Frankentruck

[cwcarpenter98]

Put lipstick on a pig today, just to make it look a little nicer. So far, it looks way better than the rust. Now to see how long it will last.

Also got both sets of hinges painted. The nicest set is going on the truck. The other set is going on the trailer. Going to give the paint some time to dry, so I won't install these until tomorrow. Thanks again, Phil!

[cwcarpenter98]

It's more beautiful than I imagined

Did I probably spend too much money on this? Yeah
Is it really cool? Oh yeah
Was it worth it? Absolutely


Also, edited to add picture of old hinges that were on the truck when I bought it compared to the good, originals that's on now

[Getter-Done]

Great Job

I know that will get lots of use







.

[88Stanger]

I like this!! Nice work...

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Great Job

I know that will get lots of use

Originally Posted by 88Stanger

I like this!! Nice work...

Thanks, guys. I plan to use it a bunch!

[cwcarpenter98]

Oh yes, I love this set up

[cwcarpenter98]

I've had the parts laying around for awhile, but finally started finishing the windshield washer install. Had to cut the screws on the cowl because the heads were so rusted out. I was glad to still see some original paint left on both the cowl and under it.

Got the hoses hooked up tonight and started on the wiring before it got dark. Hopefully the pump I'm using still works!

Oh yeah, I'm using 67-72 washer nozzles because that's what Flashed had on a parts cab at the truck farm. They fit good on the 60-66 trucks using the factory, 60-66 holes

[cwcarpenter98]

I got the washer system finished up on Friday except for the knob. I rigged it to work with the old knob, but I have the correct knob on the way.

Saturday morning, I helped my parents fix the driveway a little bit. We finished it up on Sunday afternoon. Those two took 29 bags of concrete

I had also finished up the wiring on my under hood light that I pulled from a Dakota in a junkyard. It works really well and the wiring fits nice in the hood

[joesscamaro]

That engine bay light is a nice addition!

[350TacoZilla]

^agreed.

Funny thing is it seems like a ton of vehicles came with underhood light but really I haven't seen that many, I have one of the reel out ones from a squarebody I plan to use on my truck.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by joesscamaro

That engine bay light is a nice addition!

Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla

^agreed.

Funny thing is it seems like a ton of vehicles came with underhood light but really I haven't seen that many, I have one of the reel out ones from a squarebody I plan to use on my truck.

Thanks guys! Most newer cars and truck have them, so one day when I was in the junkyard, I said "why not?" and grabbed one. I knew the Dakota light was a good one to get because the one on my 95 still works good as well. I have an 1156 bulb in the one on Frankentruck. The one in my Dakota has a smaller bulb in it

[cwcarpenter98]

Finally fixed the bumper. It was too far to the passenger side, so I took two hammers to beat the plate steel brackets back straight - ish. Tightened it up close enough to center Also got the old hitch ball off the bumper since I have the tow hitch and didn't trust just a bumper pull.

Then, my dad and I went to downtown Acworth for a cruise in. It was a great cruise in with a wide variety of vehicles. The 4x4 truck is a conversion using a 2wd frame and then adding the 4x4 stuff from a 78 k10. He did a great job on it

[cwcarpenter98]

I learn something new every day.

I did not do enough research before I started my quest to add windshield wipers to Frankentruck. I have now found out that there are two styles of knobs and switches.

One style has a much smaller button for the washers and goes all the way through the knob. This style uses a set screw to secure the knob on the switch.

The other style has a bigger washer button molded into the knob. On this style, the button on the switch does not go all the way through the knob. The knob mounts with the 3 metal fingers just like a standard wiper without washer knob.

I got the knob with the bigger button from member DPowers, and that knob fits the switch I had purchased over a year ago when I first got this idea.

The other knob and switch came from Aspen Auto Parts. It was too good of a price to pass on. It had a nicer mounting screw on it, so I swapped that out today. My quest is complete on the windshield washer front.


I also finished the install of the new cab mounts. I put the front ones on last summer, but thought I had to remove the gas tank to get to the rear ones, so I didn't decide to do it until today. I did not know that the rear bolts have cage nuts inside the cab, so I got those swapped out in an hour. That included cleaning up the original bolts and painting them since I didn't want to cut out the cage nuts to use the wrong bolts supplied in the kit

[cwcarpenter98]

I took Frankentruck to a frame and body shop on Monday. The manager there had been doing bodywork and frame repairs since these trucks were new. He took a look at the truck before putting it up on the lift and could tell that there was an issue or two with the frame. Unfortunately, all his frame racks were full, so he won't be able to squeeze me in until some time next week hopefully.

Because of that, I don't want to cut into the cab yet, so the roof repair is on hold for now.

Still have time before I go back to grad school though, so now there's a much bigger hole in the door than there was before

Today's progress before a lunch break is going well so far

[cwcarpenter98]

Was making good progress until the rain showed up. Got the inner piece cut out. Started welding up the outer skin. I'm trying to put as little heat as possible to decrease the amount of warpage. Hopefully it will turn out ok

[cwcarpenter98]

Huge progress today. I now have 2 rust free doors on my truck. Still needs some finishing work, but I've got the outer and inner panels welded in and the flange hammered down. Still have more to do tomorrow though

[SkinnyG]

Looks like you had better luck than I did with the door skins.

I'm glad your bottoms came with drains!

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Looks like you had better luck than I did with the door skins.

I'm glad your bottoms came with drains!

Honestly, not really. The new outer skin has a low area right in the middle of the door. After I wacked the flange over the inner panel, it looks like the low spot decreased some, but it's still noticeable. It is what it is at this point. When the day comes that I finally paint the truck, I'll be replacing the outer skin with the panel that goes from the bottom of the window frame to the bottom of the door. That will fix the lower section again and it will fix the damage near the door handle from when the truck was wrecked many, many years ago

The drains almost look factory, don't they? I did have to cut them, but it's good enough for government work.

My repairs are far from perfect, but at least I don't have a rusted out door anymore.

What's really going to be fun is attempting to patina match my repair with a couple rattle cans and some sand paper

[realvc]

Looking really good from here.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by realvc

Looking really good from here.

Thank you!
These repairs are good, ten-footer repairs

[cwcarpenter98]

All the people I've met at car shows recently who have said to keep the truck as it is are now very disappointed in what I've done

The welding was a challenge, but in about 48 hours, I'll have something even more challenging to do in about 48 hours

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

All the people I've met at car shows recently who have said to keep the truck as it is are now very disappointed in what I've done

The welding was a challenge, but in about 48 hours, I'll have something even more challenging to do in about 48 hours

I haven't met you yet.

But I forgive you




......

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

I haven't met you yet.

But I forgive you




......

Thanks!

I've really ruined it now



In all seriousness, the repair has turned out ok, but there's some things not great about it that will have to be addressed when I go to actually paint the truck. Whether I paint it 5 years from now or 35 years from now is yet to be determined. I guess y'all will have to stay tuned in to see what happens!

Thank you all for checking in and following along on my driving restoration!

[60short]

Ive been working my way through your thread, work looks good, I am not going to be too far behind you (hopefully) in the rust repair...

The Faux-tina paint job threads have some pretty good tips on blending the patina

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...446308&page=19

specifically...
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=452

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 60short

Ive been working my way through your thread, work looks good, I am not going to be too far behind you (hopefully) in the rust repair...

The Faux-tina paint job threads have some pretty good tips on blending the patina

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...446308&page=19

specifically...
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=452

Thank you!

I have seen that post. Might have to try some of that if what I'm planning to do doesn't give me the exact look I'm going for