Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...

[projectking]

Too bad you're not close......I'd blast the whole truck for $600!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by projectking

Too bad you're not close......I'd blast the whole truck for $600!

I wish you were closer as well. Some local places quoted me $400-$500 just to blast the bed floor, so you can see why I find the $600 for the 3 parts a good deal.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time, patience, or proper tools to blast everything myself.

[DD1]

Went for a ride with a local motorcycle club, so I did not get to move sheet rock today. What I thought would be a 2-3 hour ride lasted from 9am - 4pm.

Worked on the D/S cab corner when I got home Got the corner welded to the floor. The way this looks, Bondo will soon be my best friend.



Here is the other side of the weld. Had to make sure it welded both pieces. Next I have 18 holes to weld in the center of the cab. Then the real fun begins when I try to get the door pillar done this year.

[swamp rat]

Didn't know you rode bikes, always good for the soul. Not like I'm not bondo dependent myself!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Didn't know you rode bikes, always good for the soul. Not like I'm not bondo dependent myself!

Right, but with you bondo is a touch up to mask imperfections, with me it's a required necessity to hide the fact that I have no idea what I am doing.

[DD1]

Did a little bit of work today. Decided to take another look at the D/S door pillar.

I think a part of me is afraid to finish plug welding the back of the cab to the floor, because I feel like that's the point of no return. It would be very difficult to undo it. Maybe I should see a shrink?

Glad I double..., triple..., lost count of how many times I have checked the door pillar and it's a good thing I did. I had a feeling I was off a bit and I was right. Using the measurement of 7.5 inches from the top mount hole to the center of the fender mount hole, I was off by about a 1/2 inch.

I cut a piece of one of my leftover door pillars (I've only ordered about 4 of them so far), and used it to make a spacer and tack welded it in place.

Next I need to finish welding the cowl panel in place, drill holes for the mounting bolts on the door pillar and the hole for the lower door mount bolt, then I can mount the door pillar, hopefully for the last time.

Here's the gap and my spacer. I drew those white lines before I made the spacer to make sure I lined it up properly. Seems to be where I want it.


Tack welded in place, and then test fitted the pillar again. The white lines match up, so it should be good.

[mattfranklin]

Wow. I had been away for a while. Stuff is getting serious here. I keep watching and learning. Mine will be due for some of this kind of work eventually.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

Wow. I had been away for a while. Stuff is getting serious here. I keep watching and learning. Mine will be due for some of this kind of work eventually.

Thanks, Matt! Hey, I only bought the truck about 5+ years ago. It's nice to hear you are learning something from my posts, considering I have no idea what I am doing!

I will have to catch up on your build.

[DD1]

Quick Update:

The truck lost a couple hundred pounds today. It's no longer buried in sheet rock.

Will have to reorganize the garage a bit more now, but I am hoping to get back to working on the door pillar this weekend. It's supposed to rain, which means I won't get much else done.

Also, I went to put air in the rear D/S tire and the valve stem broke off in my hand. Gonna pull the tire and see if the local shop can replace it for me.

[DD1]

Still working on re-organizing my garage after having the sheetrock up. Seems like the new wheel dollies I got for the back might have stronger steel than the HF ones, but the wheels may not be as strong. I can't push the truck back where I want it. The bed is still loaded with parts, so it's still pretty heavy.

When I put air in the flat D/S rear tire, the valve stem broke off at the rubber. There was a piece of the stem sticking out, so I held it in place and it took and kept air. Since the local shops were closed yesterday, I tried using crazy glue to fix the valve stem and it actually worked!

[mattfranklin]

Originally Posted by DD1

When I put air in the flat D/S rear tire, the valve stem broke off at the rubber. There was a piece of the stem sticking out, so I held it in place and it took and kept air. Since the local shops were closed yesterday, I tried using crazy glue to fix the valve stem and it actually worked!

I'm laughing out loud here. One of the better hacks I've seen. And I've done and seen a lot. ;-)

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

I'm laughing out loud here. One of the better hacks I've seen. And I've done and seen a lot. ;-)

Thanks, Matt! Glad you found it entertaining. I was surprised it worked. As of today, it's still holding air. I would not drive it like that, but it works fine just sitting around in the garage.

Bet you never saw removing and installing sheet rock as part of a build either. But technically it is, since the truck would not get finished without it.

[DD1]

A couple of weeks ago I took the bed floor, bed side, and bed front that I bought to the local sandblaster / painter. I had him sandblast it and paint it with Chassis Saver. I am really happy with the results. Hoping to get back to working on the cab again soon. Need to get motivated.







I did find a bad patch job that was done on the bedside and probably covered up with bondo. Fortunately I can probably fix that using a patch of the original bedside.

[mattfranklin]

Looks like good progress. I'm finally getting a little budget to work with again and hoping to get mine at least driveable in the next few months.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

Looks like good progress. I'm finally getting a little budget to work with again and hoping to get mine at least driveable in the next few months.

Thanks, Matt. I have pretty much hibernated from the truck for the winter; have not made any progress since the last post. Maybe subconsciously I am afraid to finish that A pillar. I really want it to work this time - I have run through too many of them.

I would also like to get my truck moving this year, although realistically not legally driveable. If I can just finish the cab and mount it on the frame, I will be happy.

[DD1]

Been making a little bit of progress on the truck, and I mean a little bit. I finished plug welding the back of the cab to the floor. The welds did not go as easily for me as the cab corners did; I think the cab metal might be a bit thinner than the cab corners were. Either way, the job got done; some metal probably got warped and it's not the prettiest job, but I'm not planning on winning any shows.

As I thought this through, my next steps are (not necessarily in this order):

• spot weld firewall to floor
• spot weld kick panel to floor
• weld in A Pillar

Once these items are done, I plan to put the cab on the frame, test fit the doors, and if I actually have this done right, start working on the rocker panel. Once the weather gets and stays nicer, I hope to start making better progress on it.

[DD1]

I was searching my thread for some information I had posted, and came across a post where I wrote "I am challenging myself to get the sides of the cab done by the end of September. Specifically the door pillars, kick panels, and cab corners." I wrote that on 08/24/16. :

Hopefully history will not repeat itself since I wrote something similar in my last post. Of course, I realize now that I never said September of which year I would have it done.

[DD1]

Made a little bit more progress.

Started to spot weld the A-Pillar frame onto the inner cowl panel. Not the A pillar itself, but the part that is above the piece I am replacing. Did not take a pic of it. The metal on the cowl panel is thinner than the A pillar and I am having trouble getting it to weld properly. It's also difficult to get anything in there to hold the pieces of metal together.

I started spot welding the firewall to the floor. I used my HF spot welder. I plan to spot weld the holes I made with the MIG after I am done with the spot welder. Bought a 1/2" belt sander to clean up the tight spaces that I needed to weld on the firewall and the floor. Was having some trouble getting the spot welder to make a good weld, but I think I figured it out. I was concerned about whether it would weld metal with the weld through primer, but it does not seem to be a problem.

It seems to be holding pretty well, but still going to use the MIG welder to be safe.

Started off on the right side (facing the cab) to test it out:




Then moved on to the center:

[swamp rat]

Good progress keep it up!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Good progress keep it up!

Thanks Mike, any updates on your truck?

[DD1]

A little bit more progress today. Before I go into the progress, I want to talk about an issue I have. I test fitted the A pillar and it does not fit well. I think I damaged the A pillar above the part when I removed the bracing.

I think my options are:

1. Borrow a friends dent puller and pull out the pillar to meet the part.
2. Make some relief cuts in the part and bend it to match the top part of the pillar.

The area that I think I damaged is marked with an X in the photos below. I think if I can move this section forward a bit, I could get it to line up. Not sure if I should modify the part to meet the cab considering that I may have moved it by mistake.

This is with an even gap on both sides.


If I push either side in, then the other side pops out more.




As far as what I got done today, I pretty much finished using the spot welder on the firewall/floor. Next I will use the MIG to reinforce it.

[swamp rat]

No, just been waiting for better weather. On the lower piller it’s better to have the door side match up then the front side, try using a couple clamps to squeeze the other side into place. The metal moves easy enough to pull it in, don’t mess with the stock pillar!

[swamp rat]

See on the top right pic how one area is close on the surface? I’d put a spot there then use ether a body hammer and or a small screwdriver to start pushing the metal of the patch into place then tag it as you go, just take your time to let the spots cool.

[swamp rat]

Don’t forget that the outer rocker will probably cover that area. I think the x area is fine, all the replacement lower pieces aren’t formed worth a crap so don’t start thinking that it’s correct.

[mattfranklin]

It keeps getting better!