DIVCO Restoration

This is taken from inside looking out the drivers side. The post and frame was so badly rusted I had to reconstruct it. I could save the upper sheetmetal, but had to make a lower panel. You can see the rusted panel in the background.

More reconstruction. This is the frame outrigger on the driver side door. I also had to replace the lower 14" of the door post. (Thank goodness for the parts truck) I cut out a good piece from the middle of the door frame on the parts truck. The lower panel just behind the door and it's inside rails and the lower real panels are also new on both sides of the truck..

I got my first two DIVCO's in 1997. One from Ithica New York and one from south of Boston Mass. I have not worked on them very much for the past two years. (other things pop up) Now I'm back at it and progress has been good. I will be updating this page regularly as progress continues.

This is the underside of the cargo area and the drivers side wheel well. Both had to be completely remade. I used 16 ga. on both. The paint is a single stage DuPont with Corroless underneath.

Heres the new fender wells, floor joists and support runners and the center section of the floor sitting in place. The original floors were spot welded in. The Mig welder I have from HTP can duplicate the spot welds. It should look great after I weld it in place. Notice the red paint on the walls. Thats the Corroless rust stabilizer sprayed where unseen specks of rust may have been left after sand blasting.

Here's a link to a page I created to describe how I fabricated some special sheet metal pieces.

This is truck #1. [374]A barn fell on it during a snow storm in Massachussetts. The frame was twisted, three of the leaf springs were broken and the back doors are twisted. Pretty bad shape huh? The floor was rusted pretty badly but the outside sheemetal is in good condition. The engine is a continental and is a sit-stand drive.

This is truck #2. [300C] It came complete, but the rust was extreme. Almost every piece of sheet metal was a loss. The previous owner began a restoration some time ago and saved the headlight fenders and back doors by coating them with a rust inhibitor. The engine is a flat head 6 cylinder and is a sit-stand drive. I am using this frame and body for the restoration.

Here's the frame crossmember that was rusted out. I cut it completely out and fabricated a new one. I also had to add reinforcing plates to the frame

On the right is the reconstruction of one of the front doors. The lower 14 inches were rusted out. Using the same gauge steel, I fabricated duplicates and welded them in place. With a little bit of grinding they turned out nice. However, the inside shows the weld seam so I've decided to make new doors.

This is where having a parts truck is invaluable. The lower door channel is rusted beyond repair. I cut out a good piece from the parts truck and welded it in here. The floor sill is all new, made from 16 ga. steel.

Here is a good view of the original condition of the truck at the beginning. Total rust everywhere. I think that if this truck was not rescued when it was, it would probably be a total loss today. ( of course the more I get into this project the more I think it should have been a total loss)

Nice side view showing the lower panels completed along with the door frame, roof, frame and door step. This picture was taken when I had to clear out the shop to make room for the spray booth.

October 23rd: I need to take the clutch & brake controls from the parts truck & use them on the resto. So I cut the parts truck in half to fit it in the shop in front of the resto. Here's two picture's of the "half".

Sand blasted, painted, new shoes and rebuilt cylinders. It's ready to go. I had these wheel cylinders rebuilt by White Post Restorations. They're a great company, excellent quality, quick response and they're prices are competative. They also rebuilt my master cylinder. You can reach them at www.whitepost.com