Lost and Forgotten 51

[PurdueSD]

Well, its been a while... maybe to long. Been a crazy whirlwind of a year for me. We moved back to my childhood home, remodeled, got a bad concussion, had another baby. And with the addition of the phaeton, the truck saw the back burner. My detached garage/shop at the old place is sorely missed!
But i'll build another one in a couple years.

Anyways, I have found some renewed motivation to jump back on the pickup. Dug it out and dusted it off. Made a mental list to stay motivated:

Exhaust
Wiring
Cooling
Fuel

FIRE!


Ordered some odds and ends and am back to tinkering. I can do this!




Got a wild hair and mocked my twin blues under the dash for some motivation. I think we have a winner....

[PurdueSD]

Yesturday, as a sort of birthday present to myself, I dragged the pickup down to the muffler shop in the ghetto. Went for some straight pipes and 30" smithy's I wanted a mellow sort of wrap to the exhaust... guess ill have to wait to find out how it sounds.

Also my extended family all went in together and got me a wiring harness for my birthday. Have to say, I'm scared. Theres a lot more wires than I'm comfortable with! hah!

[Katrina/10]

Pipes look good

[solidaxel]

The instruction book and the EZ Wire kit is all you need
That is what I have used for years
Keep Going !!

[99 to Life]

Iv used EZ and Rebel, both good kits. Wiring isn't that bad. If you have a question, just give EZ tech a call (sometimes hard to get through). Or just ask one of us. Nice to have that book and make notes. I like the exhaust, but.... just a worry wort like myself, I'd maybe extend that driver side tip a bit more. Even with your filler tube on there fumes exist. I'd hate to see anything happen with some loaded up flames out the exhaust. I'm sure very unlikely, but just my take. Other than that, I really dig your truck, glad you are back on it.

[PurdueSD]

Still pecking away at him... Been tearing apart the front clip. Cleaning up the surface rust on the back side and priming and painting it black to de crust a little. So for fun, I Mocked up the old chrome grill for some motivation! The whole thing is chrome, not just the front bars. Its so awesome

[99 to Life]

looks so proper.

[av8tr33337]

Love the Build. I'm in the same boat as far as life kinda has a way of dictating progress on the project. But you have done some really great work and the end is in site. Looking forward to seeing more.

[PurdueSD]

thanks fellas! yes life definately dictates. And now that I have myself completely psyched out on all the wiring... I figured I'd move on to other things. Progress is progress, right?

[PurdueSD]

So, this truck started out as lets get it running and drive it. Sure enough i couldn't let things be... To me there is a fine line between a rat rod and a survivor. One of those things is rust. Rust isn't cool. Its needs to be dealt with. So i got a little creative with my methods while fixing it properly at the same time maintaining the look of the rest of the truck...

Cowls before:


during:




After:



Same with the drives side:

[PurdueSD]

Same treatment with the fenders. Couple patches, a little filler, blend paint creatively. I took these another step further and wire wheeled the backsides, followed by prime and black.

I think the before and after is a pretty nice improvement!

[iowaboynca]

Very nice!

[99 to Life]

that's what I do. I can't stand seeing trucks where they leave stuff purposely rusted out. Makes me gringe even more with the heeps they sell on the net asking a mint and there is rust everywhere. You are doing it right. This is def not a rat. very cool survivor for sure. classic style that would look cool back in the 50's and will look cool 50 years from now, period.

[ChuckDriver]

Nice work!

[PurdueSD]

Thanks guys! Feels good to be back making a little progress!

[joedoh]

nice work! I fix what I can too, but some has to stay...

[northern 49]

Just stumbled across your thread...nice looking project!

[PurdueSD]

Thanks guys, hope to be back to making some progress in a couple weeks after hunting season!

[84blaze]

PerdueSD, what length is your Lokar shifter? 36"?

[PurdueSD]

Originally Posted by 84blaze

PerdueSD, what length is your Lokar shifter? 36"?

I think it is the double bend 32". but i'll have to check.

[PurdueSD]

Back after another hiatus. Been working on some other projects, built me a shop etc. Last summer i finally pulled the truck into the new place and got her re-situated and back in plain sight:

[PurdueSD]

First step was to come up with a fuel filler and vent setup i was happy with... I wanted something not in the bed floor, that looked like it could have been there all along. Here is what i came up with...

[solidaxel]

Blank here!

[PurdueSD]

Originally Posted by solidaxel

Blank here!

fixed, thanks!

[solidaxel]

Got it !