Project “Learning as I Go”

[gopokes]

Let me start off by saying that I am new to the truck restoration business. I grew up farming so I did work on cars and trucks but just to keep them running, not to make them look nice. That’s why I say I’m learning as I go. I do want to say a HUGE thanks you to everyone on this site. I have learned so much just by reading everything possible on here. My wife actually gives me a hard time because I spend so much time on this website. I feel like it is really cheap knowledge. Anyway, I bought my truck off a guy here in Oklahoma City last February. It was a running and driving truck so I was happy, even happier because I got it for 800 bucks. So what I have is a 1971 longbed, 307 engine, with 3 on the tree which I love, haven’t been around one of these since my granddad’s 60-66 Chevy (not sure the exact year). The guy I bought it from said he was the second owner, not sure if I believe him or not but who knows. When I got it home I did the basics, changed the oil, filters, pugs, wires etc. Then after that I just enjoyed driving it and didn’t do much to it. So far I have added a junkyard sway bar, added some “cheap security” flashing led on the dash (thanks BobbyK for the FAQ!), tinted the windows for a little more security since it sits in the street most of the time, new tires were a b-day present, and bought a few other things I will get into later. For the most part she sits pretty much the same as when I got her. I don’t have much of a budget for this project so it’s going to be little bits at a time. At some point I will be cutting her down to a shorty, but I decided that the first big thing I needed to tackle is the rust normal trouble spots for these trucks, even though my rust isn’t as bad as some I’ve seen on here, it seems to be growing every time I take a panel off! I am trying to do the work in small chunks so that she isn’t down for a long period of time. Enough rambling, here are the pics.









After the wal-mart tint job





All that old undercoating was a big time mess to grind off of there, worked on it for two nights and still didn't get it all off.