Project "My Happy Mess"

[litew8]

Finished up the fresh air vents with quick shots of ZR.




Pic of the doors, a little more done. Haven't had time (or space) to finish.




Misc.




Another hint:




Saving the best for last, I thought I'd let you all get to know my crew
better. Here are pics of The Fixer and the Pit Boss

The Fixer



The Pit Boss

[wicky]

Wow didn't realize body work was so complicated ;-) lol
Posted via Mobile Device

[litew8]

wicky sup man!
I'll add color to the Pit Boss's picture later.

[litew8]

Decided to pull the OEM replacement fender out.
Wanted to see what what underneath the paint.
Had a little surprise, but not too bad


Here's what I had to start with:






Then I stuck gold! not really, it's bondo




Looks like there was a dent that was hammered out -




And then on the other side, a little more. This looks like holes
for lower trim. The fender must have either been a donor before,
or whoever owned it got rid of the lower trim and welded up the holes.






Finished off for the day. Not bad for a couple hours worth of work

[litew8]

My typing is getting a little sloppy (above post).
That's what happens when I'm tired and in a rush. Oh well.

"Wanted to see what was"
"Then I struck gold!"

---------
Took the driver's side fender out today and cleaned it up.
Found a couple more little surprises, easy fixes.

Before I started, The Fixer and I finished converting the shop's
lighting. Same bulbs used as in the blast cabinet. We estimate he'll be
using one 1/2 less power now and has a brighter coverage than before.
We're not "going green" because we think that's for sissies

2,400w [equivalent] candle power (cp)!
He had 12 4' florescent light fixtures, dual bulbs.

The Fixer finishing up -






Driver's fender in 80 degree weather! booyah!














Here are the areas that will need some attention later on.
Expect a little tutorial on how to use/apply bondo.

[bcutt]

I hope you write up a little tutorial on how to cut out rust and replace it with new metal..That last pic meeds more than Bondo...:-)
Posted via Mobile Device

[litew8]

meh, remember we're not aiming for perfection here.
It'll take another 20 years to break through
So far, throughout the entire truck, that little spot is the worst.

In this pic -



... you can see the rock chip covering along the bottom of the fender (dark brown).
We're considering redoing that along the bottom of fenders, doors and bedsides.
My driver's door had that stuff too.

[litew8]

err, sorry I need to practice waiting until after I've had my morning coffee before
replying. You're right bcutt, he's going to patch it first, then skim it with bondo.
Damn, feels like 100 degrees @ 11AM here (not global warming, which is trying to
become a global tax - more like a global scam).

Outside on a laptop, starting to clean up one of the doors a little more.

[litew8]

Got the driver's door cleaned up some more. Tip: How to get sunburned in March,
grind a 71' Chevy pickup door down to metal, at noon, under the sun.

Couple pics of the driver's door -
Since this door was previously stripped (uneven paint) and there was small, noticeable signs
of surface rust around the center, I took the paint off completely to verify it's condition.
Not bad, very small areas of surface rust... will clean up easily.






Misc.
My sister's (Patty from the Bronx) car floor mat




Who knows what this is? Hint, K&N isn't related.

[bcutt]

Its an electric driven pump to supply clean air to respirators, made by Bullard...

[litew8]

Correct! A Bullard Free-Air electric pump to be exact. Oil-less so they do not produce carbon monoxide, oil vapor or oil mist. Doesn't need CO monitors, temperature alarms, airline filters, or complicated calibration equipment.

AIR FLOW: 10 cfm at 5 psig. Supplies air to one, or two workers wearing continuous-flow,
supplied-air half or full face mask respirators, or one worker wearing a continuous-flow,
supplied-air hood or helmet style respirator.

Open drip-proof motor drive, for use in clean, dry areas.
Inlet Filter: Medium efficiency, keeps particles larger than 25 microns out of the air supply.
Inlet filter can be extended up to 300 feet from the pump
Outlet Filter: Carbofine with activated carbon
Weight: 49 lbs.
Dimensions: 8” wide x 16.3” long x 13.5” high.

Was a demo unit, got at 1/2 price. I believe it to be industrial grade.
Do you know anything about these bcutt?

[mightymouse]

hey litew8 , looking good .

[litew8]

Thanks Johnny! Got more pics to post up tonight.

[mightymouse]

Originally Posted by litew8

Thanks Johnny! Got more pics to post up tonight.

cool i really like pics, need more pics

[litew8]

Since the majority of work is done to the doors and fenders, I decided to spend
some time tackling the front end panel. Besides the tailgate, it's the last large
panel to clean up.

God help us all, I'm glad I don't have to do all this to the bedsides.

Here's what we have to start with. Outlined are the two worst areas needing
attention. They're dents. At one time early on, I thought about leaving them
for character - but we'll clean them up instead.




The factory grease pen markings. Sad to see them go
They were never seen anyway since they face the back of the cab,
and at least I've got pictures to archive the find.






OK, back to work -








Uncovered a little something special. If you ever want to know if your
front end panel is OE, look for this stamping on both ends of the panel.
I can't make out what it is, if it's symbol or two numbers. They're the same
on either end. If I remember right, my doors have this too. I think I took pics,
I'll have to look later.




Finishing up for the day, got all I need done, done.

[litew8]

Correction: I misspoke about the lighting earlier.

"2,400w [equivalent] candle power (cp)!
He had 12 4' florescent light fixtures, dual bulbs."

Actually, he had 15 4' florescent light fixtures, dual bulbs (30 total),
and was replaced with 15 DayLight florescents. They produce a very Nice, natural light.



3,000w [equivalent] candle power!
He says at night, the garage "glows" like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation house.

[litew8]

A little more info on the pump. Being a demo unit, The Fixer says it
would have been used during sales presentations, etc... Not a unit that sat
on the shelf. They'd most likely demonstrate it's low maintenance and show
how to disassemble to replace the carbon vanes after they've worn. In the
picture below, you can see the 4 carbon vanes. Looking to the ones directly
to the left and top, you can see how they don't sit flush with the drum,
indicating very little wear. I'd imagine they'd wear completely down to near
nothing if allowed. A rep. for the company, when asked, said she had, recently, a
customer needing repair after 15 years of use!

Since it isn't going to be used constantly, we should be good for a LONG while

4 carbon vanes shown. Centrifugal force pushes them to the outer wall,
which I think then pushes air out through to the low pressure air line, out the mask.
I also got GREAT deals on masks. May post them later.




Needs a little cleaning









Misc. hint #3

[litew8]

Brand New $400 Professional Full-Face Airline Respirator Masks.
I scored for $50/$100! One to be used as a backup.

You cannot find this one anymore!
From 1995, brand new, never used Got it from an aviation outfit.




Brand new, never used.
This one retails for $3/400! Got for $50 bucks!




They connect to this 1/2, low pressure hose that connects to
the Bullard Free-Air pump -





Did a little more cleaning on the driver's door today. Not a lot, just cleaning
up the little I missed the other day. Tomorrow, maybe hit the pass. door a
little more. We're not in any rush, so it's easy going. Besides, I'm the only
one doing the grunt work so far








Okay, no more hints. Here's the 1965 Harley-Davidson M50 Scooter!
Made in Italy, which I think the plant is still in use today.






Here's what it should look like restored:

50cc 2-Stroke by Aermacchi



-----
I know none of the sanding/grinding pics are exciting and everyone wants
to see PAINT! We're getting there

[litew8]

1965 aermacchi harley davidson M50 restored by...

[litew8]

Way too many pictures update!

Brought the pass. door back out today and finished cleaning it up.
For those of you secretly asking yourselves "where's that bad ass tailgate
at that litew8 scored a while back?" - you'll be overwhelmed (and possibly
disappointed) with the footage taken today

Shots of the door finished up -










Okay, lets cut to the chase. Remember the nice OEM $100 tailgate I found
back in August of 2011 (THANK YOU TODD of Madrid, IA!) - that was
stored in a barn since the early 70's - after being taken off for a camper
installation? It's finally getting some attention!














































And then the news. Found this -






Okay, now some GREAT news! Look what I scored on fleabay!
SUPER nice OEM AM radio for $35 bucks + FM converter included!
No pitting, clean! I've got custom deluxe knobs in route too.




And over the course of the week, I bought an OEM spare tire holder too,
(thanks DSALRAM!) that I'll mount on the inside of the bed - behind driver.
It'll blast/clean up to NOS quality nicely.






Last, but not least - picture puzzle. Name that year!

[litew8]

More pics!

Sorry all, I know I'm showcasing my tailgate too heavy, but the more I
clean it, the more I like what I see! Desperately needed, and found
for 100 bucks, you'd be happy too

You know you've got authentic quality when you can see original seam
sealer, in tact - on the tailgate's bottom end no less!




Cleaned up some more. It's damn hard to shoot clean, shiny, tough, quality
1969 U.S.A. steel and have it show good to the camera! These pictures
don't do it justice I tell ya!












Pit Boss picture puzzles. Name these locations.










Not sure what this is, but I'm going to post them in the Vintage picture thread -
unless someone tells me it isn't vintage

[litew8]

Couple more hours on the tailgate today.
The Fixer suggests we paint the letters by hand like they did back
in the day. We'd hit it first with the primary color (white), then paint the letters -
I think, we haven't discussed it much at all.

[litew8]

Removed the current radio - nice clean original paint, all in tact!
Hooked up the radio I got and FM converter - both work good.
May not install them both any time soon, we'll see.




Worked on the tailgate a little more also -






Question:
The Fixer wanted me to ask everyone, should he conceal the spot
welds on the tailgate, or should he leave them like factory. He says they
will show through (the indentation) over time, after being painted.




He isn't spending time on my truck, but is getting ready for April showers -

[litew8]

Forgot to mention, the factory/stock speaker still works!
Never been hooked up since I've owned the truck.

[litew8]

Radio update. Knobs for the radio were standard/black. The power/volume knob was busted off along the bottom during shipping. Seller is willing to give me a 10% credit on the purchase.