Nik's 62 build

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by Chevy Fleetside

Nice going. Where I live there are not many people here building stuff. Just buying new. I am trying to get my son into building a truck for himself. He is only 13 so we have a few years to get it done. I have an extra short bed truck for him. Nice thing is I have some rust free parts including a cab and doors so it makes it easy.

Thanks, Im not just building everything because it's cheaper but also for the learning experience and just the fun of it. That sounds great with your son, make sure to get him involved with your truck so he gets motivated to build his own. I am forever grateful that my dad started me out young working on his cars, it has made me the person I am today. If I wasn't into old cars I don't know what my life would be like or what I would do with all my time. If your son does start to build a truck make sure that you make a build thread on here so we can all watch his progress.

[62stepside longbox]

Made some more progress on the cab corner today. Cut out the rust and got the new panel welded in and took the welds down. Still more to be done on it but it's starting to take shape

[Chevy Fleetside]

Here he is around 9. I let him put the stickers on my valve covers that day.

[62stepside longbox]

Looks to me like he already has the bug. I can see another project truck in your future

[TJ's Chevy]

Bracket came out Nice bud!

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Bracket came out Nice bud!

Thanks bud! I'm pretty pleased with it myself

[62stepside longbox]

Didn't get much done on the truck today but my dad and I got his satellite ready for spring by putting in a new distributor and new poly urethane front suspension bushings and stiffening up the lower control arms. Also lowered the torsion bars down a bit.

[Palf70Step]

[BFoley]

Cab corner looks great. Out of curiosity, do you use a 120v welder or a 220v? I am kicking around getting a 120v to do some body work and am wondering if it would be worth it.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Thanks bill

Originally Posted by BFoley

Cab corner looks great. Out of curiosity, do you use a 120v welder or a 220v? I am kicking around getting a 120v to do some body work and am wondering if it would be worth it.

Thanks Ben, I use a Lincoln 140 (110 volts) and it is more than enough for bodywork and I can weld up to 1/4" steal with good penetration. A 220 would only be necessary if you are going to be welding lots of 1/4" or thicker.

[62stepside longbox]

These dust shields or whatever they're called that go under the cab corner on stepsides were very bend up but they had next to no rust. Here's before

[62stepside longbox]

And 15 minutes later of hammering and grinding and they are nice and straight

[62stepside longbox]

Today I worked on getting the shifter in the correct location so it won't hit the seat when down-throwing. I removed the shifter and cut it to a rabbet so that the two peices overlap. Then I drilled a hole and put a bolt through it then welded it all up. When cutting and welding I had to take breaks a lot and put water on it so that the plastic parts of the shifter didn't get too hot. Then I through some paint on it, greased it up and put it back in

[60chevyjim]

shifter looks good , have you done the wheel well on second fender ?
any luck with the intake gasket ?

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by 60chevyjim

shifter looks good , have you done the wheel well on second fender ?
any luck with the intake gasket ?

Thanks, no I haven't got around to the other fender as I've been taking a break from all the sheet metal work. As for the intake I'm waiting on a new gasket from the U.S. That should be better quality.

[BFoley]

Looking great. Are you planning on doing all of your own body work as well? Just wondering how you would go about prepping/working the cab corner. Do you primer, filler, primer, paint or filler, primer, paint?

[TJ's Chevy]

Looks nice!

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by BFoley

Looking great. Are you planning on doing all of your own body work as well? Just wondering how you would go about prepping/working the cab corner. Do you primer, filler, primer, paint or filler, primer, paint?

Thanks Ben, yes I am doing all the bodywork myself. I use filler at first then sand that down until the high spots in the metal reveal themselves then I do a very thin coat of filler if needed then sand downthen I move to the primer process, I spray with primer and then sand it to see if there is no more high or low spots. Once I know there's no high or low spots I use a product that is like self etching primer. I spray a coat down then hit it with high grit sandpaper and sand until I can just start to see the layer underneath. Then I spray some regular primer on and I'm ready for paint. Its and extremely time consuming process. I'm sure there are easier ways of doing it but I want it done right. You know what they say, " a paint job is 90% prep and 10% actual paint.

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Looks nice!

Thanks tj

[65sub]

Nice work as usual Nik. The purple lights are cool too.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by 65sub

Nice work as usual Nik. The purple lights are cool too.

Thank you Dale, I should have it ready to hit the road in a month or so

[rusty76]

Boy everything is looking great dude.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Boy everything is looking great dude.

Thanks rusty.

Today I focused on my hood plane, I pulled it off to find the part number on the underside. It shows to be off of a 53 Oldsmobile. I also noticed that there is a copper plating under the chrome, maybe part of the process of chrome plating?

[62stepside longbox]

Then I sandblasted it and did lots of sanding. It's now ready for paint

[Classic v6 GMC's]

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

Then I sandblasted it and did lots of sanding. It's now ready for paint

Looks cool!!

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by 60chevyjim

are you going to prime it to fill in the pits before you paint it ..

Yes that is my exact plan

Originally Posted by Classic v6 GMC's

Looks cool!!

Thanks!