In every kit builder's journey there are days where nothing much is accomplished, while other days are monumental. When the parts for the California Hauler, the '41 Active Power Willys pickup KIT CAR is building, showed up on our doorstep, it was one of those monumental days.
Up until now all I have been concerned about is getting ready for this day. After cleaning the Chevy S-10 chassis of both grime and factory cab-mounting points, I don't think I could have gotten closer to square one. The final bit of chassis prep involved shaving off about eight inches from the front frame horns, which will allow space for the new nose section, as well as the large, flat steel brackets that will support the new front fenders and apron. The chassis at this point is a basic rolling frame.
All I needed was the kit, so when the semi truck rolled up and the driver tossed open the roll-up door, I was ready. I jumped in our shop's handy forklift and started unloading the parts.
The kit arrives in basically two sections: the cab and the bed. The cab is secured to a pallet, and the inside is stuffed with various other parts of the kit (dash, one set of fenders, apron, etc.). The steel bed, sturdy enough to be used as a real truck bed but light enough to move around by yourself, comes with the rest of the 'glass parts as well as the smaller metal pieces needed to complete the bed.
I laid everything out on our tech center's floor to take pictures and mentally start building the truck in my head. The location of the various pieces on the chassis (making sure the tops of the fenders are at 12 o'clock on the wheel, not too far forward or too far back) is predicated on first setting up the bed's location. The front fenders connect to the cab, and the cab is forward of the bed, so the body line that runs down the side of the truck from the hood through the cab can't be determined until the bed is set in its place. Active Power has done their homework to make a truck bed that literally drops on the
S-10 chassis. The bed brace made from angle iron runs longitudinally and rests just outside the tops of the framerails, making for a snug fit. I didn't have to clearance or hammer on anything. The kit doesn't come with spacers to use between the bed and chassis, so I'll have to make a pair of those for the bed's front section.
With the bed position roughed out, I grabbed the tape measure and marked where the cab should go on the frame, which means I could roughly locate the firewall so I could then figure out where the engine will probably go. It looks like it will be several inches back from where the stock S-10 engine used to reside, which is great news--the farther back the heavy V-8 sits, the better the truck's center of gravity. And from the look of things, I'll have lots of space to work within the engine compartment when it comes time to locate the radiator and other external engine pieces.
Though I wasn't sure how to approach the build before the parts arrived, I now know I'll start at the back and work forward. We'll just have to see if it was the right choice!
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 After unloading all the parts...  After unloading all the parts off the shipper's truck, I began to imagine how all the pieces would go together. This represents a great time in the project's life--knowing you have what you need to make it happen. |
 Before any of the truck parts...  Before any of the truck parts could go on the chassis, I had to finish modifying the chassis so the parts will fit. This month the 'rails needed to be trimmed for the nose section, so using a square, I followed Active Power's suggestion and marked off 21 inches forward of the upper shock stud. |
 From there I marked my cut...  From there I marked my cut line around the entire frame with a Sharpie. The same measurement is done on the other frame end, too. |
 Using a Sawzall, I made quick...  Using a Sawzall, I made quick work of the frame ends. You can see that about 6 inches is cut off, but not far enough back to interfere with the power steering unit's mounting holes. It'll be a while before I get to this part of the frame again, so this is close enough for now. |
 Here are the pieces I removed...  Here are the pieces I removed from the chassis, mostly mounting brackets and not much else, which means this kit is a fairly simple drop-on-and-go assembly. |
 Active Power offers a one-piece...  Active Power offers a one-piece nose section (where the fenders, hood, and apron are all one piece), but that look is better suited to a Gasser, and I want this truck to look more like a hot-rodded street version. |
 The fenders are separate from...  The fenders are separate from the apron, but I clipped them together to see what it would look like. |
 The cab is a solid bit of...  The cab is a solid bit of workmanship and simply constructed, so there aren't any waves in the crown of the roof or in the doors. The doors shut easily and solidly, though they don't open as far as I like (presumably so as not to hit the front fenders), but I'll look into that later. The windshield is already in, as is the electrically operated door glass. |
 The bed, with its opening...  The bed, with its opening tailgate, is made of heavy-gauge steel and is built to be used as a real truck bed. I opted not to have the factory stake bed-post covers installed, as I'll be making some from my own design. |
 There are many smaller pieces...  There are many smaller pieces that come with the bed section. These are the two sections (one for each side) that go behind the fender and below the bed. |
 These pieces are attached...  These pieces are attached to the front frame horns and support the fenders and apron. |
 These pieces go forward of...  These pieces go forward of the rear fenders, just below the bed. |
 This piece is the rear apron...  This piece is the rear apron that will be put below the tailgate. |
 This is the fiberglass tailgate...  This is the fiberglass tailgate skin supplied by Active Power, but I'll be making one up of my own design from steel. |
 With me on the tailgate, I...  With me on the tailgate, I get a little help from Jason Scudellari (the technician who runs our tech center) to set the bed on the S-10 chassis. |
 And so it begins. The fitment...  And so it begins. The fitment for the bed is perfect--it just slid into place. The hot tip in finding the right location for the bed is using the end of the bed to line up with the end of the chassis. |