Not Another Rebuild Thread....

[66ChevyMax]

Nice work McMurphy, you have my respect for braving an Alaska winter. I had a friend that was in the Air Force and was stationed there for a few years. He told stories of putting the kids to bed and then playing 18 holes of golf (IN DAYLIGHT).

Keep up the good work

[allaboutchevelles]

Thanks for the extra pics!! Those gaps dont look too bad at all to me. I set the door gaps on my door using a paint stirring stick. Ill have to get my cab flipped back over and doors back on and check mine. If I remember correctly mine was kinda tight fit around the side drip rail. So maybe I can remove mine and it will be fine. That filler rod seems like alot of work to finish it out, but I may be wrong, would like to see one finished and how it was done. Good luck on yours, thanks for the pics.

[flips72]

looks good ,just wondering do you think re moving the drip rail will increase wind noise in the cab......... come to think about who cares thats why they make flow masters and loud music

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by 66ChevyMax

Nice work McMurphy, you have my respect for braving an Alaska winter. I had a friend that was in the Air Force and was stationed there for a few years. He told stories of putting the kids to bed and then playing 18 holes of golf (IN DAYLIGHT).
Keep up the good work

There are certainly some stories to be had up here for both ends of the year with the -60 degrees in winter and the 24 hours of day light in the summer! We just turned our first of three years up here this weekend on the 10th. After this we are hoping to get Germany, Hawaii, or Ft Lewis up in Washington state!

Thanks for the extra pics!! Those gaps dont look too bad at all to me. I set the door gaps on my door using a paint stirring stick. Ill have to get my cab flipped back over and doors back on and check mine. If I remember correctly mine was kinda tight fit around the side drip rail. So maybe I can remove mine and it will be fine. That filler rod seems like alot of work to finish it out, but I may be wrong, would like to see one finished and how it was done. Good luck on yours, thanks for the pics.

No problem on the pics, happy to be of some help instead of just sponging wisdom and ideas off you guys!!

looks good ,just wondering do you think re moving the drip rail will increase wind noise in the cab......... come to think about who cares thats why they make flow masters and loud music

I am counting on new seals all around to eliminate wind noise. If that dont do the trick then I guess I could always just caulk the doors shut and climb in and out of the window like a race car.....
Yeah just kidding

Loud music definately!!
If you look at my Tempest I dropped a 460w amp to push 8 speakers into it. I can get loud, but clarity was my goal, especially in a convertible. When you sit in the back seat of that car you feel like you are IN the band! So since day one with this rig, the music has always been lurking.... waiting for its turn... laughing at my debit card for the carnage to come....

Thanks for looking guys!
Time to build some positive faction with the F.L.O. (freekin loved one)

[57truckguy]

love your build..

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by collins10672

the donor truck you bought looks to me like it is a 3/4 ton.if it is you probably don't want to change suspension since it is 8 lug.

Yep Collins, we popped the hub caps on it tonight and sure as hell 8 lugs under there. Is Ok though, still more parts to be had from it than paying individually!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by 57truckguy

love your build..

Thanks for looking 57truckguy!!

[chevy_man5]

Nice build!! Looks like you are making good progress up there in the frigid North!

[flips72]

hey McMurphy, you seen santa leave yet? he supposed to be bringing me some parts cant hardly sleep at night

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by chevy_man5

Nice build!! Looks like you are making good progress up there in the frigid North!

Thanks for looking.
It has been warm enough to snow most this week, but is supposed to drop to -40* for Christmas day. Indoor garage and kerosene heater for the win!

hey McMurphy, you seen santa leave yet? he supposed to be bringing me some parts cant hardly sleep at night

Not yet Flips, sorry.
But then I go to bed too early as well....

[McMurphy]

Even though I was on call for the hospital this Christmas weekend, I still got some stuff done.

Friday before I was called in, I got a replacement p-side cab corner....more to follow on that.
While I was fighting the donor rig for that, my lovely wife was yanking a bench seat from a 92 Bronco for me that totally fits the bill. Split folding back, head rests, and seatbelt ready! Yay wife !!!
I am glad she had fun doing it, since not only was it sorta chilly out there in 12" of fresh powder snow, but it was our 14th wedding anniversary too!!

Then the rest of the weekend between getting called in for surgical cases, I worked on the grill face of the truck. I filled in the frame cuts/wells in the bottom for a smooth and continuous body line, (I have already cut the frame where the front bumper mounts to accomdate this mod) and I cut out some nasty dents and replaced those with donors from a spare face I have.
The frame wells didnt turn out as good as I hoped, but given my skill level I am not going to cry about it. If they bother me too much I can just cut them out again and do over....
The areas I cut the dents out of though, I am surprised how well they lined up. I may actually get the hang of this welding gig!!

Pic #1 is my wife being the awesome gal she is having fun in a frozen bone yard
#2,3,and 4 is my metal working mishaps.

[fryer1979]

That's awesome she's into it with you. Glab to see more progress, keep it up my friend!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by fryer1979

That's awesome she's into it with you. Glab to see more progress, keep it up my friend!

Thanks for looking man!
I hope your life settles down soon and you can get back to your Tanya!!

BTW my father was born in Janesville, just down the road from you. There are a lot of McMurphy headstones in the graveyard up there. Guess my people been there a spell....

[fryer1979]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Thanks for looking man!
I hope your life settles down soon and you can get back to your Tanya!!

BTW my father was born in Janesville, just down the road from you. There are a lot of McMurphy headstones in the graveyard up there. Guess my people been there a spell....

Wow man, that's pretty cool. I have seen the names in the graveyards around here.....it really is a small world. Do you still have any family around here? Ever get down this way?

I'm not giving up on Tanya by any shot. Still collecting parts as I can, in fact I'm probably heading to the junkyard this weekend to continue looking for an inline 6 HEI distributor.

[flips72]

looking good, my hats off to you and your wife, braving the alaskan winter to get truck parts, that awesome.

[allaboutchevelles]

Those patches you made and welded in the front look like they fit perfect. My hats off to you also. Your getting a lot more done than I would be if I was living up there. Im loving my sunny mid 50s here.

[57truckguy]

Welding rods and the like have been used for filling gaps every since I can remember.. LOL Older than dirt I am.. Welding rods are nice because they give you a round look to the addition instead of sharp.. Just looks better... sometimes.. Looking good .

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by fryer1979

Wow man, that's pretty cool. I have seen the names in the graveyards around here.....it really is a small world. Do you still have any family around here? Ever get down this way?

I'm not giving up on Tanya by any shot. Still collecting parts as I can, in fact I'm probably heading to the junkyard this weekend to continue looking for an inline 6 HEI distributor.

Anyone named McMurphy that you would come across is certainly related. There were 2 brothers that came over from Ireland in the early 1700s. One side of the family settled in the mid-east side, and the other side came out west. My father was the youngest of 7 that grew up in your area.
If you ever hear a story of some kid that blew up an old tree in the center of town with dynamite around 1940-ish, that was my dad. He got in a lot of trouble for that cause it blew out some store windows too.....

Good luck on your HEI hunt, hope to see some pics in your thread soon, yours has always been one I kept up on!

looking good, my hats off to you and your wife, braving the alaskan winter to get truck parts, that awesome.

Flips, we are from snow country in NE Washington state, so the rule of thumb is if it is warm enough to snow, it is Ok to go outside and get stuff done! I know how crazy that must sound

Those patches you made and welded in the front look like they fit perfect. My hats off to you also. Your getting a lot more done than I would be if I was living up there. Im loving my sunny mid 50s here.

Thanks Allabout! I can only take as much credit as is needed to read you guy's builds and how-to stuff on this board! Some great teachers and sharing of tips, tricks, and ideas here

Welding rods and the like have been used for filling gaps every since I can remember.. LOL Older than dirt I am.. Welding rods are nice because they give you a round look to the addition instead of sharp.. Just looks better... sometimes.. Looking good .

I am with you on that 57truckguy!
I bought a box of rods just for that, and I been saving the studs from my stud gun and using some of them to help back fill some of the smaller spots too. I was just remarking to the wife I wish someone made a hole fill kit with all different sizes and thickness of plugs. It would be so much faster and easier if I could stud gun a stud onto a dime or quarter for example, and then just weld it in to fill some of these. If I had a kit like that I would fill all kinds of holes in the frame ect....

Thanks for taking a look guys...
I expect to get my cab corner in this weekend, and finish up the face a little more for the cosmetic stuff I want to do to it.
Just an off the wall question... to flatten a line of welds, has anyone ever tried putting a heavy weight metal file/rasp into the end of an air hammer? Trying to grind welds down to a flat straight line or surface is not in my skill set so there has got to be a simpler/better way.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

I may play with it some more, but eventually I will probably cut it out and replace it like you are doing.
That is a bad spot.

I see you now have a donor for that section.
I still haven't tackled mine.
When were you thinking of attempting yours?

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

I see you now have a donor for that section.
I still haven't tackled mine.
When were you thinking of attempting yours?

Tomorrow sir.

[VeronikA]

Great progress!! Much respect to your wifey! I see she's helping you! That's amazing!

And it's really cool to passionate trokita owners all around the world. Have a great day in Alaska (or night)? Lol have no clue what's the time difference

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by VeronikA

Great progress!! Much respect to your wifey! I see she's helping you! That's amazing!

And it's really cool to passionate trokita owners all around the world. Have a great day in Alaska (or night)? Lol have no clue what's the time difference

Thanks for looking!!
My wife really liked your set up too, and boggled when I showed here where you are in the world Hehehehehehehe

I am posting some pics of my art for you.
Please bear with me, I dont show this stuff very often.

#1 a bladed heart
#2 Darkness from the old Tom Cruise/Tim Curry movie "Legend"
#3 a scene from a story a world I created when I was 14 years old
#4 a study in armor detail on a medusa themed monster
#5 a rose I did with felt pens...

Nothing special, I just have some talented pens and pencils I think.

Enjoy

[Alan's Classic]

Welding hood looks cool and your making some great progress. Keep it up.
Posted via Mobile Device

[VeronikA]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Thanks for looking!!
My wife really liked your set up too, and boggled when I showed here where you are in the world Hehehehehehehe

I am posting some pics of my art for you.
Please bear with me, I dont show this stuff very often.

#1 a bladed heart
#2 Darkness from the old Tom Cruise/Tim Curry movie "Legend"
#3 a scene from a story a world I created when I was 14 years old
#4 a study in armor detail on a medusa themed monster
#5 a rose I did with felt pens...

Nothing special, I just have some talented pens and pencils I think.

Enjoy

Hahaha hope google found it lol Czech republic is super small country in the middle of Europe. Pretty boring sometimes no crime and also not a big car scene... and NO truck scene. Oh well

Thank you very much for posting your works here. I know how it feels to show your stuff in public. I wasn't always confident to do that too...
And I really dig your style! Nice details and colors WOW! And what a fantasy you have. I could never go this far! Awesome! How big are those drawings?

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by VeronikA

How big are those drawings?

Thanks for the kind words, the sizes are vaired.
#1 a bladed heart = is the size of normal piece of copy paper
#2 Darkness from the old Tom Cruise/Tim Curry movie "Legend" AND
#3 a scene from a story a world I created when I was 14 years old = is half poster size
#4 a study in armor detail on a medusa themed monster = copy paper sized
#5 a rose I did with felt pens... = Greeting Card size

Decided that -23* was just too chilly to spend too much time at the junk yard this morning, I am trying to get the headlight buckets cut out of a donor core support for my pop up lights project.
Got both sides 75% cut before my batteries pooped out on me, and my toes and fingers were starting to protest.

So I came home and started in on my cab corner.

#1 is my donor section and my problem area.
#2 I started with cutting out the spot welds along the door jamb.
#3 Then I taped off and cut out the minimum of the problem area.

#4 I used the cut out problem area as a template, then holding the donor section up to the cab, I traced my cut lines again from the inside of the cab in a different color, and over size cut my patch. Then I slowly and incrementally trimmed the patch and the cab until the two fit up nice enough for me to start worrying about over doing it.

#5 I think as I tack weld it in I will be able to get that gap closed even more that it is showing in the pic. I only had a couple of vice-clamps holding it in place for photos.

Am done for the day, wife has dinner ready and I deserve some serious beers!
Check you all tomorrow!!!