Leadfoots build thread

[Bomp]

Now that everything is sealed that must be a great relief.

[Alan's Classic]

Very nice build, looks like your doing it right. With it blasted nothing will be hiding.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I like to build stuff if i can rather than buying, and I like tools as much as Chevy trucks, so I was thinking about my floor pans and the wide bead rolls that are in them. I have a cheap harbor freight bead roller but they don't supply a wide enough set of dyes with it to do the ones like are in the floor of my truck so.... I decided to make a set of dyes that would fit in my hydraulic press. The press is something that older brother and I built a few years back when I was working on my old rat rod and he was building a bush plane we both needed something to bend sheet metal so we built this

It takes changeable dyes so if you build a dye that is in the shape you want your bend to look like it will make it. My brother is an engineer, and was working at a place that had a full machine shop so we went in after hours and built the hard parts there. here's a few picks of the dyes I made tonight, they still need finish welding but I tested them and am pretty happy with the results.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I can get 3 different effects by using the dye alone, using the dye with a small diameter rod laying in the lower dye or using a larger diameter rod laying in the lower dye

[Leadfoot Lambert]

[Bomp]

Nice Press you got there. Collector of tools here too!

[Ta2Don]

Wow!!!!

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I spent some time out in the garage today, decided I better get after some of the metal work as there's a ton of it to do, I picked something small to start with, I had to cut out most of the floor because of rust and the previous owners handy work so I decided I might as well put a high hump in while I was at it. I searched high and far for some rust free parts but came up just a little short, I did find a nice center part thanks to Durg, but the front adapter piece needed some work


I started out by making a cardboard template


Then I traced it onto a piece of steel I had left over from another project

I trimmed it to within a quarter inch

Then I started to fit it trimming and grinding along the way, If you don't own at least 20 pair of vice grips don't bother trying to do sheet metal work it will be nearly impossible.



As things started to fit I started tack welding it in

[Auctioneerhere]

Originally Posted by Leadfoot Lambert

Scored a tach and gauge cluster from Craigslist

Is that a factory option tack or just something someone put together? Looks cool.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

After tacking it all in place I started cutting the rotten part off from behind

Then with a pair of linesman pliers I bent a new lip to match how the factory did it

Little welding and grinding and lip bending it's starting to take shape


Had another spot that was real thin so the welder burned right thru it, time to cut it out and make a patch

[Leadfoot Lambert]

So after making the patch and installing it I flipped the whole thing over and ran a line of tack welds along the whole length of the repair, lot's of grinding ahead!

And this is what it looks like now, I still have a bunch of floor work to do before I weld this hump in but here's what it looks like just sitting in there, that's t for today.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

Originally Posted by Auctioneerhere

Is that a factory option tack or just something someone put together? Looks cool.

That's a factory tach and gauge cluster, Half the fun is trying to find one! good luck.

[Bomp]

Nice work on the tunnel. Just takes time but is most gratifying when completed. I noticed you had an engine cart like one of mine in the last pic

[Auctioneerhere]

Originally Posted by Leadfoot Lambert

That's a factory tach and gauge cluster, Half the fun is trying to find one! good luck.

I'm now officially in the hunt for one. Your doing a nice job on the truck. I am glad I live in an area with rust free parts.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I only had about an hour tonight to work on the truck, figured I might as well dig in!



As you can see from the top right corner I cant tell my left from my right when a piece of sheet metal is backwards and upside down so I cut it too short


Till next time

[flips72]

awesome work. love the press and dies, cant beat american inginuity

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I didn't do anything to my truck over the last couple days but I did pick up this 1964 289/C4 combo for the ol lady's truck

[Leadfoot Lambert]

Ok, so I spent an hour out there tonight fitting welding and grinding the drivers toe panel, one down about 500 to go!

[Low Elco]

Looks great so far! Really nice work.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

Had to get the 289 out of the back of my daily truck so I figured what better place to store a motor and tranny than under the hood of the truck it's going into. It's just set in there for storage, I will pull it back out and go thru it before final install.

[Bomp]

umm. not to be a smart a--,
If you want that F@#d to run right you'll need Chevy parts.

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I wouldn't have expected anything less from you Bomp, but I must admit the thought of building it Ford tough with Chevy stuff did cross my mind

[Leadfoot Lambert]

I finally got back out in the garage, I decided to start on the pass side floor pan before cutting the rocker panel off to avoid springing the cab, I drilled out the spot welds and sliced the pan at the front seam and at the back right where the floor rises to the seat mounting area, things didn't go as planned because I think someone at the factory forgot to weld the floor brace to the firewall brace here

Luckily I had primed the cab and was able to reposition the firewall back to it's original position using the paint lines as a guide, it had moved about a half inch, so word to anyone about to cut the pans out of your truck, make sure you put some clamps like in the above pic to avoid unwanted movement. so here's the floor bracing after pan removal, looks like I have a little more media blasting to do before welding the pan in. I also have some work to do on the front cab mount

I got the new pan trimmed and fitted, used the bead roller to make the ridge for the tranny hump as these cheap repop pans don't have that stamped in to them and if they did it wouldn't be in the right place anyway.

one the pan was clamped into position I crawled under and traced out the floor brace and cab mount so I can drill holes for the spot welds

this is how it looks with the holes drilled and the pan set back in, these are where the spot welds should be if you were removing your old pans, but there probably wouldn't be as many

Well that's all for now, next will be blasting the supports and fixing the front cab mount, then on to the toe board.

[chad64chevy]

that floor pan came out great, and i think its bigger then the one thats offered as a repop! keep up the great progress, i've just been able to buy stuff lately!

[Bomp]

Nice work. Like the attention to detail.