Uncle Howard's 1946 Chevy Truck

[ATVYP]

As I day thumbed through hoards of car and truck magazines, I had a thought about tilting the bed, but it seemed more like a far-fetched dream than a real possibility. But as I considered showing off the C4 IRS, and mounting the battery on the frame rail and the boost on the frame behind the cab, it seemed more practical than just dream.

I started by notching a 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 slot in the bed support rails and laid a modified square tubing that I capped the ends. I did not want it too look cheesy, but my goal has always been to appear factory as possible. After some homework and thinking, I also wanted to adjust it any way possible. What I came up with is found in the pics below.

To tilt the bed, I am working on purchasing gas-filled springs to lift. The electric actuators are neat, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much money. It is not a very heavy bed, but I want to lift it safely, and secure it safely too. I looked through oodles of forums checking for other good ideas for tilting beds, but I was really surprised how few well documented articles I could find, especially conceding hinges. I've seen many that I did not like at all, but all the ones that appeared good didn't have viewable pictures of the right stuff.

If anyone is wondering why the back half of the bracket is sticking off the frame, I am planning to replace the rear crossmember that the bracket will mount to. I hope to start on that next week.

If you have any ideas of how to make my design better, or other forums that I missed, feel free to send them my way. Thanks.

[VWBeamer]

Sweet!

[Narxoleptic Customs]

Great story!! great build too!! Keep the pix coming and I'm proud of u for having the balls to chop the truck up. Most folks wd have built it the way "Old Uncle Howard" bought it.
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[cable666guy]

Great story! Will be checking back to see progress. Keep at it!!

[firedog]

Nice truck build you got going there I notice you are not too far from me I would love to check that out in person keep up the great work!
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[shaunatk]

Very nice! Makes me want to get back to work on my project!

[ATVYP]

I have been REALLY hard at work this past few weeks. There are many seasons that I must work 24 / 7 in youth ministry, so I need to take this window of time to get some stuff done!

My ultimate idea is to run a T56 6 Speed transmission and fuel injection, so I am running all the extra items now so I will be ready when the time comes. I finished the bed tilt, but realized I didn't take pictures of the finished product! Oh well, I will have the bed back on soon.

I purchased 2 250 lbs gas springs (shocks / struts - like to open / close the rear lid on a Vette or Camara). A close friend is an IT manager (aka: the computer guy's computer guy) and former CAD designer, so he showed me a cool and easy formula for placing the shock points on the bed and frame. It turned out GREAT! With a little lift, the bed opens itself and stays, then with a tug down, it easily closes itself. I am in the process of making a latch mechanism that will be hidden in the frame rails - I think I will use a hood latch lock, and the cable will run into the cab with a hood-style release. That way it is all clean looking, safe / secure, and there are not any tacky pins or clips anywhere (no offense if anyone has gone that route!).

A good friend who is a local car collector hooked me up with a TRICK fuel cell. I was going to reinstall the heavy steel job my dad had made, but this thing is neat. It came with a Nova drag car he bought / sold a few years back, and was just setting on his shelf for the past 10 years. I am in the process of installing / hooking up / fabricating parts to put it together.

[ATVYP]

I have the two boxing plates made that fit behind the rear. I want to hide as many items within the frame rail as possible, but I'm not silly, and want to have access to them when necessary. So with lots of thinking, reading, and talking with friends, I think I came up with a pretty neat idea. I cut the Chevy bowties out of the frame rails, and cutting flat plates that will bolt in behind the hole with 2 1/4 stainless bolts. I'm not done, but on a good path.

[Ol Flame 71]

amazing story,and an amazing ride as well!

[hemifalcon]

..that's a great transformation you are doing on that truck.. great work..

[502ms]

Love the story, God bless you sir.
Great work! Subscribed
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[67cheby]

great project, nice job on the tilt bed also me and my grandfather built several like that back in my minitruck days

[ATVYP]

I am moving quickly to the next step. After purchasing the mid boxing plate material last week, we removed the cab and engine, all the cross members, and began filling unnecessary holes, welding in all the weld nuts, and welding in the clamping locations for hoses and wires. By next week I hope to have the frame mounted on a frame rotisserie to do final welding and grinding.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Pastor Roger Hogan last week. He has a 55 Ford F-100 that won (I believe 1st place) truck of year last year (either at the Goodguys or NSCA - whichever is the big one). He had to qualify top places at several major car shows to be eligible to enter the big competition. He gave me some VERY good advice about things I would not have thought of. He suggested moving the battery and master under the cab to clean up the focal point. He had some really good ideas. It was well worth my time on several levels! If you get a chance, Google "Roger Hogan 55 Ford F-100" and you will be impressed - even if we are mostly Chevy guys on this forum!

[1Bad65GMC]

Great build, subscribed!
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[ATVYP]

I have been busy plugging away. I didn't realize how many things I missed taking photos of until I went back through looking for things. After pulling the cab and bed, I am almost ready to install the mid boxing plates. The brake / clutch pedal has been modified and assembled. I will have to take pictures of that soon. There are 1/4" mounting bosses welded into the frame (I believe I'm on my third bottle of MIG gas!). I cut out several bowtie access holes in the boxing plates. The frame will be charcoal and a black plate will bolt up on the back side of the holes. You will see all of the weld nuts ready for the trans member, battery box, brake pedal assembly and booster mounts. I have ordered a couple bear claw hood / trunk latches that will be mounted to latch the bed (another picture I missed taking), and I just received the 2 2psi residual valves and the proportioning valve with the brake switch. I took and fabricated the frame enclosures for the rear side of the front swing arm clearance. That is turning out really well. Then just tonight I mounted the frame on Ted Tenholder's body rotisserie. This will make welding up the boxing plates and finishing the welding / grinding SOOOO much easier (and hopefully more professional appearing).

I appreciate everyone's positive comments. I am always looking for good advice too. I believe it is turning out well, but I am really interested in learning from other's experience to help it turn out really well. Thanks!

[ATVYP]

I could not fit all the progress in just 1 post. I suppose that's a good thing! I can't wait for my dad to see it - makes me feel like a little boy again.

[Stephanie]

Love this build and the story behind it I hope we get to see some updates really soon!

[Porch]

ATVYP the steering box worked great thank u
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[showwheelsusa]

Hey this is Carlos from Showwheels, I have been through your post and read your incredible story and the great work you have been putting together. I see that you have already acquire a set of wheels for your project, but in case you change your mind. I would like to offer our services, and will put a good deal together for you, to help you out on your build. You can check us out at www.showwheelsusa.com or you can contact me at sales@showwheelsusa.com 714-524-3100. I've also attached a picture of a 1940 Chevy as well so you can get an idea of our wheels will look like on your truck build.

[ATVYP]

Porch: I'm glad the steering box worked well! It was pleasant meeting you and your family. I wish you the best of luck and hope we run into each other again sometime.
Carlos from Showwheels: Thanks for your offer, and I will let you know when I get a little closer to road-worthiness. I checked out your website and it looks like you have some great stuff.

It has been a CRAZY summer with teen church camp, pre-teen church camp, the MO State FWB Meeting, the National Association of Free Will Baptist Meeting in Memphis, VBS, and all the other schedule filling items that fill the calendar of many youth pastors. It was a great summer and we accomplished much great stuff, but I'm ready for a "routine" - if there is such a thing! The boys are back in school anyway.

So I definitely have some off-time built up from working 24/7 for several weeks in a row over the summer. As soon as I got caught up (with paper work, office stuff, helping Dad fix his Onan powered mower, and the list of honey-dos) I headed out to work on my toy! It's amazing how the stress disappears and nothing else seems to matter so much when you get lost in loud background music and the noise and sparks of a grinder.

I spent last Saturday at the Springfield, MO swap meet. WOW! Talk about a HUGE swap meet! I had never seen such a massive event. I wish they had been able to organize it somehow, perhaps between different types of venders. We walked from 7am - 5pm and never hit the same isle twice. That is a good way to catch the car-bug and build some personal motivation to come home and get to work! I learned a few things 1) Very few people put new stuff on old cars. Perhaps the electronic stuff scares some? 2) I was really surprised how much sloppy work is out there. Well-done builds are few and far between in the "real world" - and I apologize if I just slammed anyone. Why don't people take a second longer and do things right? 3) These old cars and trucks are worth A LOT more money than I realized, or that they use to be. I guess they aren't making any more of them. It doesn't take much to build a $25,000 - $35,000 vehicle.

So I've been working. Here are a few pictures.

[ATVYP]

For some details: I am at the point where my 110 MIG welder was not hot enough to give a smooth looking and good penetrating top weld. I considered having all the final welds TIG welded for appearance sake, but I lucked out! A good friend hooked me up with a really nice 220 Miller MIG, and this welder does such a better job with the final welds. So I am going over everything with a fine tooth comb, grinding what I don't like to look at and filling it in with something that is up to par. The good thing is that everything is structurally sound, but the appearance of a sloppy weld will really drive me crazy down the road.

I have been working on the backing plate for my boxing plate bow tie symbols. I was not able to fit 1 single sheet metal into the slot, but I found something that works even better. I cut the plates in 1/2 and have assembled them with machine screws. Using a template, I was able to drill every plate and hole exactly where it was necessary without worrying about imperfection. I spent an entire 2 days dressing up the bow tie holes with files / grinders / and finished with a rolox pad. I believe they are really close to perfect now. Down the road I will use the stainless steel allen head screws where the temporary standard ones are now. I am really pleased with how they are turning out. When the frame is painted a charcoal color and all the brackets and backing plates are black, I think it will really "pop" in a good way.

[ATVYP]

All the plates had to be recessed to fit around the steering knuckle bearing and various other bulkhead connectors / ect.

It was time to mock up the brake master components also. It wasn't too bad cutting / threading the booster shaft off the 93' Vette. It was some HARD material, but I took it slow and it turned out well.

[fishmunger]

looks nice! keep up the good work and keep pressing on!

Do you have to do bodywork too?

[ATVYP]

I'm sure there will be some body work to do, but for the most part it's all done (although it will need re-spraying at very least). A family friend, Dick Schiller did the body work in the early 90's. He is very good at what he does, and everything has help up extrodinary. In fact, that has been one of the real joys of working on this truck the second time is it's like working on a brand new vehicle. The first time around we had to deal with rust, dirt, and old grease. Not this time! It's been a lot of fun. However, I do plan to clean up the firewall, but I'm not sure if I'll just fill holes or replace it.

I am at the point when I need to pre-assemble everything to see what fits and what doesn't. I dropped the frame off the rotisserie and have began assembling all the parts. I am also in the process of cleaning up all the aluminum components, so I will just have to polish / clear coat / paint - however I decide to finish it.

I really hope to install a 5 or 6 speed in it very soon. The TH350 is in great shape, and was built by Al Heinke with all the cool hot-rod parts, but there is something really fun about shifting gears. I understand most people get tired of stick for their daily driver, but this is my toy. So I am beginning a list of needed parts, and there are LOTS of nickel and dime stuff that will be needed soon. But if I can wing it, top of the list is a T5 (or if I can find an affordable T56) and possibly a TPI system.

[oldgoldchevy]

thanks for such detailed account of the work you have done. It really is inspirational for us DIY guys. Now my '70 snb project doesn't seem so daunting. It's just time and money.