RPU, bodywork underway.

[kenny c]

Good luck.[P[P[P

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys. Yep, putting the four barrel on the engine showed that the motor is ok, it is the fuel delivery system that was messed up. Now I have a baseline to start from.

What drives me nuts is, by blocking off the two end carbs and getting them totally out of the picture, basically I have just turned this engine into a two barrel motor. That is about as basic and simple as you can get. To still have issues shows that the vacuum leak is either coming from the intake to head area, or the carb itself.

Now that I have successfully sealed the four barrel intake to the heads, that tells me that there is no misalignment there, the heads must be true and the intake seals to those heads just fine. Now I have to spend the same amount of time and carefully seat the tripower intake to the heads, and then play around with the center carb to make sure it is doing it's job correctly.

I honestly think my center carb was the issue, with the back plate missing and the goofy job the rebuilder did on plugging the hole back there.

Today I worked on cleaning up the sheetmetal parts for the bed. I cleaned the tailgate of some of the little rust spots that it got from handling it, and also cleaned the front plate that makes up the front of the bed, and also the 4 stake pockets. I DA'd everything with 80 grit and then hit it all with a scotchbrite pad. They are all now very clean and one more wipe down will make them ready to prime and then paint.

That will leave only the two side panels and the louvered top piece. So, by the time the powercoater is done, I should be in good shape to assemble the bed for the final time.

 

[donsrods]

Yesterday Dan worked on the bed some more, and he made two little pockets in the bottom of the side panels for the axle to clear in case the car hits a hard bump. Typical for Dan, he couldn't just cut out a U shaped piece and call it good, he had to make a wooden buck so he could hammer form a lip around each one to give it some strength. I have to admit, it does look nicer and stronger than the way I would have done it.

While he was doing all of that I worked on priming the tailgate and 4 stake pockets. The tailgate came out ready for paint because it is a brand new part, but the 4 stake pockets have been cut and diced so much that they needed a little skim coat of glaze to correct any little areas that were not perfect.

I got all of those done, and today I am going to be able to shoot the Hot Rod Black on the tailgate, front bed section, and the 4 stake pockets. All that will leave is the two side panels and the louvered top piece. Hopefully, by the time the framework is back from the powdercoater I will have everything painted and can start assembling the bed for the final time.

Again, I forgot my camera, but will take some pictures today to post.

 

[bruno]

Will be waiting for pixs!!!

 

[soltz]

////[P////

 

[donsrods]

I remembered my camera today. The first thing I did was spray the final black paint on the tailgate , front bed panel, and the four stake pockets. Only got one run, which is good for me, and it was so small I was able to take an artist's brush and minimize it pretty well.

Then I started cleaning up the two bed sides and got them into epoxy primer. Now I can see their flaws and will skim coat a few areas with body filler and then shoot some more primer on before I spray the final black on top.

Once the sides are done, the only thing left is the louvered top cover, and I am in no rush to get that painted. I want to let everything else dry really well first, and then I can take my time and prime and paint the tonneau cover. With all those louvers, the last thing I want to get are runs in it, they would be very tough to sand out between all those louvers.

So, here are some pictures from tonight.

 

[Torchie]

Looks great, Don
Torchie

 

[soltz]

Yep! Really good [cl
==[P==

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys, not a show car by any means, but I think it will be a fun driver when I finally get it on the road. I am seeing the finish line, finally, and it will be great to take a break when this thing is done.

Today I took the day off to let the primer cure on the side panels, but tomorrow I am going to put some filler on the few areas that need attention and then get them primed again before I can finally top coat them.

I am going to call the powercoater tomorrow to see where they are. If you do not stay on top of them they tend to let things drag on. He does nice work and is a nice guy, but he always over promises and under delivers.

 

[lowbudget50]

very nice!! a looker for sure!!!

 

[kenny c]

It's looking real good! I like the philosophy of nice driver. If you make it too nice you will be afraid to take it anywhere. I have a friend with an Olds Cutlass Rally. He is afraid to get it dirty. He won't drive it the quarter mile of dirt driveway to get to my house.

 

[donsrods]

You guys are right, I would hate to have one of those Kendigit built million dollar cars that you would be crazy to get dirty or damaged. Cars are built to use.

Today I worked on putting some glaze on a few unstraight places on the bed sides. After I sanded those smooth I shot 3 coats of high build primer on those panels and when they cure I will scuff them and get some black paint on them. I shot as the sun was setting and miraculously did not get any runs for a change.

I called my powder coater guy to see where he was on my framework, and he didn't even remember who I was ! I had tried to call him earlier, but the phone went right to voice mail, so I drove over there, and the office was locked up. I went around the shop and found some doors open and found some of his workers, and one put me on the phone with him.

He sounded strange, and didn't remember the parts I dropped off, but I gave him my name and phone number, and he promised to check and call me. He had not called by 5 pm, so tomorrow I will drive over there again to kick him in the butt. They do nice work, and he is a nice guy, but a horrible businessman.

Here are some pictures from tonight. I know they look just like the ones from the other night but they now have high build on them.

 

[kenny c]

Good luck with the powder coater. I hope he gets it done soon. Panels look good.[cl[cl

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, Kenny. I have used this guy tons of times over the years, and my sons and I always joke that he will never hit the deadline he promised. One time he even coated the parts the wrong color, but he made it all good in the end by redoing them.

I like the guy, and realize his shop is really busy, and have been happy with all the things he has done, so I just build that into the extra time he sometimes takes. I am going to wait until tomorrow, and if I do not hear back from him by then I will stop by.

My only concern when I dropped the parts off was that there were 6 small parts, and he has misplaced parts in the past, but later on found them and coated them. But I am staying optimistic.

 

[soltz]

That's the best way to look at every thing [cl

 

[donsrods]

Today I decided to get the painting done on the bed sides, as the framework will be coming back tomorrow and I can start assembling things then. I spent a couple of hours with Scotchbrite pads and leveled out the primer I spray yesterday, and then I shot 2-3 coats of Hot Rod Black on both sides of the bed.

Surprisingly, I got no runs, even though the sunlight was going away when I did it. Tomorrow I will see how it all looks as the paint starts to cure. It was still wet when I left tonight, and it looks ok, but tomorrow will be the real test.

Here are some pictures of the sides. They are uneven because of how they are drying, but I think they may be ok. That roughness generally goes away as it cures and it looks worse in the pictures than in real life.

 

[BillM]

Looks good to me Don, I can't wait to see it all back together.

 

[Torchie]

[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[donsrods]

Well, I showed up at the powder coaters today at the time he said to be there, and he came out very sheepishly and said, "We have the primer on it but are not done with the top coat. Can you come back at 11 tomorrow "?

So, I will be at his door at 11 am tomorrow, and if he hands me back all the parts I gave him I will be shocked. Good thing I am not in any hurry for these parts, but I would like to start bolting stuff back onto them.

 

[soltz]

In the dictionary under "patience is says see Don"