50 Panel progress

[DaJoker]

Well tonight I got out the wire brush head for the drill and went to town on the back door area where I know there is some rust through. Imagine my disappointment when there was a whole load of bondo stuck in there to make it appear better then it really was. Oh well, live and learn I guess. Nothing a couple properly cut patches can't solve really. Will have before and after pics soon (wife had the camera tonight).

Also got the drivers door realigned tonight. Someone evidently didn't bother when they reattached the door. So now, the door is properly aligned, but still need to work on the strike plate on the door frame to get it shutting completely. Will have to realign the right rear barn door as well as it's pushed over into the door frame, so it'll have to be pulled more toward the middle. Probably won't take pics, cuz I find door realignment pretty damn boring myself. At least, I didn't have a fun time doing it, especially by myself and with no jacks or such. Try heaving up a big ole chevy truck door and tighten it in place by yourself sometime. You'll have a blast. No, really.

And now, it's cool shower time. 91 degrees today here in VA. I'm covered in sweat, bondo dust, paint chips, and rust. Is it odd I'm looking forward to getting covered again tomorrow?

 

[FlatBroke]

How bad was the bondo?

Get some pics up when you can...

 

[Tripper]

And now, it's cool shower time. 91 degrees today here in VA. I'm covered in sweat, bondo dust, paint chips, and rust. Is it odd I'm looking forward to getting covered again tomorrow?

Joker,
Panels r always gonna need a few patch panels here & there but I love panel trucks. I was stupid about a year ago & let a really kool '38 Ford panel slip through my hands & have regretted it every since! Can't wait to see u're fotos!!!

BoB

 

[Gastrick]

Removing paint from an old car/truck can reveal all kinds of surprises. It's good to see you have a good attitude about it. Oh and uh...hurry up with the pics.

 

[DaJoker]

Here's the first pass with the wire head.. Just to see what a mess I had on my hands. Couldn't get the after shot off the camera, so I'll have to try again later after work.

I knocked out a few large chunks of bondo at that point where it's thick there at the right. The larger hole on the left was the one I saw initially when I purchased the vehicle and was assured that that was pretty much the extent of the damage. I bought this truck off an old timer who just had a heart attack and his wife was making him get rid of some of his projects, so he may have been duped himself. Like I said, nothing a few patches can't fix I don't think. And since it's hidden by the door when it's shut, I think I'll try to patch them myself and see what kind of mayhem I can cause with my arc welder.

 

[Tripper]

And since it's hidden by the door when it's shut, I think I'll try to patch them myself and see what kind of mayhem I can cause with my arc welder.

Joker,
Better there than on the door itself!!!

BoB

 

[Gastrick]

That'll buff right out. No, but seriously it doesn't look too bad to me. I would just make sure to cut out the thin metal around the edges of the rust holes too in order to have a good solid piece of metal to weld the patch to.

 

[joehalford01]

U CAN DOOO ITTTT!!!! I feel you on the doors, i replaced a door on a 72 cadillac once by myself. that was ridiculous. luckily i had a jack stand to set it on. that door never did shut right though... if you plan on doing anymore door stuff you might consider one of those door stands from hf. I can't justify buying one myself at this point but i probably will if i ever have to remove a door again.

 

[BruceR&C]

And now, it's cool shower time. 91 degrees today here in VA. I'm covered in sweat, bondo dust, paint chips, and rust. Is it odd I'm looking forward to getting covered again tomorrow?

It's funny the things we put ourselves thru for our fun, isn't it ? It's been in the hi 80's - low 90's here and after a cool day of working inside of 32 tons of metal in the sun, I can't wait to get out to my garage (no a/c of course) & spend another 4 - 5hrs on the truck.

Nah------it's not odd just the enjoyment we have workin' on our stuff.


Oh, keep the pics coming...

 

[joehalford01]

i'm starting to think i enjoy the finished product more then the process sometimes

 

[DaJoker]

Did a little more work today at lunch time. Got most of the cuts made on the rear door area. just need to grind a bit more, cut a bit more, and I'll be ready to weld in some strips to fill.

My neighbor and I pulled all the stuck down floor mat in the cab last night and the floor looked pretty good last night during dusk. Well, today at lunch on this bright sunny, and hot day, it isn't looking as good. Found a bunch of places where someone used metal mesh and filler/bondo to fill a bunch of holes in the inner cowl and the floor. So now I gotta put in more patches.

Here's the passenger side inner cowl area:

And the drivers side floor and inner cowl area.

 

[DaJoker]

I also found that the left outer cowl panel was badly repaired. After knocking off a couple layers of fill and paint, found it in pretty rough shape. So this will have to be replaced as well.

All in all, I found all the patch panels I need for around 200 bucks. Not bad I guess really. I'd rather know that I have a decent floor that I can work with, and really, the rest of the body is pretty good. I got under the thing last night to check the inner fenders which usually are the worst and first to go, and they are in great shape. The only thing I can think that caused the floor damage is the insulating material (looked like cardboard) and it retained water. Oh well. I have 10 days to get this thing ready for a show here in town and now I'm fairly worried about having it done.

 

[joehalford01]

i wouldn't worry about it getting it all done in a week, that'll make it misreable. just do the best you can and drive it like it is to the show (if it's driveable), also, your cuts look good, on the bright side you get some practice in with the welder

 

[DaJoker]

Yeah, I just want to have it mostly solid for the show. The plan has been to get it painted in chalkboard paint so that I can get kids interested in old trucks. Found out tonight that the major manufacturer of chalkboard paint here in the US is of all people, Rustoleum. Thinking about emailing them asking if they'd like to donate some if I advertise for them. Talk about a marketing guys wet dream.

Anyway, tonight I got the rest of the cuts made on the rear door area, and started on the patch panel. For only having a standard framers hammer, a cheap arc welder, and 20 guage steel from Lowes, I don't think it's shaping up that badly. It's only tacked in at the top and sides for now (except in the left side where I started to fill a bit more) and my welds look like complete crap because my arc welder is touchy and I'm completely out of practice. Hopefull tomorrow I can finish welding the rest of it in. Still need to trim at the leading edge as well (that's why that isn't tacked) as I overcut the piece a bit. Better than it being short though, right?

And my neighbor came over again tonight and went to town on the passenger door with the sander, getting her smooth and ready for some primer. Figured we might as well sand, primer and paint what we can to those parts that don't need patching while I'm working on getting the other things patched up.

 

[52 HenryJ]

Looks real good so far and getting better by the day man Great job!

 

[BruceR&C]

It's coming along nicely, Joker. Don't rush too much, take 'er to your show as is (long as it's drivable). Better to take your time and get it right.

 

[DaJoker]

Yeah, she's completely driveable. The old timer just had the brakes serviced before I bought it, the original 216 is the most quiet inline 6 I've ever heard, and the trans shifts smooth. I've had her out a couple times since I brought her home and everything has been good so far. Need to get the generator replaced /rebuilt yet as it has some issues, but everything driveline wise is good. Do need to get the radiator flushed though I think because here a couple days ago in the 90 degree heat, when I stopped there was some overflow on the driveway. Oil temp showed about 200-210, which may be a bit high as well? Not really sure on these old stovebolts whether that's a normal oil temp.

 

[DaJoker]

More progress tonight. It's been going slow, but I guess that happens when you have no clue wtf you are doing. So I finally filled the patch panel tonight, got it ground down a bit, and will need to finish grinding and blend tomorrow night. Only have about 2.5 hours to work every night by the time I get off work, eat dinner with the wife and son, and worse, because I have no garage, I'm dependent on sunlight. But hey, at least I got practice with the arc welder in a place where you really won't see. By the time the rear barn doors are shut, you never see the door sill. I figure by the time it's ground, blended, primed and painted, you shouldn't be able to tell it was done by an idiot.

And the neighbor came over again tonight, helped me debadge the hood (for future sanding) and got the drivers side fender sanded most of the way. Still have to take out the headlight bucket and take off the turn signals to get the rest of it, but it's coming along. Hopefully will get the other fender done tomorrow night, and then Saturday morning we tackle the hood. After a good wash, we're hoping to be ready for primer of these parts Saturday afternoon.

 

[Tripper]

Leak!

The only thing I can think that caused the floor damage is the insulating material (looked like cardboard) and it retained water.

Joker,
A lot of times that was caused by a windshield leak, leak around the antenna, or bad door or wing window rubber. My PU had a small amt of rust in exactly the same place. You r makin' great progress!!! Nothin' like an upcomin' show to get u're butt in gear!!! ; - >

Hopefully the neighbor helpin' is not the bike incident neighbor!

BoB

 

[DaJoker]

Well tonight I tried to put in a patch around the rear fender, and my arc welder just kept blowing holes in the metal. Welding on vertical curves with an arc welder is a *****. So my wife comes out, see's I'm disgusted with it, and says, "why don't you go buy a mig? Didn't you say that they were easier to use?" Holy crap.

1. She remembered something I said.
2. She let me go buy a mig.

So, I got a brand new shiny flux/gas combo Lincoln Electric tonight. Can't wait till tomorrow and see if I can repair those holes. Otherwise, I need to completely cut the patch out and start again. Ugh. Not looking forward to that. The fortunate part is I'm on vacation for the next two days, so hopefully I can get things welded, sanded, filled, and painted by Friday evening so I'm ready for the Saturday show. I'm pushing it really close I know, but I sooo want to have that chalkboard paint ready to go for the kids.