Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...

[crakarjax]

It looks like you might need to turn the heat up on your welder, it will make it lay down more for less grinding. And maybe get closer in to the weld also, for sheet metal I tend to have my nozzle resting on the metal and at an angle. I'm no expert though so try it on scrap first

[DD1]

Originally Posted by crakarjax

It looks like you might need to turn the heat up on your welder, it will make it lay down more for less grinding. And maybe get closer in to the weld also, for sheet metal I tend to have my nozzle resting on the metal and at an angle. I'm no expert though so try it on scrap first

Thanks for the tip. Will give it a try.

[DD1]

My spot welder tips have not been delivered yet; they are delayed at the post office, so I have not finished the bottom edge of the rocker panel.

I want to turn the truck around tomorrow if possible, and since the front is more stable with at least one fender on and I wanted to test fit the fender anyway, I put the fender on, then took it off, put it on again, took it off, and put it on a final time. It's actually getting so routine, it doesn't bother me anymore.

I had to make an adjustment on the door hinges; I wish they had figured out how to design it so the fenders don't have to come off.

I made a bracket for my fuse box and while it's small and simple in design, I am kinda proud of it since it's the first thing I have fabricated on my own. I bought one of my Craftsman tool chests as a display model when Sears was going out of business. They had several pieces of sheet metal bolted together in one of the draws to simulate the weight of tools. The metal is about 16 gauge steel.

I took it to a friend's house and used his bending tool to bend it into a U shape with about 5 inches on each side and a 3/4 inch bend. I cut about an inch off one side of the U, added spacers to the bolts for the harness plug, then mounted the bracket and the fuse box over the plug.



Here is the door aligned after the rocker install. I am thinking about just using a lot of bondo to build up the front of the rocker.

[DD1]

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads on the forum!

Today I cleaned up and rearranged stuff in the garage with the goal of turning the truck around and moving my ramps more to the center of the garage door. Overall it went pretty well. Can’t wait till I can drive it with the weight of the bed on the back.

Edit: It just occurred to me - I was so busy making sure I didn't hit anything, I totally forgot to see if the speedometer works.

Here’s a video of the turn around... Direct link: https://youtu.be/17ybBcCpP5o

You Tube

[cornerstone]

I'll take that compliment! Father of 3 here... Looks like it was a beautiful day in NY today... Here in Texas I woke up to an incredibly rare cool overcast morning which is totally awesome for the second day of summer. I didn't get to work on my truck today but at lest I got to come here and see progress on your end.

In regard to your speedometer, I imagine at the speed you were traveling you wouldn't see any movement at the needle. You could set the rear axle on jackstands , put her in gear, and let the wheels spin up some while checking the speedo. Obviously use great caution here unless you want another door in the back of the garage.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

I'll take that compliment! Father of 3 here... Looks like it was a beautiful day in NY today... Here in Texas I woke up to an incredibly rare cool overcast morning which is totally awesome for the second day of summer. I didn't get to work on my truck today but at lest I got to come here and see progress on your end.

In regard to your speedometer, I imagine at the speed you were traveling you wouldn't see any movement at the needle. You could set the rear axle on jackstands , put her in gear, and let the wheels spin up some while checking the speedo. Obviously use great caution here unless you want another door in the back of the garage.

Glad you enjoyed your Father's Day!

And yeah, you are probably right about the speedometer. When I first plugged in into the dash I turned the cable by hand and it budged a little, so there's that.

[DD1]

This evening the wife helped me put the door on the D/S. It went much easier than I expected; I thought it would give much more problems than the P/S did. I still have to install the latch, but I removed it from the old door and need to blast and paint it.

After lining up the doors, I must say I am pretty impressed with my work on the cab corners considering I had, quite literally no idea what I was doing and working off of a wing, a prayer, and the great advice from people on this forum. I really thought that I had shot myself in the foot by installing it without the door in place.

Here is the door lining up..



You might notice that the door is a little bit too far out, just a little...


I'm pretty sure it's sticking out because of this. I could've removed it, but I got distracted with other things.


I moved on to removing the guts from my old door following instructions in a forum post to remove the glass. Had to drill out one screw, but otherwise it went well. Just needed a screwdriver, handheld impact screwdriver and hammer, and a vice grip.





And last but not least, and this will probably surprise you almost as much as it surprised me... I didn't break the glass. And no, I didn't leave it there either. I put it away somewhere safe.

I shoulda written you guys a message in the dirt on the glass.

[DD1]

I didn't get to do a lot this weekend. I got pulled into a lot of side projects.

I installed the latch on the D/S door and mounted the fender. I had to shim the radiator support with two 3/8" shims to move the fender away from the door. It was a pain getting the fender lined up with the radiator support. I had to loosen the radiator mounts to get it to move.

I tried to install the new Detent cable I bought. The old one is installed on the transmission but not the engine and the sleeve is broken. I realized the part of the bracket that holds the detent cable is too far forward. Going to pick up a universal bracket tomorrow.

For some reason I can't get the rocker panel to shove into place with the door on like I did with the other side. That's going to make it more of a pain to install this rocker. Maybe I need to pull the door out more. I should probably remove the bumper and see how far in the door really goes.

It almost looks like a real truck...




It's been interesting learning how moving one part of the body affects other areas. I learned that putting a shim on the D/S of the radiator support will mess up the alignment on the other side. After shimming the D/S, I noticed this on the P/S and had to shim the P/S mount as well.

[DD1]

Been a long and busy weekend! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend!

On Friday I spent most of the day working on my bike (motorcycle, not 10 speed). Got a little time afterwards to do some small stuff on the truck. First, I fixed this alternator wire that fell and got too close to the exhaust manifold. Cut it and used a crimp butt connector to repair it.


Next, I installed the Spectre throttle bracket since the one I was using was not far back enough for the Detent Cable. And I installed the Detent Cable. I had to make the hole for the screw on the carb a little bigger, and I removed the extension piece for the Detent Cable.

So here are some stupid mistakes I made this weekend that are kind of funny in hindsight; then I'll get on to the bigger stuff I did.

1. It's a lot easier to install the Detent Cable on the carb if you attach it to the transmission first.

2. See the spring in the picture below? Yeah, I forgot to reattach it. When I started the engine on Saturday, I was wondering why the pedal was sticking. I also forgot to reinstall the 2 bolts from the old bracket on the intake manifold. Noticed it when I saw some water sitting on the manifold. (I have ordered a new throttle cable in case you wondered.)



3. Thought I was done? One more - No picture, but remember when I bought that new speedometer cable? Yeah, I need another one. I didn't secure it and it got fried on the exhaust pipe.

This weekend was A LOT of trial and error with the D/S door, rocker panel and fender. I am pretty happy with the rocker panel. I won't need to cut it or modify it much at all.


It took a while to get the door where I wanted it, but the fender was the real PITA this weekend. The real problem was where it bolts to the A pillar at the lower fender. There was no flexibility and it kept the fender way too close to the door and made it difficult to adjust.

This is where I made my holes originally.


And this is where it kinda wanted to be. I was concerned about drilling another hole especially since the area with the holes is 3 sheets of metal thick and I assume it needs the extra support.


I ended up compromising and extended the hole to make it "adjustable." I'll probably fill the original hole later.


I don't know if you can tell from this pic, but I got the door to move back just enough to make me happy with where it sits. It's subtle and the pics are from different viewpoints so it's hard to see.


These might be better - the first is from Saturday. The fender makes it hard to tell. The further back I got the door, the further back the fender wanted to go.



I did seriously think about buying an aftermarket fender. But this is the end result.






Drilled holes in the rocker panel and called it a night.

[DD1]

Just about finished with the D/S Rocker Panel. Took care of most of the small, unfinished items before I put the panel, door, and fender back on.

Tightened up and torqued the bolts on the A and B Pillars (hope I remembered to do this on the other side), and drilled holes in the support brace to plug weld it.



Got the Inner Panel all ready for paint and welding.



One last test fit and banging metal to make sure it connects where it needs too.


Then I started plug welding away. It's been crazy hot so I got a little done over the weekend, then tonight my process was Go to Garage, Weld a few times, go Inside, Drink Ice Water, Repeat. Got the A Pillar done, most of the B Pillar, and the top of the Rocker. Started using the Spot Welder on the bottom of the Panel, but left the rest for tomorrow. I still have to finish the P/S bottom of the panel - I thought my spot welder was not working right; turns out the tips were not screwed on tight enough.

[swamp rat]

Good job, makin some progress! Getting past them A pillars has gotta make a guy fill good.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Good job, makin some progress! Getting past them A pillars has gotta make a guy fill good.

I’m still in shock that everything fits! But yes, it does feel good.

[cj847]

The fender to door clearance looks way too tight. Can you open the door without scraping the fender?

[DD1]

Originally Posted by cj847

The fender to door clearance looks way too tight. Can you open the door without scraping the fender?

It is tight, but it clears. I can’t get it any further away. I tried adjusting the door and fender. It’s the best I could get it. I will try again when I put them back on.

[cj847]

Here is my issue which is why i commented. i realize you are not running trim.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=809545

[DD1]

Originally Posted by cj847

Here is my issue which is why i commented. i realize you are not running trim.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=809545

Are you able to move your door back at all? You could try putting a shim on the radiator support. That might give some space on the lower part of the fender to door.

[DD1]

Got the D/S Rocker Panel done, did some patch work on the cab, and installed the door and fender for a test fit. When I installed the door I got it to move in and back a bit so it lines up better with the rocker and gives a little more gap from the fender. That was a mistake.

Now the fender sticks out too much from the door without any shims. I thought about trying to push/bang in the lower fender support but not sure if that's a great idea. I shimmed the rear of the cab - A LOT - with 4 1/2 washers on each side. That helped a little, but now on the P/S the door is just about touching the fender.

I think I may need to pull the door back out a bit and then bondo the rocker to match the door. Anyone have a better idea?

I don't have pics of the drivers side but here's what I have.

This is before I shimmed the back of the cab.


This is behind the support. I forgot to put the washer on in this pic, but it shows my point./

This is after I shimmed the back of the cab. You can't tell from the pic, but it's still sticking out. I really like the way the door and rocker line up, but may have to sacrifice it for the fender.

[DD1]

I haven't done a lot lately. I've been busy with work and not up too it in the evenings, and the heat hasn't helped much. Last weekend we went to the Carlisle Truck Nationals Show where I picked up a couple things I need including a new passenger side inner fender (since I didn't feel like taking the time to repair either of the two I have) and lights for a 71/72 bumper.

The weekend before Carlisle, my brother-in-law came over and we worked on lining up the fenders, rockers, and doors. We decided on moving the D/S door out to match the fender and filling the rocker in later. Took the truck outside and power washed the rear end. My 6 year old nephew enjoyed driving in the truck even though it was just in and out of the garage.

Today I was struggling with what to do next, but decided to spend some time on the support bracket on the P/S. This would be much easier with the fender off, but doing things the easy way is not one of my strong points. You might also note that I am doing things very backwards and out of the order I should complete them.

The problem with the support brackets is the firewall floor is damaged and while I got it too be a bit better with heat and a hammer, it's not where near where I need it to be. I decided to bolt the bracket on the cab which will hopefully force the weaker cab metal to the bracket. First I drilled two holes into the bracket.


I was still having trouble lining it up on the cab, so I decided to start with the top and bottom pieces. I drilled a hole where the top spot weld originally was on the cab and bracket and bolted it in. It's not full attached in this pic, but I did tighten the nut and bolt.


Then I drilled two holes on the bottom of the bracket and one hole in the lower cab support to pull it in.


Next, I marked off the first two holes I made in the front of the bracket. I'll remove the bracket, drill out the holes in the firewall, bolt it back in, the try to pull/hammer the firewall to the bracket, drill a few more holes and spot weld it. Also going to test fit the inner fender before I do anything else.

[DD1]

I'm not even sure where to start...

Yesterday I decided to work on the frame where the bumper is attached. The end of the frame was cracked and pushed in a bit. Using an acetylene torch, hammer, and large screwdriver I got it back in place. Had to do a quick weld on the top and bottom to keep the other edge from folding when I banged on the inner edge.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out. Still need to weld it together (long story coming soon) after I test fit the bumper.

This is the initial before and after shot where I got the bottom in place, but the top was still out of alignment.


And here is the completed top and bottom portion...


Then here comes the stupidity part. I was trying to change out my welding wire to 0.35 and I was having some issues getting it lined up properly. I cut the line and decided to start over. I turned on the welder and fed the wire out of the rollers, then I reached over and grabbed the wire to pull it out of the trigger, but FORGOT to turn off the welder. OUCH!

So, yeah, this happened. And to make it worse, the entire spool unraveled and I had to toss it.


Last weekend I finally decided to mess around with the stud welder I borrowed from a friend a while ago. The top left is the before pic; I had already put 3 rods on it when I remembered to take a pic. I made lots of holes, because practicing on scrap metal would be too easy, but I welded up the holes. It looks better in person but I think I did a decent job. Next will be some bondo to bring it back to shape.

[swamp rat]

OUCH! Keep pressing on!!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

OUCH! Keep pressing on!!

Thanks, Mike! It's finally healing well. What's up with you? You have not posted in a while.

[DD1]

Okay, where did I leave off...

Got the frame welded where the bumper attaches. It was some trial and error, but got it done. It really takes a bit to get used to welding metal this thick. Not pretty, but it pretty enough and no one will see it.





Discovered my gas tank is crap...


Got the support brace bolted in. Plan on leaving the bolts and adding some welds.


Took the rear windshield off. This was a mistake as Ignorance is Bliss.


Now those of you that have gotten to know me would probably expect me to do several things at this point (well you might not know all of them):

1. Stare at it for an hour pondering what to do or maybe hoping it fixes itself.
2. Go online and do research on fixing it.
3. Be annoyed with it and ignore it for as long as possible.

Well, I did #1 for about 20 minutes, and I did #2 on my phone for about 5 minutes. After reading what I just wrote it sounds all kinds of wrong, but I'm leaving it written as-is.

Here are some closer pics:



Instead of following items 1-3 listed above, I took a crack at fixing it myself. I think this came out pretty well. Forgot to take a before picture.


I started working on another part of it, then my ass-hat neighbor pissed me off and I couldn't concentrate, so I'll get back to this tomorrow.

[1971Stepside]

Now those of you that have gotten to know me would probably expect me to do several things at this point (well you might not know all of them):

1. Stare at it for an hour pondering what to do or maybe hoping it fixes itself.
2. Go online and do research on fixing it.
3. Be annoyed with it and ignore it for as long as possible.

LOL, I have used this same sequence for many things during my build. Eventually I get it taken care of, but a lot of thought goes into it.

[swamp rat]

If you haven’t yet you will need to pull the windshield and probably do the same, then you can go to Eastwood and buy some encapsulation spray with a long hose, reach it up inside and try and coat the insides between the panels. Same with above the windshield, be forwarned the stuff is a liquid so it will find pin holes or gaps in panels So try and tape them up and cover and remove anything you don’t want damaged, but its the only way to treat the metal on the inside . I covered my dash and column with rags but still had to chase the runs a bit.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

If you haven’t yet you will need to pull the windshield and probably do the same, then you can go to Eastwood and buy some encapsulation spray with a long hose, reach it up inside and try and coat the insides between the panels. Same with above the windshield, be forwarned the stuff is a liquid so it will find pin holes or gaps in panels So try and tape them up and cover and remove anything you don’t want damaged, but its the only way to treat the metal on the inside . I covered my dash and column with rags but still had to chase the runs a bit.

Thanks! The windshield has been off for a while and there are no major issues with it thankfully. Good call on the rust encapsulator with the hose. I planned on doing that in other areas like the A pillar, but did not think of it for the roof.