Bkndsdls' 64 Build - 9+ years strong

[Captainfab]

Be careful blasting with a big compressor like that so as to not warp the sheetmetal. Keep a good distance between the nozzle and the sheetmetal, and /or turn the PSI down when you are on the larger flat pieces. You may already know this, but I thought I should say something just in case. OH and also make sure you wear a good respirator. If you have a choice don't use silica sand.....just don't want to see you ruin your truck or your health.

[Bkndsdl]

Thanks, Fab. I will definitely be turning the pressure down and staying quite a bit away from the surface......

As far as a respirator, I am getting one at work today with several new cartridges. Can't be too careful!

[Bkndsdl]

........ the heat wave and drought going on, and it's gonna rain on the weekend I decide to do something on the truck...........

I did get one inner fender prepped for blasting by scraping the undercoat off. At least something got done....

[Bkndsdl]

Finally got the cab rusting areas blasted and primed. Didn't get as much as I wanted to get done, but I was able to at least get the cab done. I also got one step and one of the kick panels done. It was HOT.

[Bkndsdl]

I was able to finally get the cab dolly done. Mine is made of 2x2x1/4" angle and 10" inflatable casters. I had to use the big casters because it has to roll over grass.......

Here's a full side shot. The cab is able to be almost totally enclosed by the tarp now; the boat trailer I was keeping the cab on made it hard to get the tarp secured with bungees.



Here's a front shot; as you can see, I have plenty of room underneath to get to what I need to, and also it's very easy to put the bungees on the tarp.



Here's the fixed caster; two of these out back. I made a pad of 1/4" steel, laid the caster holes out, drilled the holes on the drill press and welded the pad to the frame.



Here's the swivel caster. Same process to attach. The front two swivel, so I can move it around the yard.



Here's a shot of the underside; you can see the angle frames that hold the cab up. I placed these directly under the cab mounting holes; I plan on welding a flatbar pad on top of the angle so I can run a bolt through the cab mounting holes and the flatbar pad to secure it to the frame.



I have an old trailer tongue that I am going to attach to the front so I can hook it to the lawn mower and move it around. I'll make the tongue removable so I can take it out of the way if I need to. I moved it here by pushing it; it rolls really easy, but I want to be able to move it with the mower (yes, lazy).

Next up, I hope to get the cab supported inside so I can complete the sheetmetal repairs.

[Bkndsdl]

I was able to get some stuff done this weekend on the cab dolly. Here's a full front shot, with the cab suspended with a landscape timber and my engine hoist.



Because of the fact that I'm working in the yard and can't get a level surface, I have to be able to level the cab out each time I move it to work on it. Here's the forward cab mounting area; I used the existing cab mounting holes.



Here is a shot of the pads that I welded to the top of the vertical angles that support the cab. These holes line up with the original cab mounting holes.



Here's a shot of the bottom of the jack system, where the allthread goes through the holes in the pads. I'll use the nuts to jack up the cab, then tighten them down once I have it in place and leveled.

[Bkndsdl]

Well, I have finally finished my shrinker/stretcher stand......I got the shrinker/stretcher for Father's Day and just now got the stand finished. I'll post pics later.

[Bkndsdl]

I've been wanting to stop by a somewhat-close neighbor to a friend of mine who has a 66 he's working on.....only thing is, he's got a fence with a 'BEWARE OF DOG' sign, and every time I run by there it's been closed and locked. Well, this last weekend, lo and behold the gate was unlocked and open, and the guy was working on his truck. I was able to score some cowl corners in awesome shape he had, paid $25 for a pair! Not only got a score on parts, but made another contact. Awesome!

[Bkndsdl]

Here's my Shrinker/Stretcher stand I made. I used scrap steel to make it. It's foot-operated. It works really well.

[McMurphy]

Man, the work on your truck is cool enough as it is, but I have to admit, I keep looking in not only to see your progress, but to look at what you have built next!

So far the wife and I have been posted to the deep south twice now, and both in Alabama and Louisiana, finding parts for old rigs like this is hard. Then if you do find a part, the old guy wants more for it than what it would cost to get a repop sent to you. The other frustrating experience I have had down there is the extended wait for things and the string of excuses you get. I waited a month for a BOP 350 trans from a yard, and the excuses I got each week were...
1) We tore into the first one for you but it was shot, so we are started on another.
2) We were sent the wrong parts for this tranny.
3) My tranny guy was in the ER with his wife all night.
4) My tranny guy went hunting this weekend instead of coming to work.

After the 3rd week I started asking around and discovered the guy was notorious for this behaviour so I got one through a different route.
2 days after I had my tranny installed the first guy called to say my tranny was ready, I said, "Oh great! I am on my way!!" and hung up.

In my 4 years experience of trying to work on classics in the south I have to say it is the hardest place in the US to do this sort of stuff, so totally hats off to you sir!

[Bkndsdl]

Thanks McMurphy. I do the best I can.............Building things to work on my truck is satisfying for me....keeps my mind off of how long it's taking to get the truck back on the road!

I have to agree that getting parts for anything old down here is tough....everything I find seems to be in worse shape than what I have, or it's out of my pay scale; although I can imagine parts are pretty hard to come by at the North Pole too!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Bkndsdl

Thanks McMurphy. I do the best I can.............Building things to work on my truck is satisfying for me....keeps my mind off of how long it's taking to get the truck back on the road!

I have to agree that getting parts for anything old down here is tough....everything I find seems to be in worse shape than what I have, or it's out of my pay scale; although I can imagine parts are pretty hard to come by at the North Pole too!

Luckily North Pole is only the name of the town I live in at this time. We are actually about 160 miles south of the Arctic Circle still. I dont know about Alabama, but Louisiana passed an ordinance a few years ago that caused all the bone yards to crush the majority of their classics stock. So that made it even harder still.

I totally feel for you though! Keep it up, when you get bogged down just hang out on the site a bit, other members here will help keep you motivated!

[Bkndsdl]

AWESOME!!! Just found out I won my Nascar Fantasy League, $200!!! Thanks Kyle Busch and Jimmy Johnson for choking!!!!!

[Alan's Classic]

Nice work on the cab dolly and shrinker stretcher stand. edit: I forgot, congrats on the win.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Bkndsdl

AWESOME!!! Just found out I won my Nascar Fantasy League, $200!!! Thanks Kyle Busch and Jimmy Johnson for choking!!!!!

extra $200 does not suck!
Cha-Ching !!

Congrats!

[Bkndsdl]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Nice work on the cab dolly and shrinker stretcher stand.

Thanks Alan. I saw one at Harbor Freight and took some pics, did some things a bit different but it's pretty much the same. All I have left to do is add the foot pads and paint it. I am lucky enough to work somewhere that has plenty of scrap material......just gotta dig some of it out of the dirt.

edit: I forgot, congrats on the win.

extra $200 does not suck! Cha-Ching !!

I am pretty stoked about the $200........I was dead last out of 20 people after the first race of the season.

[Bkndsdl]

Well, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I ended up smoking a 23lb turkey........turned out ok, I guess. Other than that it was pretty uneventful, which is good for my family......

I had a pretty productive day yesterday, despite not being able to rent the compressor. They had all of them rented out and won't have any back until Monday, so maybe this weekend I can rent it.

I got the gauge cluster and steering column out of my original truck, and got the foot pedals welded to the shrinker/stretcher stand. Not the best looking, but it'll do the job.



The only other thing I want to add to this is a set of casters that will allow me to tilt this over and push it around where I need it.......this thing is a bear to move.

[Bkndsdl]

Here are the cowl corners I scored......they even had two good emblems. Minor surface rust and a few dents/dings that won't be too bad.



As you can see from this shot, they are in awesome shape!

[Bkndsdl]

I got the casters mounted to the shrinker/stretcher stand. I bought some el cheapo HF casters.



I mounted them to a piece of 1/4" flatbar and welded that assembly to the bottom of the stand. the wheels don't touch the ground when it's stationary....



.....and when you tilt it over, the wheels contact the ground and you can move it where you want, then simply tilt it back over to set it down.



Nothing fancy, but it works.

[McMurphy]

I know from experience, sometimes good is good enough!

Rock on !!

[Bkndsdl]

All painted up.

[Bkndsdl]

Regretfully, I have sold my truck.

I couldn't stand the sight of it rotting in front of my eyes. With no shop and no $$$ I decided it was best to let it go to someone who could make use of it.

Thanks for all your support and helpful information.

[Liz]

closed at OP request