Roof swap on my panel begins

[Indian113]

Man did that change the whole look of your truck. I love it! I can't wait to see it in person.

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by Indian113

Man did that change the whole look of your truck. I love it! I can't wait to see it in person.

Yeah, I have a small To-Do list before it goes more than a 100 mile round trip.
- Rebuild and fine-tune my 1406 Edelbrock
- tear apart my OldAir heater/ac to be sure everything is top notch
- install the new aluminum radiator that has been sitting on my floor
- switching up to at least a 110a alternator

Then, I will be cruising the back roads of Iowa and Missouri!

[oldman3]

Panel is looking great...Jim

[_Ogre]

wow. looks good highsider

[Highsider]

Okay, guys! Just got these shots from the shop.
They are installing all new Steele door seals, window felts, channels and so on. I already had power windows, and everything was torn out for welding the new door bottoms.
Take a close look at the door and hood gaps and tell me how they look.

[mr48chev]

What I can see from that angle looks good. You get it much nicer and you will be worrying about driving it on a regular basis.

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

You get it much nicer and you will be worrying about driving it on a regular basis.

Already getting the "shakes" thinking about that.
Lots of gravel, dust or mud around here. The previous red paint hid a lot of grime.

[wahl4m]

"white is right " !! always liked white trucks ! got a couple ,I STILL NED A ROOF FOR MY CARRYALL !! with spring coming ,would everybody look and see if one can be found !!!! i bought 2 new nos front fenders,radiator support,and inners ,got to get my steps and firewall in and paint interior > your truck is looking good < thanks mike

[Kim57]

Looks real nice.
Kim

[55dude]

looks killer! putting a new lid on is huge job and one i wouldn't want.

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by 55dude

looks killer! putting a new lid on is huge job and one i wouldn't want.

Thanks.
All I ever wanted and needed was a TF panel, like in your avatar, to stick my business' sign on.
My first vehicle was a 55 like yours, when I was 16 (in 1968). I sanded it down, painted it pumpkin orange and hauled my dirt bike in it.
It was going along fine with my 57, until the doe rammed me.

[Highsider]

Just brought it home Friday. New rear insulation and interior eventually.
Thanks for playing along since just after Thanksgiving!

[Kim57]

It came out real nice.
Kim

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by Kim57

It came out real nice.
Kim

Thanks to the loyal followers!
This last photo represents the actual color, BTW.

[dicer]

How much for all the work they did?

[55dude]

so awsome!

[VDOG]

Very nice. I need to do the samething on my C-10 truck to change the roof.
What I did not see is the shop reinforcing the body when the roof was cut off.
How did they do that?

[Highsider]

VDOG - this picture is not my wall, but you can see how substantial it is built. It does not need bracing even when the roof is off.
Plus, the roof by itself is light weight. While cutting off the donor roof, my job was to hunch inside and support it when it became loose and walk it over, with a little help balancing, to the flatbed trailer we hauled it on.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by VDOG

Very nice. I need to do the samething on my C-10 truck to change the roof.
What I did not see is the shop reinforcing the body when the roof was cut off.
How did they do that?

We brace and highly suggest bracing our cabs when we chop the tops on them as cutting though the door posts lets them flex all over the place even if it isn't noticeable to the naked eye. When I first chopped my 48 there was no internet and the magazines never metioned bracing the body before chopping a top. My first chop on my truck was serous proof of that.

What the shop did on his was remove the roof skin but they didn't cut the door posts the same as you would do on your truck most likely unless the top structure was seriously rusted or damaged. I've been involved in a couple of top changes on vehicles where the structure was damaged and we cut the top off along the door posts and cut the donor at the same spot and changed tops but didn't chop the top. Both were rigs my buddy bought to repair and had damaged roofs.

[VDOG]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

We brace and highly suggest bracing our cabs when we chop the tops on them as cutting though the door posts lets them flex all over the place even if it isn't noticeable to the naked eye.

Sorry not trying to hijack your post. I could skin mine but around the outside of the windshield under the rubber is rusted. You can hear the crumble when you push on it. But only half the windsheild, outside and inside. Then the passenger side drip rail is shot and the inside a-pillar at the roofline top of the passenger door. The bondo was shaped badly. Have a doner cab, but its almost as bad as what I have.

[Highsider]

No worries, VDOG. I am sure you know mr48 from way back.
Good luck VDOG.

[BC Toy chest]

She's a beauty, please keep the photos coming. I remember those old Divco Helms trucks, they had the best donuts. Kids ran after Ice cream trucks I ran after the Helms truck, lol. Also Helms was the first bread to go to the moon on Apollo 11.

[haskell]

Very nice. Thanks for posting the timeline shots.

[haskell]

Wow! Good work all around.

[mr48chev]

Very nice work indeed.

No problem Vdog, a lot of times my comments seem critical or a bit overbearing but quite often I don't want people to make the same mistakes that i did in the past.

From my own experience in cutting a roof off and welding one back on (in my case chopping the top) :

1. make sure your cab mounts are in good condition and the cab is sitting right on the frame. The whole thing will be tweaked if the cab mounts aren't right in all respects. Then set the truck so it is perfectly level before you go to the next steps.
2. fit the doors before you start cutting and get the gaps perfect.
3.. brace the daylights out of the cab before you cut.
4. do your cutting and welding back with the new top.
5. stand back and pat yourself on the back as the gaps are still perfect when you are done.

If I had know that in 1980 I might not be building a complete new (to me) cab now. They say that you learn from your mistakes and I have learned a lot with this truck since 1973.