RPU, bodywork underway.

[Dr Crankenstein]

I completely understand, Don. Several factors play in a photograph and I've complained about my own in the recent past... regardless, the "chrome" shot looks like a million bucks and I'm sure it'll look just as good when it's cured. [cl

.

 

[donsrods]

Yep, Dr C, I couldn't wait to see how it looks as it dries more, so after dinner I just ran over there to check it out. It is drying fine and is toning down and looking more black.

Tomorrow I will pickup the seam sealer and later in the week we will get it finally bolted down to the bed framework. Here are some new pictures.

 

[donsrods]

This morning I picked up a couple of tubes of seam sealer to put between the bed cover frame and the tonneau cover. Dan and I plan on doing the final install on Friday to give the paint some time to cure.

But I had to see the cover on the car, so I put some blue tape on the frame to keep from scratching the tonneau cover and laid it in place. After all these years I am finally seeing it there in color !

Then I decided to install and wire up the tail lights, and got those working. Tomorrow I am going to polish all 30 stainless steel bolts that hold down the tonneau cover so that they will be ready to use on Friday.

So, here are some pictures from tonight. I am drinking a celebration beer, this has been a long time coming. I think I need to buy a new camera, this one is old and is taking blurry pictures.

 

[BillM]

Fantastic Don! That looks really good.

 

[dutch]

Looks almost to good to drive...
chapeau [cl

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

So, here are some pictures from tonight. I am drinking a celebration beer, this has been a long time coming. I think I need to buy a new camera, this one is old and is taking blurry pictures.

Try taking the pictures before the beer.

.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys. Ya know, Dr C, you might be onto something there !

 

[Old Iron]

Try taking the pictures before the beer.

.

[cl[cl[cl
Your ride is very cool

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, OI. Still some bugs to work out of it, but I have to admit I do like it so far.

 

[forbigpicture]

I am drinking a celebration beer, this has been a long time coming.

Have another Don, you deserve it. Beautiful job.

[cl[cl[cl
[P[P[P

 

[MercuryMac]

Congratulations, Don. Oh, what a feeling! Lookin' Good.

 

[Skip]

Spot on. Looks great.

And thank you for the pics of your tail lights. I have been waffling about doing something similar on my 39. Now I think it is a good plan.

 

[Torchie]

[cl
I might have been tempted to paint that cover the same color as the interior.
One fine ride. Either way.
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys. Ya know, Torchie, I actually considered that color to contrast with the body, but I was outvoted by my two sons. I don't think it would have looked all bad personally.

But, since this car goes to Dan when I die or get too old to drive, I figured I would go with is input.

Time to go to the shop and play some more with getting the tail lights to work right, and also to polish 30 more SS fasteners for the top of the tonneau cover.

 

[donsrods]

I got my tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals working today finally. I had a wire hooked up wrong and the flasher I had was not compatible with my bulbs. Once I got those fixed everything is now working like it should.

I finished up about half of the 30 bolts I needed to polish and will do the rest tomorrow so we can install the tonneau cover on Friday.

Nothing picture worthy, but at least some progress,

 

[Bamamav]

I don’t know how you’re doing it Don, but when I polish bolt heads I chuck the bolt in the drill press and spin them. Doesn’t take but a jiffy to get them shining.
Have you got some matching hubcaps for the rear? Car looks like it’s ready for the stop light drags,[cl[cl[cl

 

[donsrods]

I don’t know how you’re doing it Don, but when I polish bolt heads I chuck the bolt in the drill press and spin them. Doesn’t take but a jiffy to get them shining.
Have you got some matching hubcaps for the rear? Car looks like it’s ready for the stop light drags,[cl[cl[cl

No, we have a buffer that is like a bench grinder, and I put some small tubing over the bolt to act like a handle, and then put some polishing rouge on the buffing pad and hold the bolt head to the wheel. Then I move to the other spinning pad that has a milder compound on it, and finish the buffing there.

But I have done the drill press routine too, up until when Dan bought a bench mounted buffer to do these things. As for the hubcaps, no, the rear wheels I had custom made for the bolt pattern and width I needed for the slicks, and the nubs that hold the hubcap on are a different pattern than the 48 Ford wheels I have on the front, so the stock 40 Ford hubcaps do not fit the rear wheels. I have decided to just leave no caps on the rear, that look will kinda go with the slicks, I figure. I considered putting chrome trim rings on the front wheels, like I have on my 27, but this car looks a little more competition like, so I think the stark look fits it better. But time will tell how I end up with it.

Yep, I am pretty close to getting insurance on it and then going to the DMV for my plates. I am sure there will be some bugs to work out once I do, but that is to be expected.

 

[soltz]

Looking better every day[cl
Watch that buffing wheel, I have one also and have been zapped a time or to by fast moving pieces of metal.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, and yep, you are right, those buffers can whip the part out of your hand really fast.

Today I got the rest of the button head bolts buffed so I could assemble the louvered cover onto the framework. Dan remembered the other night that the one thing we forgot to do was drill drain holes in the framework under some of the louvers in the back and front where they rested on top of the framework. Water would have been trapped in those louvers. So, I drilled a quarter inch hole under each louver that needed one, and then I dabbed some black Rustoleum paint into each drilled hole so it would not rust.

We had originally planned on putting seam sealer on top of each rung of the framework to keep water from getting underneath the tonneau cover in those areas, but I decided to not do it. It would have created a mess to try to get it neatly applied, and the tube said there was only 5 minutes working time. So, I made an executive decision and just bolted the cover to the framework with nothing in between. It is such a tight fit that I do not see any problem with water getting in there. Dan will not be happy with my decision, but, oh well !


I finally got all 30 allen head bolts put in and lifted the entire structure onto the bed and put the pins into the hinges and hooked up the hydraulic shocks. We still need to do some adjusting to get the rear latches to engage, but that will only take a little tweaking .

Here are some pictures from tonight. The rear of the cover will not stay down because the latches are not in place, but you will get the idea of how it will work anyway.

 

[BillM]

Wow that's nice Don - your attention to detail is amazing - the polished bolts look to be perfectly aligned. I'd bet the allen's are all facing the same way as well.....