'46 Chevy Shorty

[Tango]

Finally found a sales rep who was willing to run my specs through his computer. It looks like the closest I can get to the original 36" diameter is about 33.6". That is with an 8R19.5. Bridgestone and a couple Chinese makers have them but I won't buy Chinese when I can avoid it. The Japanese Bridgstones are widely available and have a very good reputation on commercial vehicles so I am going to look at them. Their "R187" sell for just $269 which is way less than the slightly taller tires that require a wider rims ($5-600 ea. for just the tires). I ran the calcs and the 33.6" height puts my 65 mph RPM's at 1817. Only slightly higher than what I was trying to get to.

Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

Onward!

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango. Five long days since we last heard from you. I'll bet you're spending your time with those Swedish bikini team chicks again rather than working on your bus. I've got a little down time right now so why don't you send the team my way while you work on your bus and post lots of pics! Ha!

I may have missed it but have you shared your floor plan with us? I remember something about the bath being located over the wheel well but I don't recall anything else. Jack

[Tango]

Howdy Jack --- I read where you decided to increase the volume of "blood" you've invested in the "blood, sweat & tears" applied to your rig. Do keep a little for yourself.

I've only had a couple of days in the past three months to try and get anything done. And even less to tend to the Bikini team. Biggest headache right now is just remembering what the hell I was doing and where I left off. There sure are a lot of parts lying about. Wonder what they go to?

May have a couple of new-ish pix in a few days. Till then...try not to bleed on anything your wife is really fond of.

[Tango]

Managed to get a few little things done in spite of the heat & humidity and hope to get more done this weekend...


Now have brand new front springs courtesy of Eaton Detroit. Great folks to work with. They also had the necessary hanging hardware to fit this antique, all right off the shelf.


Thru-wall fuel box is ready to mount once the interior panel is positioned and cut. And yes...that is a floor-shift boot that is doing duty to seal off the filler and keep outside stuff outside.



Left & right bumper/deck extension plates. The fold up rear deck will attach at these points.


And finally...the LP tank is now mounted. Fitted behind the passenger side duallies via a 3/8" steel plate welded to the frame & body mounts. Not plumbed yet, but ready to hook up. It is seen through one of the access hatches I cut in the rear quarter panels. I am making hinged doors for them to ease access under there.

Onward!

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango. Nice neat install on the deck plates. After looking at your propane tank I was convinced that we used the same tank. However, something kept nagging at me that our tanks weren't the same. Finally I had to go to the garage and crawl in the pit below my bus and look. My tank came with brackets on the back which allowed me to mount the tank directly to the frame rail so while the tanks are the same, the mounts are different (and I'll be able to sleep tonight since I know the answer ). I considered putting in a door to access the propane tank but when the propane guy said he didn't mind reaching under the bus to fill the tank I took him at his word. I guess the door was just one more complication I didn't want to deal with at the time. Jack

[Tango]

Hey Jack --- I probably could have worked around without the doors. But in reality, I had to cut out big sections of rusted metal in the same spot on both sides anyway. A door seemed easier for my limited skills than a proper patch.

Laziness is the true Mother of Invention.

Onward!

[Tango]

This post only because I know Jack is missing working on his rig till his stitches heal...and that he loves pix of other people working.


Outer body panel having a fuel door cut-out fabbed. Love those step drills. The white is two coats of the Hy-Tech insulating paint applied to the inside.


The inner panel in place with the fuel door cut-out. Shiny stuff is bubble wrap style insulation.


Outer panel with fuel door cut out. Will begin tacking the outer panels onto this (the passenger) side soon. I hope.

Onward!

[ol trunt]

I'm jealous. Some people get to have all the fun. Is that little trace I see on the sheet metal behind the wheel the beginning of a tear drop rear fender? That would look cool . Jack

[Tango]

Sorry Jack --- that's just a hickey that the sheet metal shop scratched into it (and I need to smooth out). It is actually at the front of the opening but the new cutout is very "teardrop" shaped. It just doesn't show in that pic. Here it is from another angle...

[ol trunt]

Man I hate that. You should back charge the sheet metal shop for the body work. Now that you posted the second pic I remember that you already did have the tear drop thing going . Whoopie! the old saw bones turned me loose to play with the bus again after they ripped out the stiches. I guess the inside ones just melt away after a while. I was so happy that I treated myself to a trip to the Dollar store. There I found a 2" long laser light that I plan to use to guide me and my bus into the garage in "exactly" the same spot each time. While I'm working on a holster for the laser in the bus I'll play fetch with Marmalade, my 18# yellow cat (may have to buy him one of his own)

Edit: I know better than to get the light into his eyes!

[Tango]

Cats love laser dots! --- And as long as they are below 200,000 megawatts, I think they are probably immune anyway.

Glad to hear you are up & running Jack...just watch your back.

[Tango]

BTW --- I now plan on changing out all the rims to take advantage of radial, tubeless tires. I'm going with the 10 lug, 19.5 x 6" rims that fit the Dana rear end. The new tires will only be about 2.4 inches shorter than the originals so I think they should look OK. I will need to fab a couple of spacers for the front wheels but that seems easy enough (famous last words). Both are hub-centric but the newer rims have a center hole that is a quarter-inch larger in diameter.

How hard can that be...right?

Onward!

PS...anyone need about ten standard issue 20 x 5 Chevy rims?

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, I'll bet you could make some killer inline skates out of 'em

[Tango]

I'm thinkin' maybe some yard art. Mayhaps stacking them into a totem pole?

Nah...somebody out there in ancient Chevyland needs'em. If so, PM me. I'll make you a sweet deal.

[bansil]

rear opening is very trick

[Tango]

Howdy All --- Minor progress. My door has been sitting so long it was about to rust away before I can get it installed. Between the rust and the scale on the steel, I spent two days just cleaning & prepping the metal. What a royal pain. I understand Jack's grief with his fenders now.


Had to use a stripping disk to avoid gouging the metal. It worked well but was really slow.


Rust was easy, scale is a mother. If anyone knows a quick way to clean it off...please!!!

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, you're working too hard. Why not let water, baking soda and a few electrons remove the rust and scale--get the anode cathode thing working for you. Jack

A little something bobbing around in my rust removal tank.

[Tango]

Dang it Jack --- If I had a hot tub, it would be filled with the Bikini Team...not a bunch of nasty lookin' old iron. That said, I suppose if I DID have one, I could alternate what I dip in it.

I knew that solution worked great on rust, but scale? Really? That stuff seems a lot tougher than the steel underneath.

[Tango]

Howdy All --- A "minor progress" report. Yes...still struggling after all these years but at least getting a few small things closer to completion.

Fuel filler neck. Actually a big deal since so much other stuff was waiting on this. Sealed and secured with a Stainless access hatch being built.


New front springs courtesy of Eaton Detroit.


Driver side rear quarter window frames ( a real PITA)


Door With "bubble wrap" insulation over HyTech insulating paint...


...then 2 layers of foam Insulation board ( R 3.2 each)


Low "Curb View" window cutout. As you can see, the door is now solidly filled with insulation.Big window is thermal/tinted glass.


Primed inner door skin.


Primed outer door skin.

Still lots to do but at least moving a little bit...

...Onward!

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, comgrats on the progress! I know what you mean about certain things having to get done before anything else can happen--even so, I'm still finding things I should have done sooner and didn't Jack