Chairbornrangers '67 M35 restore project

[Chairbornrangerx]

Well I figure I should start my own thread here. I recently acquired a 1967 M35 (A1). It's in relatively rough shape but that is half the fun, fixing and repairing the ole girl.

It appears at one point it had a heater kit installed, but it is no longer there so I will eventually be sourcing one. Definitely need that heat being in Michigan =)

A few other things that were pretty obvious from the start, I need some exhaust work on this! It is a non turbo which I hope to change into a turbo soon... but the exhaust is headers and then about 24" of pipe exiting just outside the passenger fender. Its LOUD... I want to quiet it down a little and with the turbo, clean up the exhaust.

Cab has a few relatively bad rusted spots, no biggie not scared of body work. Battery box is all but nonexistent, so again another item to source out. Passenger seat is missing the lower pad/cushion so I can't really take passengers. Drivers seat is missing the back cushion, but that doesn't stop be from driving it currently.

When I went to pick it up, and drive it home, my first stop was to put some fuel in it, shut it off while at the station in town and when i went to crank it back up, nothing... nada... not even clicking. Wiggling the push button start, it eventually fired so I have some loose wiring to address.

Troop seats were in very rough shape with some sections of extremely rotted wood, and a few of the brackets were mangled. Previously owner said he just hauled wood in it. So I'm already in the process of having new brackets fabbed up.

There is a local sandblast shop that has a booth I can literally just drive it into, so one of these weekends soon I hope to get over there and get some blasting done on the bed. I'm debating on completely removing the bed and taking it on a trailer for the blasting/painting. This would get it up and out of the way while I clean up and do some repairs under the truck.

It was originally missing the drivers side tail light, I already have the new light mounted, just need to get it wired.

I will start throwing up some pictures later tonight as I get the truck pulled back out of the barn and into the light. I just did oil filters and oil change last night on it so I want to fire it up and check for leaks etc.

Before I address a lot of the main body and electrical work, my main concern is how it runs. The previous owner said it was hard to start sometimes, and I've noticed that yes it doesn't like starting... It tends to want full pedal and a minute of cranking before she really takes off. So I have been reading every thread I can, and TM, so I have some ideas on things I want to chase down and check. I'll post more on that as things progress. I was hoping changing out of all of the fuel filters would help, but so far it still starts the same.

The primary fuel filter housing had a ridiculous amount of junk in it (picture below). The first secondary filter also had some junk in it, so that too got cleaned out, and by the 2nd secondary, there wasn't anything in it at all. Hopefully I can contribute a lot as I learn and repair this truck. More pictures coming tonight.

 

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Looking forward to following you on the bodywork.
Best of luck with the project.

 

[dmetalmiki]

Well done absolutely!. That (nice looking truck) is lucky to have you as it's new owner. We will be Following your project with great interest.

 

[Chairbornrangerx]

I didn't get out to the barn last night to work on the truck, my 2yr old kept me pretty busy and by the time he went to bed I was pretty tired myself so I just elected to get some rest. Tonight for sure I am getting out there for the very least some more pictures for you guys. One thing I don't think I mentioned already is that I already started the process of having new troop seat brackets fabbed since quite a few of the old ones were mangled to the point I really didn't feel like repairing.

I should have all new brackets within a week or so and then I will work on getting them primed/painted and installed back into the truck. So considering I have such a young one (and one on the way) I know that I would like to take the deuce through some parades here and there with the kids being able to be in the back and throw candy etc. I noticed the troops seats when they fold down leave the 3 strip wood gap in the backrest area of the seat. So I'm taking the pillars and extending the sheet steel the full length of the pillar, so I can do a full 5 wood strip backrest. I will take the bracket where it pins into the bottom of the pillars and change the angle to so it extends 3/4" closer to the center of the truck. I hope that makes sense, and I will most definitely get pictures of it as I fab them up within the next couple weeks. My thought is it will still look pretty original with the troop seats folded up, just that when the seat part folds down, I keep a full backrest for the safety of the kids.

My 2nd topic is, I'm still torn on exactly WHAT to do with the body. I'll get pictures tonight of a few problematic spots of rust and post them up. So, I have access to some used cab's at a price, and I'm debating on doing a quad cab build. This would allow me to bring more of the whole family as time progresses in the Deuce than just 1 or 2 passengers up in the cab. This would involve cutting down the bed by <x> feet to incorporate the cab. I like the idea of being able to pile in the whole family or some friends and going for a ride. Obviously losing some of the originality of the truck. I'll have to see what a few of my contacts want price wise, for a used cab that I would have to cut up for the project. If it's reasonable, my stepdad is a welder, and my best friends dad (essentially my 2nd dad) runs a local body shop. He will be doing the majority of the body work.

My stepdad said I could also have a winch that's been sitting out for, forever. Looks like from the research that it is a Tulsa winch, capacity unknown right now, I have to get some numbers off of it the next time I am over there. I'm thinking of using it up near the middle of the frame around where the air tanks sit, up between the frame rails, and use it as a rear winch. It appears to have capstans on either side as well. I will have to see what the availability of parts for it are, and what shape it's in as I clean it up.

So yeah, more pictures to follow tonight, and I would certainly not be opposed to feedback on the quad cab possibility. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[maa45069]

Congrats seems like you've got everything under control and then some lol

 

[61sleepercab]

Good luck with the old iron. I would suggest you drain the fuel tank and check the bottom and baffles for rust and the creeping crud. It is easier to clean in the shop that stuck along the road in the dark. As for the bed rehab, if you are going to keep the truck long term it may be better to remove the bed so you can get access to the top of the frame and the axles/lines/wires for inspection, cleaning and paint. Take it one step at a time and take pictures for your build scrap book that a lot of restorers keep with their project. Have fun and keep up the posts. Mark

 

[71DeuceAK]

Looks like a fun new project!