 1 Like the Model A before it, here the Diamond is being pulled up to neighbor John Huber's shop to have the rebuilt engine installed. |
 2 The transmission and engine are installed as an assembly. The cab not yet bolted to the frame, is tilted back to allow the shift lever to pass under the firewall. John is working on the clutch linkage. |
 3 Now the truck is back home and the plumbing and wiring hook up has begun. |
 4 Looking elegant with the grill and radiator installed, the truck is already showing its beauty. |
 5 The hood and steering wheel are installed. |
 6 Here is how the hood is opened. |
 7 The doors have been installed. Still waiting for the fenders. |
 8 This is what the dash looks like now. |
 9 The body work included filling in the big holes in the fenders for the old steel plate bumper mounts. The location of holes for the correct front bumper braces presented a Catch-22. With the fenders in place, the bumper braces could not be installed. With the bumper braces in place the fenders could not be installed. The problem in locating where the new holes should be cut was worked out by temporarily installing the bumper braces and dropping an outline of the brace onto the floor and measuring the height to the brace. Then the brace was removed and the fender installed. The line from the floor was projected back up onto the fender and the height was marked and the opening sketched onto masking tape. |
 10 With a lot of anxiety and trepidation a hole was cut with a cut-off disk mounted in an angle grinder. Look how successful the method was. A very close fit which will be trimmed with a proper grommet. |
 11 The hood sides have brass name plates---one shown here has been given a coat of black paint. Spray paint tends to shed from sharp edges so the edges of the raised letters made a natural crisp guide. While the paint was still gummy or tacky it was scraped from the surfaces of the letters. Tooth flossers with the handle shaped to a sharp edge made a great non-abrasive tool. This was a rather tedious task but a glass of brandy steadies the nerves. The fresh paint on my fingers has long since worn off. |
 12 The polished and refinished hood side trim plates. |
 13 Using the milling machine to cut pockets into the sides of 1-1/2" x 3" rectangular steel tubing that was used to make a trim frame for the stake-side flat bed for the truck. |
 14 I made a guide for the plasma cutter that was used to cut a side out of the steel tube. This made a light-weight "C" channel with "radiused" corners. |
 15 Here the bed is being put together upside down using a utility trailer as a work bench. |
 16 Here the flat bed is temporarily set on the truck frame to verify and fit the supports to the frame. |
 17 These varnished boards drying in the sun will become the stake sides for the bed. |
 18 Neal, son-in-law of the former owner, made a perfect replica of the gas tank that had rusted out. |
 19 The replacement gas tank is installed. |
 20 Here is a photo of the finished truck. |
 21 Another view of the truck. Note the replica WWII gas rationing sticker on the windshield and the patriotic 48 star flag license plate topper on the vintage farm plate. |
 22 This is what the flat bed looks like. |
 23 Another view of the truck. It has been a long time coming and a lot of work but the results are very satisfying. The truck runs fine and is a lot of fun to drive. The double-clutching in shifting gears no longer comes as second nature but I am getting the hang of it again. |
 24 Shiel and me showing off the trophy the truck won in the first show we entered. The truck was awarded "Best in Class" at a car show in Barron WI. Click here to go back to the Diamond T home page for more about the Diamond T. |