mattb73lt

I've been posting a lot because I've had a lot of time to dedicate to this over the Winter and I'm trying to get as much done on it before things pick up at work. The cab structure is done, with only a few minor things to complete. I test fit all the sheetmetal this morning, before I take it to the stripper. It all looks pretty good, but I'm sure there are a few headaches awaiting me. I stacked up most of pieces that have been replaced, plus a bucket full of other scraps, as I was cleaning up the shop. Amazing when you line it all up as you lose track of what you've done, as you fix each issue. The rear cab structure really came out nice and clean, as all the damaged and crushed pieces were fixed or replaced. A lot of strength has come back in it with very little flex, compared to how it was.

Thanks, it's been a lot of work, so far. Looking at using Lizard Skin, like you mentioned for soundproofing. Under the cab, inner doors, roof, cab back wall and firewall. Pretty much everywhere that won't get standard paint.

You mentioned you were having some issues with your cab, after getting it back from the shop that did the work. What did you do with the door seals and the metal retainer that holds them in place? Mine are not usable and I was thinking about using a self adhesive strip to seal the door. I'll be doing a lot of assembly/disassembly as I go before making things permanent to make sure it all fits.

And one more from the bottom of the cab, after welding it all together and priming, before turning it upright. It looks so nice, considering what I started with.

HUGE sigh of relief today. I cut out the cage and test fit the doors to check my work. Everything lined up and the gaps appear very even around both doors. I've been so worried about shift, having cut so far into this cab to save it. Like I've been saying, this is the worst part and time consuming. But, being careful and thoughtful about how I've gone about it is paying off.

It's official, March 1st, I turned the page and started re-assembly by putting the cowl back on and today welded in the new sills and lower back frame. It was very helpful to remove the cowl and rid the pillars of rust. It also allowed me to put the cowl up on a temporary bench to work on it and repair the right cab mount, which had completely blown through and left a fist sized hole. Lots of other small, time consuming repairs were made all over the cowl/pillar area. Overall, I'm very happy with the results and alignment looks good. Not that far off from removing the cage and test fitting the doors. Once that's done, it'll be back to the sheet metal and re-installing it.

That is a lot of work and a lot of information. Thank you for taking the time and providing it to us. It should help a lot of people.

After finishing up the mock-up and marking everything for disassembly, I was trying to figure out how to get at the front pillars to get at some rust. Well, I guess I wasn't done taking it apart. So, I removed the cowl completely.. I can definitely get at them this way.

I'm very optimistic about this. Alignment seems good and I keep using the old pieces to check. It'll all come apart again for finish work and heavy priming. I still have to attend to some issues with the lower A pillars.

Seems like it will all fit together. Finished all the modifications to the right sill/jamb, then test fit it all together along with the new rear floor panels. Lots of assembly/disassembly, test fitting, fitting the old parts back in, seeing if it will all line up. Still a ways to go, but it's getting there.

Yes, the aluminum castings were welded there. The guy that did these is close by, MaGee’s is farther away and running back and forth would take too long.

Thanks, I'm trying to make it my best one yet. I really like the style of this truck. Trying to be patient and get it back together right. I've had to drop it several times and walk away for a breather when I found myself frustrated or rushing/

I had another fabricated locally from a donor I picked up and cut apart for a pattern. Mine was too far gone and broken from the accident. The fabricator did a great job, considering how complex it actually is.

Luckily no surprises when I got it back from the blaster. The areas that were slated for replacement opened up a little more, but the rest was solid. And no real bondo, several layers of paint was about it. Now to start putting it back together so it doesn't look like a rolling jigsaw puzzle when I'm done.

It's hard to estimate the man hours due to how long I've had it. It's always been a back burner project, as I was about to start my other B just when I found this one. So, I've done and collected what I needed over the years in between other projects. A lot of items are already done and stored, ready for assembly. This is the part I've dreaded, it's just dirty, time consuming work. I have the knowledge and experience to go this deep, just not all the equipment to do it. Fabrication is adding to it's cost, but it would be even higher to buy the equipment for what I see as a one time restoration. The cab has always been the roughest part. The truck was used hard up until, from what I could figure, around 1987 when the engine was removed and it was essentially abandoned outside until I found it in 1998. With that and the typical New England climate, rust has taken it's toll. Almost all of that is gone now, with new panels to go back in or existing ones repaired. It would have been nice to find one from your area, but getting it home would have been cost prohibitive. This style cab is somewhat rare and not easy to find. I saw one for sale up in Canada, but a close look at the photo's it looked like it might need similar work and again the cast of getting it home. This is certainly the most in depth restoration I've attempted and there won't be hardly anything that hasn't been touched.

OMG....What have I done!!!! Final cutting today and the most serious. The cab is where I need it to start the repairs. Sills are carefully cut apart and completely removed. On to working on the new panels to fit and modify them. My framework seems to be doing it's job and nothing seems to have shifted. It'll be a while before I post so there's more significant progress to report.

Got the cab back quicker than expected, like less than two days. I was expecting at least a week. No big surprises. Got some primer on it late today, tomorrow I'll start cutting in to the sills for their replacement.

It's a 1968 Kaiser Jeep M715 5/4 (1 1/4) ton. Not quite stock, SBC 350, p/s, p/b, 12 Volts and 4.10 gears (from 5.86 stock). All so it's drivable. It's been getting a good workout helping with the restoration.

A quick test drive to see how the new ventilation system works. Actually, off to the dry stripper. We'll see how much comes back or if disaster awaits!!

Ok, glad these are helping you. There is a small step on the door side of the panel, where the door closes flush to it. Having no cowl vent door, it would be a lot easier to fabricate the whole panel. I just roughed out the passenger side, today. It was a little rougher than the other and required three sides of it to be repaired. I over lapped the repair panels over the damaged areas. They're now trimmed, fitted and tacked together. I'll finish welding this on Monday.

Here's some pic's from today. The patches were made locally and in the same gage and made longer to overlap damaged areas to allow for trimming. pretty simple bends and no curves. Hope these help.

Straightened out several of the rear formers that had damage and getting back some more pieces from the fabricator. Local shop, that's been really good to work with and fast. Test fit all the rear sheetmetal and the donor cab top together for fitment. It all lined up, even the factory holes on the top to the original pieces. I think the top dates from 1948 and the cab is 1960. I have some hope this will all go back together.

Yes, it was salvaged from a fire truck a friend gave me. The cab was rough, but I carefully dissected it and ended up with some better pieces or at least patterns to make replacements.

Slugging away at this cab. Test fit the "new" cab roof, had a local fab shop bend up some patch pieces for the cowl sides. Got those back today, he was fast!! Parts are still coming off and a big part of the floor came out today. The cage I welded into the cab is starting to come into play as I'm slicing away. I may have to slow up on the cab, as I'll need to get it to the dry stripper before much more comes off, as my roll back is in storage. Still surprising how much dirt and debri keeps coming out, even after the big steam cleaning I gave it. Probably swept up 5+ lbs over the last week.

Good thing I didn’t mess it up while machining it up then! I have one of his steel ones on my B-42. They do look nice.