Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Wooh Hooo, my first block party. It should be fun learning something new, I just hope I don't screw it up. I have my filtered mask ready to go. The pics look great, I will add them to the DVD slide show I'm making.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Kevin,

Thanks for the recharge to get going on my project. I bought a set of your flip dolly plans last year and I am finally going to get it done. I just purchased a Lincoln 140c mig welder. My big question is what bodyworking tools do you recommend I get? I can't wait to get started.

Sonny

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Buy what you can afford. Eastwood has some good deals now and then. Do not buy the $29 kits from your local parts store's because the dollys are hollow to save costs. You want solid heavy dollys to take the hammer blows. Also get some books or dvds on the prosess.

Note on your tip and flip, if think down the road you may want to get the "One man cab & bed lift" than use 6" casters not the 4" I call for in the prints. It is not a must but it make your life alot easier trust me. I still have 4" on mine and it is a pain only when using the cab lift.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Well I only had one person show up for the block party so I put him to work on the drivers door and burgers were served for lunch! We got one door finished inside and out, jambs, window rail and all. We also finished the hood and one fender. Next week end will finish up the front sheet metal. After each part was finished we sprayed them down with prep-all for a nice wet film that will show any flaw before paint and they look great! Here are a few shots of the one guest working. I think he thought I was joking when I handed hit a 1" stir stick and told him to have fun!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

You are having him do what my friend the body man is having me do. All the Grunt work ;o)
I also thought about putting 6 inch wheels on the dollie I really wish I had now but other then that I love the thing I modded it to fit my long bed and it still works great. All I do to get the cab and bed lift to work I jack the dollie up and put the legs on it and when I am done I just reverse the process. It would be a lot quicker with shorter legs ;o)

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Hey I was right along side him doing the hood and fender;) Yeh I do my cab removal the same way but I will fix mine before next weekend!

Kevin
LFD inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

It is very nice of Kevin to say that "We did it", but actually it took me 5 or 6 hours to do that door. (My first time block sanding a car) Kevin completed the hood and one fender.

Boy let me tell you, I have a new respect for those die hard body guys. My fingers, upper arms, lower back and neck hurt from all that sanding. But it paid off, because the parts look great. Thanks for the schooling, Kevin. I am looking forward to giving a hand with other customer's projects in the future.

Now if you excuse me I think my pain medication is kicking in.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Hey Kevin are those saw horses your using to hold the bed while you work on it? That's the way I am gonna do it for my truck.
By the way you are a freakin genius when it comes to building trucks.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Yes they are saw horses made out of 2x2 1/8"

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

We got some more done on the truck today. Fenders, hood, cowl and one door are done. The grill is ready for it's 320 grit sanding and I had to touch up a spot on the door where the old mirrors were filled in. I then pulled the cab and modified the fire wall for the 8" booster. I had to raise the hole about 1" and fill in the bottom portion, make a new push rod shaft and do some body work due to the new hole and the A/C mount I welded to the inside of the fire wall for the Vintage Air mount. We hope to have the bed pulled and modifications done (fuel filler door, bed rear mount, roll pan, cap off the end's of the rails) by monday so I can send the frame back home and get ready for paint real soon. Here are a few pic's

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

And the rest of my messy shop.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

That booster looks great. Progress is good, even when it's only a little.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Yes blocking for perfection is never fast. But it shows in the end.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

kevin-
A while back you mentioned a product, "Prep-all." Could you give some more details on that. I am familiar with using a black primer as a guide-coat to reveal high and low spots, but I'd never heard of a product like you described.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Well it’s my turn to post an update. Kevin made a lot of progress today with some modification to the step bed. While I spent my third day block sanding the doors.

Kevin cut a square hole on the left side bed side, to make room for the gas door. He also added a vent tube for the tank which exits to the upper right of the gas cap.

Then He cut out part of the rear cross sill, so the rear roll pan could be mounted. The license plate cut out originally hit the rear cross sill.

He also welded up all the bed panel seems, removed the bolts holding the bed together on welded up the bolt holes. The top ends at the front and rear of the bed were caped off with a patch and welded. All of this to give the bed a clean smooth looks. Subtle modifications, but noticeable if you know what you are looking at.

Did I mention that Kevin did all that while I sanded one door and the grill.

The final thing we did was load up the frame onto Kevin's trailer. The drove it back to my house about 45 miles away. About 10 miles from my house the trailer had a blow out. Just I was pulling into my driveway, Kevin calls me and asks if I can bring a floor jack. The unfortunate thing is that Kevin did not have a spare tire for the trailer, but the wheel from my frame just fit. So the frame is safe back in my garage.

Anyway enough with the BLAH BLAH BLAH, there are some pictures. Sorry about the quality, I think it was operator error.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Here are some more pictures.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Prep-Sol, Prepsall or prep solvent. Basically a cleaner/degreaser. Slop a bunch on and it gives you a glossy surface showing any imperfections.

- Chris

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Now if truth be told the door and grill already had some work done the prior day you were over. But you did a great job on then and as long as I still know how to paint this thing is going to turn out great!

Oh and don't forget you got part of my shop all vacumed up while I was grinding! :lol:

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Tailgate time!
I installed the gate keeper kit this morning. It went well but their are a few things left out in the directions I had to work around. I started by using their templet for the upper bolt stops. Then you have to cut away a notch on both sides od the gate for the stop arms to set in side of. After that bolt on the upper bolt stop and put on one of the bracket arms. This is were the directions fall short. They give a dimention from the bottom pivot bolt for the gate up to were you drill two 1/4" holes for the bracket to bolt to the gate. The dimention given is 27/32" and as you can see this does not work. What I did and would recomend even with a corect dimention is use a C-clamp and a square and adjust the gate so it is 90* to the rear of the bed. Once this is done take a transfer punch and mark your holes to drill. Once this is done bolt the bracket on and you will see that the bolts stick out too far and need to be cut off (also not mentioned in the directions). Once both sides were done I went to close the gate only to find out it would not close and I had to grind out a bit of the slotted hole at the bed end of the arms. This let it tuck up and allows the gate to close all the way with out binding. All in all it went good and works very well. I would recomend this kit for others that want the chain free look.

The kit is from Mar-K and if anyone has a contact with them please send them this link so they can update their directions.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

The rest of the pic's

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Sweet, wish I lived closer, I'd luv to be watching and learning in person ;)

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

MAR-Ktech posts on here fairly often, so maybe they will see this without need for a PM.


Looking good BTW :metal:

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Bed body work is done:metal: Just need to prime a few areas again and block. Now the fenders are left to prime and block, minor work to the steps and the gate needs to be blasted, sealed and prepped for paint. Notice their are no bolts holding this bed together ;)
Next is a small amount of work on the inside of the cab and we should be all ready for paint!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Very Nice Kevin. Love watching your posts. Can't wait till I get back on mine again!

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Kevin - I got a little lost on the tailgate at first. I gather, after looking at the pictures, this is a lot like the fleetside tailgate hardware? As usual you have done an outstanding job on this installation.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Yes it is almost just like the fleet side set up but this one is all bolt in.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Here's some pics of mine. I purchased the complete bed and tailgate from Mar-K, all I had to do was bolt it together, :).

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Sorry it took a while to get back. We appreciate the comments and suggestions about our product. The updated instructions for the tailgate "gate keeper" have been posted on the website, http://www.mar-k.com/54-87TGlinkassy.pdf . Kevin, thanks especially for your thoughtful criticism and suggestions. We truly appreciate them and your patience in working with the product. All your comments have been addressed in the new instructions posted. And we supply 1/2" bolts instead of the 3/4" bolts you received.

By the way, this will be one great looking truck. We are really looking forward to seeing the final result.
Mar-Ktech

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

This looks like just what I'm looking for. I want to dump the chains and will be replacing my beat up tailgate too.

Tom

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

No problem at all, I think it is great that you guys check into your products and make changes as needed. I like to post info to help out other board members on what I find or do. Your product is a top notch piece and works great with a few tweaks. Now if you have fixed the tweaking end of it, well that makes it that much better for the average person who wants to really clean up the back end of their truck and get rid of the ungly-noisy chains.
If I had a step side of my own I would definetly buy a set of these for my self. Luckly all my trucks are fully developed from the factory and do not require them:lol:

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Today Kevin spent the day finishing up some small details.
1. He mounted the seats and added bracing on the underside of the floor pan.

2. He also installed the billet bulkhead fitting for the Vintage Air AC unit. The plans are to hide the AC hoses inside the fender.

3. Welded up some useless holes inside the cab, ground them down, applied body filler and sanded them.

4. He block sanded the roof, interior and firewall.

While Kevin was very busy doing all that, It took me all day to block sand the bed with three different grits of sand paper.

We only have the inner fender wells, rear step fenders, and some small miscellanous pieces left to sand. Then it should be painted very very soon.

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I can't forget a picture of the bed that took me all day to sand.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

I have a question about the firewall gutter that you shaved how did you guys go about the rear section weld it in and then grind it down? I have the front almost done the the back is a real pain.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

3x1/16" grinding wheels in a die grinder on edge. It is the most fun you can have with your pants on:metal: Almost for got I also TIG'd that area so I would have great penitration and not alot of build up.
So where are your pics! This info isn't free you know!!;)

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

wow, amazing work.
That gas cap idea is awesome.... you need to make me one of those. :)

One question, how does the filler tube attach to that setup?

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

Jugernot. Do those seats put you up kinda high or is it just the pic? Nice seats those. I have the cloth version of those in my 2001 sierra.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

i have some in my 67, and yes them do seem to seat you a little high, but they sure are comfy:)

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Yes, but I'm only 5'8 medium build. I sat it them when we did a mock up and I fit nicely.

We have not finished the gas filler neck set up yet. But Kevin has some ideas.

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Im getting there been busy with poison oak the last week it likes to keep me company sometimes.

Re: Project Lemon Drop: anything but stock!
 

I like that gas filler on the step bed. Thanks for the idea!