1947 ford ranger...

[Dez]

An obvious rot spot was the double layered bit at the lower rear arch corner where the fender brace attaches. Again these were previously poorly repaired. I removed the re-enforcing plates, repaired the actual skin complete with square hole for the coach bolt head, and refitted the plate once cleaned up and repaired.














A few bumps and dents have been left in this area so it doesn’t look ‘too good’, given the desired finish overall.

I didn’t get the fenders finished before George needed the truck, I’ve still got a couple sections on each to do but they can be repaired and blown in to the fake patina afterwards.

[johnthesparky]

Do you weld the rolled round bit?

Great to see more updates

[Dez]

Aug 23, 2020 18:22:58 GMT johnthesparky said:

Do you weld the rolled round bit?

Great to see more updates

How do you mean? Did I weld it to the bar all the way along you mean?

[johnthesparky]

Aug 23, 2020 18:25:49 GMT Dez said:

Aug 23, 2020 18:22:58 GMT johnthesparky said:

Do you weld the rolled round bit?

Great to see more updates

How do you mean? Did I weld it to the bar all the way along you mean?

I think you weld the patch in flat, then hammer the overhang round the bar (?) do you then need to weld that rolled round bit to the old rolled round bit?

I guess the bar gives it the strength now I think about it, but wondered if you only welded what you could see if it would be a weak point

[Dez]

Nah I only welded it where it was welded originally (as in original 1950s gas welds). I think they just tacked the wired edge on in a few places to stop it moving then chased the edge over, probably on a helve hammer. None of them have cracked from the welded so it doesn’t seem to be a weak point at all.

[Dez]

So I buggered off to the north for a bit, to sort out some stuff at my other house and then on holiday.
I can back two weeks later, and this is what George has been up to in my absence.

[joem83]

You'd be hard pushed to tell that's recreated patina on the tub!

[truckdoctor]

Aug 19, 2020 13:06:26 GMT The Rascal King said:

If anyone would like to compare this to an "as delivered" version...

Or there are all terrain tyres

[joem83]

What timber you using on the bed? (asuming timber and not steel)

[Dez]

Aug 24, 2020 20:26:48 GMT joem83 said:

What timber you using on the bed? (asuming timber and not steel)

Probably just textured phenolic ply. Its going to be used and abused so anything more than that is a bit pointless really. If I f-k it up dragging an engine/rubble etc across it a new sheet Is about £70 and easy to swap.
Plus it’s dark brown so fits fairly well colour wise.

I’ve also got further bed ideas down the line, but for now it just needs boarding.

[austinpowers]

I don’t know if its a daft idea, but you can get boards made out of recycled plastic. And they’re actually quite realistic looking, as well as being surprisingly tough. Wouldn’t have to worry about them rotting out or covering them in oil.

[varelse]

Oh, the plastic timber decking stuff..
It can be pretty realistic, not a bad idea!
Costs a little more than normal decking here, but not by much.

[brc76]

But they can be very slippery!

[jamesd1972]

Phenolic ply is great stuff - it’s on our ifor trailer and very strong and resistant to abuse.
If you were that bothered you could paint on some board joints ? But for a work truck meh.
We have put a thick piece of stable rubber matting (mole valley farmers) in the trailer. It comes in 6’ x 4’ pieces as protection for the board and to dampen things down that you carry. Works well to stop thing moving about so much as well.
Truck looks great but fair bit of fiddly jobs to finish off now ?
James

[Dez]

I did think of the plastic fake decking, But I’m not sure if it would look too fake, especially once scratched up it would be really obvious it’s plastic.
I’m not sure how well it bears weight either, and how much it sags with a heavy load. No one seems to be willing to part with that information.
Other issue would be mounting it. I’d have to add quite a lot of structure to the bed floor framing to be able to support it in the right places to screw it down, as it essentially bolts between the planks like original bed boards do. So I’d need bed strips as well.
It’s actually quite expensive too. Not that phenolic is that cheap in a decent thickness.

I think I’m gunna stick with the phenolic idea. It’s straightforward to mount with no special consideration needed so it would be easy to swap out in future if I change my mind. This truck will have a load of building work to do almost immediately it being done, so even if it’s only on for that and swapped out afterwards it will be worthwhile.

[Dez]

Aug 26, 2020 6:27:40 GMT jamesd1972 said:

Phenolic ply is great stuff - it’s on our ifor trailer and very strong and resistant to abuse.
If you were that bothered you could paint on some board joints ? But for a work truck meh.
We have put a thick piece of stable rubber matting (mole valley farmers) in the trailer. It comes in 6’ x 4’ pieces as protection for the board and to dampen things down that you carry. Works well to stop thing moving about so much as well.
Truck looks great but fair bit of fiddly jobs to finish off now ?
James

I do plan on other things to go over the bed later down the line. Shame that matting doesn’t come in 4’x7’ as I could do the entire bed in one then!

And yes there’s lots of fiddly jobs to do now. There’s another )hopefully the last) batch of stuff at the sandblaster right now to be painted once it’s back and that will get a lot of it back together for the last time. Then the major consideration is some underbody rustproofing before the bed floor goes in.

[glenanderson]

The phenolic is good stuff, but it doesn’t last forever. My trailer needs doing again, the first lot lasted about 15 years, this lot a little longer. Make sure there’s some way for rainwater trapped in the bed to escape.

[Dez]

Aug 26, 2020 8:55:03 GMT glenanderson said:

The phenolic is good stuff, but it doesn’t last forever. My trailer needs doing again, the first lot lasted about 15 years, this lot a little longer. Make sure there’s some way for rainwater trapped in the bed to escape.

Yes I have some experience of using it repairing plant trailers. I find you can at least double its service life by sealing the cut edges to the frame so they can’t get wet.
I'm in the habit of always trying to park pickup trucks facing uphill if possible so they self drain.

[colnerov]

Hi, Had you thought about scaffold boards? Quite sturdy so support not so critical, can be picked up second hand for cheaps and used to being covered in building stuff so It could be alright for its first job. Then think again as needed afterwards.

Colin

[Dez]

Aug 26, 2020 10:26:00 GMT colnerov said:

Hi, Had you thought about scaffold boards? Quite sturdy so support not so critical, can be picked up second hand for cheaps and used to being covered in building stuff so It could be alright for its first job. Then think again as needed afterwards.

Colin

Whenever I’ve used scaff boards for outdoor projects in the past, I’ve always been disappointed with how long they’ve lasted, even when treated. I had a free supply at one point and used em for loads of garden related stuff. 5 years later pretty much all of them have been replaced now as they all rotted.