Rowdy 57

[Rowdyaf]

And finally, a question because I can't tell from the photos I want to replace the panel circled in the first pic i found it on classictruckparts.com but it just lists them as Left and Right and not passenger/driver im not sure which I need I think its the Right side looking at the photos anyone able to confirm this?

[Rickysnickers]

Right side is generally the passenger side Just call them to be sure

[washington blue]

I was always told to figure things from sitting in the driver's seat as to right and left.

[dsraven]

correct guys. right is passenger side and left is drivers side. well, on left hand drive vehicles, lol. it is like washington says, sit in the driver's seat facing forward and left is left-right is right.

[57FleetsideC4]

Making great progress on the rust repair. Looks great!! Steve

[Rowdyaf]

Small steps i will order the Right side patch panel today thanks for the help!

[Rowdyaf]

Almost finished with the sheet metal i want to fix, no more holes into the cab, i plan on leaving all the little dings for later now back to assembly so i can start wiring this thing. I bought a smooth dash patch panel but not sure i want to cover the holes or not. cant make up my mind on that.

[Rowdyaf]

Able to get some more time in the shop this weekend and hammered out the crossover pipe. Not sure if I'm going to wrap the headers and the pipe or leave them alone. Can't make up my mind.

[Rowdyaf]

completed cross over pipe

[dsraven]

looks and fits good. I suppose if you practice a little more you could make those welds look nice too.

haha, just kidding, they look awesome. what are you running for a tig welder? thinking of buying one myself. wondering if I will get a torch with controls so welding in tight spots would be easier since it wouldn't need a pedal all the time.

[Rowdyaf]

I have the Eastwood tig set up, I think I got it all minus the bottle for under 1000$ it has hand controls to run the torch but it’s just an on off, you can’t throttle the heat like you can with the pedal so it’s a bit harder to use for this.

[daveshilling]

That looks awesome! Come do mine next!

[dsraven]

where do you plan to install the outlet on your cross over pipe?

[dsraven]

or is there a hidden turbo lurking?

[dsraven]

looks good but wrapping may help with heat under the truck

[Rowdyaf]

Guess i forgot to post photos of mounting the turbo up, The plan is to heat wrap everything once i have routing all finalized.

[Rowdyaf]

Made a little more progress over the last couple weeks got the body mounted and the bed clamped down for some measurements.

[dsraven]

looking great
going back to your paint spray gun, I was looking back through, I noticed you have a reg/guage next to your gun air connection. I used to do that too but found it reduces the air volume so, when you set the pressure you want, you get the set pressure for a short burst and the desired spray pattern and then the pressure drops due to air supply and the pattern changes. I researched a little on how the pro's do this and found they use a high flow quick connect, set the pressure like they want it with the regulator on the wall and a guage at the gun while holding the trigger full open, then remove the guage at the gun when they get it right. that way there is no surge of pressure on initial trigger touch or pressure drop after a second of trigger touch. they also say something about air line sizes for any long runs you may have from the wall reg to the gun
just thought I would mention that in case you plan to spray the paint yourself. a little orange peel may be ok for primer cuz youre gonna sand it anyway. it sucks for the final paint though.

[dsraven]

curious, did you use the inner rear front fender braces from a 58-59 unit and they fit well? when looked up I couldn't find them for anyting but the 58-59 trucks. the curve of the front fender is a little different on the latter trucks so I wondered how they fit. looks like they work well unless you modified them.

[6DoF]

hater pipe engaged!

fender exit downpipe to?

[Rowdyaf]

the plan is to run exhaust to infront of the rear passenger tire and the blow off just dumps right infront of the front tire.

Havent started putting any of the fender braces in all the sheetmetal is just temp bolted up for mock up for now.

[dsraven]

the brace I am referring to is the vertical brace at the rear of the inside of the front fender. in the post with that pic it looks like a new part. just curious if it is the 58-59 brace that is available or you found one somewhere for the 55-57 trucks.

[dsraven]

just be aware that dumping the exhaust out the side also dumps heat and oxides along with it. sometimes thats not so good for fancy wheels. dumping it under the truck means carbon monoxide gathers under the truck when stopped and running and also dumps heat and oxides under the truck so anything from there back will rust easily. I always try to dump mine out the rear if possible because of that reason. sometimes it gets a little to crowded for running the pipes though. I have seen some builds where the pipes went outside the frame ahead of the rear axle and dumped out the rear on each side. that can get crowded as well though.
just something to think about if you haven't yet
sounds like your truck should scoot along pretty well. keep posting up pics of your progress, nice work so far.

[Rowdyaf]

i was thinking of dumping something like this picture i really like the look of it trimmed into the step, i will look up what the part number was for the braces i bought they fit really well and welded up nicely.

[Rowdyaf]

Classic truck parts lists them as 55-59 Part numbers 44-862 and 44-861 they worked well. no complaints.