59 Apache Stepside Rookie Build

[hotrodrookie]

Thanks Weld, this is my first attempt at making headers so its taking me a bit of time to get them together. So far I have about 18 hours into them, which is only one side, and its not even done yet lol. They better sound good
Im still waiting on my flanges to get here.... I also changed the last primary, it was bugging me the way it looked. I think now it has a cleaner look to it. Idealy I would have made them equal length, but I think the metal would have rusted away to nothing by the time I was done haha. Ill save that for the next pair.

[Kim57]

Very nice welds.
Kim

[ratty 46]

Kick ass job so far for such a young wipper snapper ....

I'm in.

Ratty 46

[hotrodrookie]

Update!
I spent the last couple months of summer working out of town so I havent been able to work on my truck but I've been itching real bad to get back at it. I'm currently working on the chassis trying to get the front suspension rebuilt, I ordered a full rebuild kit for the camaro front end from PST. Out back Im trying to finish things up that were left tacked together and mocked up, as well as fill the vast amount of swiss cheese holes in the rear of the frame lol. A thick copper backup makes easy work of plug welding the holes in the frame. I plan on making a new rear bumber mount so Im not worried if I filled in the old ones.

[hotrodrookie]

.....

[hotrodrookie]

I also got to play with the laser at work. I drew these up and had them etched into mirror finish stainless steel. The pictures don't do them justice. The 56 is for my dad, and the 59 is for yours truely.

[Kim57]

Cool looking artwork.
Kim

[ambryatim]

Looking good...need to change your user name to "HotRod" sounds better and all the work you have done can justify loosing the "Rookie" part.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

[hotrodrookie]

I got almost all the welding done on my frame. I finished off up front with the bumper bracket tabs that I'll eventually have to make brackets for.

Damn whoever's idea it was to put this tar sealer underneith my truck. This stuff is a pain to get off. I used a combination of burning and scraping this stuff and it still leaves a thin film of sticky black resdue on there. Anybody else have any experience with this stuff?

I'm planning on soaking the entire frame in degreaser over night and then steam cleaning it to try and remove all the resedue. After that I'll give it a good scuff and throw some POR-15 on it.

[hotrodrookie]

.....

[ratty 46]

Ah the frame work is looking good.

Nice job.

Ratty 46

[Denee007]

That does it! I'm going to welding school! are you going to school to become an engineer? You won't have any problem getting work as a professional welder! ; ) Oh, just read your first post, Mechanical engineer~! it's in your blood!
dne'

[hotrodrookie]

I spent the last few days burning tar, degreasing, grinding, wire wheeling, and repeating the process several times trying to get my frame ready for paint. I started off with a trip to the dollar store to get the degreaser. I used a combination of the three which seemed to work well on the road grease that was built up on the Camaro clip. Its hard to beat paying $10 for all that product. Having the heavy duty steam cleaner also made the job easier to clean up. The hardest part was wire wheeling due to tar smearing onto the metal and not wanting to come off. This was my first frame strip, the next one is getting sent to the blasters...

[99 to Life]

been there done that to frame, only in the winter with no heat. I said, I am never hand stripping a frame again. Well, I have another lined up and I'm trying to save money on this build, so I will probably do it by hand.

I love the custom headers and tank and the work in general. keep it up

[Lextech]

I would almost be tempted to go over it with a Scotchbrite pad and clear coat the frame.

Jeff

[hotrodrookie]

Painting time! Today I put two coats of POR 15 on the frame. This stuff goes on really nice with a brush and flattens out great. Tough as nails too. I'll let it cure tonight and then flip the frame over tomorrow for any touch ups underneath.

[Kim57]

The frame looks real nice.
Kim

[Barney Rubble]

stunning work, gobsmacked right here.
thanks for taking the time to document it all!
BR

[GeorgeVale]

Coming on really well frame looks superb!

[1959 Apache 3600]

If you're a rookie, I'm in kindergarten.
Terrific work!

[hotrodrookie]

Update.. I got around to painting all the suspension parts. My rebuild kit from PST came in and the front end came together pretty nicely. I ordered a bunch of grade 8 hardware last week and it came in yesterday, so today the rear suspension was assembled. I threw the tank in there just for giggles.

[C.shows]

Really nice work..
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[jbclassix]

AWESOME WORK!!! Simply, awesome.

[1959Chev]

What tank is this?

[1959Chev]

Nevermind I see. You made it. You want to build another lol?