Dutch '59 Fleetside Longbed

[RockinKees]

Steve-W, it's a tool that manually bends sheetmetal.
Google "sheet metal brake" and you know all about it

Sure I know Prins Trucks, just got my parts from him...
Two parts missing and one part wrong, send an email, no answer yet.
But I'm sure he will solve this.

I don't need it to be original, if it's good it's good!
I am a Hot Rodder by life
If I can make the parts, I make them, and also the car isn't going to be original
I always say: If you drive 80 mph, you don't see it anyway!!

On to todays business:
Got the lower left cowl and a piece of the floor repaired, not in one day to be honest, it's pretty time consuming, you know that!

Made the triangular piece of the inner cowl:




Then I made the floor:




Then on to the difficult part....
First I made a 2 mm thick plate for the hinge:


Then bend and knocked the outside of the pocket (1,5 mm thick):


Then the inner piece and bottom (1,5 mm thick:




I bolted the fender on for reverence of the lower bolt, and made this bolt support out out 2 mm thick plate:


The bolt support has a reinforcement above the bolt hole.
Looks like I had thought about it....


At last I tacked the cowl cover back in place....


Next time is finish welding the cowl and grind everything a little smoother. And hope to get the driverside floorpiece ready.
After that its only some small parts to be repaired.

So Niels A., if you read this......I'm going pretty fast

Oh, do I use too many pictures for you guys and girls???

[Katrina/10]

Never too many pictures!

[Kim57]

Real nice job on the repairs.
Kim

[Advanced Design]

Love the pictures Kees! Nice work, takes a lot of time.

[RockinKees]

Thanks guys!!

It sure takes a lot of time, but it's fun to do!

[oldman3]

Kees, nice job on the repairs, looks good and nobody will see that it's not stock looking..Jim

[reaper71]

Way to go Kees!! looks great..

[ptc]

Never too many pics!!! you must have a GoPro connected to your headband while you work..... taking pics as you go!!! lol

I always forget to take pics of what Ive done till Im ready to walk out of the garage at night and then I remember.....

[RockinKees]

Haha, no GoPro, just a lot of time-outs

Remember my teabag cups centercaps in the back?
Well, I've come up with an idea for the front....

See the sketch, the teabag cups and the aluminium...


A lathe and some time...Action shot (without the GoPro)


One finished:




The case slides over the center of the hub, set them with 3 setscrews, that's all.
I've made two of them, hope they fit, don't know yet. If I made a good sketch and measurements they will fit...
We'll see monday

[Kim57]

That's some cool stuff.
Kim

[reaper71]

Very cool Kees!!!

[Advanced Design]

Love the machining work!

[RockinKees]

Thanks Kim, Mark and Doug!!

Went to the truck today, couldn't resist
Tried my machinework on the front hubs...






Doesn't look too bad, just have to make the hubs black.

Finished welding the cowl, so that right corner is ready inside and out


Remember I had to cut the steps for the LPG fueltanks? I did weld the steps today.
First a template from cardboard:


Then to metal:


Bent and drilled the hole thing and welded it in:




I did both sides, so that ready too

Also take a look at the driverside cowl, I thinks it's all original


Not bad huh!?!

Now I need your advice on the driverside floor.
I marked the floor with a blue pen. Those parts I want to replace.
I could only repair those parts, but I rather will do the mid section of the floor, from step to transcover.
But at the point where the two floor pieces meet, there is at the underside a "reinforcement", a little piece of angled steel, from the cabmount to the transcover.
I measured the thickness, it's about 1 mm (gauge 19?)



For the floor I will use 2 mm thick plate (gauge 14).
My question: what if I replace the floorsection without that small piece of reinforcement? Do or don't?

[ptc]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

For the floor I will use 2 mm thick plate (gauge 14).
My question: what if I replace the floorsection without that small piece of reinforcement? Do or don't?

Are you sure that 'reinforcement' isnt just a heat shield for the muffler or something? I think my 57 had something like that under there too but it was all rusted away along with the muffler....

[Kim57]

Nice fab work.
I probably wouldn't worry about the small piece of metal. the floor gets its stiffness from the beads that are in it.
Kim

[RockinKees]

PTC, I'm not sure, but it looks like an extended piece of the cabsuport.

Kim, If I make a 2mm thick floor, I don't get the beads in it...

[reaper71]

Kees...My 2 cents worth, cut out the large section as needed. Check if for sure that is a brace/support. If so, you will be using a heavier gauge metal to replace it. You may not need the brace under it but check if it flexes more than your comfortable with and if it does make a new piece and weld it in. ( don't sweat it so much it can all be fixed my friend )

[RockinKees]

Well, it is a cabsupport. I remembered Kim57 did make his own floor, so I looked at his pics (again )
His thread is almost a encyclopedia to me
Thanks Kim!!

I cut the floor out, and saved the brace. I made the floor in three pieces:

Here you see the brace I'm talking about.




Of course I have to clean the welds, but I have a good solid floor now. Maybe took away more than necessary...
Also closed some holes in the firewall (brake and clutch and one above the transcover)

I also made a template to close the rear cabcorners from the inside:


That's for next time!!

[Kim57]

Nice job on the floor repair. Should be nice and strong.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Nice work on the floor, cab corner work looks very familiar!

[ptc]

Now this is an excellent idea!!! You need to make a bunch of these and start selling them.... This is one area that needs help, imagine all the things in your cab that can get lost in those corners!!!!

[RockinKees]

Not my idea ptc!!
I stole it from the board here

Thanks to all on this board!!
You've been 9and are) a great help, even you don't know it

[RockinKees]

Made the inner cabcorners and tacked them in:




Cheap *ss as I am, didn't wanted to buy new lower cabcorners, so I made the myself....
The damage wasn't that big


made them out of 1,5 mm steel




Left side almost ready, probably don't need to use any bondo. Or just a tiny bit...
We'll see, just ran out of welding wire....

[Advanced Design]

Nice work on the corner. Won't need much, if any, filler. Are you going back with the same blue paint?

[RockinKees]

No, not blue.
I'm in love with this one:


I believe it's won the truck of the month contest on this board back in 2008?

I've doubted a very long time about colors, but I now go with semi gloss black and high gloss red, with some small white striping.
I'm not sure about the inside tho, thought about gloss black and only the front of the dash red.....Any input would be appreciated here!