Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[_Ogre]

don't forget to weld this drain hole closed
no sense getting caught in the rain and drain into your kick speakers

[Dan in Pasadena]

Excellent point...except I live in SoCal where it barely EVER rains...and I don’t intend to ever drive it when there’s a chance of rain anyway, lol.

[dug224]

Ogre: You and my buddy Jim beat me to the point!! I kept overlooking it. Welding it solid would have been a little easier on the bench but I managed. Fortunately my Dad left me some antique grinding tips I used in my drill. It rains a bunch here (most in the U.S.) but my truck will mostly be inside. Thanks.

I got the body work on the Cowl at about 90%. Jim came over and we whacked the roof a couple of more times and managed to stiffen it up. I did three 24" pulls on the filler using a Home Depot paint shield. It is a little flexible and does a pretty good job. With the exception of the back edge of the roof where I can't get under it, the filler is no thicker than about 1/8". The sculpting begins.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

when I am doing these spots I weld about 1/4" at a time, let it cool with the wire still in the puddle, then as soon as the red spot goes away from my welding helmet lens I do the same again. after a seam about an inch long I lay off and cool it off. move onto another area, that way I can get a hotter weld so it lays out better but doesn't burn through or build a little mountain of weld material. what thickness of wire are you using?

I run 0.024 wire when doing sheet metal. I'll have to try that technique. I have a new found respect for your extended cab roof joinery!!! Man, that must have been tough. Did you weld the roof panel like you are describing?

[dug224]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Excellent point...except I live in SoCal where it barely EVER rains...and I don’t intend to ever drive it when there’s a chance of rain anyway, lol.

All it does here is RAIN! We get the most rain (67"+/-) in the U.S. here in Mobile. My truck won't be out in it much and, if my wife gets her way, it (we) may be living in Colorado sooner than later.

[dsraven]

yup, weld an inch, cool, move to another spot, do the same. repeat. stop every few minutes and let the whole thing get back to room temp. when done I used a big body and dolly to hammer along the weld areas and a shrinking disc to get things back into shape. my biggest issue is the roof is egg shaped, not just humped up. it narrows at the front and rear. the inner roof perimeter panel makes it hard to get the edges because you can't get a dolly back there. may have to cut that part out when I get patience to move back to the roof project. right now I am trying to consolidate a few parts into some resembance of a truck and make it move under it's own power. the thing is heavy to roill with only one old fart pushing.

[dsraven]

for depressions like your drain hole a sanding drum from a dremel or wood shop tool store works good. I have a few that I use in my air die grinder. they leave a pretty nice finish on steel as well. cheap and disposable if it distorts or goes all wonky.

[dug224]

Made some healthy progress on the cab on this banner weather day here in Alabama. Laid down a generous coat of primer using my $10 Harbor Freight HVLP gun. I haven't done much HVLP work so I thought this would be a good place to learn plus I did not want run this strange primer through my good gun (non-HVLP). I got the roof bodywork to 80% to 90% before I primed it. Got tired of the process and dust so decided I'd come back to it after all this paint cures. Next step will be to seam seal then spray the Raptor 2 part liner on the bottom of the cab and cab floor.

[dsraven]

looks good. the roof looks good as well, from the pic anyway. keep plugging away.

[ChuckDriver]

Very nice!

[67Mal]

Great progress!
I have to ask, what is the "strange green primer"??

[dug224]

Originally Posted by 67Mal

Great progress!
I have to ask, what is the "strange green primer"??

BLP Brand Industrial & Marine 2 part primer. I believe it is actually made here in Mobile, AL. It is used on mechanical stuff in ships. Got a deal that I couldn't pass up so I committed. Real durable, high build and sandable.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looks good. the roof looks good as well, from the pic anyway. keep plugging away.

Thanks....Roof is not as nice as the photos portray but 100% better than it was before I started!!! Still needs some help that will come just before final paint.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

Very nice!

Thanks....it's good to finally be back on it! Getting the primer on the entire cab is a huge milestone for me.

[Black_Sheep]

Very nice work!

[dsraven]

I think you answered this before but is the primer also a weather sealer as well? no moisture worries? some "primers" are porous and stuff starts to rust right away,especially the easily sanded ones.

[Kim57]

Cab looks real nice.
Kim

[dug224]

Guys: Thanks for kind words.

Dennis: Paint is said to be a sealer as well. Some of the metal I have collected from my buddy's dumpster is painted with this paint and has been out in my metal pile for years with no signs of rust. Also, all of my other '59 sheet metal has been primed with this for years (Yikes) now and none of it has any surface rust. Keeping in mind, it has all be in my heated and cooled garage with the occasional opening of the garage door. I will have to sand it all before I put on any finish paint.

Watched a few Youtubes on seam sealer and commenced with my seam sealing. While the taped joints look real neat, they were are soon to be covered with Raptor Liner. I decided to go freehand on the seam sealer in the areas under the cab, low firewall and under the fenders. Whether you can see them or not, I'll still do the majority in the cab and all of the upper firewall with taped edges. This stuff sets up really quickly. I have to remove the tape almost immediately or it leaves a small shoulder.

Attachment 1776552

[Black_Sheep]

Dug I went through all 35 pages of your build thread last night. Awesome build, I can't wait to see the finished product.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep

Dug I went through all 35 pages of your build thread last night. Awesome build, I can't wait to see the finished product.

Me too!!! Thanks! Learning as I go.

[dug224]

Ready to go tomorrow morning. I masked off the parts I don't want Raptor on. I'll spray the inside, lower firewall and bottom of the cab. Decided not to tape off the seam seal on the cab floor since I was too impatient.

[dug224]

Raptor on!! Great product and easy to apply. Pour the 250ml of hardner up to a fill mark on the plastic liner container, shake for 2 minutes and start spraying. This package I used came with four 1 liter containers of liner. I used three of them to cover the areas I masked off. Texture is varied by varying the pressure at the gun between 40 and 80 psi. I chose 60 psi. I'll let it cure in place outside overnight then rotate back onto the trailer and roll into the garage for about week and then proceed with the finished bodywork. Looks like final cab paint in a couple of weeks followed by the cab re-install!!!

[Kim57]

Came out real nice.
Kim

[Rods57]

Originally Posted by dug224

Raptor on!! Great product and easy to apply. Pour the 250ml of hardner up to a fill mark on the plastic liner container, shake for 2 minutes and start spraying. This package I used came with four 1 liter containers of liner. I used three of them to cover the areas I masked off. Texture is varied by varying the pressure at the gun between 40 and 80 psi. I chose 60 psi. I'll let it cure in place outside overnight then rotate back onto the trailer and roll into the garage for about week and then proceed with the finished bodywork. Looks like final cab paint in a couple of weeks followed by the cab re-install!!!
Attachment 1777143
Attachment 1777144
Attachment 1777145

Looks great,

[dug224]

Thanks gents. The cab is back in the garage where it belongs. Incurred a delay of game....the wife decided we needed to visit one of our kids in Colorado. By the way, as many times as I passed over the areas that I Raptor'd, I still have a couple of light spots. From now on, I'll follow any of my paint work with my trusty Snap-On LED work light. The folding trailer the cab sits on came from my buddy Jim. It has made working on the cab and moving it around a breeze. I screwed a couple of 4x4's onto the trailer deck that the bottom of the truck steps sit on. I temporarily modified it with small blocks (see photo) and wax paper to keep the Raptor from sticking once I rotated it back to normal position. It worked.


Also, when I rebuilt the cab corners, I left out the water catching pockets (inner cab corner) and ran a plate across the top of the cab corner which left a 1/2" wide tight spot. I cleaned and primed it before I closed it up with the cab corner but still tough to get to with final coating.


Tight spot just under the orange paint between inner and outer cab corner.
Fortunately, I was able to put the Raptor gun spray tube up in the tight spot and heavily coat it.