1942 dodge ambulance resto

[jack neville]

The rear guards are reasonably solid but a little out of shape on the edges. I bent a piece of solid bar in the press to the correct radius to use as a dolly.
G clamps and a bit of hammer and heat.

[jack neville]

The cab received a little more attention just tidying up a few more imperfections and dents and a bit of filler and putty on the cowl to hide some deeper rust scarring. I then gave it a cost of fishoil and sealed the seams and gaps with butyl mastic. Once it dries it is ready for painting.

[jack neville]

I have started on the rear box. It is missing the rearmost cross member and this has allowed the rear sides to twist outward a little. I need to repair the rear left corner which has been damaged and is too difficult to repair so I have opted to put a new patch in. This would weaken the sides even more so before I cut the damaged section out I welded up some scrap at right angles and clamped them top and bottom to square the sides up before any further interference.

[jack neville]

I had a patch folded to match the bottom folds of the corner and then cut out the damaged section. The top of the patch joins at the bottom of the side rib which should give it enough support to stop the weld distorting the repair. The front of the patch weld will be hidden under the pioneer tool rack as indicated by the chalk line.

[jack neville]

It still needs a bit more work which I will tidy up when the other patches are done.

[jack neville]

Another patch was required on the lower front right area where a cross member end had rotted away. The porta power was required to keep the sides apart.
It was a little bit tricky turning the box over but luckily my trusty gantry is there to assist. It will need rolling around a bit more before I am finished.

[Howard]

Great work, Jack. Love it when people post detailed accounts of their work. With lots of pictures!