My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!

[flips72]

paint looks great, man, your going to have a beautiful ride, and very soon I will bet your not sleeping much now

[Jmorales3181]

Hahaha. Def looks beautiful man! I always get a good laugh when reading fellow builds and seeing my name mentioned... I got my daughter doing the reflection shots too
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[McMurphy]

Hey Modges, you remember yesterday when we were talking and I said you should enjoy your 70* weather there because it would likely snow here before the end of September?

Well that was today.

It was coming down like Christmas day out there when I got up at 0400 to get ready for work and didnt let up until about 0900....

Bless all the people who love Alaska, as I cannot be counted among them !!

LoL too funny....wish I were putting up with warmer temps right about now.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Man, that is beautiful work. Nice job!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks man!...Nothin comes easy!

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

man that is beautiful, really great color combo for sure!! its going to make you want to bubble wrap your garage so you don't scratch it at all putting it together, lol!!!

Chad, RUFKM! That is exactly how I feel!

Originally Posted by da_bears_da1

BEAUTIFUL! Love the blue color and the silver is a great complementary color. Your prep work really paid off!

Thanks a lot! I had many colors in mind for this, but didn't want a combo too trendy and went out of style overnight!....I think that this will look good for a while!

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

I am sitting here just making stoopid noises at the pics of your paint.

RESULT !!

Ha-Ha-Ha!...That is how I felt when we opened up the garage and I saw it in natural lighting!

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Paint job came out great....nice job on the two tone.

Thanks, I am really diggin it Too!

Originally Posted by flips72

paint looks great, man, your going to have a beautiful ride, and very soon I will bet your not sleeping much now

Thanks Flip, I am sure that you remember the feeling vividly!

Originally Posted by Jmorales3181

Hahaha. Def looks beautiful man! I always get a good laugh when reading fellow builds and seeing my name mentioned... I got my daughter doing the reflection shots too
Posted via Mobile Device

Ha-Ha, thanks a bunch!
I get a HUGE kick out of seeing that also!
Thanks for the support!

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Hey Modges, you remember yesterday when we were talking and I said you should enjoy your 70* weather there because it would likely snow here before the end of September?

Well that was today.

It was coming down like Christmas day out there when I got up at 0400 to get ready for work and didnt let up until about 0900....

Bless all the people who love Alaska, as I cannot be counted among them !!

LoL too funny....wish I were putting up with warmer temps right about now.

Murph, I really feel for you!
It just dipped into the 60's for a few days, and it sucks!
Can't imagine how you feel right now!

[Modges'66]

I have been really busy, but messing with several things to move the build forward.
My first goal was to get the door latches, and check straps installed to avoid any damage by someone opening the doors too far.
I also installed the vent windows into the frames, along with the weatherstripping, but I am waiting to install the main glass & power regulators until I have added sound deadener to the doors.
I do not have the door seal at the jamb glued into place, as I am waiting for it to take the shape of the door-jamb first.
I have sound deadener on order, and am waiting patiently for Porterbuilt components to arrive and install before placing the cab onto the frame.
A few pics taken from my phone!

P.S. the dots that you see on the paint are rubbing compound residue from sanding & rubbing of the dash to a smooth-as-glass finish prior to install of the windshield.







Fit & finish looks exceptional as well!

[clemdaddy]

truck is looking really good but the reflection of a hotrod caught my eye. yours or a buddys? tell me about it?

nice gaps on the doors dude... diggin the colors together.

[aggie91]

I haven't checked in on you build in a long time. Man, your body work is top notch and the paint looks exceptional.

I really dig the picture of the vent window with the reflection of the roadster, Too Cool!

I'll have to be better and watching for the rest of the way thru assembly!

[Ta2Don]

Thanks to clem pointing it out, I had to pull me eyes off the AWESOME work of yours to spy the HotRod!!!

Your paint is just

[McMurphy]

Oh yeah, the first photo with the Hot Rod reflected in the wing window is awesome!

I will probably steal that idea for later and recreate it!

And yes, what Don said

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

truck is looking really good but the reflection of a hotrod caught my eye. yours or a buddys? tell me about it?

nice gaps on the doors dude... diggin the colors together.

It is my dad's Rat-Rod.
A '34 Chevy, with a pretty radical aluminum headed 350 sporting a tri-power, 9" Ford rear, and frt & rear discs!
Since I am doing most of the work on my truck at my parent's house, I always need to move it out of the barn to work on my shtuff!
I have moved that thing out of the garage well over a hundred times, and have never drove, or rode in it on the street!
My dad claims that it is scary-fast...Just one of his toys!

Thanks man!
I was going to take some pics of the gaps just for that reason!
mine look awesome, but I have seen so many posts of people welding them up to make them look good...Mine are all stock, and nice, what a bonus!

Originally Posted by aggie91

I haven't checked in on you build in a long time. Man, your body work is top notch and the paint looks exceptional.

I really dig the picture of the vent window with the reflection of the roadster, Too Cool!

I'll have to be better and watching for the rest of the way thru assembly!

I thank you kindly for the comment, but these pics from my phone fail to show just how shiny that the silver paint really is!

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Thanks to clem pointing it out, I had to pull me eyes off the AWESOME work of yours to spy the HotRod!!!

Your paint is just

Thanks a bunch Don!
Yeah, it is really unbelievable how many hours were spent to get to a quality level where I can step back & say... wow!
I find that I am just picky, and slow!!!

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Oh yeah, the first photo with the Hot Rod reflected in the wing window is awesome!

I will probably steal that idea for later and recreate it!

And yes, what Don said

Murph!
I didn't even realize that my dad's Rat-Rod was even in the photo until after I had already posted the pic!!!
I am so familiar with it being parked next to my shtuff & moving it all of the time, that I don't even realize that it is present!
...Really, I was just tryin to one-up J-Mo on his "reflection shots"...Just kiddin!

[LostMy65]

Great color.
Beautiful work.
Posted via Mobile Device

[chad64chevy]

looking good man, love the hotrod! I wish I had great door gaps, some people have all the luck, lol!!!

[coulter]

wow!!!! paint and body lines look flawless!!! so nice man

also nice way to sneek your hotrod into the pic!!!

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Great color.
Beautiful work.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks for the comment!

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

looking good man, love the hotrod! I wish I had great door gaps, some people have all the luck, lol!!!

Thanks Chad, I'll take the good luck on the door jambs, I am sure that I will have some bad luck mixed in somewhere else on this build!!!

Originally Posted by coulter

wow!!!! paint and body lines look flawless!!! so nice man

also nice way to sneek your hotrod into the pic!!!

Thanks a bunch, man!
A lot of elbow-grease, & patience spent to get it to this point...I am sure that you know what that is like!!!

[Modges'66]

I decided that I would start working on installation of a steering column that I had picked-up a while ago. I had no idea of the mods that would be involved in making this thing fit!!!
I thought that this would be pretty cut, & dried!
I wanted to use a a stock style column with the "smart stick" to take care of the dimmer, cruise, & wiper switches, and of course get the tilt option.
It all turned out good...after relocating the ignition, & dimmer switches 4.5" further down the column, and chopping the crap out of the original column support bracket, and modifying a newer style bracket to support the larger diameter column.
Here are a few pics showing the column in place, and the modifications made.
I think that I will paint the column silver to match the dash, and of course get a sweet steering wheel for it!!!





A bit of tig welding going on right here!


Relocation of the ignition, & dimmer switches.


And the chopped-up original support bracket, which wouldn't be complete
without the evidence of cutting it completely wrong the first time and welding it back together to cut it correctly!!!

[Bomp]

Cut it up only to weld it back together and cut again. I hear ya.
Great job on the install.
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[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Cut it up only to weld it back together and cut again. I hear ya.
Great job on the install.
Posted via Mobile Device

Yeah Bomp, I do it all the time!!!
The only real way to get things right is to do it at least twice!
Howdya think that I got to be sucha proficient welder?
If I posted pics of all the stuff that I f'ed-up, I would never get a chance to post any of the good pics!!!

[shok]

Whoever said measure twice and cut once was not a welder!

[Modges'66]

I took some time to accomplish a few things outdoors this past weekend, as the weather is still cooperating (in the upper 70's Murph!). I received my sound deadener, so I started installing it...Kinda time consuming, but I really want for this to be as enjoyable to drive as possible, so I am adding sound deadener to every surface that I can.
I bought Fatmat's 80mil thick super-stick product, and it seems to be pretty nice. It makes a heck of a difference on the areas that I have applied it to. I am going to wait to apply it to the floor until later, as I haven't figured out what I am doing for a seat, and don't want it to get messed-up during wiring & A/C instalation.











And, the new routing for dome light wiring!


Oh, I almost forgot to show just how shiny that the dash is after scuffing it slightly with #2000 grit & rubbing!


Thanks for lookin at my build, guys!

[McMurphy]

I really like your steering column install....it is guys like you, doing stuff like this that constantly makes me think that if I like or want something for my build, then I can find a way to make it work.

Your dash looks amazing! You used 2,000 grit and polishing compound? Did you do any of that wet?

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

I really like your steering column install....it is guys like you, doing stuff like this that constantly makes me think that if I like or want something for my build, then I can find a way to make it work.

Your dash looks amazing! You used 2,000 grit and polishing compound? Did you do any of that wet?

Yeah Murph, I used soapy water with #2000 grit to take off any little imperfections, then wheeled it with this sweet little pneumatic buffer that I bought from Ingersol-Rand, It has like a 3" wheel (model #3129K)...Works awesome for small areas, I have a bigger pneumatic buffer that I use for larger areas!

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by shok

Whoever said measure twice and cut once was not a welder!

Ha-Ha-Ha!
Toooooo funny,...but true!!!

[Ta2Don]

I cut it 3 times and it's still too short... where's my welder???

Seriously, that dash is Spot-On!!!

[Bomp]

Thanks for showing. Nice Nice Nice verrrrrrrry Nice!

[Low Elco]

Man, I keep needing to buy one of those 3" buffers-can't make myself cough up the coin. They are sweet. I LOVE the little mini DA sanders, too. Your stuff looks great!