RPU, bodywork underway.

[donsrods]

Yep, it is used in the marine industry a lot because it will not ever rot like plywood. Basically, it is plywood made out of plastic. It is not cheap, the two 2 x 4 x 1/2 inch thick pieces I am using for the backrest and seat bases cost me $130, but I will never have to worry about the interior getting wet and warping.

It cuts and sands just like plywood, and the staples for the upholstery drive in and hold really tight. It comes in various thicknesses, ranging from 1/4 on up. Here is some info on Starboard:

https://www.kingplastic.com/products/king-starboard/

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Thanks for the info, Don!

.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks for the info, Don!

.

You are welcome. Home Depot even carries some pieces of Starboard, but they are generally 2 x 2 foot pieces and I needed bigger pieces, so I went to a local shop that specializes in making things out of this product and they will sell me whatever sizes I need, and sometimes they have drops that they sell cheaper.

Today I worked on getting the final Starboard backrest made, after using the cheaper MDF stuff to make up the dummy backrest to let me figure out what it needed to look like. After I cut the Starboard to shape I mounted my top latches in place and it worked perfectly. All I had to do was lower the backrest down while the latches were engaging, and they held the backrest exactly where it needed to be.

I bolted the bottom in place to see how it would look and fit and the four bolts held it in place very securely. Since I will not be able to slip bolts though there once that panel has upholstery on it, tomorrow I will replace the bolts with T nuts that I will drive into the Starboard. Once the upholstery is on there I can simply put some bolts through the back of the body, into the T nuts, and tighten it down.

Now I can drop this off at the upholstery shop and while they are doing their thing I can paint the interior of the body with the thinned down bed liner.

Here are some pictures from today.

 

[donsrods]

Got all of the T nuts installed today and temporarily bolted the seat back into place. The guys from the upholstery shop a few doors from my shop came over and took notes about how I want the seat done. They will work up a quote and get back to me sometime next week.

While I am waiting, as soon as the Upol bedliner coating comes I can mask off the outside of the body and shoot a thinned down coat of bedliner on the entire interior surface of the body. The only carpeting will be a piece that snaps in place on either side of the tunnel, where your feet go. I still am not sure what I am going to do for door panels, and will have a better idea once I see the upholstered seat in place.

I also can blow apart and paint the angle iron seat frames and the hardware for the backrest. Once all of that is done I can probably put the body back on the frame for the final time because the upholstery can be installed even with the body on the frame.

Still a lot of things to do once the body is on the frame, like wiring and stuff like that, and I would like to fire up the engine for the first time as soon as I get some of that stuff done. Then I can start building the angle iron framework for the bed sides and then get the bed primed and painted.

I might actually get to drive this thing sometime in this Century !

 

[donsrods]

Today we got the entire body wiped down and taped up so we can shoot the thinned down bed liner onto the entire interior tomorrow night. It will protect every surface and since it is designed to go on pickup truck beds, it is as tough as nails.

Once this cures I can start to paint and install the seat bases, and I will be able to install the body on the frame for (hopefully) the last time. Before I do put it on the frame I have to spend some time squaring up the axles to the frame and aligning everything.

The upholstery shop called me today, they are going to stop by next week with some fabric samples, and then they can get started on making up the seat back and seat bottoms.

 

[Skip]

This has come a long way since its conception. I was scratching my head trying to remember what this car started out as. So I just gave myself a history lesson. If anyone else is like me, and needs a refresher course. Amazing work!

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20556

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, Skip, and you are right, this car actually started out as a four door sedan. My son Dan was building it as a four door, and one day I went to the shop and he had tape lines on it where he was going to cut it up and make a roadster pickup out of it.

He actually had the rpu pretty much done, and then I saw him sitting on a chair one day looking at it. When I asked him what he was doing he said " I am going to make some changes in the car, I don't like it !" So, he took a sawzall to the frame, shoved the body into a corner, and he ordered a new Brookville body that he ended up building his current rpu from.

When I saw he was not doing anything with the body he had cut off the frame I claimed it for myself, along with the louvered tonneau cover and a lot of other parts ( I THINK I paid him for all of those parts.....lol) and so this car of mine began.

The last picture is of when the car was a four door.

 

[donsrods]

This first picture is when Dan and I were starting to build the frame for my current rpu. Hard to believe this was something like 9 years ago ! The other 3 pictures are when Dan owned this body and when he was building it for himself.

 

[Torchie]

It's come a long way. [cl [cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[donsrods]

It's come a long way. [cl [cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

I forget sometimes how far this car has come and how much work it took to get it here. This body was far from perfect and needed a lot of work to get it even somewhat straight. Since I am far from being a body man, it was a learning process as we went along. Thank God for You Tube videos that I was able to watch and learn on.

Tonight Dan and I shot the bed liner on the entire interior of the body. When we left the shop the bed liner was still not cured and was uneven in the texture and coloration, but we hope by tomorrow it will start settling down somewhat.

If it still needs attention we will mask off just the tunnel and roll another coat or two over it to level out the texture and make the color more uniform. But we may go to the shop tomorrow and like what we see and call it good.

Here are a couple of pictures from tonight before the bed liner had fully dried.

 

[kenny c]

Looking good![cl[cl You're almost there.

 

[donsrods]

Looking good![cl[cl You're almost there.

Thanks, Kenny. It feels like we are finally starting to get near the end on this one.

Tonight I went to the shop and was not happy with the way the bed liner dried on the tunnel and floor. It was way too rough. So, I used a DA and sanded it all smooth and then when Dan got off work he came over and we rolled on another coat of thinned down bed liner on it all, and it came out much smoother and better looking. I think this one will fix it.

Tomorrow I am going to throw the seat frames into the blast cabinet and get those painted with semi gloss black. When all of that dries I can bolt the seat frames into the floor and get ready to put the body back on the frame for hopefully the last time.

Still a lot to do, but I do see some light at the end of the long tunnel.

 

[donsrods]

Today I wheeled the body outside into the sunshine to see how the interior bed liner came out and to let it cook in the hot sun for a while. I am satisfied with it, and it will calm down even more as it cures. The part where your feet go will have snap out carpeting and the tunnel will be in this painted finish.

I also sandblasted the seat frame components and got them painted in black gloss. Now, when those dry I can bolt them down to the floor for the final time.

Not much more to do before I am able to put the body back on the frame for the last time. I hope the upholstery shop calls me this week to show me some vinyl samples, I would like them to get started as soon as possible so that job is out of the way.

 

[Skip]

That looks nice.

 

[Old Iron]

Much better [cl

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys. Today I went to the shop and sprayed another coat or two on all the seat framework. I will let that dry for a day or so and then bolt it to the floor for the final time.

I am kinda hanging in limbo until the upholstery shop gets back to me and then does the actual work. I can't put the body back on the frame until they do their thing, and then I can do the final wiring, etc.

I think, to give me something to do in the meantime, this weekend I will start squaring up the suspension and tightening it all down for the last time. It will be easier to do it without the body on the frame.

I can also fill the engine, transmission, and rear end with fluids and move a little closer to firing it up for the first time. There are also some things to bolt to the firewall, like the hood support brackets, the fuel block for the 3 carbs, and some other stuff, so I can get those out of the way too, I guess.

 

[I-R-POPS]

That's going to be a KILLLER ride Don.
I'm too big a wuss to ride around without a shade over my head but I can sure know and appreciate the work it takes to produce something like your build.

NICE!!!

 

[lowbudget50]

very nice work sir!!!

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys. But I really have to give 90% of the credit to my son Dan. He has given up all of his days off and many evenings to work on this thing with me. When I look back on all the pictures from the beginning, it makes me realize that it was he, not me, who built this car. Sure, I did some of the work, but the major fabrication and welding was all him.

I have told my sons that when I pass away, this rpu goes to Dan and my 27 goes to Don. They can do what they want with them but I think it is only fair to do it this way. Same with all my tools and other stuff, they can do what they want with all of it.

I think I will be able to put the seat bases into the body today, they should be dry enough. Beyond that, I am still on hold waiting for the upholstery shop to get back to me.

 

[Tripper]

Can't wait to see the pictures of your wiring job... you always have a beautiful plan that is executed perfectly! [P[P[P

BoB