The Chester Chronicles

[OrrieG]

Lot of work to do in 4 months! I'd check with vehicle regs in Hawaii. I had a friend that got stationed there in the 70's, shipped his Mustang over (67 so it wasn't that old) and ended up spending a bunch of money to pass safety inspection. Good call on taking bed rest and giving Phil the bed task!

[sgtusmc]

Good luck in Hawaii. I was stationed there for 4 years. It's a great place to live. Down side is, everything has to be shipped there. I did a few builds while I was there and spent a lot on shipping parts. If you live on base, you'll know how expensive it can get at the hobby shop. Once again, good luck you'll enjoy the island.

[50-MO]

Hawaii vs. Missouri? No brainer there.

If you need somewhere to store it for awhile you guys are more than welcome to bring it over here until you an get it shipped, if need be. We are not to far down the road from you (exit 100 off I44) plenty of room here and it will be safe. Just a thought and offer if you guys need it. Your can come down and check it out if you want just let us know.
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[oldman3]

Glad to have you back and posting...Jim

[OrrieG]

So what has happened??

[coralhead]

Bump.......

[B_Hix]

I dropped off my cherry picker at Stephanie's and Phil's home about a week ago. They were down to a cab on frame, trans and engine. Both had been ill recently and were just recovering. I would imagine they are grinding and wrenching frantically given their pending move.

Steph, where you at?

[skymangs]

I saw in another thread that you guys are still looking for a bench seat for your truck. I have a nice Bench out of a 47 truck. Will need lower re-covered, but really nice other than that. I'm at Whiteman AFB in Warrensburg. Come get it, it's yours for the taking.

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by B_Hix

I dropped off my cherry picker at Stephanie's and Phil's home about a week ago. They were down to a cab on frame, trans and engine. Both had been ill recently and were just recovering. I would imagine they are grinding and wrenching frantically given their pending move.

Steph, where you at?

thanks for the update.

[TennesseeZ]

Originally Posted by skymangs

I saw in another thread that you guys are still looking for a bench seat for your truck. I have a nice Bench out of a 47 truck. Will need lower re-covered, but really nice other than that. I'm at Whiteman AFB in Warrensburg. Come get it, it's yours for the taking.

This is what this board is all about, good people helping others and asking nothing in return if possible. Kudos to skymangs!

[Stephanie]

Hey all!

Quick post as I prepare a long post for you all, thanks so much for checking in with us. Sorry that I seem to have fallen off the face of the planet :P Been stressed with planning the move to Hawaii and what to do with Chester. But we are still alive and still working on him! Post with photos and updates to come shortly!!

And Skymangs, thanks so much for the offer of your seat I'll send you a PM to get more info about it

[Stephanie]

Hey all!

Long time no post, eh? I know, I know, bad Stephanie!

So what has kept me from posting for well over a month?? Stress. That is all I can use as my excuse, and not a good one at that. Ugh. I have been stressed out with our move to Hawaii, with figuring out when to pack things up and what to send first and what to send second, trying to figure out what to do when Phil heads to Sapper school, trying to get the doggies cleared to be allowed to live on Hawaii, get them living situations in California so that they don't have to be in quarantine on the island for 120 days, trying to figure out where and how to store Chester, trying to find a place to live with a garage and yard, etc etc etc.

But even with all that stress, we have been working away on Chester on the weekends and having fun doing it. Unfortunately we are getting to the tedious parts since we have the bed, cab, and engine off! Woot woot!! Trying to grind as much rust off the frame as possible is one thing that I am absolutely hating. Why are sand blasters so expensive?! Grrr! And I know, I know, there is paint that will stop the rusting, yadda yadda, but I am such a perfectionist when it comes to certain things and I never want to get Chester down to the frame again to make repairs, so I want as much rust gone as possible before we prime and paint. In short, to me, rust = bad juju :P So grind away we do. Any suggestions on what to do for the little pieces and sections of the frame? Just get sandpaper and a stick or something, I guess? Also, what do you use that gets rid of paint easily from the body? We are having the hardest time getting it off the bed and cab. There must be like 20 coats or something ridiculous!
The second engine is out as well (and completely toast) and we had a b**ch of a time getting the transmission to work again, but it finally shifts through all 4 gears and reverse. Woot! Small wins are wonderful! We were very worried that we were going to need to find another transmission or some place to get new parts. Speaking of a place, Phil mentioned that he has been trying to find a place that will do some kind of complete submersion cleaning on our '49 engine. I forgot what he called it, but it's like a hot water bath I think that cleans the entire engine out without having to take it completely apart. Anyone know of a place that does something like that?

Skymangs: Thank you thank you thank you so much for the offer of your bench seat! So wonderful! I hope I hear back from you soon of that

Alrighty, enough words, photo drop with descriptions/questions!

Woot woot! Frame


Can someone tell me how to get the sideboards off though?? For some reason I am having the hardest time even getting the few nuts to move. And they are square, so it is even harder since we don't have the tools for them. How did you get yours off?

Cab on a makeshift dolly :P


The out of commission engine. It was full of water and nastiness when we pulled it and there was horrible rust and powder on the pistons that we brushed off before the photo:



Grinding away... The is the worst rust damage I have come across so far on the frame, just some pitting. That makes me happy


Getting to the process of taking the leaf springs off and one of the front spring hanger pieces snapped off. With a closer look, it was completely rubbed through. Craziness!




Will definitely keep you all updated on the goings on. Does anyone have any good suggestion on where to store Chester until we find a good place to live and can afford the 2,000 bucks to ship him out to Hawaii? Some place that has indoor storage and doesn't cost an arm and a leg preferably, since he will be there for several months. Thank you! And thank you all again for stopping buy and asking about the progress. It is slow going now, as you all know, but hopefully it will pick up speed again very soon! Gotta hit that goal to have the engine at least running within the month of October!

Oh, and just for laughs, dog shaming my huskies because they were being bad this week:

[OrrieG]

My dry paint removal tool of choice is a 3m purple "shredded wheat" pad and my handy die grinder. I use a 80 grit. Available at auto paint stores. Does not gum up like regular discs. Move around a lot to avoid building up heat that could warp metal. Haven't ever heard of hot tanking unassembled engines. Sounds and looks like you are getting lucky with the frame and transmission. On the running boards, you are probably just going to have to cut or break off the bolts and plan on replacing them. Square nuts just take an end wrench, cresent wrench or vice grips; some one said there are sockets for square nuts, maybe an 8 point is what he was thinking of.

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

My dry paint removal tool of choice is a 3m purple "shredded wheat" pad and my handy die grinder. I use a 80 grit. Available at auto paint stores. Does not gum up like regular discs. Move around a lot to avoid building up heat that could warp metal. Haven't ever heard of hot tanking unassembled engines. Sounds and looks like you are getting lucky with the frame and transmission. On the running boards, you are probably just going to have to cut or break off the bolts and plan on replacing them. Square nuts just take an end wrench, cresent wrench or vice grips; some one said there are sockets for square nuts, maybe an 8 point is what he was thinking of.

Yeap I said that. and you are right on the money on that Orrie they are 8 point. mine came in a craftsman set i bought to carry in my jeep.

[dmack91]

If the running boards are bolted on with carriage bolts (sorry, I have a 50- F*rd) the easiest way I found was to drill out the center of the head and then hit it with an air chisel. Pops the head of the bolt off with no damage to the board.

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by dmack91

If the running boards are bolted on with carriage bolts (sorry, I have a 50- F*rd) the easiest way I found was to drill out the center of the head and then hit it with an air chisel. Pops the head of the bolt off with no damage to the board.

That is the way I do rivets. The problem with the AD running boatds is the bolt heads dont go through tthe top they go in channels welded under the boards. they can be a real pain!

[Coach529]

Just read the whole thread. Awesome that you two are doing this together.

I really appreciate good photography. You have a great eye.

Hope all went well with your move.

[ChevroletWT]

Great progress!!

For stripping rust off the frame without a sandblaster, try wire brush wheels on your drill! Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Century-76431-Coarse-Radial-...
That brush will leave the metal smooth and ready for any paint you want to throw at it!

My favorite method for removing body paint at home is using a nice electric DA sander and using 80 grit sanding pads.
The good thing about this method is that it will leave the metal perfectly prepped for primer and it does not run you any risk of heating the metal up and causing it to warp.

The engine cleaning process you are thinking of is "hot tanking". Engine machine shops basically have a huge hot chemical bath that strips out all of the grease and gunk from the inside of the engine. It is always standard procedure when an engine goes in for a rebuild. Any local engine or machine shop should provide these services. But if you look into hot tanking you will also be looking into cleaning bores and basically a full rebuild, just so you know!

[alabama1949chevy]

Wondering if anybody has heard from Stephanie and if they got Chester to the Aloha State? Just read this whole thread and WOW...just wow.

[juanz1947]

nice truck and dogs

[oldman3]

I wish she would chime in and let us know how things are going...Jim

[alabama1949chevy]

Originally Posted by oldman3

I wish she would chime in and let us know how things are going...Jim

I'll second that!!!!

[JR25]

Originally Posted by alabama1949chevy

I'll second that!!!!

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[chevyboy73]

any updates? i really like this truck! i hope you got all moved down and have chester there too!

[vht]

We need to organize a search party. I really got interested in this build.