'46 Chevy Shorty

[Tango]

Since just about everything they make is custom, there really is no "model number". Mine were the result of measurements, frame & glass type, slider type. etc.

Mine open from the bottom up, have clear double pane glass, black anodized mitered corner frames and dual latches to hold them up. You can play on their product builder and come up with a gazillion combinations.

[M1031A1]

Thanks Tang! I'm off to work on Heavy after dropping the kids off to school this morning! WoHOO!!!

[Tango]

For any who may have been following along --- You might have noticed that I long ago did hours (days) worth of work to get my wheel wells all tidied up and reinstalled. Well, yesterday after many more hours of measuring and drafting I concluded that the driver side rear well had to be modified in order to fit my ever so tiny combination shower/potty. The only option appeared to be to lower the well about four inches across the front. Of course that meant pulling it out again. And what did I discover?

Man...did I ever do a great job of putting them in!

And...Man the OEM type seam sealer really works!

It was a Royal Beotch to get back out!

Anyhow, here is the latest...


One driver side wheel well removed (it looks so simple in the pix?)


After lots of calculating, some algebra, trig & calculus...guesstimating prevailed. Wacky it is cutting straight lines on compound curves.


But I think I got it close. I will know more when I get the filler piece back from the sheetmetal shop.


A little 16 gauge steel, some melted mig wire, and before you know it that hole will be filled in.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...


I also had a custom bung made so I can route my turbo oil return directly into the pan. The flex line will come of the Holset turbo, wind around the starter and motor mount, then magically complete it's journey into the front of the oil pan via the hefty steel tube I had machined to fit. Just have to drain the pan, cut a big a$$ hole in the pan and hope I can do a good enough job of welding it up to not pump oil all over the ground. That just wouldn't be "green".

Only a couple of years left on this five year build...which started life as a three year build.

ONWARD!

[M1031A1]

Tang,

The crowbar in the background of the first pic. was a nice touch! I suspect the "" seems appropriate right about now..... So....

[Tango]

M --- That's the little one. You will also note another, much larger crowbar to the left. It took both to get that sucker out of there. And that was only after running a razor knife along all the seam sealer joints I could reach.

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango. After similar wheel well deliberations I took the easy way out and cut the top off the entire well. L left enough clearance for spring movement and tire chains (cables) and hacked away. Quite a few thousand miles later and no rubs. Jack

[Tango]

Hey Jack --- Believe me, I was tempted to do the same but chickened out. With the new, slightly smaller tires I doubt mine would ever hit but I do plan on a fair amount of off-roading with this rig. As it is now, if it ever makes contact it will likely mean I fell off a 3,000 foot cliff and landed rear wheels first...in which case the tires will be the least of my worries.

[opus]

Not to change the subject but....
This weekend we were up in Glacier Park. Have you ever seen these?

They are all from the 30's and have been retrofitted to propane, and updated the running gear of course. I think they are juice trannys now. They are beautiful!! I believe they have 33 of them in total.

[Tango]

Just Magnificent! --- And amazing that any of the Feds actually kept and rebuilt them. A class act for a change, but then the Park Service folks have always had more style than Congress...or the Senate...or the President...or...

Oh...and I forgot to add, they have great hats too. One of my most prized possessions is a Stetson "Smokey Bear" hat from the 1940's!

[family wagon]

Oh, I don't know that the Feds had any hand in that. Aren't they operated (and owned?) by Xanterra or another consessionaire, not by NPS?

[Tango]

That would explain the show of class, wouldn't it?

[opus]

Originally Posted by family wagon

Aren't they operated (and owned?) by Xanterra

Yep, thats correct. I forgot about that.

[ol trunt]

My pop drove one of those during summer vacation in the 30's when he was in college. I still have a badly faded sepia of him proudly standing in front of one of them. Funny, but I often think of that picture when I look at the front of my bus. 'spose it has something to do with the bus I decided to convert. Jack

[roach711]

Originally Posted by Tango;125395[B

][/B]

Man...did I ever do a great job of putting them in!

Don't you hate it when you did the job right and still had to pull it out?

[Tango]

Yah...I'm inclined to install things like that with "forever" in mind. Which means it will last...but whoever comes along behind me will have fits getting something back out. Bad news is, in this case...that was me.

[Tango]

More work over the weekend --- Had outstanding weather here and never broke a sweat. Nice for a change from being drenched.
Modded my driver side wheel well so that my shower/potty can be shoehorned in. Also got the turbo return line wound around the starter and lined up with the oil pan. Next few days will see a hole punched in it and the bung welded in. No pix of it yet...just the wheel well.


This was a bit tricky to fit but turned out OK. For whatever reason, the steel on this part was MUCH easier to weld than anything else I have dealt with so far.


The front profile is now about 4-1/2" lower which will create just enough floorspace for the potty.


Just needs some rust reformer, paint and undercoating (on bottom) and it will be ready to re-install

ONWARD!

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango. Your wheel well looks like it was stamped--not cut and pasted. I see your shop looks as disheveled as mine. Great minds and all that. Jack

[Tango]

Thanks Jack --- As noted, the steel on the wells appears to be entirely different from anything else on the bus and was a pleasure to weld. They must have somehow forgotten to add all the required contamination into the melting pot.

And yep...my shop is chaos (like my mind) which works for me. I never trusted people who's desks were always clean & organized. I am guessing that you too had a hundred or so separate projects going at once while working on Honeysuckle. The hard part, especially at my age, is remembering which parts go with what project. You gotta' be careful or your radiator might wind up needing a blackwater drain valve.

[crazycal]

Your skills are nothing short of amazing. Now hurry up and finish so you can post pictures of you cruising down the boulevard.

[Tango]

Hey Cal --- Thanks bud. I'm anxious for some road trip pix myself!