1949 Chevrolet Pickup Project

hillbilly willy said:
Looking really good. I'm sure you will driving it this summer.



Cocobolo, I have left over parts from my 49 build that I will give to your grandson if he gets his truck. Our mechanic goes to Kamloops every 3 weeks so i can send them with him. Keep me posted, Willy
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That is exceedingly generous of you, and I thank you most kindly. The truck he's looking at is over at Ashcroft I believe. His dad has a trailer to bring it home and perhaps that will be happening once the snow is out of the way here. I don't know the condition of the truck, but from what I'm told it is more or less complete. Guess we will find out when it gets here.

According to the meteorological groundhog prognosticator we're in for another several weeks of winter. And so far he's right! It's -7 here right now.
 
.....well finally got the box all done. The bottom side I painted with POR15 black. I almost went with a black top side but figured it will look dirty too easily. Stained the oak twice with dark walnut and then 4 coats of clear. Drilled a ton of holes to mount the stainless strips. The side angles are not drilled to match the bed strips....again another repop headache. But the end result looks pretty good.
After I polished the endgate I was going to use chrome letters but the "C" went on crooked and bubbles and just looked cheap, so I went with black instead and the vinyl is really nice alltough it is a real bugger trying to align the letters. Figured the new stainless hinges will be easy to install, well turned out a real pain. Like I said before, anything repop just doesn't fit. They don't fit the pipe in the endgate and the endgate is abit too wide for the hinges. So I had to machine down the hinges in the lathe and then mill out the bolt holes to get a wider mount to fit the end gate.......what a waste of time trying to do all this.
Also finished wetsanding and polishing the hood and front fenders. This clear is hard to work with.......pile of 1500 paper , 6 bottles of Mcquiers and totaly wrecked a polishing pad .
I still have a chance to make Draggins Car Show Easter weekend so hopefully the rest go well and I finish in time.

































 
.....it's in Saskatoon this year isn't it ? , usually farming time of year for me but we'll see what happens down the road. But yeah, I wanna drive it as much as I can this year.
 
.....wetsanded the cab roof 2day, and finished the hood. The center stainless fit ok, but the repop front emblem again I could shoot the guys who made it. It is beautifull quality stainless piece, but it is smaller than the original, the center grove is off 1/16" to the side, and the 4 mounting studs don't match the hood holes. Only way I could fix things is drill the hood holes bigger and get it in place. A 5 minute job took me over an hour trying to make it fit. Even the rubber gasket I had to cut a chunk off one side cause it was way too long. But end result looks not to bad now, it will have to ride.

 
....well I been under alot of pressure the last few weeks with family health issues and trying to work on the 49. But many late nights in the shop and I decided at the last minute to enter it in Draggins car Show easter friday and saturday in Saskatoon. I still got a few things to do but it will show well as is. Got the box filled with my old display stuff from long ago when I showed the 58's. Few details wednesday yet and off to Saskatoon on thursday in this stormy weather. See you there......:)







 
Turned out good congrads, I must have missed or forgot that you put Hurst lightning rod shifters in the truck, very cool. Kind of funny watching people trying to figure them out if don't know what they are when take dads Hurst/Olds out.
 
Nailhead, I've been following along with your build, very nice job you done,Good Luck at the show.
 
I saw this truck at the Draggins show....looked real nice, nice to chat with ya.
 
....pics just don't show the color well, but I got more comments on it than I can count. Probably just about every woman there just fell in love with it, you could just read their lips when they walked by, " it's beautifull " or " I love that color " , many had to ask what it was. The Hurst Lightnings Rods got alot of attention and I had to show how they worked to many, including a young guy about 5 years old he just had to know why it had 3 gear shifters. The diesel drew questions as to why ? or just amazing cause it was something different never seen in Draggins before --- a streetrod with a diesel.
 
....forgot to add some pics of the 49 taken outside in 2014. Looks different in the sunlight , the pearl makes it change. Drove it a few times, runs really nice. Took it to a couple more show and shines too. Never figured out the fuel milage as I only made 300 miles and the guage didn't move very much.























 
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VERY tastefully done !!! Nice looking truck....and I like your shop with all the signs.....:)
 
Very nice, mate who would worry about the fuel milage when you have done 300 miles and that is still high enough, in a cool ride does mileage really matter, I have a Big Block but could have run a smaller engine if I was worried about it. :D:D
 
...Thanks guys. No John, the mileage I don't care, but am really curious what this diesel does with 2.39 gears and overdrive. It seems to have lots of power and easy to get to 100 kph ( 60 mph ) but it is hardly turning at that speed so I was hoping it makes at least 40 mpg just to say it does...:D
 
Truck looks awesome. Love the stance and the wheels/TA's. I may have missed it but what are you using to latch the tailgate?. Got any pics/details?
 
...Thanks Cody . I debated on how to use or not use the end gate. I didn't want the original style chains hanging scratching up the paint. And making a cable or flat bar fold down stopper didn't appeal to me either. Making a inside slide latch either manual or electric didn't suit it either. And the box being that low, what the heck do I need to open the end gate for anyway ? So I just used stainless bolts and big washers to lock it where the chain hooks would go. It is solid and don't rattle and looks good , simple solution. First time I had it out was to the Draggins Car Show and I had the box fully loaded with stuff and didn't need the end gate to open anyway. Don't think I got a pic of the top corners but I'll take one soon here and post it to show what I did.
 
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