if I want to try and do some body work to smooth it out and fill some of the gaps along the edges of the screen mount.

A strap across the back with some riv-nuts secures the screen in its mount, though it is a tight fit.

[Desoto61]

The PA winters seem to have found me in VA, so the cold weather is a good time to powder coat parts. There are no fumes so it's OK in a closed garage, and running the oven just helps heat the garage. Like painting it's all in the prep.

First step is to disassemble and inspect the parts and clean up any issues. The parking brake pawl had worn over the years, so I welded some metal back onto the end and ground it back to shape. Other pieces it's just removing any welding spatter, cleaning up holes, and smoothing rough areas. Then lots of time blasting them, cleaning and setting up, but the coating goes pretty quick, and cleanup is just a broom and some compressed air. The really nice part is that once done the assemblies can be put together for what is hopefully the last time.

The little things are what make these projects special. I disassembled the windshield opener mechanism, powder coated all the parts and during final assembly could take my time in fitting the parts and greasing all the joints before putting everything back together and setting it aside.

[Desoto61]

All off the little parts have been through the powder coating oven. I'm sure I missed a few odds and ends, but that's OK, I can either save them up for another batch or just hit them with some rattle can paint later depending on where they go.

The winter has been strange here so no telling when I will be able to throw some primer at the cab, but I'm slowly working on getting the garage set up for that process so I can go when I get a window, which mostly means lots of cleaning.

The rest is planning. I've been working on figuring out some of the other parts and systems I will need. Like piecing together a windshield washer system for instance. There are universal systems but they are cheap and generic. So instead a replacement pump and nozzles along with an aftermarket aluminum radiator overflow tank should look nicer and fit better than the cheap plastic junk.

The other task is getting the rest of the front sheetmetal stripped. I have everything forward of the cab to do and the one replacement door. I've been reluctant to take them to be blasted and primed for the same reason I haven't painted anything yet, but now I'm thinking I might just make another trip down to the chemical stripper. I'd prefer it for the replacement door to make sure it's rust free, but it's not worth the 7 hours of driving for one door, but if I have them do the rest of the front metal too it would make it worth the trip. It's not really necessary for most of it as there are no complex shapes or cavities that can't be blasted but it will definitely do the trick. Might be a good way to get the windshield frame done too.

[Desoto61]

Been trying to get all the the prep work done to be ready for paint. It sounded simple, but that's never usually the case. Smaller parts that get primer went through the blaster and got wiped down with some protectant before being hung on a pole.

Started prepping the one door I had stripped with the cab, in the process of scuff sanding the door I noticed all the little dents and dings that needed fixed, so that came next. Since access from the back is limited the stud puller seemed the best way to go.

A couple of rounds with the puller helped most of the areas, the larger dent in the center of the door is showing some oil-canning that I'll need to continue working on, but most of it came out pretty well for someone making it up as I go.

[Desoto61]

One of the other door tasks was to remove the exterior door lock hole as well, the new mechanism won't work with the old lock, and I didn't really feel like trying to rig up the lock cylinder and linkage.