Ongoing Work
January 2011

January 30th - Glazing Fitted.

Four hours of trimming polycarbonate, drilling holes and fastening nuts and bolts saw the five pieces of glazing fitted into the four wooden panels. These are ready to go back onto the Dodge now which I'll probably do next week when I go to check out the carburettor.

 
January 29th -
Checkers Painted.
On Friday morning, I took the doors over to the truck to mark out where the checkers go. This allowed me to bring them back to paint them in the comfort and warmth of home today. While I was at the farm, I gave the Dodge another run, as when I took it out last time, it coughed and spluttered a couple of times.
After about 5 minutes of running smoothly, it coughed and spluttered again for a minute or so, then the revs picked up before cutting out and then failing to re-start. I suspect there's some crap in the carb or fuel line somewhere that starved the engine and caused the erratic running. I'm planning to go back next week and strip the carb.


 
 
January 23rd -
Windows Painted.
Late last night, I got the first coat of white sprayed on. It was a bit thin in places, so a second coat was sprayed today and left to harden before I begin drilling for the glazing. I can't paint the checkers until I next get the truck so I can match them up.
 
January 22nd -
Windows Metal work complete.

Today, the wooden side doors were trimmed slightly on their top edge, as the aluminium skin was going to wrap over the edge to prevent water running off the roof into the end grain. The window areas were then cut into the aluminium and filed clean.

Each sheet was then drilled and screwed to the plywood side panel before the overlap at the top was hammered around the edge.

The sides and rear doors were then etch primed, ready for the white base coat of the checkers.

After painting, they just need drilling for the glazing and the glazing trimming to fit the openings.

 
January 20th -
Windows Continued.

I went back to work today, but here's yesterdays progress on the windows. I collected the aluminium sheet late morning, and had to go shopping for a few other odds and ends too. This included a new powerfile since my last one died recently after many years of service.

The rear and side doors were removed to work on, and the truck taken back to the farm as I don't need that while I work on the doors. It's better off in the barn as we're getting hard frosts again.

After marking out the aluminium, the hole was cut roughly to size with a metal nibbler and fine trimmed with the powerfile. The aluminium was attached to the door with self tapping screws and will be drilled for bolts to hold the glazing in.

I'll fit all the aluminium and etch prime it before moving on to the glazing. The only exception was the small window in the front of the body which had the glazing fitted before the truck was returned.

 
January 18th -
Windows Continued.
The front panels in the body of the truck were fitted today and painted checkers. They are still a bit bright, but once fully hard, I'll give them a wipe over with an oily rag to tone the white down a bit. It was freezing cold outside and I was struggling to hold the paintbrush, never mind painting checks!

The aluminium order has been delayed and won't be in until tomorrow, but I did get the polycarbonate sheet cut for the glazing.

 

 
January 17th -
Windows.
A job that I've been wanting to do for a while was to add windows to the Dodge. The cold wet day on Saturday prompted some action, as driving in the rain with the sides open gets a bit cold and damp.

The sides and rear doors are to be skinned in aluminium sheet to give a thin section to bolt the glazing through, otherwise, the glazing would be recessed by 1/2 inch due to the thickness of the ply, and this would allow rain to gather.

The right side has two long windows as I need a good view for lane changing or overtaking. The left side just has the front window as the rear will be obscured by the radios.

 

The following three pictures show the view from the drivers seat. Overall, the view is good, and where the radios will block the left side, I can lean slightly to get a better view.

The aluminium sheet will have a slightly smaller opening than the wood, allowing the glazing to have a small overlap where it will be bolted.

The sides will still be free to fold down so that on the rare occasions when it gets hot, they can be opened for fresh air.

The following sections will block in the gap in the front of the body just behind the doors.
 
January 16th -
Engine Test.
Today the Dodge engine received a little care and attention. The plugs were all removed, blasted, re-gapped and re-fitted. Fuel pump bowl removed, checked for dirt and replaced. Air filter checked, and distributor cap cleaned, points cleaned and checked, and HT leads checked for tight fit.

The video to the left shows a quick engine run following everything going back together.

 
January 15th -
Weather Vane Socket Rain Cover.
While in storage, the Dodge is under cover, so rain isn't an issue, and at events, the weather vane is fitted, keeping rain out of the socket. However, if I've collected the truck for an event and it's sitting on my drive, the socket is open to the weather, so I made this small leather flap to keep the worst of it out. If I know there's going to be heavy rain, I'll put a cover over the whole truck, but this should at least protect it from the unexpected showers.

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