"Project Orangepeel" 52 A.D

[joedoh]

haha if a job is worth doing, its worth doing twice, thats my motto. that or "measure once, cut till it fits"

[reaper71]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Thanks...It was a issue looking at how it looked unbalanced (like this from factory) so yes well worth the effort!

[8man]

The props look good. Waiting for more pictures.

[reaper71]

Here are the panels I made to try and make the sides look a bit better.

[joedoh]

man that does look really good, does it fit your vision now?


you can really see all the work you have put into that cab from that picture too, really nice work!

[OutlawDrifter]

Looks great! +1 on what Russ said, to of work. That trans/rear engine tunnel still gets me, I'm so jealous.

[RockinKees]

That’s gonna be nice and clean under the hood!!

[reaper71]

Russ...This is the beginning of the project.
Still need to weld them in and metal finish. (as usual all this is already finished)in the later pics I'll show the rib issue.

Outlaw thank you!

Kees thank's. I hope it looks as good as I'm hoping!


Mark

[8man]

Like the panels.

It looks like you put an over lay panel over the original firewall. If that is right, what did you do between the "two" panels to treat for potential rust. Also, are they flush against each other so that when the brake pedal/master cylinder are tightened down they won't deform?

[reaper71]

8man
Yes they are overlaid, on the original setup for the master I reinforced that area. So when I made this new plate it buts up to it and will get welded to insure it will not buckle.

[reaper71]

If you look at the section for the master you can see a slight stick out.
And to answer you ? On prep I sprayed weld through primer.

Mark

[8man]

Thanks Mark.

I have to do something to the firewall on the 54, it's a mess! I like the idea of doubling the steel in there for some support.

[reaper71]

poc 1. Being tracked in place.

Pic 2. Mare tracking, I also was doing some mig and some tig at this point.

Pic 3. So after I had it all welded in I hated the "non symmetrical" look it had so I cut the ribs out to fix this.

Mark

[8man]

That trans tunnel looks good, and the slick firewall is nice. I need to go back and see your work and understand the steering column bracket.

[Advanced Design]

Looks good Mark. Nice work!

[reaper71]

8Man the column mount is super easy.
It's made from exhaust tubing to fit the column tube,then welded to the floor in the desired angle. This way it lock's it into place. we've been doing like this for yrs.



Doug,thank's again!


Mark

[reaper71]

Here are a few more shots of the firewall redo.
The metal I originally used for the firewall was thinner than I liked so I made a new piece to match the other repairs.

Now it looks cleaner!

Mark

[8man]

Mark, did you weld the two small firewall/fender pieces to the firewall? They were attached with a couple of sheet metal screws, one plate on each side. If so, please post a close up picture. I like the firewall work and will be doing my best to copy what I can of it.

[reaper71]

8man
Yes all.was welded in solid, to prevent it from getting water behind the panels.

In this pic it shows a ton of tack welds to try and keep from warping.

[reaper71]

I need to switch gears for a bit (getting burned out on the firewall)
So I started getting the motor prepped for paint.
Started by removing all pans,covers,tubes etc.
As the motor will be getting all new gaskets. I also removed the balancer and timing cover to replace the gasket and seal.
After masking I sprayed with etching primer.

Mark.

[8man]

Thanks Mark, that's what it looked like. I thought the same thing, weld it up and no holes for water. Another "to do" added to the list.

[reaper71]

Engine painted, the stock valve covers were used as masking.
The timing cover was painted the custom bronze I mixed to match the wheels.


Mark

[8man]

What a difference some paint and hard work make!

[RockinKees]

Very nice Mark.

I’m jealous.....

[joedoh]

pretty work on the motor! I like the black and bronze accent, very unique