Markeb01 Build Thread

[markeb01]

After years of admiring genuine diamond tufted upholstery, I finally found a how to book online explaining the process. I decided to start on the door panels, and depending on how they turned out either keep going or quit.

The first step was to remove the ridges from the lower section of the door so there would be a flat surface to apply the panel. The embossed area was trimmed away and replaced with a sheet of heavy steel. This was sealed with urethane and attached with pop rivets to keep it as flat as possible:





A template was then laid out establishing where the buttons and folds would end up:



The pattern was transferred to 3/16” ABS plastic sheet, and all the button and mounting holes drilled.



2” foam was marked for button holes and cut with a hollow punch. I don’t have a photo of the door panel foam, but this photo shows the same operation being performed:



After much experimentation finding the correct fabric allowance (the difference between the spacing of the holes in the backing and the holes in fabric) – holes were punched in the fabric and prong buttons were inserted from the front. The fabric allowance determines the depth and shape of the tufting.



Before applying the fabric to the foam and backing, “Christmas Tree” mounting studs were inserted through the ABS backing, providing a means to attach the panels to the doors. The item I used is Auveco 12759



Then it’s a simple (?) matter of wrestling the cover into position and folding the prongs over once the diamond folds are neatly tucked in place. It’s actually not all that simple. It’s tedious, very hard on the hands, and exhausting. It takes many hours for just one panel and explains why diamond tufted upholstery is so excessively expensive. And the design I chose increased the difficulty level because I wanted small diamonds popular in the late 1960’s. Larger diamonds would have required much less work. Completing the panel involves folding over the edges are stapling the cover on the back side. Then it’s time for a test fit.

On my first attempt the diamond tufting turned out beautifully. Unfortunately I didn't realize the dull finish ultra-leather fabric I selected would not provide the appearance I was after.





I had no choice but to tear it all out and start over. Here’s how it turned out after the panel was recreated with shiny marine vinyl upholstery:

[markeb01]

By the way, the name of the book I purchased was The Art of Hand Tufting, by Don Zitur, Sr.

[Corts60]

Great job on those panels Mark! Very inspiring.

[markeb01]

At this point I’m reasonably caught up on most the early stuff that’s been completed. Some of what follows may have been seen before in a daily update thread, but I’m striving to get the whole build on one thread and in sequence as much as possible so here goes with some additional stuff:

Back to the engine compartment clean up that started on post #50, I consolidated wires into fewer looms, rerouted heater hoses to clear the valve covers, and formed new hard lines for the clutch and brake cylinders. The brake lines in this photo looked great when originally installed, but that was before the booster was added. To fit the booster the lines were just bent forward to fit and looked crappy. I also replaced the plug wires and moved them to under the manifolds, again to keep the clutter off the valve covers.



The old stainless street rod overflow tank never worked well, and looked terrible with a twisted steel bracket and tubing spacer holding it in place. Here’s an earlier shot showing the upper mounting details:



For my birthday present my wife ordered a new black powder coated tank from Jegs. The part number is 555-51137:



It’s both more compact and actually works. With the old tank the radiator always had air in it and the tank was frequently empty. With the new bottle, the radiator is always kept full right to the bottom of the cap. These shots show both the new overflow bottle and the newly formed hard lines for the master cylinder. There are no coils in the brake lines, just numerous right angle bends for flexibility. The proportioning valve was mounted on the rear of the front crossmember to make it easier to access the valve covers:





About this time I was required to accept medical retirement and left the work force. To keep my mind off bigger issues I decided it was time for a new paint job, but without money it needed to be cheap, and I just wasn’t up to another complete tear down to remove all the lacquer paint. After a bunch of research I decided John Deere Blitz Black would be just the ticket, and after some extensive research I was pleased to discover I could actually buy it locally.

The first order of business was removing the steps, and eliminating the holes which had been drilled by the original owner for the camper supports:



The waves in the ridge tops were hammer and dollied back into alignment. Next, typical of all my sheet metal repairs the back of the holes were ground to bare metal, coins were formed to match each ridge and epoxied in place with JB Weld.



While those were curing initial sanding commenced:



Almost ¼” of body filler was ground off the poorly repaired lower rear door corners, returning them to a decent appearance.

[markeb01]

After grinding the roof gutter cavity to bare metal and coating with epoxy primer, the lower portion of the rain gutters were filled up with Evercoat Maxim self leveling seam sealer. One huge advantage to this product is that it uses a standard caulking gun. Now instead of water sitting in a trough with no drain, it just flows over the edge preventing future rust damage:





Most of the paint was in good condition, but the front of the hood was covered in chips while the top of both rear fenders had numerous star chips from living on a broken rock railroad grade for nine years. After featheredging or grinding to bare metal as needed UPol 2K primer was applied with foam rollers and brushes. Since it was going to be sanded anyway, this eliminated the mess and clean up of spraying the primer.





The rear fenders took a couple of coats with blocking in between to get the surface perfectly flat again:





And here’s the truck just about ready for paint. Also note the chain temporarily bolted to the frame and dragging on the floor. A tip I learned for reducing the build up of static electricity on the body surface. It really does help in reducing the attraction of dust during the painting process:







Here’s a shot right after unmasking. I looks pretty good – at first:

[markeb01]

Closer inspection reveals what happens when you’re going for the last coat, stop to refill the gun, and before the lid goes back on - step on the air hose which was stupidly left connected to the gun. I’ve tried to adjust the contrast to show how ghastly it looked in real life, but the photo doesn’t do it justice. And entire quart of paint was thrown all over the back fender and bed side.



All I could do was clean up, and walk away for a few days until the paint set. It took an entire day to resand the mess at which point the entire truck had to be remasked and the paint adjusted to come out with the same matching low gloss finish.

More to follow.

[McMurphy]

Wow...
Ok, first off the retirement.
How are you coping with that? I ask because unless something monumental happens in my career status I will be retired from the Army the summer of 2014. I already know I dont want to show up every day to some place of business, put my brain on auto pilot, and draw a 9-5 pay check. We are working on being self sufficient so I wont have to do that.

Secondly, the work you do to this rig is amazing enough as it is... I am ever in awe of your truck and hope to see it in person this summer !!

Third, Your garage is like heaven to me. I showed the profile pic of your truck above to the wife and she keyed in on the same thing I did, the neat and orderly collection of tools you have !! Your garage looks like it would be a joy to work in !!

[66farmer]

Mark
I really like reading your posts about your truck keep it going. It does help that it's a stepside.

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Wow...
Ok, first off the retirement.
How are you coping with that? I ask because unless something monumental happens in my career status I will be retired from the Army the summer of 2014. I already know I dont want to show up every day to some place of business, put my brain on auto pilot, and draw a 9-5 pay check. We are working on being self sufficient so I wont have to do that.

Secondly, the work you do to this rig is amazing enough as it is... I am ever in awe of your truck and hope to see it in person this summer !!

Third, Your garage is like heaven to me. I showed the profile pic of your truck above to the wife and she keyed in on the same thing I did, the neat and orderly collection of tools you have !! Your garage looks like it would be a joy to work in !!

In answer to your first question, it took at least a year to get used to being out of the work force. When I was working, I had a very active and involved daily routine. and planned to work for 10 more years. For the last 14 years of my career my official title was Non-Inventory Buyer for a multi-million dollar international corporation. I bought everything that didn’t go out the door as a company product – like production equipment, computers, software, office supplies, buildings, vehicles, etc. I spent millions of dollars, and placed thousands of orders and had no shortage of work.

But my real job was a Mr. Fixit help desk for corporate headquarters. If anybody local or remote needed anything and didn’t know where to go, they called me whether it had to do with purchasing or not. I either had the answer or knew how to find it, and I could navigate corporate politics and get things done when there was no other solution. Duplicate technology at home provided me the privilege of a very flexible schedule. For the first 12 years, I absolutely loved what I did.

To reduce the long story to a short synopsis the last two years saw one too many mergers which toppled the management, ruined the corporate culture, and my health. Working 20 hours a day wasn’t enough, and an event with my left eye revealed a bunch of other more serious medical problems. I was provided a very generous benefit package to get rid of me cleanly, and felt fortunate the stress didn’t kill me like it had several other employees.

But going from that type of vital daily routine to nothing at all was rather daunting for quite a while. While recovering, I sought work for a while until it became obvious I wouldn’t have the stamina for it any longer. So after decades of having purpose bringing in money and making a difference at the workplace, I had to find something else to do.

I joined several forums to see if I could contribute, which turned out to offer a measure of therapy. I also initiated a bunch of truck and home projects that didn’t cost much, which has also proven beneficial.

Sadly my wife had to go back to work to afford health insurance, so we switched roles and I now wait on her hand and foot like she did for me the previous two decades. After adjusting to a limited income, I only kick myself for not retiring earlier. I can’t imagine returning to the stress of answering to anyone. I really like being able to get up whenever I want and do anything I please whenever the mood strikes.

I hope you can develop a plan that allows you to retire as you envision. It can certainly be an enjoyable time of life if you have developed the means to support it. It’s tougher today, but so far we’ve been managing okay.

Thanks for the positive comments on the truck. I look forward to meeting another forum member. Try not to be too disappointed when you see it in real life. It’s certainly not a show truck, just the best street rod truck I could build on a budget. When you’re planning to be in the area just let me know and I’ll make sure she’s all cleaned up and ready for inspection!

As for the garage, it’s amazing what little investment it takes to make everything really convenient. A few sheets of pegboard, some paint, and a little creative thinking can make it so much more pleasurable to work in. Mine is just a typical attached two car garage (not a shop) but everything has a place and a purpose. My wife can also find almost anything she wants which keeps her happy as well.

Having many of the hand tools hanging on the wall offers a couple of advantages. When you’re done with a project and everything is put back, you know if something got left under the hood because it’s obviously not where it belongs. Also when you’re in a big project and you realize all the ½” wrenches are missing, it’s time to take a break and put everything back. A few minutes later you can start over fresh and avoid frustration. And when you’re done and everything is hung up, visitors have a hard time believing any work goes on at all, because everything looks just like the last time they saw it.

It’s been evolutionary for me. As a kid in the 1950’s I grew up the garages of men that were old school mechanics and racers that grew up in the 30’s and 40’s. They had very little in the way of tools or supplies, and most of those were dirty and greasy dumped in bench drawers. By the 1960’s the only significant garage improvement I remember was the concept of screwing baby food lids to the bottom of shelves, and filling the jars with old greasy nuts and bolts. From the perspective of a kid it seemed much harder to get anything done when everything was slippery and greasy. It also caused many baby food jars to fall off the lid, smashing the jar and scattering the contents. I found it much easier to take a rag and wipe everything off first.

And regarding contents - back in the 70’s I had boxes full of “really cool stuff” that took up a lot of needed space. Rare parts for cars it turns out I never did own. I came to two conclusions. 1. Unless it’s just a rare collectible item I want to keep, if I have no planned use for it in the next 5 years I get rid of it. 2. If I do want it and can’t find it when I need it, I might have well have thrown it away because I’ll end up buying a new one anyway. As a result everything I own is in totes with accurate descriptions on the end. If I know I have something, I can almost always find it by checking in one or two places. It saves a lot of money and irritation.

The last big step I took was to mount two benches, the dirty bench and the clean bench. The dirty bench has the vise, and all sawing, grinding, cutting, etc happens there. The clean bench is reserved for small projects, carb rebuilding, or model car painting. There’s much less chance of contaminating a delicate project this way.

Originally Posted by 66farmer

Mark
I really like reading your posts about your truck keep it going. It does help that it's a stepside.

I’ve got pages of more photos to load I think might be interesting. Getting it all in sequence takes a bit of effort but my goal is to get this thread up to current so when new things happen I can post them immediately instead of dealing with all this historical stuff.

There are many beautiful fleetside trucks on this site alone, and I do take the time to look them over thoroughly at rod runs. But short stepsides are my passion. If mine hadn't been a stepside I wouldn’t have bought it.

Thanks to you both for looking and commenting.

[markeb01]

So a few days later I sanded down the left rear fender/bed side and reshot the goof up:



A couple of days later the truck was back together. The repair came out a perfect match for the rest of the truck. Then I discovered how strange it is to photograph this finish, because to the camera it changes colors depending on the light:









And just for fun I took a shot with the 1963 black plate and original dealer frame it was wearing when purchased:



And then for fun I thought it would be interesting to see how it would look with a chopped top, which I think actually looks very cool:





And after having the glove box door in wrinkle black for many years, I decided it was time to paint it gloss black to match the rest of the dash. I used Tamiya Lacquer model car paint and it came out an exact color match to the PPG Lacquer on the dashboard:



Somewhere in there I also installed NOS door regulators, window winders, and door latches acquired through Ebay. And I fabricated a 5/16” steel plate to both lower and reinforce the front license plate.

[Alan's Classic]

Thanks for the feedback and PN for the over flow tank. I was wondering what I was gonna use.

[markeb01]

I really like it because it's inconspicuous compared to the street rod style, easy to mount, and actually works correctly.

[jimmydean]

Man, I love so many things about your truck. Top notch work all the way around and it doesn't say "budget" anywhere I look.

[Vernski]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Thanks for the feedback and PN for the over flow tank. I was wondering what I was gonna use.

Hey Alan or mark what is the part # or link for the expansion tank Thanx...Vernski

[markeb01]

Here you go. It's also offered polished under 555-51136:

black powder coated tank from Jegs. The part number is 555-51137

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performan...51137/10002/-1

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performan...51136/10002/-1

[LowDown]

Mark I been watching your posts for a few years even before I became a member , I was wondering why does this guy love these trucks so much .I mean I love my truck but not like you. This is amazing thread it ranks up there with Demo's or Drtyrat's build . I liked your truck before but now I love it.

I bow down to you my friend , I am clearly not worthy , crazy Bastard !

[LowDown]

Also if I may speak for myself if not for all the others , I'd like to thank you for all the help you have given us through out the years. Thanks man !

[firefighter736]

Originally Posted by LowDown

Also if I may speak for myself if not for all the others , I'd like to thank you for all the help you have given us through out the years. Thanks man !

Most certainly agree with this. You've answered a several questions for me and for that I am grateful. Your truck served as an inspiration for quite a few things that I have done or am going to do with my truck. Please keep us posted.
Posted via Mobile Device

[markeb01]

Thanks for the positive comments guys, they are much appreciated. When I was young I benefitted from a couple of old guys that took the time to teach me a great deal of mechanical stuff they learned the hard way. I’m trying to repay those favors by sharing whatever I’ve learned that might have value, so all of it won’t be lost when I’m no longer around.



While studying the photos of the new paint job, it occurred to me it might look too plain. I thought about adding big Clay Smith woodpecker decals to the lower front fenders. They were very popular when I was a sophomore in high school (1964). Two years later when I was a senior they had virtually disappeared from the high school parking lot. I also thought they might be a bit too much. That’s when I started considering the old Moon Equipped decals. They weren’t much of a high school favorite where I lived, but I thought they looked cool since the first time I saw them in a magazine, and many of the real race cars had them which seemed to validate their authenticity (at least to my sense of logic).

So I slapped a pair on, and quickly realized they were too far forward. Studying the newest photos I also discovered an interesting optical anomaly. Depending on the viewing angle, the slant of the eyes changes slope from leaning forward to leaning backward, or appearing straight up and down. Viewed directly from the side they obviously slant forward. Viewed from a forward position they appear to slant to the rear. I can only assume it’s because of the inward slope of the fender at the bottom. It has no significance, I just found it interesting. Here’s a comparison photo showing what I’m describing:





Picking up another pair at a local car show, the first pair were peeled of and replaced in what I considered a more aesthetically appealing location, farther back on the fender.



That gave me some other ideas about side trim. I thought the “speed lines” introduced in the art deco period of the late 1930’s provided a lot of visual interest. So I played around with some 1948 Chevy Fleetline trim concepts. If I ever do the Fleetline style trim, it will be made of aluminum or chrome plated brass, but with my pitiful photoshop skills they are shown in white. I asked for feedback which led to these suggestions:









I liked all the suggestions, but so far they haven't made it any farther than rattlng around in my head. Maybe someday. More to follow.

[LostMy65]

#1 - I might like the strips more if they were a faint gray like #4

Originally Posted by markeb01

#2 - Not my taste

Originally Posted by markeb01

#3 - Wow factor is high.
I'd like to see the flames in progressive faint gray like number 4

Originally Posted by markeb01

.

#4 - I really like the soft touch of accent.
My favorite

Originally Posted by markeb01

[awbrown]

#3 ... BIG FLAMES ,love it ..........

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by markeb01

When I was young I benefitted from a couple of old guys that took the time to teach me a great deal of mechanical stuff they learned the hard way.

Well sir, a couple of things you said here have resonated with me, this is one of them.

But going from that type of vital daily routine to nothing at all was rather daunting for quite a while.

Was another....
There used to be a joke in the Army.
Q: what is the leading cause of death for Soldiers?
A: Retirement

Just to put it in a nutshell, you come in the Military you usually dont have a plan or a care. Then you get some rank, responsibility, and reenlist a couple of times and you start to plan and care. Sometimes too much.
You learn to wrestle responsiblity and drink coffee by the gallon, then later you learn to chew on stress and wash that down with copious amounts of beer.
Then after 20 or 30 years, one day you walk across a stage, and all that stress gets hung on a hanger and put in the closet in the suit bag you toted around most of your career.

I generally get up in the morning 2 hours before I have to walk out the door, which in context is usually about 0400. Just because I have to feed that routine you talked about. One thing throws off my routine and stuff happens like driving off and forgetting to take out the trash with me or bring my lunch to work.

My last job as a civilian before I came back in the Army was cooking at an Army golf course club house. After I had worked there a few months, I started to realize there was a core group of 15 guys that would golf ~every~ day, weekends too!
It occured to me that not all of them could be independantly wealthy, or have sugar mommas keeping them in greens fees and golf balls. So I asked how they were able to golf all the time and not have to have jobs.
common denominators between all them were:
Retired Military
Real Estate
Investments, though only one or two of them managed their stocks and bonds personally. Most had an agency that did that for them.

As we are now, I should not have to ask someone for a job, or set my brain on auto pilot to draw a paycheck ever again.
I hope with what we are getting set up there in Chattaroy, I will have the time investments to keep my routine, and keep the sudden lack of stress from killing me !!

Thanks for your replies, the insight is awesome.

[markeb01]

With a full military career dealing with stress and responsibility, it shouldn’t be too hard to make your retirement plans happen. Transitioning to that life style before your health goes will provide a great deal more enjoyment than waiting too long. Good luck!

[markeb01]

Although random pictures have shown them before, right after I painted the glovebox door black was about the time the decal idea was formed. (Apologies for the photos that are out of sequence, but if I waited to make everything perfect I would never have started this thread). I've seen a lot of glove box doors chrome plated or pinstriped, but I haven't seen any application of racing decals since the 60's when it was popular. So I gave it a shot. This is the first batch.



The Fremont sticker has memories for me as I used to live about a mile from the strip. It was great being out in the pool during the summer listening to the fuelers run.

From the start I thought the Autometer sticker was too new so I started looking for something more vintage and interesting. It didn’t take too long to find a 62-68 style Hurst sticker. It’s more in keeping with the time period I'm after. Here are a couple of snaps after the change:





Since they’re all on a separate panel, if I ever get tired of the whole idea I can always strip them off and repaint the door.

Although mentioned earlier here are a few clock photos starting with the Autometer that failed within a few weeks of purchase.



The shipping charges and hassle to get it fixed caused me to change course. Since I depended on the clock, I wanted something accurate and reliable so I started shopping for an airplane clock. I really wanted a vintage wind up clock with a 24 hour face like this one:



I never could find one at an affordable price, so I had to settle for a current production electric clock. The beauty of this thing is it keeps perfect time. If the battery isn’t disconnected, it’s never off even by a minute over months of time. It’s as accurate as my cell phone. So while it wasn’t my first choice, I certainly can’t complain about functionality:



If a 24 hour Wakmann ever does turn up at a price I can afford I’ll probably swap out the electric clock. One of my other hobbies/passions happens to be wind up time pieces.

[likaroc13]

you know, i always love reading about your build...not only does it keep my interest, but it's pretty easy to read/follow with proper grammar & spelling....and some build threads just don't captivate me quite as much as others...however your insight and perspective of things always keeps me longing for more...to me it's not always just a truck build, but it's somewhat like a bio offering a little glimpse of someones life story...those are the kinda build threads i enjoy most...i appreciate your contributions to the forum, and i'm glad we have folks like you around here