Troop Seats... Finally, Well, Close!

I have been busy, but who isn't? I finally have some time and I am putting together my troop seats. I bought the hardware years ago. The angle supports that keep the seats upright were missing. I was able to get six of them but of course, the middle ones are shorter. One of the members here sent me an old center brace and I was able to cut down two of the NOS braces that I got from VPW (I think?).

Anyway, thanks to many posts and to the help from others, I purchased red oak because white oak was scarce and expensive. I ripped the boards to exactly 3" and they were already ¾" thick. Perfect. I got out the router and found that I didn't have a ⅛" radius round over bit. Got a kit for $16 from Home Depot, all with roller bearings. That work is now done! (Oh, did I mention that the router "threw a rod"? One of the commutator pole pieces on the armature flew off. Needless to say, that router is history. Heck, I bought it in the 70s, I guess I got my money's worth out of it. I bought a new Bosch from Lowe's)

I measured the locations for the holes to be drilled. I will use a ¾" forstner bit to sink the heads of the carriage bolts. Then, drill the ¼" hole for the bolt. But I have to move the truck to get at the drill press on the bench!

The metal parts have all been sanded and primed. They were yellow. After that, I used a base coat of Krylon camouflage olive drab so that I didn't have to use so much Rapco Gillespie 24087 paint. I have four gallons but don't feel like mixing up the stuff and cleaning a sprayer for small parts. So, I have purchased a few cases of the spray cans. Works for me...

The unrestored tailgate of the M715 makes an excellent work bench.

[rant]Also, Photobucket still works for me if I am patient. About a year ago, I paid $99 for a year subscription. That eliminated all of the Bovine Scat with ads and page jumping around. Now, it does work but is extremely clunky. There is no way that they will extort the $400 a year that they want. I suspect they have priced themselves into extinction.[/rant] :D

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...pswam85aig.jpg

To Be Continued...

Wow...this is gonna be good!!

"Next episode"

Since I have so much stuff (junque as some call it), I had to move the truck out of the garage to get access to the workbench.

First picture is for reference purposes:

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ocamcpy.jpg

After careful measurement for the location of the holes which were spot on by the way, I used a scratch awl to help locate the drilling. I didn't know if the forstner bit or brad tip would do any "walking".

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psssiafizk.jpg

I used a Forstner bit to recess the heads of the carriage bolts. It worked very well.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psu2lhnzln.jpg

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psyocnjr0u.jpg

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7qukvvl1.jpg

Next, to drill the 5/16" holes for the shank of the carriage bolts, I used a brad point drill. It gave a very nice clean hole with minimum splintering on the other side. But let's be clear here, "We ain't buldin' no piano!" as a good friend of mine always said.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psqbjyelqm.jpg

This hole is for the tab (#18 in the illustration above) that holds the seats in the upright or closed position. Curiously, the illustration only shows one of them per side and I don't remember my trucks. But my hardware came with four so that is what I will go with.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psvqajljsm.jpg

There are 12 boards, 2 tops, 2 second boards and 8 seat boards. Lots of boards, some differences so attention is required and an occasional adult beverage may cloud the issue!

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psj3uwowgp.jpg

A mock up with some scrap lumber.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5oxhblwi.jpg

Beautiful, meticulous work as always!! You are correct, 4 #18s.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kyken

Beautiful, meticulous work as always!! You are correct, 4 #18s.

---

Thanks but you are too kind. I do try to do things right the first time. I figure that I won't be doing it again. My truck is far from a museum piece. But it starts and runs great. I don't have the patience, or time to do a frame off. I will be 70 in February and whilst not a fatalist, I consider myself a realist.

Now, more progress. All of the metal is painted. I was going to use some of the original bolts but by now, I have just about replaced it all with new. I don't have my stand grinder here yet (has a wire wheel on one side) so I don't feel like painting hundreds of bolts and nuts.

Picture of the metal parts. Notice on the two uprights in the bottom of the picture, there is a piece of pipe welded to the frame. I don't think that it is original but I just left it. What's your opinion please?


http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psmhtwrerw.jpg

Seats are finally finished. Painted, assembled and installed. Measurements for the holes was spot on. Every bolt met the hole.

One more box ticked, thank goodness...

Pictures later...

Just read this whole post Don, Wow! you are doing an excellent job. Everything looks great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by militarypotts

Just read this whole post Don, Wow! you are doing an excellent job. Everything looks great.

---

Thanks. I will admit that when I turned the last nut, I was much relieved. We had good weather for the last two days so I was able to spray the boards without 96% of the paint going elsewhere!

I did have problems with the Rapco spray cans. If there was OD paint around the top of the can, invariably the nozzle would clog and you had to get another one. That is probably the reason every can comes with two nozzles.

It does cost a lot to use spray cans. But I was not in a position to drag out a spray gun etc. So, done it is.

I will post a picture of the finished product when I get the truck out later this week.

That's very nice work. Many of you have such an eye for details...and patience!
I lack both.

Finally complete! One more thing done. Pictures below of the completed project. Pictures with the seats down and up. Also, note that trailer ball thing in the middle of the floor!!

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psewmhrwc7.jpg

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...psrebzwmim.jpg

Don,
Those turned out really nice. I can see why you are ready to move on to a nicer bed.
Merry Christmas.

Beautiful...seriously!!!

Thanks to Dan who provided a link to the thread which had exact measurements. I used red oak from Lowes. I found it to be cheaper to buy 1"X4" boards. I did the math to see if ripping wider boards would yield the boards for less money but it didn't. So, it was easy just to rip 3/4" off of each board and then just chop the end off for length. I used a 1/8" radius round over router bit to duplicate the original shape. (BTW, when I was painting them, I found one length that I missed! It stayed missed...)

I planned to use the original bolts where possible. But cleaning, priming and painting all of that stuff was an overwhelming task. I opted for new hardware and that was the right decision.

WOW, Looks fantastic!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kyken

WOW, Looks fantastic!!

---

Thanks. Now, if I could only get the rest of the truck looking like that.

Looking good!

Looks great! I did mine a couple years ago, very labor intensive.

One part I am missing are the little 'hold-downs' that hold the seats in the upright position.

Could you send me the specs on them? I can make some for myself with that.

Thanks!

I can trace it and scan/mail it to you if you want.

It is pretty straight forward, just a slab of metal with a slight bend at one end so that it will slip over the boards, and a hole in the other end.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jonnie

I can trace it and scan/mail it to you if you want.

---

That would be great, all I need are basic measurements though.

Don that looks great. My question is this though. How did you manage to put the troop seat on the drivers side without whacking the Corvair at least once?

I put my troop seats on every March, wash the truck, do several shows and parades until mid May and then put them back in the horse barn for another year. The last few years I gave up trying to do it myself and waited until I had a helper because scratches or other stupid stuff always seemed to happen when doing them myself.

I assembled them in place! I put the three metal "Pocket Assembly" posts in first and then attached the wood to them. I attached everything first without tightening the nuts. Then, I made sure that they were even and square (eyeball method) and started tightening them. Originally, I was going to use lock nuts. Instead, I used shouldered nuts which are serrated and they dug into the metal. Easy!