Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Great work!!!! :metal:

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Thank you Joseph, that's much appreciated.

A quick update,

Most of know that the universe is governed by certain laws, no not that Stephen Hawking physics stuff, the real laws. Things like why when you drop a piece of toast on the carpet it always lands buttered side down, (a phenomenon increased by a factor of 10 if there is peanut butter or jelly involved), or why when you’re in a traffic jam the other lane always moves more quickly, until you switch lanes and the one you were in starts moving more quickly and the law of repairing trucks……..why does the rot always go further than the repair panel.

Well such was the case with the inner rocker/floor repair panel, the rust went about 2” further.

Attachment 1784185

Actually it's easy to fix as there's plenty of access,

I made a repair piece to match the existing panels as closely as possible (I do hate patches that look like patches.)

Attachment 1784186

Attachment 1784187

and welded in place

Attachment 1784188

The inner welds need tidying up but should be fine once that's done

Attachment 1784189

Next job is to put the door back on before I test fit the outer rocker

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Very nice repair panel. Your metal skills are impressive. As a matter of fact your whole truck build is impressive.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Great inspiration there. Wiser words have never been spoke. Great work Ian.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

I just read through your whole thread. I gotta say that your dedication to correcting the *ahem* repairs of the previous owners and your searches for replacement parts in the UK is inspirational. Good job!

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Great work Ian.

You are right about not making repair panels look right.

Your work always makes me smile in approval, not that you need my approval.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Wish Id done that Ian. I refit my rockers from the measurements Id taken rather than with the doors back on. That was partly because the doors were so bad I had no faith fitting them would give me any better a fit and don't get me wrong I don't thing I'm far out but I think Id have been batter repairing the doors first then the rockers.

Nice to see your getting back into the repairs though.

I hope your outer rockers are better made than the ones I bought. Ended up having to cope up the front on one and the front and back on the other just to get them to fit.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Thank you Vince

Thanks Bill

Thank you for your kind words, with this truck there's never a dull moment

Thanks Rain, I maybe don't need it but it's nice to get it all the same


You spoke to soon Bill the right hand one was fine but the left hand is diabolical

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

For anyone who has been on a different planet recently (and you would have to have missed this news) there was a wedding today in Windsor. Now I think it's great when folks get married, I'm married myself and very happy with it...........but I'd no great desire to watch the wedding on TV, my wife on the other hand was glued to the TV with box of Kleenex at the ready. This mean't only one thing.....Truck time :metal:

First job today was to refit the bottom of the B pillar. I'd removed it for 2 reasons, fiting the inner rocker is much easier with it out of the way and it needed a repair which was easier to do on the bench.


Attachment 1785809

Attachment 1785810


Next job was to re-hang the door but I decided to strip it before hanging it, it makes it much lighter to handle and it's going to have to be stripped anyway to do the repairs (I can hardly wait to see what I find :lol:) . I'd marked the bolt positions before I removed it so it went back pretty much in exactly the right position, door gap wise.

I made a gauge for the hole positions using a piece of aluminium angle bar, with a spring loaded punch this makes quick work of marking the holes.

Attachment 1785812

They were pilot drilled at 1/8" and finish drilled at 1/4".

Attachment 1785813

After much grunting and cursing I have it fitting pretty good, the door gap is nice but there's a bit of work to do to get the inner part fitting as good as I want it to. It's in place with a couple of spot welds, next job is to take the door back off and finish fitting and welding

Attachment 1785814

A decent days work, I wish there was a Royal wedding every Saturday :lol:

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Strangely enough it was the left hand one on mine that was the issue! It must be easier to make repo parts accurately than this!

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Oh How I hear that Ian! My wife who hates driving more than 5 miles, drove the 100 miles to her sisters and the 100 miles back just to watch that damn wedding!

Now despite being a Scot, I guess I'm a Royalist (they may cost us a lot but I believe they bring us in more that the cost) but come on! And no I'm not just upset because she took my car and there is zero chance of me ever seeing the fuel replaced............

So Like you I chose to get on with some motoring tasks.

Much better use of our time if you ask me!

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Very nice work!
Always nice to see a job being done well!

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Looking good Ian . Looks like the race is back on , but you always seem to be a few steps ahead, with Bill a few steps behind. Mind you at least I won’t come last , as it’s now a three horse race . One of us ( you know who you are ) has put his back in the stable and put a blanket over it .
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Impressive as always Ian.

Just headed out to a bootfair.

Feels like my life is coming back together.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Very nice Ian

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Just trial fitted the cab corner, not a disaster but certainly not as good as the other side

Thank you, kind of you to say so

Thanks Martin, definitely the longest race in history :lol:


Great to hear that Rian, you'll be back on your truck when the time is right:thumbs:

Thanks Bill,

I love this forum, unlike so many others it's always very positive and encouraging



I've been on vacation for the past week in Halkidiki - Greece, so I missed a whole weekend. I got a couple of hours truck time today but it appears I'm not the only one to have taken a vacation, my welding mask has gone on a " Permanent Vacation" so I will not be able to finish the rocker panel and floor repair until my new one arrives :waah:, (it seems to be a problem with these solar powered masks if you don't leave them somewhere light the batteries die.)

But you know these old trucks, there's always something else to be getting on with so I've stripped the front fender to see what I've got to work with.

It's unbelievably similar to the passenger side (if you look at the pictures earlier in my thread you'd swear they were the same only flipped :lol:)

Attachment 1789987

Paint stripper revealed bondo front and rear, the bondo in the front is just dents which will work out pretty well with a hammer and dolly.

Attachment 1789988

The rear revealed the all to familiar "snot" welded patch over the top of the rust !! the PO must have thought the repair patch was like a bandaid and the rust underneath would heal up :haha:

Attachment 1789989



I've cut the rust back and cleaned up the stiffner, it's not great but is all repairable and I know it will fit when it goes back on so I think I'll repair it rather than buy a re-pop fender.

Attachment 1789990

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Just read your entire build page, you are doing good work Ian, you are making that truck new again. I can tell this isn't your first rodeo, keep up the good work you will be back on the road in no time.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Couldnt agree more Ian. Posted on a C3 site last week and while the 100 or so who replied were all excellent there was 1 who frankly should be deleted from he gene pool! Makes you want to give up in disgust.

No matter how stupid a question Ive posted here or how dumb Ive been I get nothing but positive replies (Unless its from you, Martin or Rian of course!)

Anyway your getting there. Maybe in a couple of years we can hold our own C10 event - the 4 of us!

BTW and before I dump them are my old inner fenders of any use to you?

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Needs a Like button.

:metal:

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Thanks Jimmy that's much appreciated, I've not been to Greenville, but have worked in the US a couple of times quite near to you, at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, which I guess is a couple of hundred mile west of you and in Charlotte NC which I guess is about 100 miles south east? I have to say Tennessee in spring time might the the prettiest place on earth.......... It's a small world as my mum would say :lol:

Thanks Bill sent you a PM

Thanks Rian, I guess we do what we can to help each other

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Ian what I don't understand is , that the cost of repair panels in the USA are so reasonably priced . Why anybody would weld (and I use that word lightly ) patches over rust .

As for Bill wanting our own C10 event . He better start saving for the cost of the fuel to meet us half way , with that 454 he's installed . Mind you at our present rate of progress he'll have a long time to do it .

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

[QUOTE=ibrown50;8275544]Thanks Jimmy that's much appreciated, I've not been to Greenville, but have worked in the US a couple of times quite near to you, at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, which I guess is a couple of hundred mile west of you and in Charlotte NC which I guess is about 100 miles south east? I have to say Tennessee in spring time might the the prettiest place on earth.......... It's a small world as my mum would say :lol:

I moved to Tennessee a little over 5 years ago, I was working in this area and thought the same thing so I moved here. If you end up in TN again in the future we will have to meet and swap truck stories :truck: :chevy:

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

That sounds like a plan :thumbs:

I have an update on the truck to do shortly but realised I haven't told you about the steering column I bought,

I have been looking for a chevy steering column since I bought the truck, a couple of reasons, I want to fit a collapsible section for safety reasons, I want a tilt and I want to go back to a column shift, I currently have a floor shift and the column mechanism was stripped out of the column by a PO.

In the UK they aren't that common, they tend to make £150-£200 ($200 - $250) and are always hundreds of miles away and sell quickly.

I mentioned that I had a vacation in Halkidiki, Greece a few weeks ago. Well I was sat in the taxi that was taking us from the airport to the hotel looking on at the various UK forums I subscribe to and guess what. There's a Chevy column for sale.....wait it gets better, I know the guy who has it for sale and his shop is about 5 miles from me, and ....(i'm not finished yet :lol:) it was £40 (about $50).

The only problem....I'm 2000 miles and three timezones away. However, thanks to those modern miracles the internet and the smart phone, I managed to contact him agree the sale and pay him for it before we arrived at the hotel.:bann::bann:

I picked it up last week, it's a bit scruffy and needs tidying up but is complete right down to the ignition key and (in the UK at least) an absolute bargain

Attachment 1797127

Attachment 1797128

I was told it came out of a late 70's Blazer?

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

That is a kool find. Congrats. That will work well in your truck.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Great stuff Ian.

I managed to buy an original from Clem too.

Rare they are over here.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Thanks Bill, if there's one benefit of my build taking a while it's that there's plenty of time for stuff to turn up :lol:



Who ever fits their's first can "trail blaze" for the other :lol:


My new welding helmet arrived so "I'll be back" on with the rust repairs. :lol:

Attachment 1797331


So far I’ve been pretty lucky with my repair panels, most have fit reasonably well…..until now, I’m fairly sure the left hand cab corner was for a different vehicle and probably not even a truck. Everything about it was wrong.

I have this habit, I don’t throw out the old panels until I have the new ones fitting ok, that payed off for me this time as I was able to compare the original with the re-pop.

Attachment 1797332


I had to alter the angle on the rear section. This was cut, stretched and a sliver of steel welded in.

Attachment 1797333

Attachment 1797334

Attachment 1797335

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

The curve was also a mile out I had to use sheet metal clamps to pull it and push it a half inch at a time. I literally spent hours getting it to fit.

Attachment 1797336

It’s now fitted and the door gap and general alignment are great (if I do say so myself).

Attachment 1797337

Attachment 1797338

Attachment 1797353

I’ve finished all of the welding on the floor repair. The repair panel is seamed up and all of the welds to the floor supports and rocker are done and dressed too. Time for the fender repairs

Attachment 1797339

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

PROGRESS !!!!


Awesome work Ian, as always.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Thanks mate......don't you sleep either :lol:

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

My back is now so buggered that I get an average of 5 hrs sleep. Once I wake up, that’s it.

I hate waking at 04.00 etc.

Then just roll around and stress about the day job.

Guess I should go weld or grind then ;)

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

The fender brace had some heavy pitting which a drilled out and welded and there was one fairly straight forward repair, if they were easily available in the UK I would have definitely fitted a new fender brace.

Attachment 1799658

Attachment 1799659

I had fender repair panel, which unlike the cab corners is a remarkably nice fit…… but there’s that law of the universe again, the rot always goes beyond the repair panel.

Attachment 1799660

Attachment 1799661


I repaired the hole before fully welding the repair panel and knocking over the flange. I had terrible issues with porosity in the welds on the small repair, I had painted some rust inhibitor on the inside of the brace, I can only assume this was the cause.
This is where I left things tonight, there’s a bit of hammer and dolly work to do before I finish up the welds, I need to test fit for the gap too. I even managed to avoid the holes for the fender badge :lol:

Attachment 1799662

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Nice work.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Nice Ian. I took the shortcut and just bought new fenders. They are a crap fit! Should have done what your doing.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

I’ve not had much truck time recently but I have been busy.

If you follow Grizz’s build thread (or any of the UK threads) you may know we’ve been having a bit of a heatwave in the UK. Well a heatwave means only one thing, competition for space in the refrigerator, I need beer, the kids need soda’s and we all need food.

Being the selfless kind of bloke that I am I volunteered to buy one of these.

Attachment 1810701


No, it’s not what you think, it’s a fridge


Attachment 1810709

This is one of those slippery slope purchases.

Firstly I decided it was a little low, so I built another Marshall style speaker to stand it on

Attachment 1810703

Attachment 1810704


Then I decided the room needed a make-over, so exposed brick wall, walnut floor and general re-decoration and I’m finally finished.:metal::metal:

Attachment 1810705

Now back to the truck :lol::lol:

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Impressive

That is all.

Love the thinking behind the fridge and result must make even you smile.

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

:agree:

Fridge is very neat and room looks great!

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments


With the repair on the rear section of the fender done (for now) I needed to tackle the front, the first job was to deal with the front fender lip. The hole in the lip had been filled with "something". I wish I had taken the time to photograph before I’d thrown it in the trash, it wasn’t even bondo, it was like chewing gum only green ( it may have been a giant bogey :lol: ).

Attachment 1813157

After cutting out the rotten section I used a piece of the fender I'd cut from the rear to make a repair piece.

Attachment 1813158


It’s a little tricky getting the shape right but it worked out well in the end.

Attachment 1813159

Attachment 1813160

Attachment 1813161

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

With that done and a couple of random holes welded there was only the front lower section of the fender to do,

Attachment 1813162

I find the easiest way to tackle repairs like this one is to start by removing everything that’s rotten, but don’t throw it away until you’re finished, you never know when you’ll need it for a measurement or pattern.

Attachment 1813163

Make your repair piece from cardboard first, then when you’re happy with the fit, make one out of metal

Attachment 1813164

Attachment 1813165

There still a couple of pin holes to do and the I have the flange to fabricate and re-attach, unfortunately that will be the end of my truck time for a couple of weeks, I'm off around Europe, Spain France and Italy (not forgetting Monaco) .....Did I really just say unfortunately :lol:

Attachment 1813166

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Looking good Ian , those things called holidays , do seem to get in the way . l have only just got back from mine a short while ago . I worked on my truck today though, Getting the cab back off and putting it in my garage . Ready to start on the drivers side inner and outer rocker . Enjoy your holiday and come back refreshed ready to start on the truck

Re: Ian's Tennessee Honey '64 Short Box Step-side - England
 

Nice work Ian. You want my old fenders to repair next? Practice makes perfect!

Once found holes in the upper bulkhead of a Lightweight Land Rover that had been filled with Tinfoil and then painted over. I guess it was better than news paper!