Getting a little more done:

[Rob]

Kinda getting tired of looking at this derelict POS so put Jaime onto getting something done. I dragged in my 72 R model that has been relegated to "parts only" status to cut out some donor sheet metal. In the photos he is seeming in drip edge so we can get the roof back on the cab.

The radiator shots are of the "Project R-12" truck. This radiator was evidently "shot"? I received another from a fellow member but it too was not usable so it is currently being recored with a five row pack. This should cool the V-12 adequately which will eventually reside under the hood.

Edit: Damn, I must have been elevated to the next chapter of, and beyond stupid. Forgot to attach photos!!

Rob

[leversole]

Hey Rob...what are the rear carriers? What size brakes? What style brake actuators?

[Rob]

Kinda getting tired of looking at this derelict POS so put Jaime onto getting something done. I dragged in my 72 R model that has been relegated to "parts only" status to cut out some donor sheet metal. In the photos he is seeming in drip edge so we can get the roof back on the cab.

The radiator shots are of the "Project R-12" truck. This radiator was evidently "shot"? I received another from a fellow member but it too was not usable so it is currently being recored with a five row pack. This should cool the V-12 adequately which will eventually reside under the hood.

Edit: Damn, I must have been elevated to the next chapter of, and beyond stupid. Forgot to attach photos!!

Rob

[Rob]

Hey Rob...what are the rear carriers? What size brakes? What style brake actuators?

Hi Leslie, I've slated that stuff for the back of a 58 B61 that is back there someplace. This 72 R model is the first truck I ever rebuilt an engine in back in high school, (many years ago); hence the reason I purchased it when it would no longer pass inspection. I sold that ole 237 about 11 years ago and have slowly used parts from this truck along the way. Sections of it's cab are now welded into "Project R-12".

Rob

[macksmoke]

Is that a fuel tank as a wheel cock?

[Rob]

Is that a fuel tank as a wheel cock?

naw, that is the tank the sump is blown out of.

Rob

[other dog]

.

[Rob]

.

Don't think he'll do that again. I made him put the last one back together on his time and he was not too happy bout it. I made certain he could not make me happy with the job too

I think he burned the sawzall.

Rob

[Rob]

Hi Leslie, I've slated that stuff for the back of a 58 B61 that is back there someplace. This 72 R model is the first truck I ever rebuilt an engine in back in high school, (many years ago); hence the reason I purchased it when it would no longer pass inspection. I sold that ole 237 about 11 years ago and have slowly used parts from this truck along the way. Sections of it's cab are now welded into "Project R-12".

Rob

Here is an example:

The section of the blue cab that is missing is incorporated into the R700. It is the piece the hood closure strap mounts to on the lower cowl, drivers side. This piece was busted out and gone of the 700 cab when I got it. I cut the donor piece out with a slice wheel, and trimmed the receiver with the same wheel to make the section fit. It was then welded in solid and works great. The cracks in the floorboard are of the 700 cab and have since been welded up solid, and ground flat.

I have about 20 manhours in repairing the hood panel also. It was a mess both cosmetically, and structurally.

Rob

[macksmoke]

Hey Rob, your doing a great job! So good I think you should come out here and work on my cab!!! I'll pick you up at the airport and provide room and board. Hell there is a FAA station 5 miles from here, tell the boss you have a job to do and get paid also!!!!!!!!!!

[Rob]

Here are a few repair photos of the hood on the red R795. I did this work myself and had Jamie working on a paying job at the time. This is about 1/2 that I've taken but they are stored over so many places I don't really know where they all are......

Rob

[other dog]

wow, if I had that kind of knowlege and skill i'd pack up and move to Farmington and apply for a job at Auto Affair- they still do it right you know.

Nice looking dog too.

[Rob]

I'll teach you if wanting to get out of truckin. I just like my radar job too much to do this full time any longer. When the kids needed college educations I had a lot more motivation to work two full time jobs for near 17 years. Once that was done, I got lazy.

Now I just hobby, eat too much, and get fat.

Kindra is the shop dog. Loyal companion that one is. Saved from the pound and "death row" several years ago.

Rob

[theakerstwo]

Fat man what a joke. I looked for a fat man for a hr one time and then some one walked up laugfing at my silly ass.

[other dog]

Here's some of the the rest of that litter of pups, there's 9 of them. Today's the first time i'd seen them. They're barking and growling at each other already. Jo's already picked one.

[Rob]

That is a good thing. Get them advertised now while they are cute as they leave much easier. Make certain you keep them together and get rid of them after each has been picked by a new owner close to the same time. It's easier on them that way.

Rob

[Rob]

Finally got my radiator back last night with a new five row core. I'll get it reinstalled into the truck tonight so I can get it out of the middle of the aisle of the shop. Looks really nice but I now have to get a new fan shroud made to replace the original that is rusted badly. I may lay one up from fiberglass, but haven't evaluated it fully.

My new camera should show up later today and I can get back into the picture taking business. I only do that to give Other Dog something to fuck with in his spare time.

Rob

[maxidyne237]

I am interested in your technique repairing the sections of hood that are completely gone. Do you lay the mat on the inside and then fill in missing section with chop? If it was done with mat on both sides, do you grind the exterior down enough that the mat is below the level of the panel? Now my next question is how many steps did you lay it up in?

[Mike]

Finally got my radiator back last night with a new five row core. I'll get it reinstalled into the truck tonight so I can get it out of the middle of the aisle of the shop. Looks really nice but I now have to get a new fan shroud made to replace the original that is rusted badly. I may lay one up from fiberglass, but haven't evaluated it fully.

My new camera should show up later today and I can get back into the picture taking business. I only do that to give Other Dog something to fuck with in his spare time.

Rob

Hmmmmm, I never knew Otherdog did such stuff as that. hehehe

mike

[Rob]

Got the new five row core radiator installed tonight. I didn't quite like the original shutters that were on the truck, (thin blades) so I modified a set from my 72 R model with much larger/wider blades. This looks pretty good and work well. Best of all there is room behind them to install either a charge air cooler, or an a/c condensor with room to spare.

The bottom is gone out of the metal fan shroud but I hesitate to rebuild/replace it knowing it will not fit the Detroit engine. Right now with the additional core thickness, the fan blade is still back at least six inches from the core. I had the radiator shop strip and clean all the aluminum parts, then chase all the threaded holes so no problems getting things to bolt back up. Also used new mounting biscuits for the lower mount. I've ordered new hoses but not picked them up yet so the job is not yet complete. I wanted to run water and cooling system cleaner in it so no antifreeze until all the hoses are changed out next week.

On another note: We made some final cut lines for the roof, and rear cab panel. The roof on this truck is so thin from being ground on many times it needs replacement. Years ago I "scalped" a donor cab and will graft this skin to the original cab. Also for this truck we started to unbury the winch bed that will be installed. I need to fit it, remove it, have it sandblasted clean so I can weld in some new "jr I beam" xmembers, then get it painted. Don't really remember if I've spoken much about this but it is a "Leland Roughneck" bed. Also has 12ft. gin poles, a 20,000# Tulsa winch with double capstans, and a full tail roller. It should come about pretty handy around here.

Next week should be productive.

Rob

[Rob]

I am interested in your technique repairing the sections of hood that are completely gone. Do you lay the mat on the inside and then fill in missing section with chop? If it was done with mat on both sides, do you grind the exterior down enough that the mat is below the level of the panel? Now my next question is how many steps did you lay it up in?

Let's see if I can answer this with a systematic approach. I guess what I'm actually doing doesn't cross my mind after all these years. This hood as you can tell really was in bad shape. If I'd have had another eastern 700, I'd have prolly used it instead at the time. There were some screws and metal strap included in prior poor repairs, plenty of different glues and the poor use of automotive store fiberglass repair kits. The parts of the hood you see missing in the photos were actually there but in such poor condition due to impact and vibration cracking I did away with the pieces. The large upper section by the headlamp bezel recess I cut out with a hacksaw and die grinder using a 5/16ths carbide burr bit. Most of the other cracks were cleaned up with the damaged material removed with the burr. All of this "prep work" was done in a single evening so I knew what I had to work with. The patches and repairs you see were basically done in a single lay up over about six hours. I like to use a combination of both cloth, and matting. I don't use any fine chopped material unless it is a simple filler. "Chop" offers so little strength in comparison to the other materials. On the large section you see missing I painted a moderate coat of resin onto the outer abraded surface, then applied a couple layera of cloth that was saturated in catalyzed resin. Using a two, or three inch wide "natural bristle" brush, I then formed this cloth to cover the hole in the base material with a usable contour. While this was still wet, I packed the backside with glass matting. I prefer to use 1.5oz per sq. yard weight. This product is applied, saturated, more applied, saturated again, and then formed to the contour needed with a combination of saturation of the material with resin, and pressure with the brush. I like to wear rubber gloves so I can use my hands to form also. After an acceptable thickness was built up, I covered the other side of the repair with more cloth and saturated this also. You do not want any porosity to the repair so I "stick and jab" the repair several times during the course of events. A lot of folks like to do a repair over several operations. There are several types of fiberglass resin available but mainly there is "waxed" and "unwaxed", in both epoxy base, and polyester base. Epoxy is much stronger and I use both under differing repair(s). Most of the retail trade material is contains wax in the mixture and is polyester based. This is what gives the semi gloss "sheen" to the cured product. It also makes a person need to sandblast, or grind before subsequent layers can be applied. With "unwaxed" resin, another layer does not require any additonal steps to add material on top of existing. You do need to add wax to the final layer of resin for durability however. This closes the pores actually of the plastic. Guess I should mention on any repairs you need to "thin" the parent material with a grinder disc because you don't want the repair higher than the original contour of the part. I usually try to thin the base to about 50% of it's original thickness to allow the repair to have adequate strength. Just the way I do it and there are several very good books available for help. My way has worked well for a lot of years so I've stuck with it. Rob

[maxidyne237]

Thanks for the very informative reply. I did not know the difference between the resins, and now I see how you laid up the large repairs without abrading the surface for adhesion between layers. Where do you buy your fiberglass mat and cloth? The autobody supply jobbers around me have very limited availability on fiberglass supplies. Just curious if you mail order or procure locally? Thanks Chris

[Rob]

Thanks for the very informative reply. I did not know the difference between the resins, and now I see how you laid up the large repairs without abrading the surface for adhesion between layers. Where do you buy your fiberglass mat and cloth? The autobody supply jobbers around me have very limited availability on fiberglass supplies. Just curious if you mail order or procure locally? Thanks Chris

Hi Chris, I purchase most supplies from manufacturers who cater to the boat construction industry. I have found their products to be exceptional in quality and much better than what is available over the counter. Google "Ashland Chemical" as I've used them in the past, and they are helpful with their products.

If you need to add more material to a build up that is already "waxed", just lightly sandblast the area as it works well. Only the gloss needs removed. The surface does not need dug into.

Rob

[maxidyne237]

Thanks for the information Rob. I will look into Ashland Chem.