Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Vic1947]

Kind of a light day today. Took a break from the now short, fleet bed and did a little prep work on the hood Brian G. donated to the cause. It had a nasty little divot in the left front corner, so before I scrapped the ragged out hood that came with CRLS, I saved that corner. [Probably the only useful piece of metal on it.] Cut out the smashed area and tacked in the patch. Also welded up the holes for the hood letters as I don't plan to replace them. Next up is making some patches for the rotted areas on the leading edge of the hood and fixing a couple of smaller dings. Then it will be time to graft on the hood bubble. Stay tuned.

[Xeen]

The patch looks good Vic.
I have been meaning to ask about the discoloration in the metal on either side of the body line in the hood, was there fire damage to it?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

The patch looks good Vic.
I have been meaning to ask about the discoloration in the metal on either side of the body line in the hood, was there fire damage to it?

No, that's EDP and/or primer leftover from the media blasting. George didn't want to remove all of it for fear of stretching the metal. I'll DA it down to bare metal before epoxy priming. There's also some on the underside as well. They got rid of the worst of it, especially around the substructure. Just left the unsupported areas for me.

[Dean'smeanmachine]

lookin really good

[swamp rat]

Ya know, one of these days when i'm retired I'm gonna be able to get about 1/2 as much done as you on any given day! LOL! As usual super job!

I left you a question on my thread.

[jlsanborn]

Filler tube and cover - tight! Hood patch - tight! You're a true multi-talented tradesman Vic. Wouldn't matter if it's a truck, airplane, trash compactor or sprinkler system. You'd sort it out and do it right. Again, I really appreciate how well you share it with us here. Love this thread!

[mcbassin]

Very clean work on the hood patch. You have that down to a science. Keep the pictures coming.

[sduckworth13]

The patch looks great Vic, I'm amazed at well you got the sheetmetal to contour with the hood.

[Low Elco]

Wait'll he tells you about using the wavelengths of radiation off of radioactive isotopes to find oil. (Or something like that. He lost me about 30 sec in. I ain't that bright.) This truck stuff is pretty simple!

Work looks tight, Vic!

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

No, that's EDP and/or primer leftover from the media blasting. George didn't want to remove all of it for fear of stretching the metal. I'll DA it down to bare metal before epoxy priming. There's also some on the underside as well. They got rid of the worst of it, especially around the substructure. Just left the unsupported areas for me.

Be glad he did, that's how the guy downtown killed our first hood. Stretched it and oilcanned it something fierce. Had the guy in GV just blast the edges and supports on the second one, and I hand stripped the top. Worked out well.

Can't wait to see the hood bubble!

[Vic1947]

Thanks, everyone for the kind words! My wife, Kathy, described my day today as being "very social" which is wifespeak for "You didn't get jack done". Had several long phone conversations with friends and a nice visit when Brian G. dropped by. Did manage to get a couple of rusted out strips on the hood patched, but not much else. Thought I'd post up a couple of shots of the hood bulge I plan to use. It's sitting up too high right now because I need to flatten out the center rib on the hood, both in front and in back so the panel will lay down properly. If I can get properly motivated, it shouldn't take much. Also started cleaning some of the leftover crud off the hood surface and have been finding a few little surface irregularities that will require some hammer and dolly work, but all in all, for a donor hood, I think it will be much better than aftermarket.

[Xeen]

That is going to look awesome once it is blended into the hood!

[jlsanborn]

WHEW!! All along I thought the "bubble" you've been talking about was that pro-street, ram air, snorkel one!!

[jlsanborn]

This one...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

WHEW!! All along I thought the "bubble" you've been talking about was that pro-street, ram air, snorkel one!!

Nah, that scoop was the first thing to come off the Dreamsicle when I started to redo it. Took two years and several tries but it finally sold at the last swap meet we attended. Guess they're not a high demand item.

I did some serious mulling over whether to transplant the hood feature to this build. In the end, I felt it was more subtle than the cowl induction style hood I used last time, yet a step up from bone stock. It could be one of those love it or hate it things ...guess I'll find out.

[gdavis]

I like the two tone colors on your truck. I have a question. What can I do on the backing plate nuts for the lower hinge on the driver side? I only have one bolts holding. I stripped two and I already have my truck painted and both door back on the truck. I can planning on getting a set of speaker kick panels for the inside of the truck. Is it easier to cut a hole in the metal kick panel and weld new nuts where the old ones were. I don't like the idea of removing the door again. But plus to shove I will. It took me 2 hours to adjust the door. How about larger bolts tapped in the old nut. Or weld the hinge. I really don't care for welding the hinge in place. Just looking for a ideas. George from Florida

[jlsanborn]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Nah, that scoop was the first thing to come off the Dreamsicle when I started to redo it. Took two years and several tries but it finally sold at the last swap meet we attended. Guess they're not a high demand item.

I did some serious mulling over whether to transplant the hood feature to this build. In the end, I felt it was more subtle than the cowl induction style hood I used last time, yet a step up from bone stock. It could be one of those love it or hate it things ...guess I'll find out.

I think it's going to be really cool Vic! Very unique and like you said "subtle", which I think is going to go very well with what you've done already.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by gdavis

I like the two tone colors on your truck. I have a question. What can I do on the backing plate nuts for the lower hinge on the driver side? I only have one bolts holding. I stripped two and I already have my truck painted and both door back on the truck. I can planning on getting a set of speaker kick panels for the inside of the truck. Is it easier to cut a hole in the metal kick panel and weld new nuts where the old ones were. I don't like the idea of removing the door again. But plus to shove I will. It took me 2 hours to adjust the door. How about larger bolts tapped in the old nut. Or weld the hinge. I really don't care for welding the hinge in place. Just looking for a ideas. George from Florida

Hey George.
The tapped holes the hinge bolts thread into should be in a flat plate, they're not welded nuts. The plate is held captive inside the door pillar with a spot welded cage around it to provide additional adjustment. Depending on which holes are stripped, you might be able to access them with the door open. I'd first attempt to tap them the next size up from the outside. Use a taper length (long) drill bit to open the stripped hole and an 8 point socket to thread the tap in with an extension and a ratchet. That has the thinnest profile and would give you the least chance of boogering up your paint. If the fender/door edges are too much in the way, going thru the kick panel is probably your next best option. If you do one hole at a time, you won't lose your adjustment. Good luck! Vic

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

I think it's going to be really cool Vic! Very unique and like you said "subtle", which I think is going to go very well with what you've done already.

Thanks, John. We've had company and only got a little done on the hood. All the dings have been worked out, welding and grinding on the front is done and I've stripped the driver side half of the hood down to bare metal. Tomorrow I'll do the other half and make the cuts to fit the hood riser. Will post some pics then. Been kinda hectic.

[gdavis]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Hey George.
The tapped holes the hinge bolts thread into should be in a flat plate, they're not welded nuts. The plate is held captive inside the door pillar with a spot welded cage around it to provide additional adjustment. Depending on which holes are stripped, you might be able to access them with the door open. I'd first attempt to tap them the next size up from the outside. Use a taper length (long) drill bit to open the stripped hole and an 8 point socket to thread the tap in with an extension and a ratchet. That has the thinnest profile and would give you the least chance of boogering up your paint. If the fender/door edges are too much in the way, going thru the kick panel is probably your next best option. If you do one hole at a time, you won't lose your adjustment. Good luck! Vic

Thanks Vic. I think I will try the step up bolt first. Then if that fails I will go thru the kick panel. Thanks for the information. I will do one bolt at a time. good advice.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by gdavis

Thanks Vic. I think I will try the step up bolt first. Then if that fails I will go thru the kick panel. Thanks for the information. I will do one bolt at a time. good advice.

One other thing you might try is to rethread an existing stripped hole with a M10x1.5 tap. It's just enough larger than the 3/8-24 to cut new threads. That might allow you to use a metric bolt if you don't overtighten it. You could use Loctite and just snug it up lightly. If there isn't enough thread depth and the bolt feels too loose, all you've lost is the cost of the bolt (assuming you have or can borrow the tap). You can always go up to the next SAE size if this didn't solve the problem.

[jlsanborn]

That's good thinking!

[Vic1947]

More progress on the hood today. Removed the front and rear sections of the center rib that interfered with the hood riser. Made patches and welded them in, then ground the welds. Most of this will be covered by the riser panel, but it still needed to be fairly flat. Used a couple poly carbide discs, one vertical and one horizontal, to strip the rest of the old paint and surface rust off the top. Will have to flip the hood over and repeat on the underside, but before I do, I'll use Gem Rustkiller and a Scotchbrite pad to etch out the remaining rust in the pores. As of now, the dents have been ID's and worked out so I just need a good day to lay down some epoxy primer. According to the weatherman, that may be at least a week away ...ugh! That's it for tonight, I'm covered in filth and ready for an industrial washdown.

[Xeen]

I imagined the whole process completely different, for some reason I envisioned you were going to butt weld it into the hood so it is seamless, not just overlay it. There I go making more work for you haha!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

I imagined the whole process completely different, for some reason I envisioned you were going to butt weld it into the hood so it is seamless, not just overlay it. There I go making more work for you haha!

Don't believe I could manage a process like that. In fact, I plan to use 3M panel adhesive to attach the riser because the large, low crown areas would warp beyond my ability to fix if I tried to weld them. Even at that, I'll need all the structural support possible to make this work. To that end, after I get the underside cleaned up, I'll use expanding foam in all the gaps between the skin and the substructure to reduce the flex. I may also need to cut some curved wood supports to distribute the load when gluing the riser down. We'll see how it all fits up when the time comes.