Ben Jammin's 1955 Chevy/GMC Project

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by watahyahknow

cleco's are temporary rivets basicly i know wat you want though , they call them buttweldingclamps :
http://www.georgia-market.com/Warner...-auto-body.asp

I've used them and they work pretty good. The biggest problem is they do leave a gap.
Harbor Freight carries them pretty cheap.
When I replaced the rear quarter on my brothers 54 I made some tabs out of 3/16" steel and just screwed the new metal on. It was a tight fit and the holes were easy to fill.
Here's a pic.
Kim

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yes, those are exactly what i meant but I wrote Clecos - DOH! See, clueless but well intended. Are you guys using those butt weld clamps or just eyeballing a small gap....seems like it wouldn't be THAT critically off by eyeballing it. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Russell Ashley]

I bought a set of those butt-weld clamps from HF thinking I would use them when I repaired the bottom of my door, but didn't use them at all. They haven't been as useful as I thought they would be. The problem is that you have to have access to both sides of the work, and the work piece has to be almost completely flat to use them. Then when you get ready to remove them you have to have some way to get the square bars that go behind the panels out.
Am I overlooking something simple? Wouldn't be the first time, LOL.

[watahyahknow]

i would think you can drill a small hole in one side of the square bar and hang some metalwire from it , then you can pull the bar out remotely , that small flat iron with metalscrews idea from kim looked pretty good too and its prolly cheaper and eazier to use

[oldman3]

Ben, finally got the time to look at your build from the start. Man you've been thru a lot, both in the build, and in personal issues. Truck is coming along nicely, will be with you till the end......Jim

[bensimmons_05]

Thanks a lot, Jim. I definitely have a LONG way to go! Life is kinda like a truck build, lots of hard work, bumps and bruises, highs and lows, some things you wish you could do over, but you still wouldn't change it for the world. For me its not getting to the finished project, it is the trip to get there... then, of course, modestly bragging about it when it is done, lol.

That is my 6:20 a.m. insight for the day!

[oldman3]

At 6:20 a.m., I turned over and snozzed till 7:30 a.m. and then got up, being retired has some rewards. Now I'm sitting here drinking my and posting ....Jim

[bensimmons_05]

Got my pitman arm on Yesterday, Got it adjusted about right. I'm a little bit worried about clearance once I have 1,000 more pounds on the springs and a big bump... I'll just have to see what it looks like then.

[57ToyBox]

Lookin good...
and that's all I have to say. I still haven't finished my coffee

[OrrieG]

Looks good but check your bumper bracket for conflict, I had to modify mine because the box covered the mounting hole. I made it so the bracket takes the place of the front steering box mounting shim between the box and frame. I will post a photo on my build.

[bensimmons_05]

Thanks for the input, I'll check that out for sure.

I'm out in the shop now, video is going if yall feel like stoppin by.

[bensimmons_05]

working on some patch panels today ↓↓↓↓

[bensimmons_05]

I have been slowly but surely welding and grining on my patch panels. Before I started welding my lower hinge pocket on I wanted to weld the lower hinge pillar. I have been using rivets to hold the pieces tight together and then welding up the holes, It seems to be working well.

[bensimmons_05]

I am still making more replacement panels where I can. They have come out good so far the best I can tell.



I have learned something new about these trucks. Early 1955 cabs had different hinge pockets than the later ones!



To make up for the difference I made a filler piece to connect the new hinge pocket panel and the piece I recreated.

[bensimmons_05]

Sometimes you just get lucky, this little piece I made fit like a glove!!



I'm really not too proud of my welding on this one, had some blowouts, got it a little too hot. I discovered my welder wasn't feeding very consistent so I adjusted it and it works SOOOOOOOO much better now!

[Russell Ashley]

"Early 1955 cabs had different hinge pockets than the later ones!"

I've wondered about that also. From pics I've seen it looks like some of the outer hinge covers were square on the bottom but mine looked like the patch panel you have.

[bensimmons_05]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

"Early 1955 cabs had different hinge pockets than the later ones!"

I've wondered about that also. From pics I've seen it looks like some of the outer hinge covers were square on the bottom but mine looked like the patch panel you have.

Yes sir, that was the difference! The ones on this cab were square at the bottom and boxed in with a flat piece of metal like the one I made.

On my other cabs they are cut out like the replacement panel, and inside is what looks like a stamped piece of metal. If anyone ever tries to redo this on mine way in the future they are going to have FUN haha!

[Kim57]

Nice job on the patches. Looks like your making good progress.
Kim

[bensimmons_05]

Thank you, Kim.

I started welding in the big piece! It is most of the way in, I wanted to get in in and lined up before I cut the cab corner off so I would have a good reference. Im planning on welding a bunch on the bottom after I finish both sides and flip the cab.





I helped my dad put a motor together and install it back into a 91 silverado this weekend so I only worked on the 55 a little bit.

[watahyahknow]

;ooks good , i would testfit the door first and check the gaps allround , you can still tweak it a bit at this stage if it needs it

[bensimmons_05]

Watahyahknow, I will definitely do that! Thanks for the input.

[bensimmons_05]

I have been dormant for a while. Buying a house and moving definitely takes up truck time!! I had some time over the Thanksgiving break and was able to do what I love to do! I moved my parts truck from my old property to the shop. I pretty much just put some hubs on the front and My Dad, Uncle, and I pushed it up on the trailer.



It is now just waiting to be used and abused.

[bensimmons_05]

I had the opportunity to work on the cab all day yesterday. What most of you could do in a matter of hours, I spent all day doing, haha.

I cut out the old cab corner and got to fitting and trimming the new one.

[bensimmons_05]

I had some dents in the area to work with, but I think it came together pretty good. I have some small spots left to weld and all of the grinding still. I am nearly complete with the passenger side. Next: Driver's side!!!

These are small victories, but it is ONE STEP CLOSER (or one corner closer in this instance)!!

[oldman3]

Ben, the cab corner looks good. I wouldn't worry about how long it takes to get it done, as long as it fits good and everything lines up. We all have our own pace (most of the time mine is slow).....Jim