'58 grocery getter

[nail pounder]

Picked up this spot blaster from the Tractor Supply for 10 or 12 bucks, works good but it doesn't recycle the material all that well. I finally got it cleaned up and had a break in the weather so I sprayed epoxy. I had extra paint in my gun so I sprayed the front bed panel, totally un-prepped, and that epoxy is tough stuff, and pretty much sticks to anything. About the time I was finished, Sid called and wanted me to ship him my axel, so I got to yanking out that dirty SOB.

[nail pounder]

I received Sid's axel about a week after I sent him mine. I installed it, pulled 3 leafs out of each rear spring pack and installed the drop shackles. I ended up with 3" drop in front and almost 4 in back. I think with the bed wood and tailgate installed it should be right about 4". I had pulled one leaf out of the front and got about 3/4" more but when I put it on the ground the drag link was rubbing the axel at full left lock. I could have bent the steering arm, but since my springs are pretty flat as is I ended up putting the leaf back in. Sid's axel was an easy bolt in and I would recommend it as a cost effective alternative to IFS. I did the heavily duty tie rod, both ends and also u bolts. I'm happy with new stance, just need to start thinking about tire sizes.

[LEEVON]

Lookin good!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Everything's looking so good.

I didn't mention it before but the whole inspiration for my truck was my Dad's when I was a kid (I'm 62 now, so it's been awhile! Lol). His was a '59 Fleetside longbed too. It had a 235 when he bought it - I "helped" him put in a really nice 283 and later a W engine - a 348. Ran like a scalded dog.

Really enjoying your, "Build it while it's driving" approach. The EXACT thing I did to start too and now i almost wonder if I'd be better off selling mine when its done and going back to a less flashy, more useable truck?

[Scottish58chev]

Cool truck and nice work

[nail pounder]

Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it. My boy just turned 1 on Monday, he's been following along and "helping" as well. Apparently he likes chrome also. I included a shot of him teething taken about 5 months ago on the trailer hitch of my 66. I think I posted it on the 60-66 section so you may have seen it already. Dan, your truck is sweet! I'm following it but I don't comment too often. I do enjoy working on my 58, (my daughter and I finished the 66 a few years ago) but I would love to have a professionally built one! I'm thinking you just need another to tinker on, maybe an AD or 60's? Or a tri five car to put your old torque thrusts on Last night I spent a couple hours stripping paint off my tailgate, there is something oddly relaxing about mindlessly grinding away. Wire wheel, some spot blasting, a little more polycarbide wheel and it will be ready for primer.

[OutlawDrifter]

Very cool build, teach that girl everything you can! I wish my two daughters wanted to spend time in the shop! My boys are young enough they get "bored" quickly if they aren't given constant projects to keep them busy, haha, I guess that's all part of it.

[nail pounder]

It's been a couple months since I updated. I got the Apache alignment done, the old guy said that whoever built the drop axel knew what he was doing, so high five to Nostalgia Sid's. Got the outsides of the bed stripped and epoxied.

[nail pounder]

I had an arthroscopic surgery date for December 6 to get the arthritis cleaned up on my right shoulder so I had few things to do before that. Just in case anyone is contemplating having it done I'd say go for it. I had my left done in January with great results, basically fixed my chronic pain and increased my mobility so now I'm doing the right one. Back to the truck, I need something to keep busy while my shoulder heals so I figured I'd start stripping the back of the cab. I threw a few 2x6's and some pulleys in my garage rafters and yanked the bed. Pulled the Apache out and parked the 66 under it. I won't be able to drive either one until my shoulder heals, but I got them where they need to be for a couple months. I found some rust through, Bondo and some fiberglass patch work on the passenger side cab corner but I already knew it was there. The rest doesn't look too bad but I haven't dug in yet. I'm a week out of surgery now, I figured after the stitches are removed next week I'll see how good my left hand is with a DA sander and die grinder.

[nail pounder]

Well, it's been a couple years since I posted. Life has been busy and just in case someone actually reads this thread I don't want it to be one of those with no ending, you know the kind where you wonder if they gave up, or sold a half finished project. So I'll at least bring it current. The little guy in the previous pics is 3yrs old now and he has a little brother that is 2 months old. The grocery getter is 99% done, for now. I ended up stripping everything to bare metal and epoxied it, which took months at 2hrs twice a week. While stripping paint I had plenty of time to think about the end goal, a daily driver that I wouldn't worry about. I liked the worn out paint I had on it, but yellow isn't my color. I had read dubies dirt bag truck build a few years before and I really liked the outcome, so love it, or hate it, this just turned into a faux-tina truck build.

[nail pounder]

I sprayed 2 coats Hot Rod Flatz black first, then 2 coats HRF coastal highway blue. And boy was it blue, almost a royal blue, definitely too blue . So I got out the sandpaper and got to work. I got burnt out a couple times on sanding, so during that time installed a custom audio stereo, kick speakers and woofers under the seat

[OutlawDrifter]

Looking good! Getting burned out is part of the process. After I got my '49 put together and running, I didn't go back to it for months!

[nail pounder]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Looking good! Getting burned out is part of the process. After I got my '49 put together and running, I didn't go back to it for months!

I hear ya Outlaw, sometimes I've had to step away or do something different as well.

But I kept on sanding, and sanding, and sanding. Then I got burnt out again so installed my vintage air kit. The directions have you relocate the driver's side vent cable and delete and seal up the passenger side vent because the cables are too short. I bought aftermarket throttle and choke cables and used those locations for my kick panel vents since I had abandoned those with the motor swap. The VA install was pretty straight forward, but the under dash work was mighty tight. I had to have my 15yr old daughter do most of that as my hands wouldn't fit.

[nail pounder]

Once the VA was installed I figured I do the interior. I used vinyl for both budget and durability, but I did spend extra for the custom foam seat with cupholders and pockets. I also did the headliner and sun visor. Maybe when the vinyl wears out ill spring for leather.

[nail pounder]

I'll wrap it up here. Still have a few small items on the to-do list but I'll get there eventually. In the meantime I've been driving it. Put 2000 miles on it this year (2020) already. Here's some random shots from the grocery store (where I parked next to a 55) to random jobsites.