1940 Chevy pickup build

Floors getting closer to being finished, little finish work and it’s done. Modified an AD trucks parking brake boot to fit the 40… looks like it will work fairly well.

 

Picked up a battery and got some wiring done. Battery is a group 78, side post. Where I mounted the battery tray there’s no way a top mount would fit.

 

Getting the wiring worked out. Had to turn the solenoid upside down as I had the battery on the I post and the alternator on the S post. Marked them with paint so that shouldn’t happen again. Good news is the kill switch works and the starter spins right up. Kind of cool and terrifying at the same time to hear the truck attempt a come to life moment.

Now that the solenoid’s wired correctly, chasing down why the power wire to the fuse box doesn’t have power. Thought it might be a bad join in the wire when it was extended but dad remembers a wire being “soft” in one spot… of course that’s the power wire.

Drivers side exhaust is done… 1 down 1 to go

 

So… turns out that when you extend 2 wires with different colours, you shouldn’t rely on memory. Had the two wires crisscrossed in my head…redid the red power wire extension with red so no more confusion… at least that’s the theory. Truck has dash lights, high beam indicator, tach light and low/high beams.

At some point this is supposed to be fun… not there yet.

 

Truck has taillights and got half the MSD box wired.

 

wow!

 

^ Thanks

Couple of minor updates from today’s activity.
Finished wiring up the MSD box… not the neatest job but it will do. Did some more shaping of the floor and outside of some clean up work it’s pretty well completed. Started playing with my floor mat, it was listed for a 41-46 truck and said that some trimming might be required for 39/40… with my assorted modifications… it’s going to take a lot of trimming… but I like the look so it’s worth it.

 

Great stuff here, I really enjoy following the progress.
I bet you can't wait to fire this up and have a rip around the block!

 

ya… most days are that way…Today it’s a long drive on a short pier.

 

Couple of updates… fuel sender is wired, floor is oh so close and the last fender is painted. Sort of, someone put some deep scratches in it, not sure if it’s fixable but at this point I don’t care.. trucks not perfect, never was meant to be and never will be.

 

Spent a few hours working on the truck. Got the floor done…somehow it looks like a riot shield. Passenger side exhaust is cut and routed the speedometer cable.

 

Floor is finally finished… at least for now

 

Got the shifter connected and adjusted. Using an aftermarket plate that acts like a true slapstick between first, second and third.
Decided the red cable wasn’t ideal so used leftover wire sheathing to blacken it out.

 

Yesterday was welding ..eh… grinding the rest of the passenger exhaust together and throwing some high temp paint at it. Today it gets assembled.. one more thing off the list

 

Exhaust is done… had some heat concerns on the passenger side… so header wrap it is. Actually had a decent weather day… natural light was a nice change

 

Lost the fight with my self canceling, push button turn signals, I wanted the column to be clean but it wasn’t meant to be. So on goes the old stand by… which actually doesn’t look too terrible. Finished up all the overhead wiring… one more thing off the list.

 

It’s been a few long days and a 99% failure rate.
Started at filling the radiator with antifreeze.. forgot to put in a block off plug in the pump… dumped some liquid onto the concrete. Didn’t appear to have a plug so a quick run to the hardware store for a brass plug and it’s off to the races… later found 2new stainless plugs in an unopened Jegs package.

First attempt at firing up the truck and I had to chase a couple of fuel leaks.. killed the battery.

Put the truck on a charger overnight… spent the next day revising the timing and tracking down an issue… which turns out to be a partially functioning MSD box.

So annoyed at the MSD that I’m moving to basic points. Ripped out the distributor, the box and all the associated wiring. Needed to remove the floor to access the wiring and the rear carb in order to pull the distributor.

For the time being I’ve borrowed dad’s gm dizzy and ballast from his model A…

It’s pretty well back to where I started before the weekend…

 

Long time since I’ve updated this thread… so here goes. Brought the truck home last weekend and have been tinkering with a couple of items. Slight rocker tick on the drivers side being the biggest issue.

Rocker tick sounds better… or I’m just in denial. Truck has brakes, reverse and 90% of a parking brake. Mostly needs plates and insurance.

Rolled it outside and turned on the cut outs… sounds pretty decent.

Another short video [youtu.be]

 

Idle has a nice thumpy chop to it, but the motor sounds like maybe the carb still needs some adjustments. Very cool truck nonetheless.

 

That sounds like it means business.
Paintwork

Enjoy that first drive, it has been a long time coming, I really have enjoyed watching the progress.