The 40G

[jfg455]

try just doing a "brushed" finish. It can be acomplished by using 100 or 80 grit sand paper and sanding one direction until you get the finish you want. then clear it. [P

 

[Mike S.]

Went thru the whole build. It is waaaay cool! Keep up the good work.

Thank you ZZ, I appreciate the compliment. The truck's comin' around and I am hoping to start on the really fun stuff soon. Keep checkin' in.

try just doing a "brushed" finish. It can be acomplished by using 100 or 80 grit sand paper and sanding one direction until you get the finish you want. then clear it. [P

Ironically, that is how I started the current design. Maybe I should have stopped at that point. I'll give it a try. I have a couple of other ideas too. One is plastering the panel with speed stickers then clearing it. I come from a bmx/street thrash back ground and we used to sticker everything. I still like that look. Thanks for the input and I'll post some attempts.

 

[Mike S.]

I threw the door panels on and started cutting and adjusting the interior trim pieces to fit the chop. Very tedious, not that the whole build hasn't been. Seeing the door panels on there kinda makes me miss the patina! Oh well, too late now.

 

[Mike S.]

Been chipping away at the small stuff lately.

I finished chopping the interior door trim...not too difficult, just time consuming. It was about the same as chopping the doors themselves. Take a little from here, add it to there, but it's too tall so section it a little and so on. I tossed the big old flat-head interior screws and replaced them with smaller hex, button-head screws which I think look way better.

I've also been workin' on chopping the door window frames. Again, not too tough, just really time consuming. I am determined to have properly working side windows so it's worth the work. It's kinda funny; since the truck is chopped it only takes two revolutions on the window crank to completely roll the window up or down.

I scored a set of slightly used air bags from a friend and I have an idea for mounting the fronts while keeping them hidden, so watch for that.

I also scored a set of pro comp headers that I really like but unfortunately they are 9" too narrow to clear the cab. I may rework them to fit or just make my own from scratch.

Thanks for lookin'. More soon.

 

[Sam_Fear]

...[P

 

[Mike S.]

I'll bet you thought I fell off of the planet!

I know it's been a while. Unfortunately, I haven't hit the Lotto yet so I've been forced to keep working for my hot rod money! Anywho, I've been chipping away at a few little things so I have some progress to report. I finished chopping both side window frames. They fit pretty well and roll up and down so that's cool. I mulled-over my gauge panel for a while then decided it might look cool if I perfed it so I laid out a 1/2" grid then drilled 133 holes in it. It looks better in person but I think I'll sand it a little to tone it down then call it done for now. I decided not to rework the super comp headers so I sold them for a decent profit. They now live in a very bad-ass tube-chassis '56 Chevy two door. I pulled the 71 year old blocks of oak out from the flex joints (?) in the floor and replaced them with some tees I made out of 1" tubing, in preparation for the latest sheet metal project.

 

[Mike S.]

More on the floor...

Since the floor is in such good shape, I decided to work with it rather than rip it out and start from scratch. I blocked up the cab at its aired out height then mocked-up the engine and bellhousing, took a lot of measurements, stared at the whole thing for a while, took more measurements and then came up with the dimensions for a trans tunnel. I removed the seat riser with an air chisel and cut the center of the floor and rear cab wall out accordingly. Using a sheet of 16 gauge steel, I laid out the bends and beads. I rolled some shallow beads and flanged the front so I can overlap the trans cover/floorboard. I also drilled and tapped some holes in the flange to anchor the trans cover to the tunnel. After some bending, hammering and shaping, I fit and welded (gotta finish welding tomorrow) it in. More soon I hope. Thanks for lookin'!

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Killer build bro!! I am doin a 42 chevy with a 7" chop yours looks better than mine as I have never done a chop before but I think it's still coming out pretty good. The door tops SUCK!!!!!!

 

[Sam_Fear]

Great work on the tunnel. Looks pro.

 

[Mike S.]

Great work on the tunnel. Looks pro.

Thanks Sam. I have to give credit to my wife for crankin' the bead roller while I fed the sheet metal and yelled orders!

Killer build bro!! I am doin a 42 chevy with a 7" chop yours looks better than mine as I have never done a chop before but I think it's still coming out pretty good. The door tops SUCK!!!!!!

Thanks LD. This was my second chop. The first one was a 1940 truck too. I probably should have cut my teeth on something a little easier but, what the hell. Have you chopped your side window frames yet? Man, that was straight forward but way tedious.

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Thanks Sam. I have to give credit to my wife for crankin' the bead roller while I fed the sheet metal and yelled orders!



Thanks LD. This was my second chop. The first one was a 1940 truck too. I probably should have cut my teeth on something a little easier but, what the hell. Have you chopped your side window frames yet? Man, that was straight forward but way tedious.

No I haven't done those yet been finishing up lil things on the frame so I can get it off to the powder coater

 

[Mike S.]

Update to the update

No I haven't done those yet been finishing up lil things on the frame so I can get it off to the powder coater

Man, I can't wait to get after my chassis. Soon I hope. You're truck's lookin' good man, keep after it.

Finished welding in the tunnel and primed the rest of the interior today. I've been waiting to remove the 1"x1" interior bracing until I had the floor figured out so yesterday, after I had the tunnel mostly welded in, I removed the bracing for the first time in eight months. Finally!

 

[Mike S.]

Well, I was hoping that the 16 gauge tunnel would be stiff enough to support the center of the floor but it wasn't. It didn't flex too bad but I do weigh 230 pounds so I thought it would be wise to add a little support to it. So, using 1"x1" left over from the interior bracing, I welded in a little cross member that supports the front of the floor and ties it into both outside rails. Simple enough and it added a ton of support. Baby steps forward!

 

[Mike S.]

Ordinarily I would rather have had the bed media blasted before I started cutting on it but I got antsy on Sunday and started anyway. After fighting welds and rusted bolts for a while (and in the pouring rain no less) I finally got one side loose. I initially thought a 4' bed would be right but after mocking it up I decided it was too long. After trying different lengths I enlisted my wife for her opinion. Don't let the fact that she married me fool ya, she's actually very intelligent. We both agreed that 3'9" long and 7" higher were the magic numbers. So, I cut 34" out of the bedside and welded the halves together. Gotta get the other side to match now. Thanks for lookin', more later.

 

[Sulzst]

Just went through the whole post from the start, makes the chop seem so much quicker than it really is when all you have to do is click. Cab looks great! I like the gauge insert with the holes drilled in it also. The cab and box together is also a great match, I have to agree with your wife on the dimensions.

 

[sneakysnake]

Not sure what your plans are for the bottom of your bed but If you plan on skirting it, A 6" perlin works real well for this and puts the bed about the right height. Heres how I did mine

 

[Mike S.]

Just went through the whole post from the start, makes the chop seem so much quicker than it really is when all you have to do is click. Cab looks great! I like the gauge insert with the holes drilled in it also. The cab and box together is also a great match, I have to agree with your wife on the dimensions.

Thanks for the compliments Sulzst. Yeah, chops look pretty easy online. That's how we all get suckered into doing it! It's worth the work though. I am glad you like the gauge panel too. I am happy with it but I may change it a little... I can't leave anything alone!

Not sure what your plans are for the bottom of your bed but If you plan on skirting it, A 6" perlin works real well for this and puts the bed about the right height. Heres how I did mine

I do plan on adding a skirt around the bottom. Thanks for the tip.

 

[CORPO]

looking good man.. I still plan on doing a little skirting to the bottom of my bed ... I have an interesting idea on how to do it.. just need to find the time to do it!

your tires look a little too skinny in my opinion..I think I would get some wider tires for back there.. haha

 

[Mike S.]

looking good man.. I still plan on doing a little skirting to the bottom of my bed ... I have an interesting idea on how to do it.. just need to find the time to do it!

your tires look a little too skinny in my opinion..I think I would get some wider tires for back there.. haha

Thanks Corpo. I call those my Maytag wheels because I cut them out of an appliance box. I think you're right though, I may have to switch to somethin' a little wider at least. You gonna give us a hint as to how you're gonna skirt your bed? I promise I won't steal the idea.

 

[Mike S.]

Second verse same as the first!

So after a second round of cutting, prying and so on, I got the second side (driver) and the front of the bed off. As with the passenger side, I cut 34" out of it and welded the remaining pieces together leaving a 3'9" bedside. Next is media blasting, bumping dents and more bodywork.[