Grandpa's 72 restoration

[Snake72]

Had some time over last few weekends to tackle the last rust project on truck. I had removed the door skins a few months ago, so I cut out the inner door bottoms and welded in the new ones. The corners were tricky to line up with the contours, had to make a filler patch for a few spots but otherwise they went on easy for a novice like myself. While the skins were off I used that opportunity to put in new window felts, lube the window mechanism, spray the inner bottoms with rusty metal primer and 3m rubberized undercoating to hopefully prevent new rust from happening. The vent windows are in good shape as are the seals so I'm leaving those alone for now. Will probably regret that in the future...

[Snake72]

Drivers door went much easier, fit my panel a little better and far less headaches. Threw the passenger door on cab quick just to make sure it fit, it's not adjusted all at, just had to put one on before calling it quits for the night. Should fit great.

[Syclone3Mt]

Originally Posted by Snake72

Drivers door went much easier, fit my panel a little better and far less headaches. Threw the passenger door on cab quick just to make sure it fit, it's not adjusted all at, just had to put one on before calling it quits for the night. Should fit great.

Nice work. Your doing a great job Keep up the progress, can't wait to see it when its all done. I need to tackle my doors soon and do what your doing. Gives me inspiration to start on my doors.

[Snake72]

Thanks man. The door bottoms are not hard to do but my advice would be to stay away from the contours and corners as much as possible, the repop panel body lines are not as sharply defined as factory and some massaging needed...but thats pretty standard with any new sheet metal.

I'm hoping the door skins go well, the test fits are promising.

[68Gold/white]

Look'n good in a Iowa neighborhood!!!

[Snake72]

Been working periodically finishing up the drivers side door bottom and skin. I wanted to protect the inner flange to guard against future rust before I spot welded the door skin but I didnt have access to the spray equipment at the shop up north (had the doors at my house) so I had a local paint shop mix up single stage 510 medium blue in a rattle can, also picked up 521 white and hoped for the best. Primed flange with SEM etch and then SEM high build and sprayed the color. Match was great, and its just the interior door bottoms anyway. The skins will not be rattle canned haha. Came out pretty good. The skins went on very easy, picked up a door skin hammer/dolly at harbor freight and went to town. Drilled holes every 6-8 inches for spot welds. Left enough "wiggle room" on the skin to move it around a little if needed when fitting before I weld it.

Also sprayed the window frame white and match was excellent. If it doesn't exactly match white cab I'll strip it and spray at the shop.

[Snake72]

I wanted to keep the worn paint on drivers interior door frame where the paint was rubbed off from years of arms hanging out the window, so I attempted my first "blend" of the new paint and original paint. Came out ok but you can see the line a little. Cut with 1000 and 2500 then buffed out with Meguires #7 to blur the line.

Door skin was blocked and is remarkable straight and ding free, a few high spots at the rear door seem that some hammer and dolly work should flatten out

[RedRider]

That's cool, I was hoping to keep my "arm wear" spot as well.

Are you going to do the rest of the truck in single stage? It's going to look fantastic with a shiny new white top too.

[Snake72]

I think the "arm wear" is a cool touch. Keep it. The rest of my interior paint is original as well so I wanted it all to match.

The cab paint has been done for a couple years, used Martin Senour single stage from the Napa in town. I believe it is rebranded Sherwin Williams paint.
I'm a complete novice and found it easy to mix and spray. The rest of the truck will be same paint.

[Snake72]

Finished the door skins this weekend but I think I may have to either redo the skins and door bottoms or rockers. I spent all day trying to get them lined up and closing but the door bottom and front lower skin contact the rocker on both sides when trying to open and close the door. Either my rocker is too high or my door bottoms are too low and coming in contact. The rocker is lower than the fenders..I could adjust the fender up to match the rocker but then I cant bring the door up any further to match fender.

The driver door gaps are pretty good and line up with the fender and cowl ok but the rear lower door is kicked way out.

Passenger door front window frame hits the windshield pillar and the rear gap is way too tight. Needs to move forward but I can't move it further forward as it already contacts the windshield frame.

I hope I can adjust everything but will probably end up with a 4x4 and BFH, if that doesnt work Ill have to cut things apart and reweld. Will probably weld 1/8 rod on rear driver too and front passenger door to improve the gap.

I guess with the amount of new metal on this truck that I'll have a hard time getting it all to gap correctly.

Any ideas are welcome before I cut it apart. Will look at cab bushing torque, make sure frame is level, try some shims on core support and cab, etc.

[Snake72]

I definitely have some alignment issues, shims and a big hammer I hope.


sorry about the picture orientation...

[Snake72]

Fender and cowl gaps are great, just cannot get the door to properly open and close without contact on rocker or window frame. I can work the front and rear door gaps to be acceptable but the door top and bottom dimensions are too tall.

Will be a few weeks before I can work on it again, ANY alignment tips or tricks are appreciated...

[cebra]

May want to post in the paint and body section to get more responses. My first rocker attempt was too high and I have to redo it (my door drags)' so I feel your pain.

[MDPotter]

I've only reskinned two doors on a 64, but the process is the same. What I did was take off the outer skin and made a rough cut on the door bottom and then laid the new outer skin on the door shell and test fit. That way, you know the profile is right and you have a good baseline. Then I did the door bottom and made it fit the shell/skin profile and it came out pretty well, but the rear corner of the door bottom does rub on the rocker on one side. I've seen some guys pie cut the front and/or rear portion of the rocker where it radiuses up to meet the cab pillar in order to get more clearance.

But keep in mind, it's just sheetmetal. Worst case scenario, you have to get a new door skin or door bottom which are $50 and $20 and redo it but I don't think you will. From what I gather, you might have to cut the door bottom to raise it up or clearance a spot. It's weird that the window frame is tight though - are they the original doors? I can't imagine how the door opening would have shrunk or the window frame could have grown if they are the original doors. Either way, it's good that you caught it now rather than later as you haven't painted the whole door yet.

[Snake72]

Thanks for the insight and pointers. Yes doors shells are original to truck and were fit prior to final welding of the cab sheet metal. The window frame could have gotten tweaked a little while I was working with it, moving it around, etc. I think I can finesse it enough for proper gap. The new skins and bottoms measure exactly the same as original measurements before I cut them up. Door skins went on great, fit like a glove. Kinda weird.

Like MDPotter mentioned, I think the door bottom profile / angle is off a little bit. I think I can work the metal up enough to clearance the rocker, its only like 1/8" or 1/4" of contact. Otherwise I'll just cut the door bottoms off again and scoot them up. Probably trim up bottom skin 1/4" too. Easy enough to do, just time. And I'd rather work the door again than the rocker.

[Snake72]

Got my doors pretty close this weekend. Open and close great now, gaps are ok and have enough adjustment to get them nearly perfect. I had to cut 3/16" off the bottom door skins to clear rockers and get a good gap. I don't have the rolled over skin on the bottom now but tack welded the skin and inner door bottom together, I don't see a huge issue with this, may try seam sealer over the welds. Will probably weld 1/8" rod to front of both door skins to close the large fender/door gap.

Bent the passenger window hoop backwards, grinded the sharp corner off the hoop where it meets the wing window, hammered the door bottoms for clearance in a few spots where it was contacting the rocker. Had to bore out the hinge bolt holes where they mount to cab for more adjustment. Also straightened the rear lower driver door skin to match the cab corner contour.

The fenders mount up well but appear tilted forward. Lifting up the front of the fender gives me the good gaps to the door, will shim up the core support a little to help this. Lower rear fender bolt holes do not line up with cab mount support but I can make that work.

All in all, most of the tough fitting is done...I think...

[Snake72]

ugh sorry about the turned pics...

here is the passenger side, still too tight around window frame but it opens and closes without contact top or bottom.

[MDPotter]

Glad to see you were able to get your gaps in better shape!

[landarts]

Looks like you are getting there on the gaps. Truck is looking great and cant wait to see it all back together. What a great build and a great way to remember your grandpa. I hope when it is done you will drive and use it like it is meant to be. Again nice job!

[Snake72]

Thanks! The truck will be driven and used like the old farm truck it is...just a little more gentle during it's second life.

Bought some wood for the bed last week. I wanted something local with history for the wood, not a generic kit. Thought about barn wood but couldn't find the right size. Ended up finding Amana Forestry. Amana is several historic colonies in Iowa, 30 minutes from my house. Their forestry department logs the local hardwoods and mills onsite. Chose a wood I've never seen used in truck beds before, hackberry. It's a hardwood in the elm family and kinda looks like ash. $100 for all my boards, had them planed to 3/4". Basically 1x10x9's. The wood has fantastic coloring and grain, should look beautiful when finished. Plan to leave natural or antique american stain, covered with epifanes.

[68Gold/white]

I took a tour through a furniture factory at the Amana's, years ago.

Look'n Good!!!

[cornerstone]

The grain pattern is very beautiful on your future bed floor, please post pictures of the staining and progress. Looking forward to seeing the finished product! Brian

[Snake72]

Thanks guys, the darker grain of that wood is the heartwood, when I rip them down to width most of the lighter sapwood will be cut off, should be pretty and I'll post my process.

Just ordered 2 new bedsides today, my last piece of the puzzle to finish up assembly before blowing it all apart to paint. Need to sand blast my cross sills yet.

My front bed panel was pushed forward on the top middle like a long bow and could not get it to straighten out. I ended up jacking up my duramax front tires and slid the bowed panel underneath the tire and gently let down the truck tire like a huge hydraulic press. Put some blocks underneath the edges of the panel to press the bow a little past straight each time as the metal would "rebound" some when I took the pressure off. Came out perfect and it even pulled out some kinked metal from the bow. Some hammer and dolly work and it looks great.

[RedRider]

Originally Posted by Snake72

I ended up jacking up my duramax front tires and slid the bowed panel underneath the tire and gently let down the truck tire like a huge hydraulic press.

That's a great idea.

[Snake72]

Had a few hours over the long weekend, my driver side gaps are as good as I can get them. Had to shim the core support up 3/8", enlarge lower fender mount holes, cut the front of the rocker 1/4" back and reweld. installed strikers and door latch. They open and close perfect and gaps are good enough. Sprayed some rattle can medium blue to better see the gaps.

Passenger side is 90% done, will need to grind down the vent window frame to fit better. Panel fitting kinda sucks...

Cutting the bed wood this weekend. New bedsides and all the cross sills are on their way. Only the front panel will be original to the truck. The rest of the bed metal is garbage and beyond saving. Already have a new tailgate and tubs. So all that will be getting assembled and fitted off the truck first.

Also ordered 2 wheel vintiques 62 series in 15x8 for the back end. The fronts will stay 15x6 and will be painted white.