1957 Chevy 3600 Mild Custom Build

[RobinHood]

Also worked the cab some more to get it ready for paint. Still have a few low spots that need some filler work but it is all starting to look pretty good imo. Some pinholes here and there to fill as well, I'm planning to finish it up in the next 2 weekends.

[Rods57]

Looking good...

[RobinHood]

So its been a long time since ive posted. I finished up my Junior year of college and shipped for my 2nd and final time to United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School where I successfully graduated and earned the title of Marine. As of now, I have the rest of my summer to do nothing but get back to the truck and try to get it done.

The last things I did which I forgot to update here included getting final body filler spots and sanding, couple coats of primer surfacer, a ton of block sanding, and my attempt at paint. Which turned out to be pretty much a total failure.

What I didnt know before painiting is that you cant cut and buff single stage metallic paints really at all. I had a pretty decent lay down when I sprayed, but there was obviously some orange peel given I am a first time auto painter. So I started with some 1000 grit all the way up to 2000 grit paper then followed with a wool and foam pad and some cutting and then polish compound. Looked absolutely great. Fantastic even. Until I rolled it outside. Turns out, I hadn't gotten all the orange peel completely out in some areas, very hard to see. The polish got ground into these low areas and oxidized in the sun creating streaks across the paint. The metallic flakes were also cut into in some areas and caused streaking in the shine. Here is a picture of what it all looked like before I cut and buffed it.

[RobinHood]

I did pretty much all I could to try to save the paint that I already had, but to get the bad orange peel out I had to sand down way too deep and I started to rub through in some areas. Given that, and the fact that the metallic was getting messed up, I decided to ditch the entire candy apple red single stage altogether and take a break. Since then, I have decided to sand it all down, get it flat again, and respray everything with a simple clean bright white enamel. I dont really have a ton of time more that I can be trying to do fancy things on this truck and I think the white will look pretty clean and be simpler to get decent results from on the paint side.

[dsraven]

before you shoot on the project again ensure you spray some of the new paint out onto a scrap piece of something flat and smooth to mimmick the truck body. adjust the gun and air pressure so you get a good pattern and the right amount of paint laid down.you can google your gun style to learn how to adjust the pattern. watch how much atomized paint there is left over in the air after shooting as this overspray can affect the paint laid down when it settles on the fresh surface. ensure you are using the right reducer for the temp and humidity and get the viscosity correct. if the paint dries too fast you will easily get orange peel, too slow and you will tend to get runs. using a painters measuring cup helps as well as the graduated stir sticks. remember the tapered cups have different volumes as you pour more in so if using the graduated stick keep this in mind and maybe use a paint can to mix in rather than a tapered cup. I usually mix a couple of cans at a time so I don't have to stop mid spray to mix another cup full. keep the lid on the can loose so you can easily get it off on a hurry. practice a little on the scrap part. even a big piece of cardboard to check the pattern will work. when you lay down the next paint watch the reflection of the new coat as it goes down. always keep the gun and fresh spray area between you and the light so you can see the paint reflect as it sprays onto the project. spray some paint on and shoot a panel then take a look in a sec to see if it levels out or if it needs more or less paint to get it right. this is especially true on the second coat where the second coat can go on and look orange peel but in a second or two the first coat absorbs the fresh paint and the surface lays down flat and smooth. you can sorta tell how it looks right away and then decide if you need another pass, more or less speed as you shoot etc. remember to keep shaking the gun to keep the metallic particles suspended in the paint inside the cup, if using metallic. some guys will start at the top of the project and work down, some start at the bottom and work up. bottom up theory says the wet paint just shot below will absorb some of the overspray as new paint is shot above it. personally I like to shoot from the top down especially on a truck where there is more chance of rubbing an airline or something on the fresh paint just sprayed. personal choice. sometimes taking the box off helps to make it easier to get the roof and back of the cab done without rubbing something but more chance of ending up with a different sheen that way. spraying a solid color is easier because there is no chance of getting a blush area in the metallics where the spray patterns overlap. base/clear can be more forgiving if you mess up because you could redo a small area and buff the clear smooth after.
painting the garbage can first can help you adjust the gun plus you get a matching garbage can in the shop, lol.
a clean gun is always a good start. the right air pressure is important and adjusting the gun before spraying the project is a big point. try adjusting and playing with the gun settings and spraying patterns using something cheap like laquer thinner or gun wash as a medium. it is thinner than the paint so the gun would need re adjusting with the proper consistency product inside before actually painting but you will get to see what the adjustments do for the patterns and amount of product put out by the tip. check with the gun manufacturer for tip and needle sizes and also air pressure ranges for the product you are spraying, then practice some.
good luck.
keep posting pics of the progress.

[Russell Ashley]

Any shade of metallic red, or most any metallic color for that matter, is not the paint that you want to use on your first paint job attempt, but looks like you have found that out. Paint is not cheap now so that adds to the aggravation of having to buy more paint and remove the old that you just spent money on. I'm sympathizing with you because I've been there. Light colors seem to be the easiest for us amateurs. Be sure all of your material is same brand and follow directions exactly, as DS said above. Good luck and post pics as you go.

[RobinHood]

Been pretty busy on getting all the metal and body work done on my bed to try to get some paint on it soon. I did get some paint on the firewall redone and the dash as well. I made a gauge panel out of some 16 gauge mild steel to mount my gauges in. I ended up buying an electric speedometer from Speedway as it seemed like the only way out other than going GPS. I drilled the gauge holes using a Milwaukee hole dozer and a drill press, worked pretty well. I think it came out pretty good.

[RobinHood]

It doesn't seem to me that anyone ever really looks at this little page here for my truck, so I havent really been keeping it up to date, just been working on the truck to get it done. As of now, all I have left is to sew the headliner, kick panels, do the front bumper, and finish up and tidy the last of the wiring. Ive got it running pretty good, not that hard to do so with a simple SBC 350. I will update more and add more pics when I get it back out on the road and maybe write up more about what Ive done.

[gigamanx]

Plenty of us lurking for an update truck looks good and the white looks like it laid down nicer for ya. What's next on the list?

[joedoh]

woop woop, nice looking truck!

[duramax55]

nice job on everything looks realy good. To bar that red didnt work for you but Whit is easy to keep clean dosent show dust. overall very nice build. I like your hood setup and gaps all look very even

[Purcell69]

Very impressive work!

-Joe

[Rickysnickers]

Been following along since you started

[59chev]

Looking good! Stance is great.

Check my thread if you want some ideas for bumper mounts. I just finished mine with the camaro clip.

What did you end up doing to get it to sit like that? Any more pics of your step notch? That's next on my to-do list.

Thanks.

[Kevin_C]

Well done Robinhood. im going a similar direction as you. Can you post up some some more pics? I'm toying with the idea of a white or ivory.

[RobinHood]

Hey guys thanks for checking it out. I was able to pull it out and take some more pics so here are some more. The paint looks way better in the pictures than it does in person, there were many little flaws and imperfections that I'm not happy with. It seemed like I just kept getting a ton of trash in the spray job even after repeatedly filtering and recleaning the gun and adding new filters on the air line. In some areas, I got some pretty bad runs as well. I was able to sand alot of it out, but they remain and I'm not going to repaint again right now.

[RobinHood]

Here are some pics of the bed and the bed floor I made for the truck. I fabbed a steel frame out of 1.25" square tubing and used some pine boards for the bed floor. It is very strong and even though I dont intend to put anything in the bed it is a lot stronger than stock. I have cutouts for the rear wheels in the besides and the bed floor. The floor is raised up about 7 inches off of the frame to make room for the step notch. The fuel tank is also in the rear section of the frame. The bed came out pretty good imo.

[RobinHood]

I made my flip hood setup using ideas from people on this forum, credit goes heavily to Kim57 for the basic design mechanics. The setup works great. Its smooth and closes easily every time. I got to keep the stock hood latch setup as well. I used an H shaped bar with 4 heim joints and 2 rollers on tracks to make it work. I had to have the flip hood to meet my goal of a smooth firewall. Engine is a mostly stock 350. Its got a speedway sbc radiator that I still need an overflow and fan shroud for. I used a booster and master from an 82 c10. Prop valve is from the stock camaro front subframe. Front discs, rear drums.

[RobinHood]

I wanted a pretty simple interior and I wasn't super motivated to do a bunch of fancy stuff. I carpeted the whole floor all the way to the top of the firewall. I made a center console for the shifter, stereo, and switch panel using mdf and bondo. It also hides a lot of the wires. The fuse box is mounted on an MDF panel above the passenger side toeboards high on the inside firewall. I also have the reciever and control board and relays for the door popper setup on that board. I upholstered the console and used a Hurst style shifter boot. I refubished the stock bench seat with new burlap, foam, and seat covers that I sewed myself out of some black and white marine vinyl. Ive never even so much as thought about using a sewing machine and I didnt practice at all, so for this being my first time sewing ever I think they came out great. It was really pretty easy. I made some pleats for fun, I will use them on the headliner. I am still waiting for speakers to put in the kick panels so they Will have custom moulded panels made for them and upholstered once I get speakers. All in all, for my experience level as a first timer came out decent.

[Kevin_C]

I think the color combination works really well. You really have moved along on this project. I've had mine up on jacks for months but have been procrastinating cutting the frame to make it a short bed. The smooth dash looks great, mines partially smoothed but still got the glove box which I hear is useless once you add AC.

[Kim57]

Truck looks really good.
Kim

[RobinHood]

Little update on this truck for anyone interested.
It took me about 6 months to get insurance on it for me to be able to drive it. As a 21 year old in California, it seemed like it would be impossible to get insured to drive it in any capacity. I went through about 18 insurance companies and finally was able to get coverage for a surprisingly very low rate. I have been driving the truck for about 3 months and it has been great. There are definitely a lot of things I would change now that I have it on the road, unfortunately that will have to wait until I get my own space to tear it apart and work on it again.

I kept having insane cooling problems and finally realized that my radiator just had about no flow whatsoever. I found a very nice Ron Davis radiator setup with 2 15" Spal electric fans for only $70. It barely fits within the width of the inner fenders but i was able to get it installed and wired it up to a double relay switch. I had a thermostat sensor wired to it at the start, but it seemed spotty at best and i didnt want to risk blowing the heads off so i have it currently wired to a manual switch in the cab. With the fans off almost all the time i am driving, the temp stays right at 180* per the thermostat in the intake. If i pull up to a stoplight, i flip the fans on and the setup will drop the temp to the bottom of the gauge if i leave them on. Slight hassle to work the switch, but i would rather have a cool engine.

I did install 2 seatbelts on the bench seat because i found it was impossible to take any sort of corner pretty quick without sliding across the seat. It handles surprisingly well with the camaro suspension. I drilled holes in the back of the cab floor and anchored them with the included hardware.

I definitely see alot of things i will change on the truck in the future, but it has been great being able to drive it and get tons of looks from older guys who cant believe that it is my truck.

I have seen quite a few other trucks, and I realized that while my truck isnt nearly as nice, i started with a truck that had so much rust that nobody else wouldve taken it on as a project. Either way, i know that it is solid now and definitely will rebuild it again in the future.