Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.

[Groyd]

Thanks for the help.

[Clay54]

Groyd, what did you do with the old doors. I need a driver side door. Not sure a 51 door will fit my 54 - I'm sure someone will tell us.

Will PM you. Clay

[Groyd]

I've been working like a dog and not a lot to show for it. I spent all day yesterday cutting off the cab mounts and lowering them 2", then replaced the rear end with a '98 blazer 4X4.



I picked up a brake pedal assembly from an '89 S-10 and cut it down to fit under my dash. I still have to get the booster and master cylinder (they came from the blazer) all bolted down. I was just making sure it would fit.



There's not quite enough length on the arm from the booster. I guess I'll just have to lengthen it about 1-2".



I took the bed apart and had it media blasted. There are a ton of dents and dings that I've been trying to Bondo and sand on. I just put it temporarily back together.

[bobinbc]

That looks really good, you are 95% of the way there. Unless you know a good bodyshop that does custom work for free, I would come back to this later to clean it up yourself. You'll be surprised how much easier the finishing will seem to be after you do a bunch of other bodywork on the truck. I think it looks AWESOME!
2 things to remember: (1) NO car or truck is perfect, nice yes, close yes, but not perfect. Any goood body guy or painter knows this.
(2) You can't see both sides of the truck at the same time, so even if they don't turn out exactly the same it will never be noticed

[Spackle100]

Looks pretty darn good to me. 3 hours per side sounds about right IMO. But hey, at least you know a thing or two about welding now

[Kabwe]

Man it looks good, good work keep it going.

Originally Posted by bobinbc

(1) NO car or truck is perfect, nice yes, close yes, but not perfect. Any good body guy or painter knows this.

What I wish someone would have told me this before I started I would have been done by now.

[hotrodrookie]

I’d say the tunneling job looks pretty slick. I agree with Bob, why take them to a body shop after all that work you put into them for a little bondo and sanding. And because you mentioned it about the welding, you’re right about the thousands of tacks but I would try and avoid running any continuous beads on sheet metal. I like to turn the heat up when using the tack method because the initial penetration of the "hot" tack is more than if you were running a bead on the normal setting. I would also suggest picking up a bottle of shielding gas and solid core wire for your mig if you can, makes a world of difference.

[hotrodrookie]

If the die grinder takes off too much material, a sander like this would probably be more controllable. Sure its harbor freight but for little stuff like this it would be a cheap investment, throw in a 20% off coupon and it's even cheaper.

and dont forget to pick up some flap wheels too...

[Tri5Nerd]

One quick thing I noticed is that you should remove the paint around the material you're going to weld, I use a flap disc or wire wheel to clean then weld but sometimes I tend to forget to do it.

Tri5

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by Tri5Nerd

One quick thing I noticed is that you should remove the paint around the material you're going to weld, I use a flap disc or wire wheel to clean then weld but sometimes I tend to forget to do it.

Tri5

Yeah I assumed he was doing that. Clean rust free metal is what you should weld. I clean both sides when possible.

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by hotrodrookie

If the die grinder takes off too much material, a sander like this would probably be more controllable. Sure its harbor freight but for little stuff like this it would be a cheap investment, throw in a 20% off coupon and it's even cheaper.

and dont forget to pick up some flap wheels too...

Groyd, man what a good list of tools these guys have shown. You should be able to take care of that little ridge you are concerned about with any one of them. You have done a good job with the tunnels - looks great.

In the meantime, I am going to HF tomorrow and see if I can find out what the heck is hanging off the end of that sander pictured above. Clay

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by Clay54

In the meantime, I am going to HF tomorrow and see if I can find out what the heck is hanging off the end of that sander pictured above. Clay

Basically it is a die grinder with an attatchment for a mini belt sander on the head of it.

[MrDude_1]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Basically it is a die grinder with an attatchment for a mini belt sander on the head of it.

i am not positive what im going to use it for, but that tool looks so cool, im going to go buy one today..

before i bought my 51, i never went to harbor freight this much before.. now, im there atleast a couple times a month. their cheap but effective cutoff wheels, flap discs, cheap grinders, etc.. have been invaluable in getting my truck project going.

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Basically it is a die grinder with an attatchment for a mini belt sander on the head of it.

Well, I made my monthly trek to HF this afternoon and found this gizwiz. The air unit and the belt sander are sold as one. If you look it up on the HF website, 97055, they are on back order and priced at $24.99. At my store, there are 4 (four) on the shelf priced at $24.99. Will get my 20% coupon and go back tomorrow. Thought you might like to know. Clay

[Groyd]

Thanks for all the compliments and advice. I've never heard of 90% of the tools you guys just showed me. I'll look into them later this week. Thanks again.

-MG

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice job on those tail lamps! They look excellent for a beginner.

I really like using the small flap wheels on a die grinder for shaping and smoothing steel, wood, body filler, or what ever. You can use them on something else and try to shape it the way you want and then use it for your hard to get places. Here are some online. I get mine at the local body supply warehouse.

http://www.thefind.com/hardware/info-1-inch-flap-wheel

[nickp51chevy]

Nice build. Keep it up!

[kustombrad]

Not sure I would do that, being that is the most important part of your whole baby! I would cut the rod, find some tubing that has the same inside diameter. I would make the tubing overlap an 1" on each side, weld it up good and even if 1 weld broke, you could still stop the truck! Just me thinking overkill!
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[franky69c10]

Nice build
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[Mike Bradbury]

Great progress for a first timer.

I would agree that you really should look around and find the right part for your braking system. You don't want to find out in a panic stop if your welds hold or not.

[BlueJeep]

I'd cut the rod and lengthen it with a piece the same diameter.

[OrrieG]

I'm with bluejeep. You can also put on an exterior sleeve for extra strength. Those washers will flex over time.

[Thadious]

Two things I refuse to cut and splice... Brake systems and steering systems.... all others are fair game!

I would seriously consider rethinking the double washer idea... if you had to... lay it out on a piece of 1/4" plate and drill and cut the part out... no joints, no welds... and always overbuild... you have no idea how much stomp pressure you'll put on that in an emergency or fatigue failure over time...

Something else to consider... that rod isn't supported and will flex up and down given the opportunity... with a connector such as that, it will rotate up or down as that rod flexes and you won't get the horizontal push on the booster you're looking for.

Better safe than sorry!

My 2 cents...
Ted.

PS If you are using the S10 brake booster and the S10 pedal and support... it should bolt right up!

[BC Toy chest]

Looks good

[Kabwe]

The truck is really looking good man.