Got it one piece at a time... 51 chev

[ptc]

AD good to see you back here, and condolences to you Sir. You are so right in that working on these projects is great therapy for the mind and soul.

Good luck on your project.

[LOW A D]

Today I took off a good part of the day to run errands. I found some seats I liked at my favourite wrecking yard. I need the seats so I can start positioning my steering column, pedals, etc. I ended up choosing a pair of leather buckets out of a Cobalt SS. They are not power seats but they can be adjusted up and down manually and I like how they sit. The headrest will be removed. I'm not crazy about the embroidered SS emblem but I hope my interior guy can sew in a new panel to eliminate the emblem and cover the headrest mounting holes

[LOW A D]

I did get to spend a bit of time in the shop. I'm tired of fixing rust so I decided to close off my gas filler hole. The area around the filler hole had been damaged and poorly repaired and had a long crack in the metal so I'm making a patch big enough to fix the whole area

[LOW A D]

This is the size of patch I decided to make

[LOW A D]

A little time with a shot bag and English wheel and this is what I ended up with. I'm happy with the results, will weld it in tomorrow

[LOW A D]

Hard to see on the last pic but the patch did have a compound curve

[LOW A D]

I also spent a bit of time fine tuning my new firewall. I had to make a deep recess for the engine because I set it quite far back on the frame. I did this so I can use the mechanical fan and leave the rad in its stock location. Im told the truck will handle better with the engine further back too, not sure how much difference that will make, guess ill find out when I drive it

[99 to Life]

great work, can't wait to get a wheel, bead roller, shrinker stretcher. I do everything the hard way!

[LOW A D]

Thanks for your comments 99! I have enjoyed seeing your projects. Your doing a good job with basic tools. I've done a lot of stuff in cold, dark shops with little equipment. I'm thankful everyday that I now have a bright, warm shop with some nice tools. There are always more tools on my wish list though!! You can never have too many tools or a shop that's big enough it seems!

[99 to Life]

oh no doubt, its a never ending quest for tools and knowledge. My problem is not only dingy garages, but the fact that they are spread out. I have two work spaces and then a space in pittsburgh. I may buy a house soon which has a nice garage but its small, so there I go again, another 1 car garage to work out of, to spread my tools out! I have three welders and need more, double of alot of tools but short on alot of basics too.

things take time I know. If you didn't work in the depths of the dark you wouldn't appreciate what you have now as much. keep it up and enjoy your space!

[LOW A D]

Another thing I did today, off topic I know, but I bought a nice 1962 Impala! Original paint and interior, runs and drives. Since I know my truck will not be on the road this summer, this will be my cruiser this year

[Advanced Design]

Low AD, awesome work on the metal! Firewall and floor looks really good and the gas fill patch is spot on. Going to enjoy following along.

[FarmerSid]

Good therapy working on the truck and car. Glad life is happy again for ya.

[reaper71]

Real nice metal work...Love the Impala!! Drop her and drive it!!

Mark...

[LOW A D]

Originally Posted by reaper71

Real nice metal work...Love the Impala!! Drop her and drive it!!

Mark...

Thanks. Yep,thats the plan! Its got a straight six with a powerglide! I'll leave it that way for now, but when my truck is done that 6 may disappear!!

[lower50's]

Sorry for the loss of your sweet heart. Cancer sucks!! My step mom went through it and now my dad is dealing with it, but doing good as can be. I also wonder what happens to some ppl's builds, loose interest, life changes? Glad your back at it. It seems it is therapy for many of us.

[LOW A D]

Got the filler hole area all fixed up today. Pic makes the patch look high but it feels straight. Ready for a skim coat

[LOW A D]

Tackled the cowl area in front of the door. There was no gap at all, door touched the cowl. Made a pass with a thin cutoff wheel and tapped the cowl edge ahead and welded up the cut

[LOW A D]

Welded up and weld ground smooth. Nice gap, now I can install the lower outer cowl patch.

[Advanced Design]

Nice ...gas filler patch looks good as does the gap. Oh hey, love the 62 Impala!

[*Kenny]

Nice job on the metal work! The impala is going to be the perfect cruiser

[LOW A D]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm really enjoying working on the truck again! Trouble is while I'm working on the truck I keep thinking about what i could all do to the Impala I just bought! I promised myself to just drive it as is till the truck is done! We'll see how that works out!

[reaper71]

Nice work on the gaps...I used the same technique on "orangepeel" and other projects in the past.
It's crazy how these vehicles left the factory with such lousy fitting parts!
Although they were meant to be Farm Trucks I guess..

Mark..

[99 to Life]

I'd say on the trucks yah they didn't spend the attention to that detail. But I'm still so impressed with the engineering and styling of these trucks. all the little detail pieces they had to made just boggles my mind. I have a 53' belair and the door shuts soooo smooth I just think to myself, the quality was awesome back then, esp for the standard.

[Flysocal]

Great welding. everything looks good