My daily driver/beater : How I turned lemons in lemonade

[Tx Firefighter]

Border Collie photo bomb.

[Tx Firefighter]

The mirrors were a pair of haggard junk from the swap meet. I gave 5 or 10 dollars for them then restored to look good. They're mounted right with large washers inside of the door and machine screws with lock nuts so they don't loosen up and damage the door later, like so many big mirrors do.

[Tx Firefighter]

Restored and resealed the wing windows. Every piece of weatherstrip on the truck is new. Spending money on that stuff pays off with a nicer driving truck when you're done. I'd rather have all new weatherstrip and wear parts on a truck than spend the same money on something like fancy wheels which don't do anything but look nice.

[Tx Firefighter]

Preacher Mike found the grille guard for me. It was hidden on Craigslist. He's got a bloodhound nose for finding stuff for me. I just tell him what I need and sooner or later he texts me with a link.

It just needed some touch up welding, sandblast, and paint.

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Guess I can show these now...l

[jlsanborn]

I think it's very cool man, well done. I've gotten plenny of "what you oughtta do" myself and all I can say is - To each his own, you build a helluva driver.

x5 on the braces here but we're on the last one.

Lastly, I have to say you're a great contributor to the site and would hate to see you stray. I don't do the FB / Instagram stuff. I promise to never tell you what I think is better than what you think and you can tell me to STFU without hurting my feelings.

[y5mgisi]

Bet it's going to be a fun truck to drive! What kind of paint did you use?

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Bet it's going to be a fun truck to drive! What kind of paint did you use?

Cheap urethane from Summit. I think it's rebranded Kirker products. Dirt cheap price. Worked as well as my meager skills required.

[dragn91]

Love the truck. Looks great with the grill guard and tow style mirrors very unique and very cool.

[jkeating1]

Righteous, brother!

[Average Joe]

Your truck looks great! Form and function. Its a cool custom you could still haul 16' lumber with courtesy of the headache rack. I personally see the usefulness of your bull bar. Every time I drive my Burb over the Cascades to my folks's house I have to watch like a hawk for deer. A brush guard up front would minimize any potential damage from a Bambi encounter. The big mirrors tie it all together and would be mighty handy if you ever towed or drove in heavy traffic. The paint and gauges are just plain stellar. You build a killer truck thats for sure.

[y5mgisi]

Thanks! It looks great! It appears to be somewhat of a flat? Is it? Or am I not quite seeing it correctly? If it is a flat, did you have to add a flattener to it? Or was that the way you bought it? Sorry for the questions, but I have wanted to do a similar "feeling" paint job, tho mine would be in that 73ish kinda mustard yellow. I think it's called desert gold. Anyway, just trying to prep my mind!

[Kaysen]

Very cool! I like the cow catcher up front. I've been curious about this truck for a while, good job man.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Thanks! It looks great! It appears to be somewhat of a flat? Is it? Or am I not quite seeing it correctly? If it is a flat, did you have to add a flattener to it? Or was that the way you bought it? Sorry for the questions, but I have wanted to do a similar "feeling" paint job, tho mine would be in that 73ish kinda mustard yellow. I think it's called desert gold. Anyway, just trying to prep my mind!

It's flat paint right out of the can. Summit has a few colors to choose from in the flat variety.

[BigBlockBurris]

Kevin,

I followed the build every step of the way, and loved everything you did.
I cannot imagine anyone taking anything away from you, but thank you for sharing your work. I am always amazed at what you are able to accomplish on a "working mans" budget.

Keep on building!

BBB

[darkhorse970]

Very cool truck Kevin! I absolutely love what you did here, and understand your decision to keep it more private. Unsolicited input can kill the mojo very quickly.

[Zane M]

Thank you for sharing Kevin, the truck looks great!

[mcbassin]

Thanks for all the new pictures! Looks great. Inside and out.

[aggie91]

I created an instagram account yesterday just to see color pics of this truck. I do not know what else I could say here that someone has not already said.

The truck turned out incredible! I too understand about the money. I just finished one kids with braces in December, not it looks like I have a bit of a break till late this year for the next one, then one more shortly after that...LOL. Family first!

I too have a vision for my '65 when I redo it and like you, I do not think some people will get it, but I will build it for me!

BTW, I have been using a lot of your tips and tricks for reworking/rebuilding these old trucks for my current build.

[Low Elco]

Looks great, Kevin! I like it a lot. Farmtruck for the lo-rollin' set. Just throwin' it out there- After my swap, my driveshaft Wound up being shorter than I'd like. Actually found one the right length in the yards. $25 with yoke. Between all the varieties of FS trucks and V6 dimes, lotsa pickin's! Like to beat me to death being under 40 odd trucks, but a small price for the taste of victory. Anyway, good luck going forward, and I hope you stick around.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Looks great, Kevin! I like it a lot. Farmtruck for the lo-rollin' set. Just throwin' it out there- After my swap, my driveshaft Wound up being shorter than I'd like. Actually found one the right length in the yards. $25 with yoke. Between all the varieties of FS trucks and V6 dimes, lotsa pickin's! Like to beat me to death being under 40 odd trucks, but a small price for the taste of victory. Anyway, good luck going forward, and I hope you stick around.

I'm gonna go cadillac on the driveshaft. The old driveshaft I was using was cobbled together with conversion u joints front and rear. The PB Dropmember moved the engine several inches forward so my yoke is barely engaging the trans at all right now. I'm gonna take my yoke and my measurements to the driveshaft shop and have them build me a proper shaft front to back with the correct u joints for my early model yoke and my early model rearend. Also I need them to make it as small of diameter as possible (I understand the dynamics of driveshaft diameter and necessity to make it large enough so it doesn't whip) but my driveshaft gets pretty close to the cab floor at full dump so smaller is better than larger. I've already beaten on the bottom of the cab enough with a hammer to not want to do it anymore if I can help it.

[aotte1]

Kevin,

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge with us, always appreciate your suggestions to my questions. Your new truck is outstanding, you have to feel great driving it. It is truly unique, and a credit to your skills. Always enjoy your pictures too.

Les

[imjeff]

Thanks for the contributions! You hit it out of the park, again!

Jeff

[ChevDog1]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Here is where the truck sits currently. Honestly I'm flat out of money. Still need tires installed, driveshaft built, exhaust built, and rear bumper built. But, I'm faced with braces x2 daughters right now plus some other unexpected expenses so truck money has fallen off the radar. I don't do credit, only cash.

I'm feeling you on the braces x2 - I went through that one a few years ago. Twins can be hell on the budget - all expenses are doubled. The one bright side I have found is that mine are currently sharing one car, so I didn't have to but and fuel two cars at once.

[crashz]

As usual, awesome build Kevin! Thanks for sharing.