VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood No. 901 Open express

And a couple more. It wouldn't let me do all 4 at once for some reason.
And please excuse my mess. I have too much fun working on the truck and don't spend enough time cleaning.

Looks to be a fun project. Recreating a bit of history so others might be able to appreciate how our grandparents lived has value. Just hope that our young people understand what it took to get where we are today.

Spent some time working on the tailgate for my box. I hand forged strap hinges out of 1/4"x1-1/4" steel, making them look like the ones on Deans canopy express. Dean's are bolted together, but in research, I have seen more boxes with a solid hinge rod that passes through the hinges from side to side as well as a third hinge unlike Dean's only having two.
The clad steel on Dean's does appear to be seamed in the middle much like the doors and cab backs of trucks are seamed along a body line. I choose to have one solid piece of steel to make it more rigid. I also have the steel fitting on one side at least. The steel all has to get primed and probably some cheap paint on the back side before any nailing on takes place. If anyone has any of the narrow strips that space the fenders off the box side they want to part with I'd be interested. I did buy a shrinker and stretcher kit so I could make my own once I fit the fenders to the running boards and calculate how far the fenders will stick off the box side. I think it's only 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch according to one member I asked.
David

When I originally got Justin (my '28 Canopy Express), he did not have rear fenders.

Luckily, I local VCCA member had a bunch of '27/'28 parts in his barn and sold me the two rear fenders that are now on the truck.

The truck bed had marks on it that showed where the original fenders went so I was able to use the original bolt holes to mount my 'new' fenders.

To David's point above, I made 1/2" spacers from plywood and rattle-spray painted them flat black to match the bed sides and the fenders. If you zoom in on the attached photo, you'll see the spacer in between the rear fender and the side of the bed.

Looking good, David!!

Dean