Donz '65 SWB Stepper Budget Build...

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

Nice work!!! It is going to look sweet!

Thanks for the encouragement… Being a newbie to metal work I am learning more and more the importance of patience. And after a few practice cuts with the Plasma cutter/torch, then the ease in which I cut the fenders... I must say, I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THOSE!!!

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Very cool. It's nice to watch a persons skills improve. Not only are you a skin artist now your turning into a metal artist.

Wow!!! Thanks for the kind words, I am truly blessed by them!!!
I am having a blast jumping feet first into the metal work and body work aspect of this project… I have been a fan of numerous car building shows on TV and the Motivation, not to mention the Assistance I've received on this Board, is the reason my project went from…
"I'm gonna drop a motor in and drive," to " I m now gonna do a bunch of modifying and build this truck to be what I envision it can be…"
The best part is, I am having a blast and the Friends I am meeting here is the Icing on the Cake!!!

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Yup. You have big holes in your truck.

Best weld em up fast.

Your parcel in the post this morning.

As soon as I can get some assistance from the young ones and a little cooperation from the weather I will get the buckets welded in and finish up the welding and grinding on the inner fenders...

THANKS again for the Ashtray and other bits that are now on the way here to the Colonies... Cheers Mate!

[McMurphy]

Don.... I just contoured my custom emblems this weekend to lay right on my center cowls. I guess I could make a post about it...
Anyways, since they were made from 1/4" aluminum it ended up being pretty easy, tossed them into the oven at 550 degrees until they were toasty hot and had a spare cowl section on the counter (with a towel under it so I would not scratch the counter top) and with some oven mitts I would pull them out of the oven, give them a bit of a bend on the panel surface until they were too cool to manipulate easily.
Toss back into the oven, grab the other one, and repeat until they were where I needed them to be.

Just food for thought when you get yours from Jay if you are not mounting them on a flat surface.

I also put in a request with Jay for a smaller third one for the tailgate.....

Funny how much our builds mirror each other, from initial planning, to tool purchasing, to metal working .....ect

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Don.... I just contoured my custom emblems this weekend to lay right on my center cowls. I guess I could make a post about it...
Anyways, since they were made from 1/4" aluminum it ended up being pretty easy, tossed them into the oven at 550 degrees until they were toasty hot and had a spare cowl section on the counter (with a towel under it so I would not scratch the counter top) and with some oven mitts I would pull them out of the oven, give them a bit of a bend on the panel surface until they were too cool to manipulate easily.
Toss back into the oven, grab the other one, and repeat until they were where I needed them to be.

Just food for thought when you get yours from Jay if you are not mounting them on a flat surface.

I also put in a request with Jay for a smaller third one for the tailgate.....

Funny how much our builds mirror each other, from initial planning, to tool purchasing, to metal working .....ect

Thanks for the idea, As soon as I can save my pennies… (Get the Bosses permission to order...) I will be getting them ordered…
As soon as I get them, my cowl extensions will be up on the counter for the process…
I have a Love/Hate relationship going on with this site...
Everytime I see a little daylight… I spy something on someone's build that is a Smoking Cool Idea!!! My next Metal working jobs once I finish the taillight mods will be filling the Antenna hole, since I plan on using my phone for my tunes, and then Smoothing the top of the dash by deleting the Speaker Grille...
…and yes, our builds are interesting seeing as I plan on Stealing more than a few of your ideas, as well as the fact that you, Bomp, MarkB01, Clendaddy, Alan… too many folks to mention, do so much that keeps my creative juices flowing...
It is hard for me to sit back and just be a spectator, I've got to dive right in and come up with my own ideas occasionally...
Stay Warm in the Frozen Garage...

[Ta2Don]

Quick update, so to speak… Old man Winter is finally going to take a break in the attack on Arkansaw...
High 50's forecast for Sunday and Mid 60's for Monday… My weekend days…
Finally getting some truck time in this weekend!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Quick update, so to speak… Old man Winter is finally going to take a break in the attack on Arkansaw...
High 50's forecast for Sunday and Mid 60's for Monday… My weekend days…
Finally getting some truck time in this weekend!

Were gonna need lots of proof pictures then!!!

[dwcardfan]

Ok we need pics of some progress. You will not be able to blame the cold and snow this week.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Were gonna need lots of proof pictures then!!!

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

Ok we need pics of some progress. You will not be able to blame the cold and snow this week.

Thanks for the KICK in the backside Guyz!!!
After a CRAZY week at Work, if you can call coloring on people work, I am ready to make some sparks fly… There will be Pics...

[Ta2Don]

Small Update…

Sunny day today, with a high of 55F or 12C for Grizz and Martin and others who read Centigrade...

Out to the Shed to make Sparks as well as progress...

Started the grind, weld, grind, REPEAT process with the Taillight Buckets… If you notice I said "Started." The Right side went without a hitch… then I get to the Left side... In the middle of some grinding I realized my grinder was getting slower and slower, not to mention the drone of the Air Compressor was suddenly non-existent… In the midst of grinding the Air Compressor decided it was time for a break, vacation, holiday, something.
A quick call to my electrician and he will be out next weekend to diagnose the problem...

Here are the pics I took of the process on the right side, just need to do some finish grinding…Also one of the newest member of the Family… JoJo!
He was a stray that my granddaughter found after school… He was either lost or a drop-off… He's now one of us and likes to follow me around, that is until the noise making begins… then he heads for the house...

See ya Soon!

[Ta2Don]

Dang!!! Neglected to rotate those...

[Grizz1963]

Great progress Don.

Just progressed to bed. Still coughing like an old Lister Diesel.

Like the pic of JoJo.

Cool to have an assistant.

[dwcardfan]

Looks good! I like the custom look of the tail lights.

[Jeff La]

Looks great, like the way they came out.

[pdxhall]

Hey Don the tail light mod is great. It's too bad about the compressor. I hope it's not something serious. It looks like you 've got a great new companion. He reminds me alot of my Spike with shorter hair.

[jesseo]

Love the progress. Those lights are amazing and truck is coming together great. Never met anyone else who has been to the Azores or even knows where they are. I was never stationed there but Command did forget about our jet there for 10 days of fun. Also stopped off quite a bit. Reading your posts is getting me excited to start my truck.

[clemdaddy]

good work don... those taillights are coming together nicely and i really like the idea of them. jojo looks like a great friend and helper. abandoned or drop off critters make the best companions.

keep it up man, we got a week of beautiful weather ahead.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by jesseo

Love the progress. Those lights are amazing and truck is coming together great. Never met anyone else who has been to the Azores or even knows where they are. I was never stationed there but Command did forget about our jet there for 10 days of fun. Also stopped off quite a bit. Reading your posts is getting me excited to start my truck.

I Sure miss the ROCK!!! I had a blast there, was lucky enough to get 2 tours there, for a total of 5 years… Here is a pic of the Church in Praia built in the 1500's
Enjoy!!!

[markeb01]

Tail lights are coming along nicely! JoJo looks like a great addition to the family and shop. It doesn’t take long to get attached. I agree with Clem. All of our animals have been cast offs. We have two small dogs now and they are both constantly under foot!

[Ta2Don]

Thanks Guys for all the Comments… The Warmer weather finds me motivated to get going, not to mention time until the next Get-together at Clem's keeps getting shorter... and my list of things to do is SLOWLY shrinking…

Since the Compressor is temporarily unavailable, I started prepping my custom sail panels for their mod… Will post some pics soon!
Contacted McMurphy's friend about my custom emblems… and began prioritizing future things to do...

Tax return season is upon us here in the Body Art industry...
For those who haven't experienced this phenomenon… It means virtually every hour the Studio is Open, we have steady work. Not complaining, because it sure helps my "Budget" build fund... Which in turn prompts me to value the days off, and attempt to get as much truck time in as possible along with the Honey-Dos my Beautiful Wife finds for me to do...

As for JoJo, there is a crazy story behind his arrival that I will share a bit later… And although he loves to follow me around, and will chase a ball tip he drops… He disappears when the grinding and noise making involved with metal surgery begins...

Have a GREAT Day Guyz… Happy Wrenching!!!

[Ta2Don]

Back on Page 22 Post #527 I posted a couple of pics about my idea for a pair of Custom Sail Panels I picked up for $10...
I posted my card idea in Post #334 on page 12 that shows my Holy Fire Customz logo… hence the "z" added to Custom…

At first my thought was to redo the paint on the lettering and add a "z" onto the "m"…Well that has morphed into the following…

My plan is to make a die out of a 2x3 by notching out a "Z" with a rotary tool, then with a hammer and punch tap the "Z" into the Sail Panel… I have a punch that fits the original lettering…
Now I have one question… What are the thoughts about using a propane torch to warm the aluminum, a bit, prior to tapping in the "Z"??? The reason I ask is my concern about discoloring the metal. My plan is a Faux-tina Paint so I plan on retaining the patina on the Sail Panels… although I may repaint the lettering in the event my attempt to match the patina on the "Z" doesn't pan out...

After embossing the word "Custom" from each panel onto a piece of paper, I lined up the 2x3 and mapped out where to place the "Z" in order to clamp the panel in place before tapping in the letter… Here is the progress so far, I should have a chance this evening to notch the "Z" into the wood...

[Ta2Don]

and a couple more pics of the island…
one of Terceira from the air and one of my son on our neighbors burro...

[TJ's Chevy]

Nice work on the lights Don! Looking good! Eagerly waiting on how the Sail Panels turn out! Remember...the smoother they are the faster you Sail!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

[jesseo]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

and a couple more pics of the island…
one of Terceira from the air and one of my son on our neighbors burro...

So cool. My biggest memory was the taxi driver that thought he was an INDY car driver and the bull fighting ring on the beach. Craziest winds to land in also. Food was so good there too. We missed the church some how.

[Bomp]

Nice work on the tail lights.
When we were talking on the phone for some reason I figured they were getting stuck on the fender not Frenched. Sick work Don.
Give JoJo a treat from me and Vomit dog.

Can't wait to see them Sail Panels.

[1963c-10]

Nice job on the taillights.....looking great

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Nice work on the lights Don! Looking good! Eagerly waiting on how the Sail Panels turn out! Remember...the smoother they are the faster you Sail!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

That's the Best Reason to get them SMOOOOOOTH!!!

Originally Posted by jesseo

So cool. My biggest memory was the taxi driver that thought he was an INDY car driver and the bull fighting ring on the beach. Craziest winds to land in also. Food was so good there too. We missed the church some how.

I have ridden in a Taxi there when two taxi's were racing... Both Mercedes if I recall correctly and it was only $3 to go from the base to Praia which was about 3 miles away…Amazing food! Amazing People… I enjoyed every minute of my 5 years there… Would love to go back for a visit...

Originally Posted by Bomp

Nice work on the tail lights.
When we were talking on the phone for some reason I figured they were getting stuck on the fender not Frenched. Sick work Don.
Give JoJo a treat from me and Vomit dog.

Can't wait to see them Sail Panels.

Thanks for the advice during the phone calls, and Thanks for the Compliment!

As I posted earlier, there is a story behind JoJo's arrival, so here goes…
JoJo showed up at my daughter's one afternoon as the grandkids were getting off the school bus… He was either lost or a drop-off. The property is out in the sticks on a dead-end gravel road, so strays are not uncommon… Long Story short, my daughter had been to a funeral for her friend Joseph. The granddaughter called the dog JoJo, because her Mommy's friend Joe had died, so JoJo seemed to fit. He has responded to his new name since. He is very well-trained, Housebroken, and knows basic commands. He loves riding around with me when I run errands and hasn't attempted to go too far since his arrival. Awesome addition to the family...

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Nice job on the taillights.....looking great

Thanks!!! As soon as my Electrician diagnoses the compressor issue, I will get that fixed and get to finishing the taillights…