A '54 named Busty

[Gregski]

alright the last thing for the night, was to weld a plate to the front of the horn

you know what fellas, I know it looks like death, but I am pretty proud of myself, this is the most fabin' and weldin' I have ever done did on a truck

[Gregski]

and now some glamour shots

I know things seem crooked in these pics but the truck aint exactly parked straight and I'm sorta standing to the side taking a quick pic here and there

[Gregski]

so since we already had the inner fenders off we might as well shmear some primer on them

this RUST-OLEUM Rusty Metal Primer is the best I have ever found in a rattle can, highly recommend it

[Gregski]

and the other one

[joedoh]

go man go

[Gregski]

had another productive day, tried this new RUST-OLEUM Matt Finish spray paint from Home Depot out of all places on the passenger side inner fender, I like to use the same brand paint as primer, so I did not use my favorite KRYLON paint on this piece, now I wish I did

I'm sure had I used some bondo and actually took the time to sand smooth the primer it would have been even better, but oh well, progress not perfection.

Update: (two weeks later) Later I would learn though it covered well it turned out a bit greenish, and had to be re done with the KRYLON Rust Tough Semi Flat paint after all !!!

[Gregski]

then it was time to commence the Rust Transfer Protocol aka RTP where as we transfer the rust off of the metal truck part and on to our face !

what do you all call this piece anyway?

I think the orange color on the edge in the last pic is just the sun reflecting off of it as it sets, so romantic

[Gregski]

66 years of rust reversed in 66 minutes or less

I really like the way this piece is turning out, and yes I tried to remove the latch mechanism but it was held on with SLOTTED screws (Note to Self: Go back in time and punch the assembly guy who thought this was a good idea in the neck!)

[Gregski]

I attacked the bellies of the front fenders next, starting with the passenger side, these are going to get treated to some undercoating, but first off with the rust

after wire wheeling, I like to wipe off all the loose rust dust with a liberally coated shop towel in Denatured Alcohol, unlike other cleaners, alcohol lifts the particles instead of soaking them in, and it does not leave an oily residue

after the alcohol wipe down I acid wash it, ie the last pic

[Gregski]

the driver side fender was next

doing a side by side comparison of the two sides, one original and the other with the loose rust knocked off, really helps you appreciate the effort and the difference it makes

[Gregski]

wire wheeling can expose cracks you didn't even know existed, allowing you to address them now before the fender goes back on the truck

it also presents a wonderful opportunity to hone your colorful vocabulary

[Gregski]

and before I knew it, it was 8:05 and The Greg was Pooped!

[Rusti]

Grate work on the front frame for the radiator. Cleaning those old parts is always a dirty job but the result is grate and makes you Happy.
So long
Arnd

[8man]

Front end fab work is very thought out and very nice. Looks great. Brushing and RTP is a lot of work. Good day for you.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Rusti

Grate work on the front frame for the radiator. Cleaning those old parts is always a dirty job but the result is grate and makes you Happy.
So long
Arnd

Thanks Arnd, wow all the way from across the pond, ha ha.

Fun Fact: my wife was born in Germany, her dad was in the US Air Force stationed in Greece but they flew the 9 months prego wives to Germany to give birth to their babies, fun times!

[Sevens]

Now that I have read every post...

Nice work! I like your style!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Sevens

Now that I have read every post...

Nice work! I like your style!

Thanks, I appreciate that! Took many years of frustration to get this way.

"Don't get it right, get it running!" ~ David Freiburger

[Gregski]

putting this off as long as I can today, ha ha

honestly fellers this being a Nevada truck this is the worst of it, the rest is solid, I am so happy with this truck, yes the metal is bent all over the place to you know what, but it's all surface rust and really solid

[Gregski]

so we begin with a little dirt extraction, followed by a date with the wire wheel

[Gregski]

alright, nothing to it but to do it

I've had these jumbo pipe remnants for 50 years so by golly I was going to find a use for them

the original plan of attack was to do the left side of that ridge first so that we would not loose the shape of the piece, and I honestly did not know it was all one piece

[Gregski]

so we were getting there, and then this happened

[Gregski]

in unrelated news, technically before I ranned out of wire, I also weldered up those silly turn signal holes atop the front fenders

Fact: The smaller the job, the longer it takes, am I right fellas?

[Gregski]

say hello to my little friend - R2D2

[Gregski]

Amazon $185 with tax and license, out the door - even came with three bags of walnut media (one tore in the bowl, ha ha)! Rad!

sorry about the trellis shadows

[Gregski]

lets work smarter not harder... this is the fender and grille hardware, we're going to give it a go with just plain dry walnut media

Note: you can run this thing wet somehow, haven't figured that out yet, nor what jazz to lube it with.