My 63 farm truck build thread

[Tx Firefighter]

I finished the rack today. One thing I can guarantee you is that it is plumb and square. I did struggle with some of the welds though. I did the project outside and there was a periodic breeze to give me issues while welding. Plus I ran out of .023 wire in my smaller welder so I had to pull out the Millermatic 250, which has .035 wire in it plus a big, cumbersome gun. I should have just went and bought another spool of .023 and continued to use the smaller Lincoln machine. But, never the less, it's finished.

I have taken some flak for the tool box, and rightfully so. It's too clean looking. To help with that I did the entire project without covering the box. All of the weld boogers and splatter landed on the box. Plus I stood on top of it in my big old boots while welding the top of the rack. I'd say the tool box is aging nicely after that. I did pull the Tractor Supply emblems off of it too. If the newness of the box continues to wear on me I will strip the powdercoat off of it and give it some artificial aging.

And, I have decided not to paint the rack. I want mother nature to add some character to it and make it match the truck better.

Awful pictures...



For the fellow who asked for pics of the angled posts. I just held the first one in place and tweaked it until it flowed with the cab when viewed from behind. That was 8 degrees canted in. So, I set the saw at 8 degrees and sliced each post to give it that cool gangster lean look.



Front, I built it as low to the cab as I dared and still allow for frame flex and cab movement.


Look, my truck has a telephone post growing out of the cab roof.


Sorry for the poor pictures. I must be pretty tired or something.