Champ cab rear panel angle vs floor...

[Jeff T.]

Hello all

As a low buck project I have been building an extended Champ cab based on the 63-66 Wagoneer body. After months on hour here, hour there, cutting and welding scrap studebaker body parts I am at the point of beginning to weld the rear of a champ cab to the body built from a rusted out wagoneer. So far I have spent more on welding wire ($50.00) than 18 gauge sheet steel ($18.00) this spring and summer

When I was trimming and fitting yesterday, I placed my magnetic bubble level to the back panel of the cab and it is a bit off level if not tilting a tad to the rear below the body line below the back window.

Is the rear panel of a Champ cab perpendicular to the plane of the cab floor or is the only person that will notice that the back of the cab is not square with the rest of the body me.

I also need to remember to take breaks to shoot some pictures but I am trying to get as much done in what time I do have to work on this.

Jeff T.



"I'm getting nowhere as fast as I can"
The Replacements.

[HarryStude]

What I am getting from you is that you are basically building a Wagoneer with a Champ front end. I would say square it up if you notice it then somebody else will too. If you don't care what they think build it the way you want. That is what makes customizing so great. I would make it look good to me and screw everybody else.

PROUDLY MADE IN AMERICA

[studeken]

you do mean Wagonaire, don't you? kp

Ken Pyle

[buddymander]

Well, you sure don't want the cab back end to not be parallel to the front of the bed. Is the part of the floor you are using as level parallel to the rocker panel? The back of the cab should be ninety degrees; perpendicular, to the rocker.

[sirbum]

I renamed this vehicle you are working on. I call it a "LARKANAIRE".

[sirbum]

I renamed this vehicle you are working on. I call it a "LARKANAIRE".

[Jeff_H]

I am curious. Is the finished project going to be a "quad" cab with 4 doors and short box like modern offerings?

There is a extended cab Champ I've seen a couple times that they extended the stock cab with a section of Lark body. The extension made the cab similar to a normal modern extended cab pickup. I don't recall if there were side facing jump seats or not. The normal Champ doors and other stuff was stock. I am not sure what was done with the bed. It was the "P1" ? bed with the fenders and not the Dodge bed. Could be the frame was extended to allow the longer cab.

Jeff in ND

'53 Champion Hardtop

[Jeff T.]

Since I had the day off I spent a few hours cutting and welding, the angle of the back to the floor is not a perfect right angle but pretty close

What have done to rough in this body is after first patching the floor and running box members from the hinge post to the lock/center post. I cut 2/3s of the skin of the rear doors and welded them to the lock/center post and the rocker. over the last few days I have been trimming and fitting a Champ cab back panel to the body. This morning I welded first the right side, double checked my measurements and then welded in the left side.

The next time I get out to work, I will fill in the area between the right rocker and the ragged edge of right rear of the Champ panel to creat a cab corner and if I have the energy I will weld in some filler pieces between the original Wagoneer floor and the Champ floor in front of the two center mounting holes.

I also found our digital camera while cleaning this afternoon, so pictures forthcoming.

Oh, it will be an extended cab with large rear windows, only two doors. To build a quad cab, I would have needed to extend the frame and I am not that good a welder.

Jeff T.

"I'm getting nowhere as fast as I can"
The Replacements.

[buddymander]

If you can weld all this sheet metal, you can weld a frame.