Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hi Daze,

He's not a friend - yet! He's a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) employed by one of our test labs, but in talking to him he seems like all of us on this board. A nice guy with our same interests. He closed his fab shop and works out of his garage now. It came up because he gave me his email and it referred to "customs" in the address. When I asked about it he told me he'd had a hotrod fabrication business for years but there were so many things he'd do "while he was in there" he wasn't making money and he couldn't stand to NOT do these things or do the work half-assed - his words, so he closed and went back to being a CWI.

I liked that attitude. I got thinking of it overnight and called him.mhe said yeah, he sometimes still takes on side jobs but can't work as fast now that he's got a full time gig again. I've told him I'm in no rush, I wont "Bart Simpson" him with "Are we there yets?" If this happens I'll get references before I go forward and I'll see some of his work. But it looks promising.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

got it !
well i hope it all works out for ya - i know you have been thinkin about the clip thing for a while - and hopefully it;ll be great .
My 57 has been clipped for years and i never regret it although its ''rear steer '' it is still very workable and have had no problems .
Good Luck on your 57 and i think when you finally get it done - you;ll be v happy .

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

It's a '55....but hey, who's counting, lol.

I can't wait for it to have that nice ride and power steering. It'll make all the difference to me. Haven't decided how I'm handling the rear. Probably a flip and C notch. I'd rather NOT have to notch but I want it to sit level or just slightly raked an inch.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I am finally up to date on this build. It's a build to me anyhow.
I'd like to say I admire the fact that you have been able to enjoy your truck while making it yours. I bought mine as a basket case and way too many years later, it still is. And I have never driven it and most who know me think I never will.
Good luck with the MII install.
My 2 pennies would be to mess with the firewall later. That could mean more down time and less time behind the wheel
Have fun.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks Cameo. I know me and I knew if I bought a basket case or if I took mine down to the frame too fast it'd be a very long haul to get it done.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hey Dan,

Fantastic build thread! Very inspiring, lots of great DIY solutions here. You have a fantastic frame with IFS right now ready to go (Is it a Duramax as well?), why not put that under the '55?

:metal:

Clear skies,
John

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hey Dan back on post #246 you ask to post a pic of the emblems I got from you here you go. I picked up the V8 fender emblems here in AZ but the other emblems are your old ones. They are still in packages came out sweet!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Wow Rudy, from what I can see they look really good! Is this the shop somewhere back east you told be about?

John,
Cut up my Dually to put the '55 on? Lol, nah not hardly. I've still gotta pay it off before I cut it up.....and I'm never cutting it up but I get your drift.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I ended up going to a place here in Arizona they just are very slow cause they are extremely busy shop took a 2 months longer than expected but that was fine with me cause they knocked off 20% off the price.

[QUOTE=Dan in Pasadena;6965064]Wow Rudy, from what I can see they look really good! Is this the shop somewhere back east you told be about?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hello, anybody home?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Yeah, I'm here.

Nothing new to report other than what I put on the "What Did You Do Lately" thread.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Took the day off today. I think I caught a case of "anal glaucoma" - I couldn't see my a$$ going to work today!:lol:

Decided to do a little project I've been putting off.... painting the white on some nice original side badges I bought from a guy in NY. They were rechromed at some point and I n doing it they lost a lot of the lower edge of the smaller letters in "Chevrolet" but I don't mind.

Basically, I just masked the large details as well as I could, and used Duplicolor touch up paint, both primer/filler and bright white top coat. The small brush that comes with the paint is good enough to follow the edges of the small letters; though they've lost some definition.

Anyway, here's my progress so far:
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...psv5r0kz0e.jpg

And the other end:
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...pswn5ivcqc.jpg

Here's the mateirals I'm using. No prep - didn't want to scratch the good chrome. We'll see if this turns out to be a mistake or not.
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...psckn2m9wz.jpg

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nice! Lookee what I ordered. 10% off on ecklers.com

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Danny Boy is one funny dude!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nice, Frank!

I'm still working on the paint and frankly I'm not too happy with how it's coming out. I guess I pulled the masking too on and it partially pulled some of the paint off. I may have to end up wiping it all off with lacquer thinner and spraying it. There no way to mask the small letters so I guess I'd remove the paint I don't want with lacquer thinner on a Q Tip.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Carefully coat the letters etc. with Vaseline or similar, mistakes with this wipes off easily. Use a q tip and alcohol on the areas for paint. When you are satisfied, spray away! When you ARE SURE the paint is dry, the Vaseline will wipe off taking the unwanted paint with it!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Yeah, I thought of that but doing it accurately seems iffy at best.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I thought it was looking pretty good.
You'll get it figured out and have something very nice.
Kim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks for the confidence. It's a "small potatoes" job but at least I'm doing something.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Or try it with rubber cement.... it works good and doesnt move around like vaseline once its dried. You can also use a razor blade or x-acto knife to shape it once dried like around the letter edges.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Ah....now this idea I like! I've never used rubber cement but isn't it kinda brownish and dries...well, "rubbery"?

I have some acetone and some MEK on the shelf, I'm gonna use one of those to remove this gunky looking mess I created then start again.

Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Now that is a gret idea! The rubber would just peel right off when do Done! I will have to give it a try myself next time I am trying to get paint in a "tight spot"

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

^^ ptc get's a gold star on his forehead! Lol

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

haha... Ive had them in worse places!!!! :lol:

Its an old trick I used when building model cars as a kid...

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

No big update, just want to keep all my info in one spot:

Dropped off my truck today with a guy that will rebuild the TH350 tranny and install a used Lokar shift I found on Craigslist. He is also going to get it idling down as it should but hasn't since the rebuilt carburetor was installed. This will allow me to install the new tranny floor cover and new shift boot/ring and that in turn will allow me to install the ebay knock off Chinese Lokar accelerator pedal/linkage I recently bought.

"The-knee-bone's-connected-to-the-thigh-bone...." Ha ha

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Its all a big process... Keep up the good work Dan!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hi Red! Thanks. How's things in the truck hobby down under?

Yeah, it seems everything I do leads to something else, but that's ok

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

All good Dan, the GMC's pretty much a driver atm, winter is just around the corner albeit very mild down here in Melbourne.
My next job on it is to try & adapt rear airbag leaf spring helpers, it rides around great empty but soon as you load up the rear with weight its on the bump stops.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Let me know how the eBay gas pedal kit works out for you I was just about to pull the trigger on it ,but now waiting to see how it works for you as the cable was a little short.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Ok, so just catching up my build thread with stuff I posted in the help thread I posted let last week.

6.6.15: Brother in law, Gil did all the prep work for removing the doghouse. Drained radiator & tranny, pulled upper/lower hoses, disconnected wiring, everything but lifting it off. Liked lke this with "Sooner" the wonder dog supervising:
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...pshm6qjzni.jpg

Cut to the chase; after the front suspension came off and I realized I didn't want to wait til today to go find and rent a cherry picker so I dropped the cash at Harbor Freight for one (that'll likely end up on Craigslist eventually).
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...pskl8zud3x.jpg
Everything is in position to just lift out engine and transmission this morning and set aside. Then comes removing the rear suspension so. Can flip it on top of the springs and "while-I'm-in-there" flip the spring hangers on top of the frame! We're tentatively planning on pulling the seat and gas tank out too and laying the cab back to access the frame and cab bottom for cleaning and painting! I had NOT planned on doing a frame off job but once the bed came off with the doghouse and the engine/tranny it seems to be so little more to do. Again, it is a "while-I'm-in-there" decision I hope I don't come to regret.
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps9uxjr2fv.jpg

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Seems like you have a well thought out plan.
I don't think you will regret the little bit of extra work on the cab bottom.
Kim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Glad to see you back on it Dan!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Dan, I think you made the right chose....Jim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Dan, definitely following this! We just got our 55 big window and this will be a great inspiration on what we want to accomplish.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nice progress over the weekend. I hope you feel better soon....ha ha

Marc

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks you guys! Sounds weirded but without someone to "share" the doing of this with it wouldn't be as much fun. I kinda consider you guys on the forum, "friends I haven't met yet". If welived down the block from each other I'm pretty sure we'd stop by, get to know each other, tell each other lies and share a beer here and there.

So today the engine and transmission came out quickly:
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...psupz8a4my.jpg

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

So I didn't mention it above but did on the IFS help thread that I can't find my installation instructions! I'm such a friggin bonehead sometimes. I KNOW I put them away for safe keeping and they're so safe even I can't find them now, lol.
I called Fatman Fabrications this morning and they're snail mailing me out a set. Said they're too big to email - that doesn't seem right, but whatever. At least I'll have them.

Plan for this afternoon (gotta go back to work tomorrow, damn!) is to pull the rear ended to pep it for flipping on top of leaf springs and remove the rear crossmember and move it all the way back for a rear mount gas tank. At the same time I'll pull the rear shackle mounts to flip them on top of the frame. "Warrior" on the other thread made a good suggestion. Do the shackle mount flip (supposedly 7" lower) but keep the original holes open in case that's too low and if I leave them in the original position with the axle flipped I'll get 5.5" - works for indecisive me! I'm also gonna TRY to remove the seat and gas tank to lay the cab back onto the rear of the frame for cleaning, repairing and painting the underside of the cab. If I can't get my big air compressor running (pressure switch ordered this am) I'll have to resort to wire wheeling the whole underside and that'll have to be good enough.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Looking good Dan, great that its getting some major surgery, i'll make it a pleasure to drive!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks Red! Nice to hear from you again.

Ok, so the rear suspension same out pretty easily. Apparently my shackle pins had been lubricated over the years. I removed the rear most shackle pins first and they screwed out by hand as the front had. The front side of the rear leafs I had NO idea how to remove. The cast iron shackle "body" was totally-covered-with-rock-hard-grease. But digging around it with a putty knife I found what turned out to be retainer pin bolts (I guess they'd be called). Removing the emergency brake cable was a pain but other than that we just wheeled the rear ended out as you see it.
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps1zauoobj.jpg
Gotta go back to work tomorrow but my brother in law said he'd come over and remove the leafs. He didn't want to be responsible for cutting the spring seats off the rear ended so I'll do that. Wish me luck! Hopefully I won't pull a bonehead maneuver and cut through the axle tubes.

We also ground off rivet heads on the rear crossmember to move it back to the end of the frame for mounting a larger gas tank. We had to beat the hell out of them (and ourselves!) to get them out. Especially hard was the rivets that hold BOTH the rear shackle body and the cross member. We had to grind/pound from below which was TOUGH on the arms with a single jack and the red hot sparks were falling on us so we had to cover up like terrorists! They also started a small fire in a nearby planter but luckily we noticed it quickly and it didn't catch our trellis/fence!
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/z...pskkteib7v.jpg

Last was removing EVERYTHING necessary to pull the cab. Seat, gas tank, straps, hold down bolts were nearly frozen, scraping out a ton of crap under the seat and vacuuming it. Then we found out we couldn't lift it even enough to lay it back on the bed portion of the frame like planned. I'll ask my son in law and a simple minded friend (ha ha ) to come over and help us lift it off. I'm very tempted to search for a local sandblasted to completely blast the cab, front clip and the bed and epoxy prime it. Anyone local know someone I can trust not to warp the crap out of my bodywork?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

looking good. Definitely got it tore down quickly