47-55.1 Long Time Coming......

[gsinon]

Been playing with the firewall getting the welding complete. I decided I didn't like the Chevrolet script just sitting alone on the top of the firewall. So I made these pieces to go off each side and create some shape to it. Once filler work is done and primed/painted it will flow much better.

[dsraven]

fancy pants.
looks great, nice job.

[6DoF]

i love putting the stamped script in there

[gsinon]

Originally Posted by dsraven

fancy pants.
looks great, nice job.

Lol....Thanks!

Originally Posted by 6DoF

i love putting the stamped script in there

Thanks, I wanted something a little different then what most do. This fit the bill perfectly.

[8man]

I need to come take welding lessons. Nice work!

[gsinon]

Last week I finally finished all the interior window garnish moldings and the panel I made for below the dash. So I got them in the booth and painted them this color I custom mixed to match the leather seat. It was then cleared in a eggshell finish clear.








Then on Saturday I was out in the shop and cut out the rust in the lower kick panels and then trimmed the patch panels to fit and tacked them in place.

Driver side wasn't too bad....



And the passenger side. A little more rust over here.....

[-Dan-]

That truck is getting a lot of love. The rust did not look that bad in the earlier photos.

[gsinon]

Originally Posted by -Dan-

That truck is getting a lot of love. The rust did not look that bad in the earlier photos.

It is funny what can be hidden under a paint job....

In the end It really isn't that bad compared to many. Cab corners is so very typical. The floors only had one spot of rot, and the lower kick panels. I've seen some people have to cut their truck into fragments and start over.

[gsinon]

Well, the time has come to finally be able to share this with you all. I mentioned it several months ago, but here it is in full color!!!

Back in December Ron Ceridono from Classic Truck Performance called me out of the blue. I don't know him at all, but I did recognize his name. Some of my build pics ran across his desk from a mutual friend and he decided he liked what he saw enough to run an article.

After going back and forth by email and a few phone calls he sent me the text of the article he wrote. This was right around Christmas time. Well in tonights mail is the magazine with the article in it. I am beyond thrilled.

I'm so happy to have been able to share this with my dad and have him read the article before I lost him in January. I'm a little sad he doesn't get to see this and hold this in his hands. But deep down I know he is proud and is seeing it.

[-Dan-]

That’s awesome! Congratulations.

[duramax55]

right on congrats good work didn't go unnoticed

[youngrodder]

Very cool. Now your great build is documented in print as well as the web.

Marc

[57FleetsideC4]

Very Nice!! It's always fun to have your work recognized. Steve

[Rickysnickers]

Outstanding!!!!

[gsinon]

Originally Posted by -Dan-

That’s awesome! Congratulations.

Originally Posted by duramax55

right on congrats good work didn't go unnoticed

Originally Posted by youngrodder

Very cool. Now your great build is documented in print as well as the web.

Marc

Originally Posted by 57FleetsideC4

Very Nice!! It's always fun to have your work recognized. Steve

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Outstanding!!!!

Thank you all, and thanks for following along with my project.

[gsinon]

I'm just about finished with the welder, but I did have to complete the kick panel patches and get them fully welded in place today. While doing that I needed to make a curved filler piece for the passenger side area. I bent a piece of metal in my trusty Harbour Freight sheet metal break and then used my cheap HF Shrinker/Stretcher to make the piece match the curve.






Once that was done I got the last of the welds done and cleaned them up a bit. Only thing left is the cab corners, but I need to hang the doors again before I fit the pieces.

[Getter-Done]

That is some good Shrinking going on.

Nice metal work.

[gsinon]

I still need to fit and weld in the cab corners. Before I do I needed to hang the doors so I know the cab corners will fit right. With the doors hung and fitted as best I could, I could now see the gaps and how far off they were. And this was after an hour of getting the door to fit as good as possible. And for anyone wondering, I won't finalize the gaps until I get the cab back on the chassis and bolted down solid. I'm hopeful nothing will change because I was really careful when I made this cart to have it square and flat as could be.

As you can see the door edge at the rear is basically touching.



And yet not too bad on the top of the window frame at the rear.


This was the front edge with just a little bit of grinding.


This will need to be built up some... It is too wide for me.


And finally the rear area between the door and cab after grinding and getting it to be 3/16"
It will still need a little work, but overall much much better.

[-Dan-]

Nice work. Are you willing to provide any more detail on how you made the reveals (gaps) so consistent?

[Rickysnickers]

Nicely done.

[gsinon]

Originally Posted by -Dan-

Nice work. Are you willing to provide any more detail on how you made the reveals (gaps) so consistent?

I was wondering if anyone would care enough for me to go into depth with how I do it. Ince I get a little further along in the gapping process I will post up an in depth tutorial.

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Nicely done.

Thanks!!!

[gsinon]

Another one of the little details that I tend to do on many of my builds is to shave the drip rails. However, rather than go completely smooth and not have anything, I weld on round stock on the gutters place. Once fully welded and then body worked it will have a nice molded look to it and leave a nicer looking detail than the factory gutter.

In these pics I already cut off the gutter, which is only spot welded on the inside of the door jamb area. I then cleaned up the surrounding area with a 80 grit Roloc disc on an angle grinder. I then ran to my local supply house and bought two 6' lengths of 1/4" round stock. To form the curve at the top rear of the cab window I heated up the bar and bent it around my welding gas bottle. The radius was very close to what I needed.

Slowly I heated the rest and bent it to match the other curves. I then tack welded it in a few spots on the rear most vertical area, and then continued all the way around and down the A pillar.

Now that I'm happy with this I will weld her up solid and grind the welds smooth. After the cab goes into epoxy I will body work the area for a super smooth transition.

[gsinon]

It is funny how sometimes when you go out into the shop with a plan, you have to pivot and do something different for one reason or another.

In order to do the final gaps on the truck I need to rebuild the hinges. So I went out yesterday with the intention of removing the passenger door and taking out the hinges and rebuilding them. I got the top one done without any issues. The bottom one fought me tooth and nail. No matter what I tried I just could not get the pin out of the hinge. That fight will live on for another day.

While the door was off and on a scissor stand though I decided to make the best of it. I made a small filler patch and then proceeded to weld up the hole for the door lock. With that made and fitted nice and tight I tacked it in place, then fully welded it. Then ground the welds smooth on the outside.

[gsinon]

With that small job done, I decided to go a little further and make the mounting plate that you get with the Altman latches fit flush and welded it in place rather than bolt on. This to me will give a better look after blending in with body work and make it look as though it came this way from the factory and not look like just a bolt on.

[6DoF]

props on the sheet metal work, that stuff is tough. what wire do you use?