65 Short Fleet Small Window Update

[nhr3]

I bought my truck 35 years ago. I reconditioned it 30 years ago (I was 31 at the time). At that time I did not have internet (Al Gore had not invented it yet) and information, parts and vendors were not that easy to come by. We depended on printed media, a few NOS vendors and our imaginations. When done the truck looked pretty good but a lot of corners had been cut.

Flash forward 30 years. The truck had sat outside for 10-15 of those years and had been sitting in the corner of the shop for 15 years. I always loved that truck so I decided to resto mod it. I surfed the net for ideas and came across this site. What a treasure trove of ideas, information on parts, information on vendors, etc. etc. All this and no contribution is required??? How many times in life do you experience that?

Because of this site, it's owners, vendors and members, my project will be a far better project than the last time. Thank you all for your help. I sent my premium membership fee in today. NHR
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[nhr3]

I know everyone is tired of hearing about the teak bed wood. Believe me I am tired of working on it. Getting the finish glass smooth is just a pain. Well today we officially finished the varnish wet sand and buff cycles until the rest of the truck is done. Tomorrow we are back to body work. Oh and the morning was spent digging the shop out. Hopefully this is the first and last time we have to deal with this in 2015.

[Monte's62]

Truck looks great. Nice build

[mjh1965]

Nice build I will keep watching. Love the bed , and the two tone paint job

[TowwDogg]

looking good, I will be watching,,,

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Great Build!

[nhr3]

Thanks everyone for the positive comments. Work seems to go so slowly that it is difficult at times to stay motivated. This site helps a great deal with that.

Puttering around, working on block sanding, panel fitting and bondo work. Hopefully paint when the weather turns.

It looks like I may have to work April/May (Greenland) and sometime this summer (Alaska). We are also putting three other aviation projects together that may make it difficult to allocate truck time in the coming months.

On the practical side I am working on selling off some of my extra stuff. This site has been great to find buyers for the things I am willing to ship. Hopefully this week we will sell the spare tailgate and get the three spare doors listed. The fly in this ointment is that I really do not want to have to ship these big items.

[nhr3]

It has been a while but we are only now starting to make progress on the truck. March and April were dedicated to getting the power boat in the water. Late April and most of May were spent in Northern Greenland working a job to pay for toys. Early June was spent getting the sailboat sorted out. Now I should be on track for truck work. So far we have painted the inside of the bed sides, the wheel tubs, rear bed cross member and bed front. It has been a long time since I have painted and the paints have definitely changed. Doing base coat/ clear coat, victory red and arctic white. I bought a Turbine HVLP system from TP tools and am having some learning pains. Today will be color sanding and repair.

[nhr3]

Going to be a long summer of block sanding, priming, painting, color sanding and buff. Hopefully by September we will have all the color on and be working details.

[nhr3]

I decided that I wanted to build a dolly for the bed sides to get them higher and more accessible for priming, painting, etc. Finished up primer today hopefully color tomorrow.

[nhr3]

Shot color and clear on the bed sides Thursday and spent Friday wet sanding and buffing. It is a good thing I am better at wet sanding and buffing than I am at spraying. Next i am going to hang the sides so I can lay out the custom molding on the doors and fenders. I will then drill the holes, disassemble, block and paint the cab. That will leave the hood and tailgate for the final spray session.

I think i like the domed step side back up light lens better than the flat ones that came for the fleetside beds.

[dwcardfan]

Looking good.

[nhr3]

Got the wood installed in the newly painted bed on Sunday. My Mar-K moldings are coming Friday and I will lay out the custom stripe on the doors and fenders to match the holes on the bed. Then we will remove the bed (assembled this time) to finish block and prepare the cab for paint. The goal is to have all the paint applied sometime in August. This winter will be glass and detail work. Hopefully by spring we will be full up.

[nhr3]

Well the project is moving on! Made a sling and removed the bed for the last time this week. The cab is prepped for paint and we plan to spray Saturday. We are staying with the two tone white over red. We are doing a basecoat/clearcoat system. We will shoot everything in one day. Epoxy Primer for sealer first. White top and stripes nest,Tape of the white areas and shoot red on the lower cab and clear on everything last. Planning half an hour between coats (2ea coats of white and red basecoat and 3 ea coats of clear). Should be a long day but I will be one giant step closer to having a truck back on the road when done.

[nhr3]

Long day Saturday. Started with grease and wax remover, tacked off entire project and shot epoxy primer. Per instructions waited 2+ hours and shot the white (2 coats with half an hour between).

[nhr3]

Half an hour after shooting second white. taped off and shot 2 coats of read. Removed tape from white and shot three coats of clear. I let is sit for 36 hours and started color sanding - 1000-1500-2000. Yesterday it was time to buff. Buffed cab and doors and installed bed. If I can get the front clip buffed it will be time to take a break, attend Carlilse Truck show and spend some time on my boats.

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Looks great!

[markeb01]

Outstanding! Nice job for sure.

[nhr3]

I think I would rather be beat with a stick than color sand. Slow process but we are installing bling as we go to give some motivation. Also spending time on the boats when it gets too much. Will probably go to Carlilse Truck on Friday to pick up some things for the project.

[nhr3]

Started block sanding and preparing the hood and tailgate for paint today. Slow but sure it is becoming a truck again. Going to start research on buying a windshield this week.

[nhr3]

Busy times. Through it all we got the hood and tailgate painted and installed. Starting to look like a truck again.

Yesterday I had a local glass shop out to give an estimate on providing and installing a windshield and installing the sliding back window. I was pleasantly surprised with a total bid of $347 to do it all. This work will be done in my shop next week. They commented that they had just installed a windshield in a similar truck that had been chopped. I bet that was a challenge.

I have a lot of paint rework and interior work on my tic list but it is really looking like I will register and plate the truck this winter or in the spring. I am working on understanding insurance. Grundy seems to have the best/cheapest package at this point. Considering an agreed on value of $25K-30K.

Looking at Wheels and tires. Have pretty much decided on American Racing Outlaw I wheels. 15x10 Back space of 4" rear 15x8 back space of 3.75" front. Tires will be 32x11.5x15 rear and probably 265/70/r15 front. If anyone has pictures of the outlaw I wheels installed on a fleetside I would really like to see it. I did find one on a step and they look great.

[nhr3]

Outlaw I wheel

[nhr3]

Major milestone in the project this week. The front and back glass has been installed. I watched and was very glad I had a professional glass guy do it. He said it actually went better than he could have hoped. I did have the rear slider gasket reversed (Lock grove inside) because I thought it looked better.

[nhr3]

Pulled it out to take some after shots this morning. A partial list of fun to come

Sound deadening and carpet
Wheels and tires
Paint rework
Insure Register
Front end alignment
Sound system
Exhaust system
Front sway bar

The first picture is from 4 years ago

[nhr3]

I spent the day pulling the 700R4 transmission back so I could change the flexplate. Last week we discovered the good deal flexplate we had installed was for an externally balanced engine (400) and not a 350. Since installing the crate motor we have had a not bad but noticeable vibration at 1000-1200 RPM. The plate we installed originally had a balance weight that we did not notice before installation. Bought a new plate from Summit with no weight. As of this evening the vibration is totally gone. Every once in a while we have to win one.