A '54 named Busty

[Gregski]

then it was time to make some sparks, and I remember why I don't use these types of clamps - once the metal shrinks after welding they are a PITA to get out

[Gregski]

next I prepped all the "extra" holes for closure

gonna use an old Jamaican trick on the big ones, shove a washer in it and just like that you wen't from having to fill a one inch hole to filling in a 3/16ths

[Gregski]

for the smaller holes I just used a copper backing plate that I made out of cutting open and flattening a piece of copper pipe (I know they make spatulas for this type of work, but we run what we brong)

[Gregski]

and for the tiny ones I just used hopes and dreams

[8man]

Cutting relief slots worked well, just like filling the holes.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

Cutting relief slots worked well, just like filling the holes.

yup, hey, GOOD MORNING !!!

[8man]

Morning. You're up early. That peddle wouldn't be for a clutch would it?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

Morning. You're up early. That peddle wouldn't be for a clutch would it?

yeah it is, I was being facetious on the account of how two leg driving is lost on us Americans, shame really !!!

[Gregski]

and then it was off to the other side, now despite the fact that when the inner fender literally fell off it nearly cut my nose off, have a scar to prove it, ha ha I still sat there in my thinking chair with a beer and some potato chips and stared at the exposed front clip - I swear I don't know what it is, but I can sit there for hours just marveling at all the engineering that went into it, like a moth to a flame

can anyone relate?

[Gregski]

anybody know what this is called, found it right next to the brake pedal?

did trucks come with two brakes back then? one for each foot or something?

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Gregski

anybody know what this is called, found it right next to the brake pedal?

did trucks come with two brakes back then? one for each foot or something?

I nearly always enjoy your humor, but sometimes you make me laugh even when I don't want to.

[Gregski]

and here's a little before and after comparison of the driver side inner fender after the dance of the wire wheel (don't you dare tell my wife I did the dirt and grime transfer on our back patio)

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Gregski

and here's a little before and after comparison of the driver side inner fender after the dance of the wire wheel (don't you dare tell my wife I did the dirt and grime transfer on our back patio)

Go ahead and blame it on me. I've been persona non grata since I popped off about you getting in trouble for doing the dishes, haha. I like seeing your practical metal work and improvisation. The relief cuts and the morale beatings seem to have had the desired effect. Nice welds on those core support T brackets. And I finally understand what that offset is for now.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Go ahead and blame it on me. I've been persona non grata since I popped off about you getting in trouble for doing the dishes, haha. I like seeing your practical metal work and improvisation. The relief cuts and the morale beatings seem to have had the desired effect. Nice welds on those core support T brackets. And I finally understand what that offset is for now.

LOL, thank you Northman! you mean the zig zag around the power steering box?

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Gregski

LOL, thank you Northman! you mean the zig zag around the power steering box?

Yep, that's the one. I could tell it was purposeful, I just I hadn't figured out what the purpose was. BTW, that was the third of three comments, just in case you missed the other two

You're doing a great job getting that front end support work cleaned up and tied together. Getting rid of the rust and protecting the inner and underside of the fenders is good work. When you bolt those pieces securely back on you'll know that you have a good foothold in making this truck right and making it yours.

[Gregski]

and here are all the hand slicers removed just from that one inner fender (yes I'll be wishing there was a hook or two later when I go to route the headlight wiring, ha ha, but oh well, form over function, things must look smooth)

[Gregski]

I was on such a wire wheelin' high that I decided to do the fender boomerangs too

Fun Level: still 0

[Gregski]

it was honestly a very busy, noisy, dirty, yet productive day

[8man]

Yep, feels good to get stuff done. My wife still talks about me using a grinder to clean the frame and all associated parts including the individual springs from the 4 spring packs when I did the Cherokee Chief.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

Yep, feels good to get stuff done. My wife still talks about me using a grinder to clean the frame and all associated parts including the individual springs from the 4 spring packs when I did the Cherokee Chief.

Wow! that sounds like a massive amount of work.

[Gregski]

I did flatten the dimples in the driver fender, I welded up the relief cuts and the extra holes (won't bore you with those pics) but did not get to make the pedestal on the driver side yet, pretty much because of this power steering box interference still (which was expected)

so I played wax on wax off with both inner fenders and the radiator frame making sure the hood shuts properly, while trimming a bit more off by the steering box bit by bit

you can now see the justification for my frame being so fugly on the driver side instead of nice and straight as I was trying to avoid contact with that steering box

[Gregski]

so today I knocked out the driver side horn pedestal

I started out by wiring wheeling the outside in prep for welding and vacuuming out the dirt and grime out of this guy like I did on the passenger side, but on this side I went further and scraped out all that tar that kept catching on fire whilst I was welding on the front plate on the passenger side

[Gregski]

when you do the first side, you spend a lot of time figuring out how to do it, so you would think the second side goes faster, but then you spend a lot of time making sure the second side looks like a mirror image of the first, ie they match

the angle iron is just there for levelability, it ain't getting chromed to go on there or nothin'

[Gregski]

this part is always fun - just as seen on TV, ha ha

in that first pic I just put the cardboard up there to block the light so you could see what it is we are trying to plug, otherwise you couldn't see it cause the picture was back lit too much

[Gregski]

and there you have it folks, we just weldered on a box, whooptie doo

seriously though, it may seem like nothing, but I swear I assembled and disassembled that front end at least half a dozen times to make sure things align, the hood shuts, the radiator fits, the grill is semi straight, you get the idea