Re: Frankentruck
 

My dad and I went turkey hunting today. Heard one bird, but never saw it. Guess we will have to go again next weekend :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Yes, I would grab every piece of side trim you can. The door pieces are the hardest to find.

Re: Frankentruck
 

I am going back tomorrow to get what is left of the trim. I think both door pieces are missing. Anything to watch out for during removal?

Re: Frankentruck
 

Well, I went back to the yard today and got what was left of the trim. Also got a driver's side cast mirror arm. The clips were all rusted out, so the trim basically fell off when I took it off.

These parts have already found loving homes!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Got a new seal for the overdrive solenoid installed today. Hopefully I fixed the leak this time.

Also attempted to make a lockout cable bracket, but I didn't have the right placement or angle to make it work. Version 1 didn't work, but maybe version 2 will :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Lockout cable bracket Version2 is a success! Got the correct angle at the clamp to point the cable in the direction that worked the best to keep the lockout lever in either lockout or overdrive. I used a piece of metal that I cut off of the front license plate bracket to make the lockout cable bracket.

I discovered this license plate bracket while I was cleaning out my 67-72 truck bed trailer several years ago. I kept it around and finally cut and hammered it to center the license plate in the bumper without drilling extra holes in the bumper.

And last but not least, I replaced the taillight bezels with a set that I picked up at the junkyard over the weekend. This set is much nicer than the old ones that had a hole or two and had a bunch of primer overspray.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Christian , where do you Turkey hunt at ? My Critter Killer is leaving me 2 Turkey Breasts in a cooler on my porch in the morning when he comes here to hunt for more . He should just sit on my back deck and get as many as he wants . Cant wait to cook those Breasts as I have never had Wild Turkey before . He keeps me well stocked with Venison too .

Re: Frankentruck
 

My dad and I are part of a hunting camp down near Greensboro. It's about 2 hours from home, but only an hour from Milledgeville. We are going again on Saturday, so hopefully I'll get a bird :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

On Saturday, I noticed that my Redhead steering gear had started to leak. Called them up on Monday, explained the issue, and they sent me out another box. Only charged me the 100 dollar core charge, but I'll get that back once the leaking one gets back to them. I got the new box on Wednesday and swapped them out. Only thing that sucked about it was that I had to do it twice. I'm still a fan of their stuff!

Yesterday, I replaced the sloppy, worn out shifter bowl with a really good one from the junkyard. I haven't taken it for a test drive yet, but I can already tell that the shifter is so much nicer now. Best part is the paint still matches good enough.

Today, I did something that I wasn't planning to do for awhile before the pandemic started. Yup, I'm going to learn how to weld!! :metal::bann::ennyd:

Re: Frankentruck
 

This is going to be a fun piece to fix :waah:

Re: Frankentruck
 

That will be easier if your left-handed.
But it can be done.

Hammer & Dolly.











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Re: Frankentruck
 

Unfortunately, I'm not left handed. I was thinking about getting a donor section from another cab rather than trying to clean up the previous owner's botched attempt at fixing it. There's already one big hole in it, and it is wrinkled more than a bulldog's face

Re: Frankentruck
 

Well, I think I'm all set up now to start diving in to the wonderful world of rust repair. I have all the stuff that I think I need for now, but if there's something else I need, I'll get it.

I decided to get the cabinet so I could store all my welding stuff in one place. I also had plenty of space for my grinder, death wheels, and flap discs. I'm glad I didn't cheap out on the cart or the welder.

I just might have to throw down some practice tomorrow!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Im envious of the welder , I gave my flux core one away , just could not do anything with it and my buddy wanted it , he always does stuff for me so I gave it to him . I will pick your brain when I see you , hopefully at the Truck Farm Swap Meet .

Re: Frankentruck
 

Some How I missed this.
Looks like you got a Plan.
I like your new Welder Set-Up.









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Re: Frankentruck
 

The welder is only 35 ish pounds, and I have all the welding stuff set up in the cart. It's also a 120v plug, so it wouldn't be too hard to bring it up to the Truck Farm! I'll be at the meet, but shoot me a text or give me a call if you need some extra help setting up for it.



All good man, thanks for checking in! I can't wait to start teaching myself how to weld :uhmk:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Christian , I am off next Friday , so im hoping to get as ready as I can for the Swap Meet . Not really setting much up , more just cleaning up .

Re: Frankentruck
 

Sounds like a fun time :lol: Let me know if you need an extra hand!

Re: Frankentruck
 

This morning I was scrolling through Facebook Marketplace and saw an add for a windshield and some aftermarket fenders. Unfortunately, the windshield was delaminating, so I decided not to buy it. The guy had bought a bunch of cab patch panels for a truck he was going to fix up, but once he dug into it, the upper roof rust was too much for him so he decided to scrap the cab. Didn't even open up some of the patch panels.

I didn't buy the windshield, but I did get most of the patch panels that I needed!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Nice find Christian!

Re: Frankentruck
 

It definitely was! There's still a couple pieces that I think I need, but they are smaller pieces that won't cost as much to ship

Re: Frankentruck
 

First booger welds :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Just keep trying you'll get there!
I Myself hope to learn to weld someday soon.

Great find on those patch panels!

Re: Frankentruck
 

So far, it's kinda fun. If you get a chance, you should definitely try it out.


I'll be getting a welding table and some sheet metal to practice on before I start diving into the truck. First order of business on the truck is to repair the bottom of my extra core support. I figured that's a great place to start since it is already off the truck and won't be seen once it is fixed and bolted in

Re: Frankentruck
 

I bought an Eastwood mig welder but haven't had time to try it out yet. One day I will be caught up enough with life to play with it. Keep up the good work. You will probably inspire me to start practicing. My wife's uncle says the best way to learn is to do it...

Re: Frankentruck
 

Practice is definitely the key to it. I started to get a lot better towards the end of the first practice session

Re: Frankentruck
 

Nice finds and very good looking setup you got there to start welding! Looking forward to seeing more.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! Hopefully I'll be able to get some practice time in this weekend

Re: Frankentruck
 

Finished up the front license plate mount by getting some of those nylon nuts that the screws go into. Also gave her a bath because I like to keep my rust clean. Can't have dirty rust for the swap meet!! :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Hey just pulled a truck down to shop today to part out pretty sure that section on cab is good if you interested just pm me let me know I'm about hour north of commerce

Re: Frankentruck
 

Had a great time at the swap meet today. I picked up a collapsible intermediate shaft from a squarebody and I sold a couple things. Somewhere between 90 to 100 trucks showed up! Huge thanks to John for hosting!

Unfortunately, on the way home I heard a loud, metallic pop. The door skin is pulling off really bad now on the driver's side. I think it will just be easier to replace the door at this point than to try to fix this one. I guess I'm going to turn this door into some wall art

Re: Frankentruck
 

PM sent with my phone number. Thanks!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Christian , the highest count I have seen on the cruise in/ swap meet was 111 trucks . What a great day , sold some parts , met new friends , had a Blast . Sorry to hear about your door issues but You will get it fixed . Aint nothing stopped you yet .

Re: Frankentruck
 

Dadgum, I wasn't expecting that many people. Funny that the weather was really nice yesterday and now it's just starting to rain :lol:


I really hated the idea of having to paint the driver's door and get rid of the lettering on it. I'd rather have it hanging up on the wall than to get stripped and painted. I've decided that I will eventually paint the truck, but got to do all the rust repair first

Re: Frankentruck
 

So on Wednesday, dad and I went to Harbor Freight to look at the welding table there. I wasn't impressed, so we drove back home. On the way home, we pulled up to a light and saw a bunch of steam coming from under the hood. Thankfully, I noticed it and was able to pull over before the engine overheated. It was out of coolant, so I couldn't limp it back home. John grabbed his trailer and gave me a tow home. Yesterday, I started the truck to move it to the front of the driveway to hose off under the hood. Put water in the radiator and saw it was leaking from under the AC compressor. Then I started it again and moved it back to where I wanted to work on it. Pulled it apart to find the bypass hose, that is under the AC compressor and alternator bracket, had a big hole in it. Got it replaced, put everything back together, poured coolant in, and went to start it. It will crank all day, but won't start. I checked about everything I know to check, and my mechanic friend walked me through some things to test if the computer went bad. It's looking like it is, which sucks because I've already replaced the computer once.

Instead of working on it again some today, I drove up to lobuck64's place in mom's minivan. He is cutting up a cab to repair his GMC and wasn't going to use the section that's damaged on my cab. He gave me the cab corner, but while showing me around his place, I found a bunch of other parts I wanted/needed. Got an inner fender to replace my rusted out one, a really nice tailgate with no rust holes, another grille support panel that's even nicer than the other one I have, rust free cowl extension panels, and the cab corner patch I needed for the passenger side. The best score of today was some original door sill plates and GM licensed tail light lenses. I also got a couple doors that I will either fix up or use two sets to make on good set. Haven't decided on that yet, but I'm starting to get everything together to make Frankentruck really nice.

Probably going to start building a welding table to fit my needs tomorrow.

Re: Frankentruck
 

I am jealous of the sill plates...great score again! Also looking forward to seeing the welding table.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks Andy! I need to stop spending money and start actually repairing the truck :lol: I hope it's going to work well. We shall see once I actually get it built

Re: Frankentruck
 

Dad and I built the welding/work table today. It is 95% complete, but it is missing one key piece.

So far, we only had to buy the 4x4s for the legs, the locking casters, and a couple lag bolts. Everything else was sourced from various past projects that my dad had or had not completed. We built it to be around 36" high. Perfect height to stand at, and if I get a taller shop chair, I would easily be able to sit at it.

I know, most people would have built a welding table completely out of metal, but for the current type of welding that I am doing (patch panels on the truck) I decided to cut some costs by building the frame out of wood and putting a sheet of metal on top. I should be able to get the sheet metal tomorrow.

Oh yeah, we got it nice and level too :metal:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Looks good . get good at that welding , I need a rack welded on my 4 wheeler

Re: Frankentruck
 

Once I get the metal top for it, I should be able to learn pretty quickly. We can definitely build something for it!