Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I actually turned a bit of the top off the bolts for the four recessed locations. I'll build up the SilBro where needed. Just looking to avoid an island of steel surrounded by a donut of weld material. Suck-in was non-existent.

Nice work Vic...when are you going to chrome with it...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Nice work Vic...when are you going to chrome with it...

The chrome shop I plan to use is Sioux Plating in Sioux City, NE. I'm going to take the parts there and then go get them when they're done. That being the case, I'd like to go ahead and narrow the rear bumper so I can take both pieces at the same time. I figure a couple of weeks or so to get the front and the rear ready. I took the day off today to go to Sedalia so my dad could visit friends and family. Plus, his little dog needed his booster shots so we went to the vet he sees there in town. Back in the saddle tomorrow.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

The chrome shop I plan to use is Sioux Plating in Sioux City, NE. I'm going to take the parts there and then go get them when they're done. That being the case, I'd like to go ahead and narrow the rear bumper so I can take both pieces at the same time. I figure a couple of weeks or so to get the front and the rear ready. I took the day off today to go to Sedalia so my dad could visit friends and family. Plus, his little dog needed his booster shots so we went to the vet he sees there in town. Back in the saddle tomorrow.

Ok... I thought you were using a place there in KC...

[Elliot949]

Man that is tough... If you get it straight to the body the Chrome shop "should" be able to make it straight for plating... he'll they strighted wadded up bumpers all the time...

I know I am opposite of most people but Go Steelers!!!... I have been a Steeler fan for 45 years...

[swamp rat]

Ya know I think 75% of us would say its perfect... I'm with Elliot on the chrome shop being able to fill the voids to make it straight, I think I'd as least show them and get there opinion, of course I know about 20% of what you know...

[Low Elco]

If nothing else, there's a pretty good spray chrome place in Wichita. Sorry about the hassle.

Alternative Chrome Creations, in Haysville.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Man that is tough... If you get it straight to the body the Chrome shop "should" be able to make it straight for plating... they straighten wadded up bumpers all the time...

My worry is that any additional tweaking they do to get it straight might move it enough it wouldn't line up later on.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Ya know I think 75% of us would say its perfect... I'm with Elliot on the chrome shop being able to fill the voids to make it straight, I think I'd as least show them and get there opinion...

I think my best bet may be to get it as good as I can, then make the decision. Right now things are a bit outta control.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

If nothing else, there's a pretty good spray chrome place in Wichita. Sorry about the hassle.

Alternative Chrome Creations, in Haysville.

Thanks, Chip. I used to have some info on a guy in Harrisonville that did the spray chrome also, but must have lost it. That's what happens when you're afflicted with part-timers disease... only remember stuff part of the time.

This morning I squeezed the center gap together a bit more and was satisfied with the result, so I lopped one end off the bumper and began the trial fitting. Mocked up, the end looked like a little more than 2" would tuck it in around where I wanted. Laid out a cut line on the bumper and removed the section and put everything back together. Then it was time to slice open the fender to get the end piece lined up correctly. I marked where the end of the bumper rested and moved back about 3/4" and marked another line. The forward line was just a guess as to how big a chunk I needed to cut out. Some of this material may get patched back in later on or I may have to make an entirely new filler piece.

[Vic1947]

So the opening looks really ugly right now. I ended up cutting more than I planned because there were a couple of places that kept interfering. I'm now faced with a decision. If I raise the end of the bumper to make it more or less line up with the fender line, the end is at more of an angle than I may be able to correct with the hammer and dolly. On the other hand, if I square up the cuts in the bumper, it looks correct except where it meets the fender on the side. There may be some additional pie cuts to the end piece in the future.

[Low Elco]

Sorry about the hassle! There's a spray chrome place in Wichita.

Alternative Chrome Creations, in Haysville. 316-680-1209

[Xeen]

This is an ambitious modification and I am enjoying watching you work. I know you are having some trouble with it but keep going you got this! On the matter of chrome, well you don't necessarily have to chrome the bumper you can paint both the front and rear bumper instead and it would look good especially after the mods to make it conform to body lines.

[Low Elco]

Lol!

[Rod Run]

I have just read into this thread for the first time. I am also going to be cutting, smoothing and tucking my bumper soon. Hopefully I'll be starting on that next month.

I've already shaved and customized a LOT of other stuff on my project, so I'll be heading into this latest mod with eyes wide open

Sounds like you're starting to get frustrated on the whole bumper thing right now. My suggestion would be to walk away and work on a different part of your truck for a while (because I do the same thing), so you can get some positive mojo going and then go back to the bumper with a clearer head.

Good luck, because I love your idea so far

[knomadd]

Looking good Vic. I like your progress so far.

[Elliot949]

It looks like you are working through it pretty well...I like that tucked in look...

What day are you coming down for the Starbird-Devlin show...

[jlsanborn]

Holy smokes! You are showing no mercy on this bumper mod Vic. When it's finished most would never realize that it's modified, let alone what kind of muscle it took to pull it off. If you can get that done in chrome it'll be crazy-cool. Nice work!

[sduckworth13]

I like your approach on sheetmetal Vic. Your never afraid to start chopping away and it always looks awesome when your done.

[GR8-68]

I think it is looking great, you have welding skills so there is nothing that happens that cannot be fixed

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Looking good Vic. I like your progress so far.

Thanks, Duane, yours is looking kickass! Love the firewall.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

It looks like you are working through it pretty well...I like that tucked in look... What day are you coming down for the Starbird-Devlin show...

Thanks, Dan. By now, you've probably figured out we didn't make the show. We'll try to get down there to a cruise in this spring when Papa J is 100%. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Holy smokes! You are showing no mercy on this bumper mod Vic. When it's finished most would never realize that it's modified, let alone what kind of muscle it took to pull it off. If you can get that done in chrome it'll be crazy-cool. Nice work!

Hey John, we're shooting for subtle even though Chip thinks it needs naca ducts and a speed sensitive spoiler. I'll probably take his advice on the chrome, though. I looked at the FB page for Advanced Chrome Concepts and they do some pretty amazing stuff over almost anything.

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

I like your approach on sheetmetal Vic. Your never afraid to start chopping away and it always looks awesome when your done.

Thanks, Scott... and you've seen this thing in its underwear with all the warts too.

Originally Posted by GR8-68

I think it is looking great, you have welding skills so there is nothing that happens that cannot be fixed

That's what I keep telling myself. Weld and grind, weld and grind...

Speaking of which, I'm back on the bumper after a few days doing "other stuff". The grinder deal is mostly done. It needs slots in the base to be able to tighten the belt and I need to make some adjustable tool supports as it came without any. Good side project for another day when I need a break from CRLS.

Below are some photos that show the direction I'm headed. The gaping hole will eventually be filled in with sheet metal. I'll use some of the metal that came out of the opening as a patch. A little hammer and dolly work should make it fit up reasonably well. The bumper will hide 90% of it anyway. The gap around the edge of the bumper will be about 3/16" - 1/4" depending on what looks best. I started to dolly the bumper edge to match the contour of the filler piece that's cleco'd to the fender and promptly snapped all my spot welds. I think when I welded it back together it wasn't exactly like I had it before, but it's close enough. Made a little wedge piece to fill in the pie cut and tacked it in place. More later...

[Elliot949]

Your hand forming and vision is astounding...

[ken4444]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Your hand forming and vision is astounding...

The effort required to let a C10 carelessly decay over the decades is a million times less than what is required to reverse the deterioration.

[Vic1947]

Thanks, guys, most of my misery is self inflicted. Starts with, "Here, hold my beer and watch this."

Few more progress shots below. The hole is slowly closing, but the hard part still lies ahead. I'll need to trim some off the bumper where it curves around the end to make the sheetmetal patches look less severe. What I've noticed as I stare endlessly at the bumper corner from various angles is that the factory contour seems to droop, sag or look bulbous over the lower half. (See red arrows.) From straight on, it's not noticeable, but is from almost any other viewpoint. Close examination of the truck I'm using as a pattern reveals the same issue on it. I'm leaning toward making several vertical slices around the lower half of the corner and drawing the slices back and up to excise the fat. Or then again, maybe it's just me.

[jeh]

Vic, just when I think you've quit cutting things up , look what you've done!!!!
It's going to look awesome man, keep at it. I really enjoy reading and watching your build on here.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

What I've noticed as I stare endlessly at the bumper corner from various angles is that the factory contour seems to droop, sag or look bulbous over the lower half. (See red arrows.) From straight on, it's not noticeable, but is from almost any other viewpoint. Close examination of the truck I'm using as a pattern reveals the same issue on it. I'm leaning toward making several vertical slices around the lower half of the corner and drawing the slices back and up to excise the fat. Or then again, maybe it's just me.

I hadn't really noticed it until you pointed it out. But now that you say it.... I have a feeling you're going to be opening a major can of worms if you go that route. Or, maybe you've already opened it, but now you're realizing just how big that can is. You're doing great, keep it up!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

I hadn't really noticed it until you pointed it out. But now that you say it.... I have a feeling you're going to be opening a major can of worms if you go that route. Or, maybe you've already opened it, but now you're realizing just how big that can is. You're doing great, keep it up!

Nope, haven't made that commitment yet, Duane. Still deciding whether it's worth the effort. I've probably said it before, but years ago when I was fretting about some detail on a project car, an east TX chassis builder buddy told me, "Nobody looks at your sh!t more closely than you do." Sometimes I have to remind myself of that.

[Low Elco]

Looks good! I stumbled across this pic in my axalta calendar. You can get one at the paint stores.
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