Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Hey does anybody have any experience with the one piece Vbend windshields? Do they fit? What vendor to use?
I have come to a crossroad and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.
The window frame I have has some rot at the bottom and I don't really see anyway to fix it. The cross bar covers it but just barely.

I guess I could shot a load of panel adhesive behing the cross bar when I do the re assemble and then try to shape it to look half way decent. I really don't want to pop for $500 bucks for a new frame. Might as well just go the one piece glass rouet at that point.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps8joyfkme.jpg[/URL]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psj797hcff.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

If you are talking about the 1 piece windshields that are actually bent in the middle the problem you are going to have is the bend is more of a curve than a straight bend. I have never seen one that actually lays flat and looks right(and seals good). If you are talking a v butt window, I have always thought they were ugly because of the seam in the middle. There is a reason GM used a chrome piece in the middle. I personally think a frame that is chromed with the center bar looks the best in these trucks but that is my opinion.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

We used a V butt glass cut locally to fit a chrome WS frame and all is well, I think it came from Bowtie Bits and a bit pricey but it fits along with Steel rubber

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I personally think a frame that is chromed with the center bar looks the best in these trucks but that is my opinion.[/QUOTE]

It also sounds like you have no trouble spending $600+ of my money!:lol:

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

It also sounds like you have no trouble spending $600+ of my money!:lol:[/QUOTE]

It is easier to spend your money than mine.
But seriously your truck has the vibe that I think would look great with a chromed windshield frame. Plus how could you not have the leaky crank out windshield?:lol:

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

May be a stupid question since I cant see the whole part of the frame, but can't you weld a piece of metal to each side to replace the rot? Seems a shame to buy a new frame if that's the only bad spot.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

The problem with welding patches in these frames is that there is a bar that fits very tight down inside the channel. If there is any weld gobs that are in the channel it will not go back together. It is actually a pretty complicated piece for what it does.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

It also sounds like you have no trouble spending $600+ of my money!:lol:[/QUOTE]

You are correct, very easy too do!
As long as it is not mine I don't have a problem with it
I think we bought a black steel one with a division bar also and had tinted glass cut for it, let me look around and see what happened to that one

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Time to put bump the Paintman back to the top with an update. Still plugging along. It's amazing how close things look to being done but then you look around and see 50 different little things unfinished that take up sooooooo much time.

I had to figure out a new way of attaching my front bumper. For those of you that have been following along for the last 4 -5 years, you'll recall I had to extend my front frame rails to accomodate the Scott's front sway bar (see post 11). Looking back, although Justin told me the front end kit he had was for a 46, I don't think they really ever had installed one with a sway bar. My frame rails were about 2" to give me enough room to bolt the bushing housings to the frame. long story short I just made up some extensions to the fram and welded them on. But that caused interferenc issues with the original factory bumpre horns. So I had to nix them. The solution was to just make up new 1/4 flat plates and bolt them to the outside of the frame rails. The two forward most holes will be where the bumper bolts to. I guess on a positive note these plates will help re-inforce the extensions to the frame. I certainly feel like the guinea pig for Scott's Hot Rods as I have seen others like Chizzler and SolidAxel mount there sway bar totaly different.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...7/IMG_0998.jpg[/URL]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psdvz3qcdc.jpg[/URL

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I don't remember what is different, but I can tell you this that the turning radius is limited as you can tell by how polished the bar is from the tire hitting!
What size tires are you using on the front

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

With the new front bumper horns made, I decided to smooth out the front bumper bolts by shaving them off the face and welding and grinding them smooth. That was alot of work for a rank amateur. I also made up a pair of mounting plates for the new turn signals to fasten to the top of the bumper. When I bought the truck the previous owner had the turn signals mounted up inside behind the front grille. Now I not the smartest person in the world but that just made no sense. How the hell do you change the bulbs when one blows?
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psi7zsskp6.jpg[/URL]
Speaking og the front grille..............I got that cleaned up and painted. I know, I know, it would have looked alot better chrome but I didn't feel like popping for about $1000 to have it re-finished. Plus then I would of had to of had the bumpers chromed. NOT HAPPENING!!!!! Actually I thing the truck will look good with a white grille when it comes together with the rest of my plan for the truck.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psyt8a0mu6.jpg[/URL
Got my front inards painted and hung as well.I am kind of stuck on how I am going to mount the electric fan. I know I can just use those half assed zippy ties through the radiator. But I am trying to figure out a cleaner bracket system. May just give up and use the zippys
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pstsvb9w1x.jpg[/URL]
Also got my train horns re-installed. It's amazing I am actually starting to be able to walk around my garage without stepping all over parts laying on the floor! And yes I know the plug wires look like hell. I am trying to think of a nicer loom.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps9v0lloow.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Also still plugin away on the wiring harness. i got all my wires run up to the front for the lights. I decided to run the harness on the outside of the panels to keep the engine bay as clean possible.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pszahfzzar.jpg[/URL]
Also got my steering linkages back in and buttoned up.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psuvw2l4nb.jpg[/URL]
Christ i might just finish this thing some day! I have a couple more wire connections to make on the engine (electric choke, and T-stat) and I can fire this dam thing up! That will be my next goal. Fire up the ole 292 and check for problems befor I start bolting the reat of the body together.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Your sway bar looks much wider then mine as my heim joints that connect the sway bar to the A-arm are straight up and down as your are more tilted. I am still trying to figure out how you and chizzler mounted your bushings Is that just a piece of flat plate you bolted to the frame and bumper horns for the bushing housing.?

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Man I have forgotten about all of those steps............. you will be driving in no time!
Is that the grille that came with your truck?
We would have been greatfull for one that was that nice!
What did you do with your hood props?

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Yes a welded plate and a gussett
Why would Justin have different length bars for the same year chassis?

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Solid, My sway bar measures 34 1/2" from mounting bolt to mounting bolt on my A-arms. With my tires, I can go lock to lock on my stearing without any rubbing on the sway bar. But It looks like my tires are much smaller then yours. Mine are P195/75R15 on 6 inch rims. At least i think there 6". It's been so long since I hung the front end I can't remember all the details and conversations with Justin, but I do recall sending the original sway bar back to him for some reason and he custom bent one to my specs. Excellent customer service from Justin during all the isssue I had He wase vne on the phone with me Christmas Eve working out the problems.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

If I had to guess, I don't think they ever had one of their front ends with a sway bar on a 46 until mine. Again It's been so long since the issue I can't remember all that happened. But everything turned out good in the end. Justin was great during the whole process.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Yes that is the same grille. I just sanded and cleaned the hell out of it. Shot it with epoxy and single stage white.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Soled, if you go back to my first page and look at post 11, you will see the first sway bar he sent me with no offset. The second pic with the offset is the one he custom bent for me.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

He must have forgot how wide these chassis are when he made ours!
We did have a long discussion and he said there would be "enough" turning radius
I know our wheels are 8" and I think 215 or 225 tires
Next time I am under there I will take some measurments

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Solid, you have a PM!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Solid........You have a 2nd PM.:lol:

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Yea you have a BOOK !!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Now that was funny!:lol: Anxiously waiting for Chizzler to chime in.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I finally got tired of the electric fan starring me in the face. I wanted to make a nice bracket for it instead of boogering it on with those cheap zippy ties. The problem was the radiator and the core support were on 2 different angles not allowing me to mount the fan flat on the radiator.. The radiator stands straight up in the core support while the front face of the suport leans forward at about a 15 degree angle. After pondering for about 2 hours I came up with a plan.

First problem to solve was removing the inner lip on the core support. This would give me a flat surface for the brackets to lay flat on. CAREFUL DON'T NICK THE RADITOR WITH THE GRINDING WHEEL:lol:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psrhzq8blu.jpg[/URL]

Next up was bending, grinding, shaping, hammering, 2 pieces of metal into some kind of something that looked like a Hot Rod builder would make, not a house painter.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psvbrkvkcd.jpg[/URL]
Dress it all up by putting lip stick on a pig. Then bolt it fast to the core support.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps1ekqk2w0.jpg[/URL]
Call it done!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pswo9ixew3.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Looks pretty awesome to me!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Great bracket !
I take it you had no room on the engine side of the rad?

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Cool solution for the electric fans.
Just a thought on your grill. I had a set a pipes for a bike I built nickel plated. Wasn't very much, (about 78 bucks as I recall) It was way cheaper than chrome, and as always, it was a budget build. Just a thought, the paint looks great on the grill.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

So I have been getting tired of fabricating stuff for the truck. I decided to take a break from working with metal and get into something that's in the Paintmans wheel house, bed wood! At some point the previous owner put a brand new Mar-K bed and wood kit on the truck. Great you say? Nope, instead of doing a nice job on the wood with stain and clear coat , he used old motor oil every 6 months. Hence over the years the wood had taken on a dull nearly jet black finish.
Soooo, with nothing but a whole Saturday and Sunday to waste, the Paintman set out to re-claim 7 pieces of (of what would cost $400 new), oak boards
1. soak with lacquer thinner and wire brush the hell out of the boards
2. proceed with paint stripper and more wire brushing
3. follow with a good soaking of 50/50 bleach and water
4. Proceed with hours and hours of sanding
And you end up with this..............................
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psbubt4h6e.jpg[/URL]
All in all the boards look damn good considering. However, there are a couple of boards with some small splits at one end . But, I have had the perfect solution sitting in my garage for about 3 years . Battery box!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps92chmtra.jpg[/URL]
Not exactly sure how I am going to re-finish the boards as of yet. I was kicking around the idea of staining them the same mango tango as the truck, with white strips. Or pickling the boards white with mango Tango strips. The reason I say painted strips is because they are a DISASTER! But that's another story we are working on.

I kind of nixed those 2 options in favor of just a marine varnish. I kind of like the old weathered look of wood anyway. Or possibly a golden oak stain first followed by varnish. Stay tuned.................Either way this is the varnish I will be using. As a self employed house painter and a log home owner, I stand by all Sikkens products. Applied properly the damn stuff is nearly bullet proof!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psewtugbo7.jpg[/URL]
Hell if Mr. Magoo approves...............
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps4esb26er.jpg[/URL]
Regardless of what I do with the tops, I did the bottoms with Por15 as this (believe it or not), produced the best results in Mar-K's testing.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psrdlyzkgs.jpg[/URL]
In other news. I started the re-assemble of the windshield frame. Not to re-hash this entirely, but there was some question as to what to do. By new, go one piece glass, or try and re use this one. I opted to try and save this one for now. The first thought was to paint the frame white to match the grille but I opted for black thinking it would blend in with the gasket.
Then after reading a bunch of horror stories about trying to get the glass in with setting tape, I went to the local glass shop to see if they would do it for me. Well, after offering the guy $100 bucks and a night out with my wife, he still refused to do it! He told me it would be best to just silicone it in. So he was nice enough to give me some pieces of setting tape for alignment and a couple tubes of silicone, and tech advice for free.

So here's how I did it. To keep the glass centered in the frame so I could get an even amount of silicone on the front and back side of the glass, I wrapped and then taped small pieces of setting tape around the glass in 3 spots, top, bottom, end. Then I put a small dab of grease on the very bottom portion of the tape to help it slide into the frame. Even with this small amount of tape on the glass it was a BIOTCH!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psgbolxgnm.jpg [/URL]Then I just repeated the process on the other frame and bolted it all back together.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psdunggxme.jpg[/URL]
If you look close, you can see the tape wrapped around the glass inside the frame. This left an even gap on both sides of the glass, between the frame, for the silicone to go down into.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psq5t2ovid.jpg[/URL]
Here's the silicone the glass shop gave me.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pszd3ldhiu.jpg[/URL]
Originaly, the biggest concern was the small amount of steel that was missing due to rot at the butt joint of the frame. Fortunately the new center divider I bought was slightly lager then the old one and covered the gap with no problem! Just waiting on a new outer gasket from Steele and back in she goes!!!!!!!!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psr9jeg7ex.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Considering how boogered up these boards where from the last guy, I say they look pretty good. Show quality? No, but for what i am doing, perfect. Especially when it saves $400

I didn't use any stain, just 4 coats of Sikkens Marine varnish....................
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pswjautmo7.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Since I have been a self employed painter caulking baseboards and door frames for the last 25 years, I figured I should be able to run the silicone around the frame and glass.

I'm sure the glass shop would have done it different, but here's how a painter does it. Not wanting to have it look like it was put on with a sling shot. I ran masking tape around the inside of the glass leaving about a 1/8 inch of glass showing. This would allow for the silicone to get down inside the chanel and also get a grip on some of the glass. Beacause the frame was already painted I tape it as well.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps8xj01dfr.jpg[/URL]
then it was time to shot the silicone. I had to heat it up in the oven because a conventional caulk gun just wouldn't budge the material. Kind of hard to see in the pic but once I shot the bead I smoothed it out with my fingure while trying to press the silicone down into the chanel. Once done, I peeled the tape off and it looked great!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps8notgsmh.jpg[/URL]
I was going to post a pic of how good the frame looked once I got it back on the truck, but I ran into a snag. After reading countless threads about how great Steele rubber products were, I pulled the trigger and dropped $85 on a new gasket. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!! As soon as I opened the box I could see there was a difference in the size of the gasket. The outer most flange that makes the actual seal was nearly 1/4 smaller than the gasket I took off the truck.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pscvirw4hs.jpg[/URL]
Even though I knew the new gasket would not fill the entire chanel on the truck, I figured since I had nothing better to do, I would put the new gasket on the frame and bolt it to the truck just to see how bad it looked. Pretty much, it looked worse than some of the stuff that swirls around in a toilet!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psaibbvg73.jpg[/URL]

This is exactly why I didn't want to drop $600 on a new frame or a one piece glass. Because it seems like everything you buy now a days is nothing but crap! I think for now I will just clean up the old gasket (its in to good of shape to be the original) and re-use it.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

That reminds me of the window felt I bought for my truck. It had screws that secured the felt to the frame. The screws stuck up to far preventing the window from rolling up. 50 bucks down the drain. Luckily, my glass guy had his own stuff. Still, 50 bucks is 50 bucks!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

What paint did you use on the grill and front bumper?

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Just a single stage white. Same thing that i used on my firewall. I think it's called Fleet white. I am also doing the bed srips and back bumper as well. Still kicking around the idea of re-doing the windshield frame white as well.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Soooooo, I had one last painting chore to do before it turned cold here in Joisey.
One of the previous owners had smeared some kind of textured bed liner on the running boards. I kind of liked the idea and thought it looked old school, but as usual, it was done all 1/2 assed.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...7/IMG_3338.jpg[/URL]

So I stripped all the stuff off the boards a couple of years ago not knowing if I was going to put something back on or just paint the entire running board like most guys do. I finally decided to put bed liner back on the boards but make it a little more classy looking. When i shot the Mango Tango I left a portion of the boards taped off for the bed liner.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psikjxqeko.jpg[/URL]

After spending a couple of hours reading reviews on bed liners. I stumbled across this stuff. Monstaliner, the cool thing about this stuff is that it comes in your standard black. Or they can send it to you as a tintable base, with all kinds of colors to choose from. Just think of it as POR15 on steroids!
I was kicking around the idea of doing the boards with white, but settled on black. The black comes as a 2 part sytem with the base and catalyst. The little silver pouch contains a pudding like activator that you squeeze into the partialy full quart base. You also need there foam roller.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psuvmdkqmf.jpg[/URL]

I scuffed up the epoxy primer I had put on originaly, then applied the 1st coat. Waited 4 hours and layed on a 2nd coat. Stuff goes on like thinned roofing tar. Their roller puts on a slight texture and the stuff dries out to a semi flat finish, which will match the rest of the Matte finish Mango Tango on the truck. Took almost a full quart. Turned out better than I expected. Not sure how it will hold up but all the reviews I read were positive.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pswjha5c51.jpg[/URL]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps0hkwa1wg.jpg[/URL]
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps3oyhkjm8.jpg[/URL]
And that is how a lolely house painter from New Joisey classes up an old pair of 46 Chevy Pickup running boards.:metal:

Mr. Magoo could care less.......................
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psp6gvmazn.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Lookin good!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Good stuff!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Time to bump it back to the top.
Windshield, done! Re-used the gasket that was on the truck when I bought it. I thought about painting the frame white, but went with black. Still not sure i made the right choice. Threw out the new Steele Rubber piece of .....................
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pswkz45ex9.jpg[/URL]

In one of my other posts I eluded to the fact that my bed strips were giving me trouble. When I went to clean them up for assembly, I found what looked to be some kind of hardened sap all over them. Especially under where all the bolt heads were. I tried all kinds of chemicals to try and soften the stuff but nothing worked. It looked to me as if whoever assembled the bed of the truck put the bed strips in with the bolts right over the thin protective plastic the strips are shipped with. When he finally peeled the plastic off, the plastic remained under all the bolts, and in other places, only to dry and harden. The only way I could remove it was with my die grinder and scuff pads. What a job!:devil: With all my bed strips scuffed up, I had three choices. Buy new, try to re-polish them, or paint them. Well, I think this will work for now ....................
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pscayuptfj.jpg[/URL]

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

5......4......321................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Img-NxEdUk0

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Sorry my bad LOL................try this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auaDSwCWdCk