Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[dug224]

Went ahead and cut off the back of the bed floor with my cordless DeWalt jig saw using a 4" metal cutting blade. Quick and pretty accurate. Well, as accurate as you can be going up and down the ribs in the bed floor. The blue line was NOT the cut line. It represents the raised inside face of the tailgate. Pulled everything tight with ratchet straps and took a look at the tailgate gaps which all look pretty good. Will not be using the factory tailgate chains. Hope to use some sort of the latching system inside the bed that won't scratch the paint.

Last picture is the likely location for the gas door. Looks like plenty of room in the bedside and the Trailblazer gas tube is basically already there. Will probably look for a smaller door with more sheet metal around it so I can cover up the entire stamped area behind the tub. May still try to work it out in the filler panel below the bed floor at the tailgate but there does not appear to be enough pitch.

[Kim57]

Looking good.
Kim

[ricott]

I love the stance of your truck in Post 444, the third and fourth pictures. The canyon carver look in these old trucks screams HOT ROD. You are killing it on the bed rebuild - and I know mine will be a lot easier since an engineer has done all the heavy lifting.

Ricky

[dug224]

Originally Posted by ricott

I love the stance of your truck in Post 444, the third and fourth pictures. The canyon carver look in these old trucks screams HOT ROD. You are killing it on the bed rebuild - and I know mine will be a lot easier since an engineer has done all the heavy lifting.

Ricky

Me too!...which is why I have a pair of new/used tires on my buy list. Post 444 is the photo of the truck with same tires front and back. In this phase, the "heavy lifting" is being done by a beginner art student. Headed out to the wrecking yard today to see what tires he has in stock.

[58-GMC]

Your truck is looking great!

[dsraven]

truck is looking great. lots done in short order. it is nice to have those previous paint lines to go by for lining things up with the naked eye i bet. great idea with the string afterwards so you know it is good and not out of whack side to side either. will you be moving the wheels back in the rear do you think? smaller tire to compensate instead? leave it like it is?
curious minds........
haven't had time to look at mine for a bit. grandkids (2 within a month) and kids selling and buyng houses. mt old trailer is getting a workout, like my old back is.......
keep up the great work. you'll be done in no time.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

truck is looking great. lots done in short order. it is nice to have those previous paint lines to go by for lining things up with the naked eye i bet. great idea with the string afterwards so you know it is good and not out of whack side to side either. will you be moving the wheels back in the rear do you think? smaller tire to compensate instead? leave it like it is?
curious minds........
haven't had time to look at mine for a bit. grandkids (2 within a month) and kids selling and buyng houses. mt old trailer is getting a workout, like my old back is.......
keep up the great work. you'll be done in no time.

You and I are living the same life in a parallel universe. Kids, grand kids, houses, kid's rental houses.....
I don't intend to move the wheels at this time. I have pushed the bed sides as far as they will go forward and I am comfortable with the rear tire space. If, when I am "finished", I don't like it, I will downsize the rear tires which I may do anyway if I run across a pair.

[dug224]

Kim57 & 58-GMC...Thanks! If everyone knew how much fun this is there would be a law against it!

[dug224]

Decided to test a handy tip I learned from one of you brilliant guys on this build site which is to heat gun old bondo. Said it would come right off and it DOES. No dust and it goes really fast. So, I decided to test a suspicious spot on the tailgate. Not sure how you can damage a tailgate like this and not bend it. Its as straight as an arrow. They basically stuffed the tailgate with newspaper, pushed the loose metal segment into the gate and floated it out with bondo. A new tailgate may have been cheaper than the bondo used. Anyway, did not discover the newsaper until it caught on fire. Would have take a shot of it but was busy putting it out. Based on the newspaper, tried to determine what date the repairs where made but it was too late. Looks like I have another surprise area at the bottom of the gate. Also tested the heat gun on the bed side bullets. YIKES. The passenger side bullet is in about 0.5" nearly the entire length. I keep telling my self that the good news is that there is no rust!!! I'll be re-reading the "Bumping Metal" book I bought based on Ricott's suggestion.

Trimmed the bed front top rail and started fitting it. Photo shows it on the inside of the bed which is where it will ultimately be but a good bit lower. If I put it on the other side of the bed, it hits the cab. Since I will probably be using some sort of spray on bed liner, I will probably spot weld the rail and use seam sealer to make the gaps go away and hope nobody crawls into my bed upside down to look at my work.

Also toying with putting a storage shelf in the filler piece at the tailgate. Since there is no room in the cab, I should be able to carve out a big enough space to store the TB jack and tools. Another possible location is below the bed behind the driver (opposite location of my battery). Stuck an old ammo case under there and it fit easy. Needs to be slightly larger though.

[dsraven]

just curious if you could simply extend the link arms later for a more rearward effect on the tires. driveshaft extension would also be part of that ball game.
I like that trail 70 in the back too. a few years ago i had a honda 55 which is a step through model like a honda 90. it was really old and even had the huge front fender. that wouldda looked cool in the back cuse it would be almost period correct, haha.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

just curious if you could simply extend the link arms later for a more rearward effect on the tires. driveshaft extension would also be part of that ball game.
I like that trail 70 in the back too. a few years ago i had a honda 55 which is a step through model like a honda 90. it was really old and even had the huge front fender. that wouldda looked cool in the back cuse it would be almost period correct, haha.

Probably not a fan of re-engineering something that appears to be nicely engineered. A couple of tires and problem is solved. As far as the Honda's go, they may be more fun to look at than to ride them and they are a blast to ride. My 70 was dead on the floor. Got a thrill bringing it back.

[dug224]

I removed the chrome UL181 Duct Tape I used to tape the mass air flow sensor (MAF) to the throttle body and replaced it with a rubber boot I cut off the end of a long plastic air intake tube. Used my heat gun to persuade one end to stretch around the engine side of the MAF. Received my $28.00 air filter straight from China today. When I ordered it, I assumed it would be light weight and I considered to be a temporary solution. Turns out the unit is heavy with a robust thick washable/reusable filter and will be fine as a permanent solution. Fits the upstream side of the MAF like a glove. Picture #3 is a shot with the hood closed and my camera stuck way up in the engine compartment. Looks like at least an inch of clearance between the top of the air filter and the hood.

Although tight, I am pretty happy with the fact that the corvette radiator, electric fan, air filter and radiator hoses fit nicely and look like they grew there. If I had to remote mount the air filter it would have gotten pretty messy trying to find a place to put it. I'll probably install a small filler panel on top of the radiator to direct the air flow into the radiator and to hide the top of the radiator. In retrospect, I should have mounted the water filler neck towards the driver side and still may do so in the future. It will look cleaner and like it was done on purpose.

Located a pair of Nexen 245 45 18's that match my fronts that I will pickup Thursday for $40 each. Said to have less than 500 miles on them.

[dug224]

Had a visit from grandson Noah. He and I decided to take the '59 for a spin.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iBhipLqW88

[Kim57]

Very cool.
Kim

[dsraven]

that's awesome, love those glasses Noah has on.

[Foot Stomper]

Very cool!!!

[dug224]

So, I figured out the California body man's approach back in March 1982. I found a dated newspaper inside the tailgate. Basically, he drilled a hole at one end of the dent and cut the sheet metal along the perimeter of the dent except for one side. He then pushed the sheet metal in, stuffed the gaps with newspaper and commenced with filling it with filler. There are two of these repairs in the tailgate and one in the right bed side. Instead of buying a new $400 tailgate, I decided to remove the sheet metal flap, straighten it and stitch it back in. I was able to straighten both tailgate flaps pretty good and was able to reach some of the low spots with my demolition bar and get them raised. What I did not correct was the slight bow in the tailgate which appears to be about 1/4" over the width of the tailgate.

[dug224]

Bedside repair. The flap was hanging by a pretty thin piece of sheet metal so I stitched it across the top.

I'll start feeding the media blast guy the bed sides, tailgate and Honda TL250 frame tomorrow. He will blast and epoxy primer the components. Front clip will be next followed by the cab.

Back of the top of the cab is a mess. Took all the filler off and have decided that the truck must have been a delivery truck with a pipe rack. Some of the dents even made it into the cab and dented the inside wall. I suspect I will be buying a stud welder attachment for my MIG and a stud puller to get the cab back in shape. The fun continues!!!

[Kim57]

You're doing a nice job on some bad metal.
Kim

[ricott]

Your truck is looking great. You gotta love "bubba" repairs from back in the day (or even today!). I purchased a heavy duty Stud Welder from Eastwood years ago and it works great. Some dents are so bad (you might not have this problem on your truck) that a stud will break (or pull a hole in your metal) before the dent begins to pull out. On the GTO quarter I had to weld a series of small plates with holes in them and use a come along to do the "major" pull, then I could use the stud gun for the pulls after that. You can see what I did in post 100 of my pickup truck build in my signature line.

Good luck, and keep letting me dream about my truck while watching you get yours done.

Ricky

[dug224]

Kim: And it seems to keep getting worse.

Ricky: Yeah, that was a pretty serious dent. You did a great job pulling it out. The metal bumping book you recommended has really helped me understand what I am supposed to do....I just have to do it.

To keep from buying another piece of welding equipment, thought I would just buy the stud tip for my MIG or just simply hold the studs and weld them on manually. Figured I would buy the attachment for my slide hammer that fits over the studs but can't seem to find one anywhere on the internet. Harbor Freight sells the studs and stud welder but no way to yank on them.

I cut the old bedside inner panels off today. This exposes the inside of the bullets for better access for metal work. In addition, I cleaned off the driver side bullet and found less than 2.5" of somewhat clean bullet from which I can make a template. Figured I would have my buddy cut a fairly heavy metal template for me to beat the bullets into for a consistent radius.

The more dents I uncover the more I am seriously considering doing the remaining work in 2 phases. Phase 1 will be finish installing the bed, welding all holes and cracks, replacing the cab corners, steps and passenger floor (material I already have) and banging out both bullets and the roof. Put a cheap paint job (maybe even with some very mild fake patina) on it and start driving it. Once I finish the house, Phase 2 will be straighten it better and doing a real paint job on it. Decisions decisions....

[OldChevysRule]

Hey Doug. Your work is looking good as always. I came by your house Friday evening at around 5 o'clock. I thought I might catch you doing some more great work on your truck so that I could learn from you, but you weren't home. Maybe next time. Keep up the great work and keep posting the pictures. If I can't learn in person, maybe I will be able to learn from your pictures! LOL

[dug224]

Originally Posted by OldChevysRule

Hey Doug. Your work is looking good as always. I came by your house Friday evening at around 5 o'clock. I thought I might catch you doing some more great work on your truck so that I could learn from you, but you weren't home. Maybe next time. Keep up the great work and keep posting the pictures. If I can't learn in person, maybe I will be able to learn from your pictures! LOL

Jason: Sorry we missed each other. Hope your build is coming along!! I sent you a PM. Dug

[Kim57]

Real nice.
Nice score on the tires.
Kim

[dug224]

Welded the patches this morning. Curvature of the piece on the driver side looks pretty close. A bit of sculpting with filler will finish it up.