Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[Clarance J]

Hello Dan. Just an attempt at humor here. Maybe you could make a commercial for Rustoleum and help finance parts for your truck. My choice of color is in the yellow spectrum. I use a bunch of that paint brand myself. It works for me. Now when ever I go to the store to buy more paint I'll see your truck. Its turning out real nice.

[focusedontheprize]

Originally Posted by Clarance J

Hello Dan. Just an attempt at humor here. Maybe you could make a commercial for Rustoleum and help finance parts for your truck. My choice of color is in the yellow spectrum. I use a bunch of that paint brand myself. It works for me. Now when ever I go to the store to buy more paint I'll see your truck. Its turning out real nice.

Haha Clarance J I found this actually pretty funny. I always get a kick out of going to Home Depot and grabbing these cans by the cart full. Dan I am thinking you and I could do the commercial - one for a Task Force and one for an AD. I'll be honest, on my '49 I am putting together I used Rustoleum for a ton of it (frame, parts, interior, etc) and I think it is good stuff.

Funny what else we have bought at Home Depot/Lowes for our trucks. Just snagged that ducting I am going to use for sound deadner in the cab. "How many pipes are you looking to cover sir?" Eh well buddy it is actually the whole inside of a truck....haha
Posted via Mobile Device

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Clarance. I'm under no illusion that Rustoleum is an automotive level paint - it's clearly not. But I think it's a very good paint for the DIY'er like me while I'm putting my truck together and before I (eventually) blow it all apart for its final paint - yes, I know it will have to be stripped to bare metal. But it would have anyway.

[Kim57]

Looking good.
I'm happy with the Rustoleum on my frame so far. Hopefully it lasts longer than me.
Kim

[Clarance J]

Hello again Dan. I'd like to apologize to you for that remark I made. It was dumb and I apologize.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Clarance J

Hello again Dan. I'd like to apologize to you for that remark I made. It was dumb and I apologize.

Ha ha...no need. I knew you were joking. Hell, if I COULD get... well, any company to pay me to endorse a product in exchange for money to work on my truck I'd probably say ANYthing!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yeah, I admit to using more rattle can stuff than I probably should by some guys standards. By MY standards, I'm doing this truck a solid! Lol. It was totally neglected and pounded on for decades.

It'd probably have been headed for the crusher soon if I'd not come along and dropped some serious coin (for my budget) on fixing all the electrical, fluids, filters, belts, hoses, plugs, Pertronix, rims & tires, yada, yada.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Dan in Pasadena]

Pix upcoming.

Today I did a bunch of small stuff. Removed signals (they're trashed) and headlights/buckets. Wire wheeled those and gave them the Rustoleum "treatment" - red oxide primer and semi gloss black in & out.

Used OOO steel wool on the pecky headlight trim rings, then chrome polish. I'm gonna have to get new signals & lenses, gaskets for them & the headlight buckets. The rubber grommets into the buckets were hard as rock. Gotta be replaced then I'll have to splice in the sockets. But I may just get new ones as the leads are also rock hard.

Inside my fenders looks like ass but they probably lasted with no rust-through because it looks like someone undercoated in there a loong time back. Peeling now, but saved the metal. Gonna TRY a 3M wheel or wire wheel on it. If it come off clean? Rust Reformer followed by....wait for it....Rustoleum rubberized undercoating! Lol.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Clarance J]

Yeah, last year I bought the large family size box of yada-yada and am still paying for it. That stuff sure adds up fast. But ya gotta do it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

I'm currently contemplating the "large family size box" of suspension parts.

Here's some pix of today's work:

She got stripped down and got some face paint. Oregano is the color.


An example of how EVERYTHING under my truck looks in it's "BEFORE" condition:


AFTER :

[Clarance J]

Hello Dan. I just recently put my head light stuff back into the fenders along with the park lights. I have to work on the bezels some because I don't like the way they fit. Just a little tweeking to do. I'm glad that there was'nt more rust damage on your truck. After all these years so many of these trucks are quite a problem in that area. I've enjoyed reading your posts and up dates.

[Clarance J]

Wow. I had'nt seen your bezels. They did clean up real nice. I like yours better than mine. They were painted white.

[Dan in Pasadena]

The headlight trim rings are pecky, but not TOO bad for a weekend driver:

Before:


After:


Can't exactly see them, but there are much heavier "pecks" under the eyebrow of the trim ring:

[Chevette]

Nice "bright work", Dan. That buffed up real good.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks. But if you look at the top one you can see its pecked to hell. Bugs me cause all it would have taken to keep that from happening would have been to polish them like one a year or three!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Clarance.

Once I got the headlight buckets out I reached my hand up into the eyebrow area expecting to find lumps of Bondo! But I lucked out. It was dirty but totally solid.

When I put them back in I'm gonna (blindly) hand sand in there, wipe clean and (again) blindly spray Rust Reformer in there. Couldn't hurt, I figure. I'm also contemplating scrubbing the remnants of undercoating out of the wheel well and using the Rstu Reformer/re-Undercoating.

[Kim57]

The parts are coming out real nice.
Kim

[Baldeagle SR]

I read your hole thread the other night. It is amasing what a little money and a hole bunch of elbo grease can do,
Where did you get your mileage numbers from on your speedometer? Mine are bad too. Thanks Rich

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi Rich,

I think I got them from Tucker's. if I remember the website is tuckersparts.com.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Clarance J]

Hello Dan. Have you said or decided what color your 55 is going to be finished in? Looking forward to the finished product.

[Dan in Pasadena]

No, I go around and around thinking about color. Originally I fully intended to use red. Trite, but for a reason...a lot of people like red, myself included. Later I thought orange. I THINK I've moved on from it though.

I only started with green primer was cause EVERYONE had flat black, gray or red oxide. I liked it, the interior was terrible so I decided to echo the green primer. Now? I've thought of the little Fiat 500 light green. A stock green. But long term? Who knows.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Dan in Pasadena]

Just as an aside, I scored a used Lokar 16" floor shifter for my TH350 today for less than half the $235 Summit & Jegs has them for.

It'll go in soon IF its not too involved an installation. I already have a new tranny cover. Mine's thrashed.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oops, I was wrong. The Lokar shifter is a 23" - all the better.

Dropped into The Truck Shop in Orange, CA today....and of course I ended up picking up "a few more things" than I planned.

Then I came home and actually got a few things done!

Reinstalled the grill and apron beneath it (I guess its called), installed new headlight sockets, grommets and headlight-bucket-to-fender gaskets. I also bought new signal housings & lenses. Mine were rusted out after 58 years. The lenses were cloudy and basically fell apart when I removed them.

So the front end - with the exception of the hood latch panel that will be mounted tomorrow - is all back together. If I can find more of the Rustoleum satin Oregano I will spray the hood and possibly the front fenders.

Pic's coming shortly.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Here it is before this afternoon's work:


AFTER this afternoon's work:


The chrome paint looks a bit better in the photo than it does in person.

[hsdropout]

Looks good Dan, Before looks kinda sad and after.....it looks happy.
These old trucks are kinda like dogs..........you just gotta give them a little love and they are happy.
Good score on the Lokar shifter. It should work well.