56 pro touring build

[Kim57]

Nice job.
Kim

[hotrod1]

OK, made a mistake. I heard that the Miller Dynasty line (tig) of welders is just amazing. I don't know why, but I kept searching for one on Craig's list. Figured that maybe I could find a deal on one as they are crazy expensive. A couple of years went by and I never saw one. All of a sudden, one showed up in my town for a good price, but still a little crazy. I don't know what happened, but it ended up in my garage. Its a mystery because I don't even remember getting it, at least that is the story that I am sticking to. Part of me feels bad because I dont have the descritionary funds for this, but as BAM says, you only live once.

Anyways, everything that everybody says about them is correct. Unbelievable difference in the weld, and it has so many features like pulse welding. And it is only 50Lbs, unlike my 500lb syncrowave.

The syncrowave is going to go on Craig's list!

Started to build a cart for it. We have a 200 or 300 size gas tank, so the cart has to be strong. It seems that we overbuild things, and in doing so you can get into some problems. We have built things that have not come out flat (maybe because they are built on the garage floor or heat warped from welding). So we built the back half of the cart straight and put a pivot for the front half. This way, it will always sit flat. We will see how that works.

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

but as BAM says, you only live once.

Don't blame me for your need to speed money. Man that is a really nice machine I really wanted one but I could not justify the funds. I brought the Miller Diversion 180 and got a good deal on it new and it will do whatever I need it to. But man I would have loved to have the same compact 50 pounds but a beast of a machine like yours. That little sucker you have its a beast. Nice find man.

[hotrod1]

Yeah, I did not have the funds to put towards it either. I just could not help it. It will have to come from somewhere else, perhaps the next truck part purchase wont come as quick. Once bitten by the TIG bug, it is hard not to act. I love TIG welding. It is just an art.

[hotrod1]

Ok, we wasted enough time on the cart. It turned out good and way over built. Now back to the truck.

[Kim57]

Very nice.
Kim

[55Cameo]

Just read your entire build. Really like what you have going on so far. I am doing a similar build and have the same goals in mind with the suspension/frame/motor/trans.

Gonna keep an eye for progress

[BC Toy chest]

I have been away from here for a while. You have come a long way looking good.

[Kim57]

Nice cart.
Kim

[mud.man.rj]

Very nice cart, too bad it is so time consuming as you could easily sell a cart like that, but too much labour to make it pay.

[hotrod1]

Yeah, no money in that. It is just another task to sharpen your skills to get better at fabrication.

[shadow1967]

A bomb can hit your garage and the cart will stil be standing. nice cart

[hotrod1]

Ok, so we got a harbor freight sandblaster from craigslist and you know how that goes. Many HF things are OK but need to have mods to make them good. the sandblaster is no exception. Once you get a sandblaster, your air compressor is no longer powerful enough as well. One thing leads into another.

After all that we finally had a little time left. Worked on moding the tailgate. Its a little different but we like it. In fact, we like speedholes that are dimple died.

Now we have the "CHEVROLET" wording that we cut out of the tailgate to put somewhere. What do you guys think about putting that into the firewall?

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Now we have the "CHEVROLET" wording that we cut out of the tailgate to put somewhere. What do you guys think about putting that into the firewall?

tail gate looks good.

if you can blend the firewall, that would be unique,
a one off thing that would make your firewall stand out from the pack.
go for it...

[hotrod1]

I talked to Bam and Kim about it and it was suggested to get an older school tailgate with the script writing and do the firewall with that. I agree that it would look great. I just cant seem to find any of the script anywhere or an old tailgate that has it. Any ideas? I dont want to spend hundreds on a new one just to cut out the writing.

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

I talked to Bam and Kim about it and it was suggested to get an older school tailgate with the script writing and do the firewall with that. I agree that it would look great. I just cant seem to find any of the script anywhere or an old tailgate that has it. Any ideas? I dont want to spend hundreds on a new one just to cut out the writing.

Better yet, why not just get it air brushed on? You can choose any design you want it can be made to look any way you want from something simple to a 3D effect. I think it look way better than just sticking a big blocked letter tailgate lettering up on your firewall. Just a thought.

[RockTonka]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

I talked to Bam and Kim about it and it was suggested to get an older school tailgate with the script writing and do the firewall with that. I agree that it would look great. I just cant seem to find any of the script anywhere or an old tailgate that has it. Any ideas? I dont want to spend hundreds on a new one just to cut out the writing.

See if Mar-K will stamp out a panel for ya...

[Chevette]

Looks really good, Hotrod1. What size hyd. press do you need for the dimple dies? I have been thinking of buying a couple of sets to do some under hood work. Now that I've seen how good you make it look, I'm convinced.

[hotrod1]

The dimples that I used in the tailgate are 3/4". There is a company on ebay (look up dimple die) and they use a camouflage background. Their name is barbed wire off road. Their dies come with the center drilled out so you can use a bolt to do the compression if you cant get it into a press like the tailgate. The quality of the die is great and the people are very nice to work with. When I can use a press, I have a 20 ton. the bigger the better. If I had a 60, that would be better, but the 20 will do for now.

Oh, they not only look good and lighten, but they add to the strength by giving the hole another dimension.

[Chevette]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

The dimples that I used in the tailgate are 3/4". There is a company on ebay (look up dimple die) and they use a camouflage background. Their name is barbed wire off road. Their dies come with the center drilled out so you can use a bolt to do the compression if you cant get it into a press like the tailgate. The quality of the die is great and the people are very nice to work with. When I can use a press, I have a 20 ton. the bigger the better. If I had a 60, that would be better, but the 20 will do for now.

Oh, they not only look good and lighten, but they add to the strength by giving the hole another dimension.

Thank you for the info. I will check that eBay seller right away. Your help is truly appreciated.

[hotrod1]

Keep up the good work Chevette. By the way, they offer some with bolt holes and others without.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Originally Posted by Chevette

Thank you for the info. I will check that eBay seller right away. Your help is truly appreciated.

Did you have any luck I struck out.

[hotrod1]

Here is a current link for that ebay person

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3pc-4140-Bol...#ht_500wt_1180


I dont know how long it will be good for.

the seller is called whiskeyv8

[Kim57]

Looking real nice. Love the tail gate.
Kim

[BC Toy chest]

Love the tail gate treatment And gr8 meeting you at Brothers. Can't wait to see the truck in person.