Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Personally I always try to exit the exhaust at the rear because there are noxious fumes plus corrosive that are in the exhaust. Not to mention the black crap that likes to stick to your paintwork. If exiting out of some bodywork part then think really about some sort of flex for the piping because the body doesnt flex like the exhaust does. A lot of newer vehicles have a flex joint somewhere close to the front to allow the engine to move under torque without affecting the whole exhaust system so it bangs around against stuff.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Thanks DS. I am leaning more to just dumping the exhaust under the bed somewhere

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Got an extra day this weekend due to the rain, so I started stripping down the body. I got both rear fenders and the steps all stripped to bare metal in about 5 hours. Used a combo of 80grit on a DA but mostly 4” stripping disc. One fender had a repair done with some kinda crazy gummy epoxy, or something clogged up 2 pieces of paper before getting threw it.

Today was not fun :waah: but satisfying these fenders are in excellent shape for the age. :metal:

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Good progress

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Started the most joyful process of stripping the paint off the body this weekend. Was able to knock out the entire bed, front fenders and the hood. To my surprise there was only 3 baseball sized bondo spots all on the passenger front fender. With a little hammer and dolly work they can be eliminated. The dent in the front of the hood is a different story, it’s gonna take some lovin’.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Got the doors and cab left to do next weekend. Then I can start tackling the body work. So far rust wise I haven’t found any surprises. I do have two small spots right where the inner hood support meets the hood nearest the hinge, but it’ll be a easy fix.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Not to bag but it was a beautiful weekend here in northern Ca. 75 degrees on Saturday. Eat your hearts out. (ayes I sure well be on fire again soon, but it was a damn nice weekend.


Finished stripping the cab this weekend. With some help from my kid. Now it’s time to start hammering out some dings and get ready to epoxy.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Enjoying our weather....good job

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

It’s been I while, how bout an update.

Got the firewall ,inner fender skirts and inside of the cab all painted.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Nice color. Is it solid or metallic? Looks solid in the pics.
Keep knuckled down and it will be done before you know it.
And keep those updates coming, they keep us slackers motivated.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Thanks raven, it’s hard to get a good picture of the color , but yes it is a metallic with a little pearl in it too.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Mounted the cab back up, now it’s time to start putting pieces back together. It seems like this is the tenth time I’ve had the cab off and on in the last few months.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

That looks awesome especially out in the sun.
Is there a other color going on the bare spots or you just wanna paint the pieces that show outside all at the same time in order to have them exactly the same?

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Right now the plan is to polish all the exposed sheet metal and clear coat it. The steel of this truck amazes me how straight and clean it is. I really want to show it off. Plus it’ll look cool as F.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Do you have a plan on how to stick clear coat to polished steel? Looks like you have it figured out, just curious. Looks great so far.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Well it kinda an ol’ hot rodders secret. It’s not clear coat but a lubricant call Gibbs brand. I read of one guy who drove 30k miles in the east coast, wiping down with Gibbs once a month or so, and after 3 years no a spot of rust not even spider veins. That’s my plan at least

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Spent the last 2 weekends getting this old gal all wired up, gauges install and hooked up. And kilmat sound deadening installed on almost the entire cab.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Fired the old girl up today. :metal::metal::metal:

It’s a good day

Also made the mount for seats and tossed them in just to see :devil:

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Nice......good job

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Got all the glass installed this week and front end put together, headlights and park light installed. Starting to look pretty mean up front. Now I’ve switched focus to the rear and working on getting the bed dialed in.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Little update. The body is all back together. Now I can turn my focus to the interior. Planning on doing full size door panels and a center console, with some custom stereo touches

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Good progress.....can't wait see see it in person:c2:

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

i love how that is turning out

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

looks cool in baremetal like that. wouldn't wanna be the guy behind you on a sunny day though, lol. that thing is SHYYYYNEEE!

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Yeah it’s gonna be bright, I’ve got it sanded done to 220, probably do another round or two 320 and 400. Just remove swirl marks. There’s still some small pit marks and dings that are impossible to get out with out drilling and welding them, but it give it that 65 year old character 😜

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Got some of the interior fabbed up over the last couple week. It sure is hard to do wood work in a garage that has a pickup and a laundry room in it. Come on Lotto!!
Anyways moving on.
Built kick panels to house 6.5” speakers.
Built a console that will have an ash openable cubby to match the bed wood and a 8” sub hidden in the bottom half.
Cut and fit door cards ( working on an upholstery scheme using tan leather and black quilted diamond stitch inserts.
Fabricated 6x9 speaker panels for cab corners with complete upholstered back wall panel.
Lots of finishing touches needed, but the bulk of the work is done. Maybe by Christmas I’ll have the interior done, or maybe not.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Pictures of back of cab and kick panel

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Console and door cards

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Damn upside down crocked pictures!

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

There is a thread about how to post pics, it is above the list of posts in this 47-59 section. here is an excerpt from that, maybe helpful for you. Do you post pics directly from your phone?

you are having issues with your photos being rotated in the wrong orientation,then most likely you will need to use a computer to fix them. I know this is an issue with people who post photos with their phones, but I do not know how they can correct that issue.

With the pictures on you computer, you can right click on the photo and choose "Edit with Photos." This will open you photo in an editor and you will be able to rotate it in the correct position. Afterwards, you can go through the above procedure and they should be posted correctly.

If for some reason this does not work, post them anyway!! One of our moderators can edit it for you

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Very sorry I'm late coming to your thread. Some very nice and fast(!) work so far.

About the pits and ding - have you thought about buying a Harbor Freight Stud Welder? For long term use it's may not be worth the money but for your purpose it would work great just to pull out the little dings and dents, cut off the stud and metal condition, and viola you're done!

I picked up one cheap off Craigslist then sold it (wish I'd kept it) at a garage sale after my project was done.

https://www.harborfreight.com/stud-w...kit-61433.html

Mine must have been open of the early ones because the label said "Stud
Wedler" and they didn't correct it! But it worked great. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your work. Best, Dan

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Interior is coming along nice. I like the center console. I’m anticipating your finished back wall. I haven’t figured out what I’m doing with mine yet. Keep up the progress

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

will you have arm rests on the door panels? curious if the console arm rest will be the same height. I find it annoying when they aren't but then I do some long trips.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Yes there will be arm rest on the doors. Just trying to figure out a nice secure way to mount them. So they don’t pull off closing the door.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

If door pull is integral with arm rest maybe look at some newer vehicles that use a metal part fit into the arm rest that screws down vertically into an angle bracket that screws to the door. Or fab that part in the armrest our of something good and strong.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Good progress on the door panels today. The stainless trim showed up earlier this week. Got the trim shaped and door pull/ arm rest fabricated. The vision is starting to come together.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

agreed, those should turn out really nice!

where did you get the diamond stitch from?

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

Fabric empire , best part was I got the shipment in 3 days!:metal:

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

sailrite also sells lots of upholstery materials and tools. they have quite a few how to videos that can help get things right or help with what to use where for that pro look.

Re: Bucks 55 build
 

awesome, they had exactly what i was looking for. Just ordered some white diamond stitched for the headliner in my 93 :metal: