Frankentruck

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

This is going to be a fun piece to fix

That will be easier if your left-handed.
But it can be done.

Hammer & Dolly.











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[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

That will be easier if your left-handed.
But it can be done.

Hammer & Dolly.


.

Unfortunately, I'm not left handed. I was thinking about getting a donor section from another cab rather than trying to clean up the previous owner's botched attempt at fixing it. There's already one big hole in it, and it is wrinkled more than a bulldog's face

[cwcarpenter98]

Well, I think I'm all set up now to start diving in to the wonderful world of rust repair. I have all the stuff that I think I need for now, but if there's something else I need, I'll get it.

I decided to get the cabinet so I could store all my welding stuff in one place. I also had plenty of space for my grinder, death wheels, and flap discs. I'm glad I didn't cheap out on the cart or the welder.

I just might have to throw down some practice tomorrow!

[flashed]

Im envious of the welder , I gave my flux core one away , just could not do anything with it and my buddy wanted it , he always does stuff for me so I gave it to him . I will pick your brain when I see you , hopefully at the Truck Farm Swap Meet .

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Unfortunately, I'm not left handed. I was thinking about getting a donor section from another cab rather than trying to clean up the previous owner's botched attempt at fixing it. There's already one big hole in it, and it is wrinkled more than a bulldog's face

Some How I missed this.
Looks like you got a Plan.
I like your new Welder Set-Up.









.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by flashed

Im envious of the welder , I gave my flux core one away , just could not do anything with it and my buddy wanted it , he always does stuff for me so I gave it to him . I will pick your brain when I see you , hopefully at the Truck Farm Swap Meet .

The welder is only 35 ish pounds, and I have all the welding stuff set up in the cart. It's also a 120v plug, so it wouldn't be too hard to bring it up to the Truck Farm! I'll be at the meet, but shoot me a text or give me a call if you need some extra help setting up for it.

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Some How I miss this.
Looks like you got a Plan.
I like your new Welder Set-Up.

.

All good man, thanks for checking in! I can't wait to start teaching myself how to weld

[flashed]

Christian , I am off next Friday , so im hoping to get as ready as I can for the Swap Meet . Not really setting much up , more just cleaning up .

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by flashed

Christian , I am off next Friday , so im hoping to get as ready as I can for the Swap Meet . Not really setting much up , more just cleaning up .

Sounds like a fun time Let me know if you need an extra hand!

[cwcarpenter98]

This morning I was scrolling through Facebook Marketplace and saw an add for a windshield and some aftermarket fenders. Unfortunately, the windshield was delaminating, so I decided not to buy it. The guy had bought a bunch of cab patch panels for a truck he was going to fix up, but once he dug into it, the upper roof rust was too much for him so he decided to scrap the cab. Didn't even open up some of the patch panels.

I didn't buy the windshield, but I did get most of the patch panels that I needed!

[roll_the_dice]

Nice find Christian!

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by roll_the_dice

Nice find Christian!

It definitely was! There's still a couple pieces that I think I need, but they are smaller pieces that won't cost as much to ship

[cwcarpenter98]

First booger welds

[straight6chevyguy]

Just keep trying you'll get there!
I Myself hope to learn to weld someday soon.

Great find on those patch panels!

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by straight6chevyguy

Just keep trying you'll get there!
I Myself hope to learn to weld someday soon.

Great find on those patch panels!

So far, it's kinda fun. If you get a chance, you should definitely try it out.


I'll be getting a welding table and some sheet metal to practice on before I start diving into the truck. First order of business on the truck is to repair the bottom of my extra core support. I figured that's a great place to start since it is already off the truck and won't be seen once it is fixed and bolted in

[roll_the_dice]

I bought an Eastwood mig welder but haven't had time to try it out yet. One day I will be caught up enough with life to play with it. Keep up the good work. You will probably inspire me to start practicing. My wife's uncle says the best way to learn is to do it...

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by roll_the_dice

I bought an Eastwood mig welder but haven't had time to try it out yet. One day I will be caught up enough with life to play with it. Keep up the good work. You will probably inspire me to start practicing. My wife's uncle says the best way to learn is to do it...

Practice is definitely the key to it. I started to get a lot better towards the end of the first practice session

[0ldSoul]

Nice finds and very good looking setup you got there to start welding! Looking forward to seeing more.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 0ldSoul

Nice finds and very good looking setup you got there to start welding! Looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks! Hopefully I'll be able to get some practice time in this weekend

[cwcarpenter98]

Finished up the front license plate mount by getting some of those nylon nuts that the screws go into. Also gave her a bath because I like to keep my rust clean. Can't have dirty rust for the swap meet!!

[lobuck64]

Hey just pulled a truck down to shop today to part out pretty sure that section on cab is good if you interested just pm me let me know I'm about hour north of commerce

[cwcarpenter98]

Had a great time at the swap meet today. I picked up a collapsible intermediate shaft from a squarebody and I sold a couple things. Somewhere between 90 to 100 trucks showed up! Huge thanks to John for hosting!

Unfortunately, on the way home I heard a loud, metallic pop. The door skin is pulling off really bad now on the driver's side. I think it will just be easier to replace the door at this point than to try to fix this one. I guess I'm going to turn this door into some wall art

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by lobuck64

Hey just pulled a truck down to shop today to part out pretty sure that section on cab is good if you interested just pm me let me know I'm about hour north of commerce

PM sent with my phone number. Thanks!

[flashed]

Christian , the highest count I have seen on the cruise in/ swap meet was 111 trucks . What a great day , sold some parts , met new friends , had a Blast . Sorry to hear about your door issues but You will get it fixed . Aint nothing stopped you yet .

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by flashed

Christian , the highest count I have seen on the cruise in/ swap meet was 111 trucks . What a great day , sold some parts , met new friends , had a Blast . Sorry to hear about your door issues but You will get it fixed . Aint nothing stopped you yet .

Dadgum, I wasn't expecting that many people. Funny that the weather was really nice yesterday and now it's just starting to rain


I really hated the idea of having to paint the driver's door and get rid of the lettering on it. I'd rather have it hanging up on the wall than to get stripped and painted. I've decided that I will eventually paint the truck, but got to do all the rust repair first

[cwcarpenter98]

So on Wednesday, dad and I went to Harbor Freight to look at the welding table there. I wasn't impressed, so we drove back home. On the way home, we pulled up to a light and saw a bunch of steam coming from under the hood. Thankfully, I noticed it and was able to pull over before the engine overheated. It was out of coolant, so I couldn't limp it back home. John grabbed his trailer and gave me a tow home. Yesterday, I started the truck to move it to the front of the driveway to hose off under the hood. Put water in the radiator and saw it was leaking from under the AC compressor. Then I started it again and moved it back to where I wanted to work on it. Pulled it apart to find the bypass hose, that is under the AC compressor and alternator bracket, had a big hole in it. Got it replaced, put everything back together, poured coolant in, and went to start it. It will crank all day, but won't start. I checked about everything I know to check, and my mechanic friend walked me through some things to test if the computer went bad. It's looking like it is, which sucks because I've already replaced the computer once.

Instead of working on it again some today, I drove up to lobuck64's place in mom's minivan. He is cutting up a cab to repair his GMC and wasn't going to use the section that's damaged on my cab. He gave me the cab corner, but while showing me around his place, I found a bunch of other parts I wanted/needed. Got an inner fender to replace my rusted out one, a really nice tailgate with no rust holes, another grille support panel that's even nicer than the other one I have, rust free cowl extension panels, and the cab corner patch I needed for the passenger side. The best score of today was some original door sill plates and GM licensed tail light lenses. I also got a couple doors that I will either fix up or use two sets to make on good set. Haven't decided on that yet, but I'm starting to get everything together to make Frankentruck really nice.

Probably going to start building a welding table to fit my needs tomorrow.