Wiring, Wiring, Wiring

Doing pretty good on the wiring so far. Got a couple of propane heaters that work off the top of a 20 lb bottle to heat the garage. Along with my little 200 amp wall heater, it has been keeping the garage at a nice 54 degrees. Just right to work in a sweat shirt.
Started by putting some Peel and Seal from Lowes on the firewall (This is like Dynamat only cheaper) that will seal out some of the heat and noise from the engine compartment. That stuff really sticks good. Then I mounted the main breaker panel on the firewall just behind the gauge panel. Ran the main battery power leads to a Megafuse on the frame next to the starter. Ran the ground wires to the engine block and frame. Still have to ground the cab yet.  Drilled the brake pedal for a small roller that activates the mechanical break switch and wired it. Started routing all the rest of the spaghetti today and I will run the wires to the stuff at the rear of the truck , (Tail lights, Fuel tank, etc.)  I just lit my heaters up so now it's time to get back at it. My how time flies while your having fun.

Daddies Little Fatty Is back home.

Jeff finished up the last sanding and buffing of the cab last night. I can't say enough about how talented this guy is. He ironed out all the wrinkles in the body and did an amazing paint job. It really pops out in the sunlight. And he has lots more to do yet.
I got Bob Ertzinger, Dean Long and Tony Cetta together again this morning and we set the cab back on the chassis and bolted it down. We then winched it on Jeff's trailer and tied it down for the ride home.  We met up again at my place and un-loaded my baby and put her back in the garage.  My girl Nancy made lunch for everyone and after thanking everyone profusely. the guys all headed on home.
I did some clean up on the chassis that was dusty from setting., and vacuumed out the inside of the cab. Will start the wiring in a couple of days. Hope it doesn't go below freezing for a while.

Cab is Painted

Jeff the painter had a bad day on Thursday. First the motor on the fan that evacuates the fumes and overspray burnt up.  Luckily he had a spare motor and changed that out. Then in the late afternoon, the motor on the compressor burnt up. He called me and said he was going to try to get one first thing Friday morning. If so, he would call me to come on down for paint. He called me at 8:30 AM and had a new motor and was on the way home. By the time I got there he had just finished hooking it up and was testing it. He said this was a bad thing and a good thing. Bad that it burnt up and had to buy a new one, but a good thing that it didn't happen in the middle of painting the cab. Anyway, it was a long day, with a coat of sealer and then 4 coats of blue and 4 coats of silver. After that it was three coats of clear. Didn't get finished until 6 PM with no lunch break. Never sat down in that 8 hours either. I was very happy with the results and went home a tired puppy.(Old Puppy)  Jeff let it set yesterday and went at the final sanding and buffing today. He will finish that up tomorrow if all goes well. I will gather the usual suspects together Tuesday and we will put the cab back on the chassis and load it back on the trailer and bring it back home.  Jeff will work on the other parts as winter progresses. I will start on the wiring. WHEW!

Wet Sanding the Primer

Jeff was teaching me the finer things in wet sanding the primer today. There is a lot more elbow grease to this than the average person realizes. Anyway, Jeff will finish up blocking the cab and tomorrow he will paint the dash and upper cab visor area the blue color. I wont be there for that, but Friday if all goes well I will watch him paint the exterior. Both the blue and the silver will be done then. The upper part with the blue first. Then re-tape and the lower silver goes on. Probably three coats of color first then the whole cab gets about three coats of clear. This should take about 5 to 6 hours to complete. Then it has to set and then the final block sanding and polishing begins.  It's gonna be awesome!

While we're waiting

Well, while I am waiting for the cab to be painted, I thought I might get to rewiring the headlights and parking lights.  The headlights were pretty straight forward. I got 2 new wire plugs for the back of the bulbs and a couple of grommets. I clipped off a short piece of the new wiring harness that has the right color and printing on the wire and spliced short pieces on the new 3 prong holder. Then I put some shrink over it and put it through the grommet.  After attaching a new 6024 Halogen 12 volt bulb, I put all the parts together in the headlight buckets. They are now ready to install.  Next, I wanted to change the one wire parking lights to a 2 wire system so I could use them also for turn signals. I had to push out the existing bulb socket and bought a set of two wire sockets. Got them pushed in and I added a couple drops of JB Weld around the sockets so they can't slip back out. Did a battery test and both filaments light up. Should work as I want If I wire them correctly to the harness.  The wiring kit is going to be a real test of my ability.

The rest comes apart.

Today with the help of Bob Ertzinger, Dean Long, Tony Cetta and Jeff Crow, we finished removing the cab off the chassis. We first took the bed off so we didn't have to lift the cab over the engine. We then lifted the cab and put it on the roller I made for the cab repair and painting process.  We put the bed back on the chassis for temporary storage and pulled it up to Jeff's other garage where it will wait until the cab is finished. May have the new paint on the cab by next weekend. WHOOT, WHOOT!

The truck come apart for paint

We started taking the truck back apart today. All the front end sheetmetal were removed and the back fenders also came off.  Tomorrow I will gather four other friends together and we will remove the bed first. Then we will lift the cab off and put it on a roller I made  for the paint job.  The chassis will be put away in Jeff's garage until the cab is painted. Then we replace the cab on the frame for the last time. I will then bring it home for the wiring. More to come tomorrow.

Gone to Paint

Well, the F1 has finally gone to paint.  Sunday November 1st 2015 we loaded Daddy's Little Fatty on a trailer and sent it on down the river to Warsaw IL (about 43 miles south of me) to Jeff Crow for the final prep and then the paint.  We went to Abbotts Paint supply in Quincy Il, on Tuesday Nov 3rd to buy the paint and other supplies that will be needed for the paint job.  We  then decided on what will be the final paint scheme, which is a two tone, and where the cut line will be.  Jeff will now do some final prep and then we will take the truck all apart again. The cab will be painted first, off the chassis. When it is all buffed out, we will put it back on the chassis and bring that back home.  Jeff will finish the rest of the parts over the winter and should be ready for final assembly next spring.
When I get the chassis and the cab back, I can then start on the wiring. Never done one of those, so that part should be interesting. I am actually looking forward to it.  This new coat will totally change the looks.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Falls a comin

Well, still waiting to go into paint.  Meanwhile I have done a few things to the truck.    I also downloaded Windows10 to this computer and I got locked out of my blog.  Finally got that solved.
While waiting for paint, I installed the parking brake. It still needs a final adjustment but will do that at a later point.  I also got back to the gauge panel and completed the wiring. It is now ready to drop in and plug into the main panel when that is installed.
I also drilled some holes in the rear bed pockets for the rear tail light wiring. After paint, grommets will fill the holes to protect the wiring harness.
I put a hold down apparatus in the box behind the seat to hold down the battery when it goes in. I used nutserts in the floor and threaded some 1/4 inch stainless steel rod I got off an old hotdog cooking fork. (A little MacGyver there) and drilled holes in the cab floor for the wiring. Used some 1/2 inch water hose for grommets through the floor. Going to work great. Will finish running the wires after paint.

New Upholstered Bench Seat

Got the bench seat back from the upholsterer today.  I'm very pleased with Bob Petersons work. I wanted something that was subtle and not too wild. It's a nice two tone grey with silver piping. The vinyl is called Mellowhide II. Bob also added a couple of pockets in the back for small items. Bob will do the rest of the cab upholstery later after the paint is done and we get the truck running. I may have him add a skirt to the bottom of the seat later.

Bench Seat to Upholstry

Took the bench seat for a short trip over in Illinois to a friend, Bob Peterson. He has been doing upholstery for a long time on the side. His main job was an engineer at Case Company. He is retired now and does this as a hobby. He has upholstered a lot of the cars of our "Car Guys Group" that meets every Friday morning. Anyway he will start on it soon. We are headed to Hawaii tomorrow and it should be done when we get back. The colors I finally picked are  two shades of grey with silver piping. I think it will turn out great. We will know soon.

Chrome hood latch pieces back

Went to Quincy today to pick up three pieces of the hood latch at Precision Plating. They re-chromed them for me. Took a while. They are very popular and are always backed up. Not a bad business to be in I guess if you can deal with the chemicals. Anyway, what was going to be 4 to 6 weeks turned into 10 weeks. They sure did a nice job. Can't complain about that. Truck is still waiting paint so this is just another item to cross off the list.
The bench seat should go to the upholsterer next week. Finally decided to go with the two tone grey.
Should be back in a couple of weeks. Anxious to see how it turns out. A nice guy named Bob Peterson is doing the work. He will also finish the interior after the paint and wiring are complete.
Been a hot wet summer so far. To humid to paint. Maybe September. Got my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, the F1 is resting.

Glass Patterns Made

I made the glass patterns out of 1/4 inch fiber board.. Probably could have used the windshield glass, but it was already starting to bubble around the edges. I had broken the rear glass getting it out of the cab.  Since I eliminated the wing windows the door glass has to be new. I went locally to Barngrovers Glass and talked to Mike Conner's (nice guy). I ordered the back and door glass tinted grey. The front windshield legally has to be clear. Mike says it would take about 3 hours grinding time to complete all 4 pieces of glass. Should be done sometime next week.
  I learned something from the "Friday Car Guys" about the glass. You need to paint the edges of the glass to seal it from the air. If you don't it will bubble between the glass layers later on. Good suggestion, didn't know that.
Talked the the fellow that will do my upholstery. His name is Bob Peterson and is one of the "Friday Car Guys". Saw some of his work and looks great. He's got projects ahead of me so will be a little while before he gets to me. I will have him do the bench seat first and the rest of the cab later after the truck is running. Still holding on to using a saddle brown color, but grey is still in the running. Which way do I go, which way do I go. Got to make up my mind soon.

Speakers mounted

Got the speakers installed in the storage box lid behind the seat. Took it all apart and painted it the same white as the inside of the cab. It will all get covered later when the upholstery gets done. Got it all back together now. Will put the speakers back in and wire them after the truck is painted.
Speaking of upholstery, Have a guy in my Friday Car Guys group that does upholstery. Will go see him in the next couple of weeks to get the seat done. I finally think I have decided to go with a saddle brown upholstery. I like the color and think it will look good in this cab. I would ask you what do you think, but, in this case, I'll go with what I think.

Battery and storage box

Got the storage box done except it still needs painting.  Looks like I will put the battery in the passenger side of the box. I mocked up a cardboard box about the size of a battery and it fits just fine. I think that will be a better place for it and easily accessible. I'm going to put an Optima Red Top battery in it so there should be no fume problem in the cab. I will run the cables through the cab floor and forward in the frame to the engine compartment.
I also decided I didn't want the radio behind the seat in the storage box lid.  Just too hard to get to while your driving.  Therefore , I made a bracket and hung it below and in the middle of the dash. The new radio wont fit in the old hole without major changes, and the dash is already primed, so will use the new blank off panels back in there spot.  I think I will put the speakers in the storage box lid. Need to work on that tomorrow.
Lots of rain this week. The corn is growing fast.

Front Fender Filler Pieces

Finally crawled under the truck and installed to two small filler pieces between the back of the front fenders and the running boards. Had to drill three holes in each piece and cut some of the metal off that was overhanging and not needed. Wasn't to bad of a job.
Next, I need to build the box behind the seat that will house the battery and possibly the radio system.

Seat Work

Took some trim pieces that need re-chroming to Quincy yesterday. Took them to Precision Plating. Old fella Named Bill (about my age) owns and runs the place. Heard good reviews about the place. Very interesting guy. You wouldn't believe all the different stuff they plate. Looks like 5 to 6 weeks lead time. Will take a picture when I get them back.
Meanwhile, been working on the seat springs. Took a while to get both the seat and back stripped of the cover and batting underneath. Found 5 broken springs. Ground a trough in some 1/4 inch bolts about 2 inches long and used them to strengthen the welds.  Sandblasted both seat and back. Then a coat of primer and a coat of metallic silver paint. None of it will be seen later after it is reupholstered. Ran out of paint, so have to finish painting the back springs. Then The back springs need to be reattached to the back frame.
Now I have to go tackle those two small filler pieces between the rear of the front fender and the running board. Been procrastinating on that as it is on the floor, on the back work. Shouldn't take too long hopefully.

Seat Frame Repair

Took the seat frame all apart and sandblasted it. Primed it and shot it with a metallic silver coat of paint. Hope that will blend in with the colors later. Will take the burlap off the back springs and clean them up next. Then I will attack the seat bottom.

Spring busy

When the weather changes for the better, you have to multi-task. Lawns mowed, garden is plowed and planted. Canoe is fixed and waxed. Trailer is ready for the canoe and Kayak. Harley is ready for next weeks "Old Dogs on Hogs" Ride.
I did get some things done on the F1 in the interim. Installed the steering column to check if the new wheels and tires will fit on the front. Don't have the tires yet, but soon I hope. The rollers I have on it now fit fine and are 28 inch in diameter. The new wheels and tires will have the same diameter and offset. Should fit fine. Also mounted the stainless running board steps.
Was going to put the bench seat back in to see how much room I will have behind it now that the gas tank has been reposition under the bed. Found the drivers side of the mounting hardware was all broken down. Took the frame and seat apart and worked it back in shape with a hammer and a little welding and grinding. The two mounting sides are in primer now and still have to sandblast the frame and prime it. Looking to mount the stereo system and battery behind the seat.
Harley ride to Texas and Louisiana starts next week. Looks like we may be riding in the rain again.
(But who cares.)

Back to the Stainless and Chrome

Cold and rainy again today so went back to polishing the stainless steel and chrome for the hood and lights. The handle in the nose that opens the hood is a bit pitted and no one makes a new one. Might have to get that one and the dummy handle on the other side re-chromed. Although you can buy a new one for the dummy side but not the main one. Go figure. I do have to say the handle that opens the hood is a bit more complicated and therefore may be cost prohibitive to make. You can see in the picture that I do have some extra pieces. I will use the best ones and put the others on E-BAY after the truck is done to recoup some of my costs. (A drop in the bucket.  Small laughter in the background).

Nutserts or Quick Nuts or Speed Nuts or----

Found the door catches. Had to make some new rubber bumpers for them out of a solid piece of rubber I found in the garage. Put them in temporarily so the doors don't swing all the way open and mare the primed finish.
Moving on, I wanted to clean up the back end of the bed by making all the Screw heads the same. I bought some Nutserts from Amazon and later found out Farm King supplies them (They call them Quick Nuts). Also called Speed Nuts. They sell a tool for installing them for about $80 bucks and more. Went on You Tube and found a way to make a tool out of flatbar in about 10 minutes. I used a piece of "C" channel and ground the ears off one end. Then I drilled a 1/4 inch hole in that end for a 1/4 inch bolt. With a couple of washers added, I then used my 3/8 drill to set the Nutserts in the sheetmetal. Quick and easy and seems very strong too. Now all the screws at the back of the bed are 1/4 inch stainless steel button head Allen screws. Should look symmetrical now. No chains hanging off the back.

Roll Pan Finished

Got the roll pan finished and primed. I like this 3/4 one better than the full flat piece I was going to put on. This covers the hitch and doesn't look as clunky as the full sheet did. The two side pieces I welded on bolt to the upper and lower holes of the bumper bracket, so no added bolts to contend with.  It's a little tricky getting in place, just have to know the secret.
Now I'm looking for my door stop brackets. Can't find them. Gotta be here somewhere.
By the way, Spring is here and everything is greening up. My favorite time of the year. Time to get the Harley out for a spin.

Back from France

Got back from France last Monday and had a great trip. Took Daughter Becky and family Phil and Granddaughter Hannah with us. We were all amazed. Did a Viking trip down the Seine River. Put it on your bucket list.
Back to the F1. Started making a roll pan to cover as much of the trailer hitch as possible.
Cut a sheet of 18 gauge metal and took it to my friend Jim Luther who has a small finger brake. He put a couple of 45 degree bends in it for me.  After some head scratching on how to mount it, I came up with using the existing bolts that hold the bumper brackets and bumper on. I still have the left side piece to weld in and see if it will fit. Hope to finish it up today.
More to come.

Daddies Little Fatty is Back Home

Jeff and Tony brought the F1 back today on a trailer. Jeff has another truck to paint ahead of mine. He was doing the body work and prep on mine until the other guy was ready. He will probably come back and get it sometime in August or September. Meanwhile I will continue to do some of the multitude of little things that need to be done. The plan now is to have it painted by November.
Jeff has done a great job on the body work. Things are lining up and gaps are looking good.. Still a ways to go, but This little Fatty has come a long way from a farm truck. And she gets prettier every day.

Stainless Trim

Well, since the truck is down in Warsaw, and it's cold out again, I decided I better get to polishing up some of the stainless trim. Some of the pieces are salvageable, but had to order the F-1 pieces and the F-O-R-D pieces that go on the front just below the hood. Looks like the side strips will be okay and the parking light trim will be alright. There are a few other items I left down in Warsaw that needs to be addressed like the headlight rings.
Headed to Paris for a week, so another break. (Love these breaks). Spring should have sprung by the time we get back.

The Bed goes together

Jeff, Tony and I put the bed back together after Jeff primed it. Also put the rear fenders on and the running boards. Took some time to get everything even close. Also aligned the cab doors. It's all in the prep work folks. A lot of work gets done before the paint goes on. Still more hours to make sure everything is right. She is looking like a truck again, but still a long way to go.

Putting the body together for final fit

Jeff , Tony, Bob and I put the cab back on the chassis yesterday, and then added all the front end parts.  Took a bit of tweaking to get fenders hood grill running boards all together.  Jeff will now do the final massaging of the body parts and get it ready for paint.
Tomorrow I will take down the headlight buckets and some other small parts that will need painting.
Jeff also primed all the parts for the bed yesterday. We will put the bed back together tomorrow and set it back on the chassis.   Daddies Little Fatty is lookin good.

First Start on engine.

Been a busy week.  Bob, Van and Jim came down for the first start on the engine. Jim and Van did the top dead center and timing first. Got the battery hooked up and took a few cranks to get her started. Fired up and sounded good. Ran it for 20 minutes for break in time. That was a very happy moment. Good oil pressure. had a couple of water leaks at the head plugs. Pulled the plugs later after cool down and put some sealant on the plugs and cranked them down tight.  I had pulled the thermostat out for the run in and replaced it after cool down and draining the water. Added half and half anti-freeze and water back in. Had a leak at the hose clamp on the goose neck that was just a tighten job. Pulled the oil filter off and cut it apart to check for any filing from bearings or camshaft. Had a very small amount of shiny filings, but nothing significant. Was very happy to get this part done. Thanks for all the help boys. 
Next is bleed the brakes.
I wanted the run the engine one more time after I had good brakes so I could shift the transmission and check that it was working and the rear-end would turn over all right.
Next day Nancy helped me bleed the brakes. I found four leaks. I had to change one short piece of brake line and just needed to tighten up the other two.
Jeff (the Painter) called and wanted to come pick up the chassis that afternoon.  Bob showed up and we started the engine again. All worked well.
Tony and Jeff showed up with a trailer and we loaded it up and sent it off to Warsaw for a final put together and tweaking. Will do that tomorrow.

Got back from Pensacola Saturday March 7th and brought sunshine and heat with us. Was a great two month. Really enjoyed it and Nancy's knee got some healing time in.
Went down to see how the body work was coming on the F1.   Jeff Crow has done an amazing job on most of the metal work. This guy is amazing. He can make any piece of lumpy metal look straight. We decided that now I will bring the chassis down to him and we will put all the sheet metal together one last time to check fit and gaps and so forth.
First I want to get the engine fired up to make sure it runs and fix any leaks necessary.
Spent the rest of today wiring up gauges and putting fluids in. General get it ready to fire up.
Van Aldershof and Jim Luther will come down tomorrow along with Bob Ertzinger to help me fire it up and do the run in.  First fire up, cross your fingers.

Grill Bars

Since the weather has gotten colder, I decided to do a little inside project. I remembered I bought Stainless Steel Bling covers for the front grill bars.  I had forgotten I did not drill the holes for the attachment clips.  I wanted that done before the grill is painted.  Measured all the bars and drilled the 1/4 inch holes for the clips. Got it all back apart now and ready for paint.
It was one degree temperature out this morning and tonight it is snowing. Suppose to get to 11 below zero by Wednesday.  Thursday we leave for Pensacola FL for two months.  Hope winter is over by the time we get back.  The painting should be progressing well by then.
See you in the spring, I'm running for the sun.

Roll Pan

After a little research, decided to try to make a roll pan. The reason for this is to try to cover as much of the trailer hitch as possible. I also think I want the license plate to be just above the hitch in the middle of the roll pan.  Did a quick mock-up with a piece of peg board.  Thought  I might buy one off E-BAY, but went to a local metal shop and had them break a piece for me. I think the straight piece will cover the hitch better than a rolled one. The tail gate has a 1 1/4" rolled piece on the top and bottom. I bought a piece of 1" conduit and sliced one quarter out of it and will tack it on the corner to match the tail gate. Cold weather has set in so I left it here until it warms up.