Tired tonight. Plus, I realized I was measuring the rear end pinion angle wrong, and need a big shim because I am 4 degrees positive, not negative. Oops. I guess when you change from a two piece driveshaft, change the leaf springs, change the leaf spring mounts, along with some other stuff, you're bound to have a few issues.
Anyway I started assembling the bed. Annoyingly, I found another piece of the inner wheel tub that must be patched, so I only got one side on tonight. The bed front panel is a bit of a mystery, because mine was all rusted solid when I got it, so I really have no clue how it goes together.
Anyway, some pictures for you guys:
The good news is that the ride height looks perfect and I am really excited that it's getting together.
The carriage bolts were weird. I think they were 5/16 stock, but the square hole is really big. Plus, they are a bit bigger in their current condition. I threw 3/8 in there and I will pull them through. I saw an accident with a classic truck that was obviously not in very good condition recently. The bed, in pieces, was on one side of the road, the truck was on the other. I think I'll make 3/8" work.
Now I am faced with the following decision:
Buy 2 1/4" perches and cut mine off and reweld the new ones on 8 degrees rotated for a total cost of $25.
Buy a square tube and use the chop saw I am currently borrowing to weld a wedge shaped section of it to the existing perch for a total cost of $15.
Buy a 8 degree shim and bolt it in the shim pack or weld it on the perch for a total cost of $33.
Thoughts?
Bought the shims. They will be the quickest and look fairly original.
Looking great Tuna!
BED.... ASSEMBLE!!
I need a few extra bolts to make it done, and I needed to weld a bit tonight on one wheel tub, but that's pretty close to done.
The one remaining issue is that the front panel sits on top of the bed floor, and has round holes. I have to drill the bed floor to match since I made it from scratch, but with round holes on top I can't see a carriage bolt being any good there. I'll have to think of something, though, I don't think hex heads were stock up there.
Special thanks to Tunawife tonight, she was a sport and stood on the heads of a few carriage bolts for me. She also tried to chuck washers at my face while I was hanging our from under the truck. Happily she never followed through, but she did laugh a lot. Unfortunately, neighbor Jimmy was cutting his onions and smoking, so Tunawife's allergies chased her back inside after only a few minutes.
Not original, but rather than transferring the holes, you could fill them with weld and have no fasteners there.
I'm loving the progress. It makes me jealous, wish I had the time (and ability) to do the same kind of stuff with my old van.
Have you ever thought of trying your hand at rust repair on an Econoline? 
Rufledt wrote: I'm loving the progress. It makes me jealous, wish I had the time (and ability) to do the same kind of stuff with my old van. Have you ever thought of trying your hand at rust repair on an Econoline?
I charge by the hour. Warning, I am slow!
DILYSI Dave wrote: Not original, but rather than transferring the holes, you could fill them with weld and have no fasteners there.
I nearly forgot that the original was bolted -and- welded. I could just skip the bolts.
do you charge money? beer? personal 'favors'? 
No updates tonight. TunaMom and TunaStepDad cannot drive legally for a good long while. They have dogs at their house, which Tunakid #2 is asthmatically allergic to. I am literally driving from Greenville to Myrtle Beach to get them and then back tomorrow night, and the same dance on Sunday. I need to rest tonight.
I prefer literal driving over figurative driving any day.
Looking great Brian!
HHMmmmm...my plans to finish the Volvo before you finished the truck may have to be re-thunk. You Sir, are in peril of owning an actual "Truck"
Depends on how many visitors I get! I have to drive TunaMom and TunaStepDad home tonight.
Next weekend I get my sister in law from he Atlanta airport.
The following weekend we drive to Syracuse to go to a wedding.
So you may catch up!
I got the wedge shims for the pinion angle, but they were too wide, so neighbor Jim is taking them down on his mill.
I also discovered an issue with the bedside that I'll explain better later with pictures.
I wish I had a neighbor with a mill.
tuna55 wrote: The following weekend we drive to Syracuse to go to a wedding.
Hey that's in my neck of the woods! Well, kinda. Same state, anyway. Give me a shout if you're going to be anywhere near Binghamton and want to get a burger or something.
Rufledt wrote:tuna55 wrote: The following weekend we drive to Syracuse to go to a wedding.Hey that's in my neck of the woods! Well, kinda. Same state, anyway. Give me a shout if you're going to be anywhere near Binghamton and want to get a burger or something.
Dude I wish. Sister in laws wedding, and she wants the kids involved even though they don't want to be. And they really don't. I'll be lucky if I can see Dad while I am up there. If by chance I get more time than I expect I'll PM you, I'd love to see you and your new kid.
Likewise, if you happen to be driving anywhere near my neck of the woods.
I totally understand. Weddings are crazy busy, especially for anyone involved. At least you may end up with some great stories! Or you might, if you family is like mine. Have you ever been to a wedding of a relative and a stripper, officiated by a witch? How about one where the drunk mother of the bride barfs on the table and starts playing in it? How about one where an uncle somehow finds a bright yellow hat (with matching spaghetti string purse, of course) and starts trying to juggle toddlers? I have. 
Let me know if you get some extra time! Open invitation, anytime you're in the area.
Rufledt wrote: I totally understand. Weddings are crazy busy, especially for anyone involved. At least you may end up with some great stories! Or you might, if you family is like mine. Have you ever been to a wedding of a relative and a stripper, officiated by a witch? How about one where the drunk mother of the bride barfs on the table and starts playing in it? How about one where an uncle somehow finds a bright yellow hat (with matching spaghetti string purse, of course) and starts trying to juggle toddlers? I have.
I need to come party with you! Sounds like you have more fun than the Mayor of Toronto!
In reply to NOHOME:
My extended family knows how to party. I'm the boring one, I don't even drink. 
NOHOME wrote: Sounds like you have more fun than the Mayor of Toronto!
That needs to be in "Say What?"
So I stared a lot this evening. I snugged a few bolts down to hold the bed in position on the frame and then scratched my head for an hour looking at the fuel filler.
I think I have a solution, but I had to order stuff. It will be pretty good, though. Worth the wait.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to how to go about making a sheet metal stake pocket? I want one a bit bigger and longer than stock to cover the fuel filler, so a junkyard is not going to work. I don't have a sheet metal brake, and this needs to look very good, so making it myself isn't going to work.
I also need a way to attach it to the truck that's not permanent. I am thinking currently of welding a nut to the bedside and screwing into it. Not sure yet.
I also took a very large chunk out of my left pinkie finger when the bolt fell out of the jack handle and all heck broke loose. I can sort of feel it again.
Maybe find a scrap of square tube of the appropriate size. Onlinemetals.com has short lengths for fairly cheap, especially if you are ol with a random length. I got a tiny bit of DOM in an odd size from them for my control arms.
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