My 40 Ford truck build

I do a little each day. Sometimes it is too little but it all helps. I struggle financially and often have to wait until I can afford those little things that help me progress. I am saving so I can buy some welding gas.
To be continued…

The truck cab roof has been a huge problem. It had old ooorly repaired damage when I bought it but whilst I had it in storage a load of wood was dropped on it and the old damage was the least of my problems.

I have been putting off repairing the roof and it has now got to the point where it needs sorting. This week I start the long tast of hammering it straight.

Fitted the headliner ready for weekend

Got the shape. Not bad using scrap bits, hammer n dolly and a pair of left handed snips. This was done between the downpours. It rained so heavy I had to use my coat to cover the welder.

I have been trying for five years to get a 40 Ford truck hood. Last week I bought some trim parts which allowed me to repair my grill. Gary Schofield loaned me his 40 coupe hood to take some patterns from. I have lots of scrap pieces and some gas for my mig so I thought, why not!

Made a start on the bonnet/hood. A long way to go

Grill sorted. New centre bar made and fitted. The plate that was welded in the top has been cut out and two bars repaired. I am going to start sorting the Bonnet/hood front tomorrow.

New grille centre bar made and ready to weld in. Look back through the posts and you will see the grille I bought from IronTrap Garage in the U.S.A. arrived badly damaged. This will finally sort it out. Once done it’s getting painted the same colour as all the chrome parts.

How to Identify a Ford 8.8 Rear Axle All the info you need to land a Ford 8.8 rear axle for your next project.

Yesterday I recieved some parts in the post. One of those parts was the trim strip that covers the centre bar on the grill. My grill was damaged and I need to make and fit this bar

The trim I recieved was painted black. It looks like its either a metalic or mica paint (will ask Colin Anthony Wood as he will know). It gave me the idea of painting all the chrome trims and grille this colour as it looks like black chrome and should go well with the turquoise I want the truck painting.

You may have noticed the truck is up for sale. This doe not mean I am going to stop working on it. Nor am I going to stop buying parts for it.

This week I will be doing an unboxibg of some parts I have managed to source.

The roof
It was about time I did some work on the truck. I cant enjoy it at the moment and thought if I do some work on it that may change.

Been straightening the roof. It was badly damaged when i bought the cab then sustained further damage whilst it was being stored. Its not quite finishe but looks a lot better.

In December this year I will take the truck off the road and disassemble it. All the parts will be put away and stored. I dont want the truck to become one if those vehicles I wish I had never sold but the truth is: I achieved what I set out to do. I enjoyed doing it but now I am no longer enjoying it. Perhaps I may want to enjoy it in the future and if that time comes I will built it very differently.

Out and about. I want an old Morris Minor bonnet/ hood to see if I can cut the front off and use the parts as repair panels for mine,

Took the front inner wing off the truck and added arepair panel so the inner wing/fender can be bolted directly to the chassis. This allows the front panel to line upto each other. Headlamp is now fitted using correct screws from Bob Drake Reproductions. I am now much happier.

Five years on. I am still enjoying the truck. I am always looking to improve the truck. I am looking for:
a 1937-41 front bumper ( going to paint it).
A headlamp bucket (I have spare bezels)
An interior screen surround
A Hood/ bonnet (car or truck as zI only nee the front section).

I do not need pristine parts.

Many will know I had decided to put the truck up for sale. Times are now hard and I know hotrods and trucks are not selling. For me, this not an easy decision, but it was one that at the time had to be made. Circumstances have now changed and this means I have now taken the adverts down and am able to keep the truck.

For me, I have achieved everything I first set out to do. I then took the truck further, removing the four wheel drive front axle and adding period style wheels and tyres then I swapped out the Explorer steering wheel and column. Its time to set some new goals.

So what does the truck still need?
it runs and drives really well but does need a lot of work to make the cab nice.

I have just renewed my insurance with Classicline Insurance and will continue to enjoy driving the truck and sort some more bits out.

I was considering selling the truck. I got to the point where I need to spend some money and invest some time on it and keep it or sell it and start again. I still cant find a bonnet/hood or headlamp bucket. Its a difficult choice

After three days hard work: cutting bulkhead/firewall, rewiring, adapting and building, my new steering column is now in and working. It still needs final positioning and an additional uj adding. I also need a new horn connector as the one with the column has snapped. Just need to connect the auto gear change and fit a new headlamp switch abd ignition switch then chop the dashboard up and make it right hand drive.

Here is the new tilt steering column and steering wheel, its a GM column and does not have headlamp flash or ignition barrel so these will need relocating along with the wiper switch/control.
Before it is fitted, I need to modify the dash panel. The speedo and glovebox holes need cutting out, swapping over and welding back in. The bulkhead/firewall needs repairing and the brake servo/ master cylinder need raisingto give a little extra clearance (I fitted it too low). I used a spare double ‘d’ bar I got from Simon Longworth. This will slide up the column tube and be fixed in place with a Borgson coupler.

The truck is about to change.
The truck was origionally built on a budget of £2000. Until now it has stayed very close to that budget. I now want to do a lot more work on the truck to allow it to have some creature comforts. I have just purchased a mew steering column that will accept my steering wheel and will bolt straight to my steering link. So I have set myself another £2k budget over the next year to make some improvements.

The first of these jobs will be to fit a new chrome steering column and steering wheel. To fit this I will need to cut the dash up and weld it back together but it will be worth it when done

This weeks Youtube video

Second Truck video is now up on Youtube

The truck build. Video number two My 1940 Ford pickup truck was built outside on the road over a dark, wet, cold winter.Follow along and watch as I attempt to show how it was done

A few tries to get a photo of Aswell on my My 40 Ford truck build. Visit aswell_ the_bully on instagram

Both headlamp bezels now fitted. Still need a headlamp bucket and a truck hood/bonnet

Headlamp bezels fitted with park lamp glass’s and fitted on truck. Little bits I can call progress.

Abig thank you to Colin Anthony Wood for collecting these bits from Dragstalgia.

I now have park lamp lenses and a correct windscreen centre bar. The rear lamps will be sold to recover some of the money I spent. The headlamp bezels are spares and one will be used to create a mould so I can make clocks to sell.

The first running board is now finished and fitted. I have a little bit if wirk to do on the second one before fitting it later this week. Lying down in the road trying to bolt them on with cars oassin can get scary.