1948* Chevrolet Canopy Express

[espo]

I remember seeing those in red on tailgates, but not any fender ones. This may have been something the owner added for some reason. The steering box reflectors are something I don't recall. 

[89AKurt]

10 hours ago, espo said:

I remember seeing those in red on tailgates, but not any fender ones. This may have been something the owner added for some reason. The steering box reflectors are something I don't recall. 

Yea, special stuff for these, like toilet paper oil filters. ?

Here are the masters for the reflectors.  I cast RTV, and tried the first resin copy tonight, but have a technical problem.....

Did the crappiest paint job ever! ?  First color was rust, just leather with black added fairly thick, then a light final coat of untinted (LED makes it loo lighter).

Ground up table salt, put on wet.

Searched for some paint code charts to get an idea of colors available in 1948.  Painted dark blue, inside the rear section too (cab is always copper brown).

Painted a fender orange, to simulate a repair.

Picked the Boyd turquoise, to give it an Earl Sheib repaint to update to 50s colors.  After adding more salt.

[89AKurt]

Wet-sanded.  Don't like this when you go through all the paint, but this can be fixed with dabbing on brown paint.

[espo]

9 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Wet-sanded.  Don't like this when you go through all the paint, but this can be fixed with dabbing on brown paint.

The paint work looks fantastic but I don't think I'd want to buy a bunch of Bananas of this food truck.  

[89AKurt]

39 minutes ago, espo said:

The paint work looks fantastic but I don't think I'd want to buy a bunch of Bananas of this food truck.  

Good, but it's going to be a painter's work truck, so it's gonna get real messy!

[espo]

10 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

Good, but it's going to be a painter's work truck, so it's gonna get real messy!

Oh, for some reason I thought this was going to be a Food Truck of some sort. I remember a House Painter years ago who had the best looking '59 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. He retired in '83 and a friend of mines  son bought it as his first car. The outside looked perfect and when you lifted the rear door it looked like they had had a Paint Gun fight in there.   

[89AKurt]

2 hours ago, espo said:

Oh, for some reason I thought this was going to be a Food Truck of some sort. I remember a House Painter years ago who had the best looking '59 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. He retired in '83 and a friend of mines  son bought it as his first car. The outside looked perfect and when you lifted the rear door it looked like they had had a Paint Gun fight in there.   

That's awesome, exactly what I'm planning to do!

Made the reflectors.  I'm going to post in the Resin section that I will offer these tiny details.

[espo]

Those look very interesting. I know where to look of I'm building an actual commercial type rig.  

[misterNNL]

8 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

That's awesome, exactly what I'm planning to do!

Made the reflectors.  I'm going to post in the Resin section that I will offer these tiny details.

Thanks for posting all the details of your work. This project is a tutorial in research,scratch building and attention to correct details. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing.

[89AKurt]

3 hours ago, espo said:

Those look very interesting. I know where to look of I'm building an actual commercial type rig.  

Rat Rods could use them too! ?

2 hours ago, misterNNL said:

Thanks for posting all the details of your work. This project is a tutorial in research,scratch building and attention to correct details. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing.

You (and everyone on this forum) are welcome.  I appreciate having this venue to share and learn.  Or maybe I just like torturing people with every excruciating detail. ?

GAS TANK:  This was one detail that I was sort of dreading.  Pickups had the tank behind the seat, you could hear sloshing when driving.  On my real '48, it stunk up the cab with fumes too, good thing I didn't smoke!  I had someone weld a new tank for under the bed.  In this case, used the Factory Assembly Manual that I kept, just for this!  I started the tank some time ago, made from a Porsche 911 floor pan, because it just looked the part, not accurate but who is going to say something (Dann of Desert Scale Classic can ha ha).  Tonight I added the weld flange, cross supports, straps, and filler neck.  Guess I should add the fuel line too. ?

When researching for the gas filler location, found this interesting article:
So Rare Yet So Rusty: 1948 Chevrolet Canopy Express

Edited March 4, 2020 by 89AKurt

[David G.]

The paint looks great! The last time I tried the salt technique I couldn't get it to work correctly.

Maybe in the places where you sanded through the paint, you could dry brush some Testors Metalizer or similar to give the appearance of bare metal.

David G.

[Dann Tier]

DANG!!!...i'm away for a second, and you've got your Masterpiece done already!!!...its AMAZING!!!!

[89AKurt]

5 hours ago, David G. said:

The paint looks great! The last time I tried the salt technique I couldn't get it to work correctly.

Maybe in the places where you sanded through the paint, you could dry brush some Testors Metalizer or similar to give the appearance of bare metal.

David G.

Thank you.  It's more realistic to dab in brown 'rust' in those spots, blends in better, and the brush texture adds to the effect.  Take a look at my Flickr - Rusty Hulks album, for a study of Southwest vehicles.  In fact, Flickr is a great resource, for other climates the moss and lichen would be a fun thing to duplicate, and trees growing through vehicles would be a fun diorama.

3 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

DANG!!!...i'm away for a second, and you've got your Masterpiece done already!!!...its AMAZING!!!!

LOL I'm just in pedal-to-the-metal obsessed and possessed mode at the moment.  Still have some work on this one, then back to the other two projects.  THANK YOU!

[Tom Geiger]

Kurt, My own solution for the spots I wet sand to bare plastic.  I use my earth tone chalks.. I sand for some chalk dust, wet with a dab of Dullcote and paint with it. Not only does it look like the natural high spot worn to bare metal and rusted, but it gets some texture too

Edited March 4, 2020 by Tom Geiger

[Kit Karson]

Amazing work!  Truly awe struck! The amount of detail you are going for on this build is overwhelming! Thanks for sharing, -KK

[89AKurt]

8 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

Kurt, My own solution for the spots I wet sand to bare plastic.  I use my earth tone chalks.. I sand for some chalk dust, wet with a dab of Dullcote and paint with it. Not only does it look like the natural high spot worn to bare metal and rusted, but it gets some texture too

Appreciate the tip.   I've sanded rusty iron to get real rust powder, sprinkled on the wet paint, which stains when wet-sanded, but didn't do it this time.

8 hours ago, Kit Karson said:

Amazing work!  Truly awe struck! The amount of detail you are going for on this build is overwhelming! Thanks for sharing, -KK

Well thank you very much!  BTW: I have a friend's brother who was a client, name is Kit Carson, a jeweler in Prescott.

Blew off work today (the risk of being self-employed).  I am so close after 25 years (holy cow THAT long?!?!?!) that I really wanted to see some paint sprayed all over this puppy!  First was 5 shades of black.

The interior color of most of these trucks was a gold sort of color, based on fading memory of my real pickup.  I think the Testors 'champagne metallic' is close enough, which is good for when I get the dash back from the chrome plater.  It's a bear to get consistent, should have primer base coat all the parts, but good enough for government work.

I got the twin carb and twice pipe headers last century from someone in the antique auto club.  I had Fenton headers and aluminum intake on my '57 Chevy wagon, so am somewhat familiar with knowing it's Stromberg carburetors, so I searched and found pictures to know which way is up on those and where the fuel line enters.  Fine solder is the fuel line (I used copper on the pickup), split with a short piece of Tamiya hose.  I had glued on aluminum newspaper printing plate clips onto the frame rails, which were crimped to hold the line.  The battery was separated from the frame.

I'm building this like the drivetrain has been restored, wheels and tires are new, but everything else will be untouched.  Next scratch-built item is the twice pipes, have the mufflers from something long forgotten, perhaps the Chevy 409 demolition derby.  Someone started a thread, asking if anyone makes fan blades, this project is sort of begging for that...... ?

 

[afx]

Lots of interesting stuff here Kurt, but I would expect no less from one of your builds.

[David G.]

Amazing progress on this one!

I like your idea of making it a "patina rod".

David G.

[89AKurt]

7 hours ago, afx said:

Lots of interesting stuff here Kurt, but I would expect no less from one of your builds.

Thank you.  Nothing like piling on the pressure. ?  I'm jonesing to build a Porsche thanks to you. ?

6 hours ago, David G. said:

Amazing progress on this one!

I like your idea of making it a "patina rod".

David G.

Thanks, took awhile. ?  It's not quite the typical Rat Rod, but where I live in backwoods of Arizona, many guys have unrestored vehicles with hopped up original engines.

I have added to my list, while lying awake early this morning from an allergy attack.  Scratch-building two parts that should have been included in the kit, brake cylinder, and steering shaft/box.  Also, a unique feature of the Advance Design trucks, the battery had a lid in the floor, it has a twist handle, thought of cutting a hole, putting foil over it like the lid is missing with the rubber mat sagging in the hole.  Seems like a silly detail, but that stuff adds up.  I'm also obsessing about the grill, most builders are oblivious to the fact that the back part of the grill bars was painted, and I tried to find out what the original colors were on the Chevy truck forum, so started my own topic to ask the burning question.

[89AKurt]

Interior is basically done, with exception of no dash, with attached steering column and wheel.  I used a bad resin copy of my seat, added duct tape to cover the bubbles.  ?
Also added the high/low beam switch.  Rubber floor mat is good enough, with sag over missing battery access cover.  BTW: The starter pedal (Millennial's - what's that?) is steel, no rubber pad.  Also need to add the back window, and will have one door window half way up (or is it down?).

This is how the mufflers set underneath.  Oh yea, used different tires, slightly different sidewall tread.

Fabricated the pipes from the headers out of copper wire.  Will use the stainless steel tubing that I got recently for the tips (I've always been fascinated by exhaust tips since I was about 4 years old). ?

Painted regular steel.  Instructions say the shocks are blue, have enough of that color, just like yellow.

[David G.]

I like the seat treatment. I did something similar with my AMT 3100 Chevy when I built it... more that 20 years ago.

David G.

[89AKurt]

Brake cylinder is done (not a booster).  Used two photos stolen off the web, plus the Assembly Manual.  It's a basic shape unit, different sized sprue, some photo-etch nuts, call it good.

Lesson on how NOT to do a mold. ☹️  The Alumilite Quick-set RTV is good stuff, but it sure sets fast.  Should use a smooth blunt tool, the surface I ended up with was so rough that the two parts did not come apart cleanly.  But I was able to cast a half-decent part, which I will clean up and redo this process later.

Painted the master part and glued on.  Next was to get the exhaust pipes in.

After much fussing and cursing, got the pipes on.

Previous build on the right, except for moving the firewall forward, it's Box Stock.

Hope my allergies won't be killing me tomorrow, hope to get the steering column/box done.  Maybe spark plug wires, and heater hoses.

NOTE: For anyone building the kit, be sure to shorten the top radiator hose about 1/8" at the radiator end.  Also work at the rear axle, the driveshaft is pushing it back and bending the axle, I should have thought of removing about 1MM from the driveshaft at the transmission end.  Also a major incorrect error with the instructions, the driveshaft mounts solid to the differential, only the front pivots (switch ends).  I replaced the bearing on my real truck, and can show the drawing in the Assembly Manual if nobody believes me.

Edited March 7, 2020 by 89AKurt

[89AKurt]

Steering shaft/box is done!  Used the Assembly Manual for reference, had trouble finding a photo of a truck under restoration that wasn't being hot rodded.  Brass rod, sprue, photo-etch nuts, and wire.  Made a mold, still having issues.

Added to the underside of the hood,  spring and pin in a new brace, using a catalog drawing.  Also finished the other hinge.  Check out the lack of quality control on the right hood ejection pins.

Sprayed flat black.

Set into place, not slid all the way in, I should loosen up the tolerance of the dovetailed mounts in the hood.

I intentionally made the shaft long, in case someone doesn't go to the trouble of moving the firewall forward.  Some of the kit pitman arm mount is cut back.

I'm going to drop the front axle pins, have an idea how without tearing apart the suspension.

[Art Laski]

Nice work, Kurt!

[89AKurt]

2 hours ago, Art Laski said:

Nice work, Kurt!

Hey, thank you Art for the comment!  You might want to retract it after seeing the last photo. ?

Simple guerrilla customization, drill hole in thick steel, hammer the copper wire down.

Ground off the axle pin, superglued the copper axle on.  Spidy sense eyeball measuring, center line now on the top of the beam axle.

Taillights are done.  This was dumb luck, the clear red sprue had the (almost) perfect sizes needed.  Sanded round, rubbed on the t-shirt to polish out, sawed off with photo-etch blade.  Painted the "reflector" holes steel, because Chevy didn't do shiny back then.

Made the tailgate chains.  The end on the gate are copper wire, smashed ends with the pliers, other end is bent steel wire.

It's a tight squeeze to get together, more this time ......? But I'm digging the slight lowering of the front, not drop-in-the-weeds castration, but enough.

Now I'm feeling really stupid. ?  But I thought of how it will be remedied when going to sleep last night, sign of a crapsman is fixing something and make it looked like it was planned. ?   The 'brass' thing is for the heater hoses.