55.2-59 '59 4x4 Build

[PuzzleTruck]

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...ictureid=27042

[PuzzleTruck]

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...ictureid=27040
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...ictureid=27041

[PuzzleTruck]

Hi guys,
I searched far and wide and found a good left fender in NorCal, and I happened to be near there in the bay area at the time, so I bought it. It needs rear lower corner replaced, but that's an easy fix. The seller had a beautiful custom made quad-cab 68 4x4, as well as a 55 panel NAPCO 4x4 he was selling.

Then after I returned home, I found a complete front end - both fenders, grill, inner fenders and radiator support, just an hour from home. They're in decent shape but will need lower rear corners replaced. I haven't had a chance to try them on yet. Now I'm stoked!

Unfortunately, a shoulder injury has kept me from making much progress, and now I'll be leaving for two weeks on family vacation. The weather is perfect. I'm hoping good weather will continue so I can get back to it soon.

Some recent pics will follow. When I tried to upload, I got an error message that a security token is missing, so I notified admin. The black aftermarket fenders look great from a distance but the fit is really bad. When I put the used originals on, the bolt holes and contours all lined up perfectly. Some of us just have to learn the hard way. LOL

[dsraven]

nice to find good useded steel instead of the generic, doesn't really fit anything, new steel.
curious how you find the rotary burnishing tool and what works best for the old rusty body parts, as far as what drum you found worked the best. thinking of getting one of those.
sorry to hear about your shoulder but, after 4 major rotator cuff surgeries (firefighting, mechanics, dirt biking, water sports etc etc can be hard on a guy, lol) I highly recommend taking the rest period, moving the joints through a full range of movement by using a pulley hung high and a simple rope set up. move the hanging, limp, bad arm with the good arm. use those rubber work out bands for resistance traing once you get that far along. there are lots of online exercises you can research for the rotator cuff. if you wanna get it back to working well you will need to be patient and set aside some work out time. trust me on that one.
hopefully your pics will show up soon.
have a merry Christams and enjoy the down time with the family.

[dsraven]

if the neighbors complain about the hanging parts just hang a tarp over the street side and paint a nice clean garage pic on it, or maybe just a garage door pic, haha

[dsraven]

after the major body work is done and there is still a few bumps, maybe try a shrinking disc, they work great.smooths out the little high spots after the hammer and dolly work has been exhausted. a slapper and dolly may also help

[PuzzleTruck]

Good tips, DS, thanks!
Luckily (or not) the carport is behind the garage, so the hanging parts are secluded. Only problem is, the truck is too tall to drive through the garage (I built in front and back doors for drive through), which is why I bought the temporary shelter to cover the truck in the driveway.

The drum surface conditioning tool is amazing! 40 grit cuts through paint, rust and filler like butter and leaves the metal shiny. I use a disc where I can't fit it in.

I will be swimming every day in Hawaii for a couple weeks, so that should be good therapy for the shoulder. Actually both shoulders are in bad shape from years of overhead electrical work, ski injuries, mountain biking, and general abuse, but only one surgery so far.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

[dsraven]

swimming should be good therapy as long as you take it easy so you don't make it worse by aggravation. do you know what the problem is?
I hade full thickness tears on the whole rotator cuff last time. the surgeon said his colleagues told him it would be useless to operate. he tried it and gave me strict rehab orders and it is strong again. not like it was back in the day, but pretty darn good considering. I found that doing cardio helped heal, probably due to the blood flow getting the nutrients etc where they needed to be and also helping flush out the system faster.
anyway, have fun in Hawaii and enjoy the time off. what island are you heading to. if you don't mind me asking? we have been to Maui several times and Oahu once. loved it.

[dsraven]

is the truck, like, waaaay too tall or just a little? maybe if just a little some small wheels and tires would get you out there.
as a firefighter we would let the air out of the tires so they would JUST keep the bead in order to get a vehicle out from under something. otherwise we would try jacking up the axle and slip a scoop shovel under the tire and then let all the air out. the vehicle could skid on the shovel. really good in the snow. maybe not gonna work for you, lol.
if you know somebody who needs to park their RV that would also block the view. haha
have a great Christmas, maybe santa will bring a garage door.

[PuzzleTruck]

I wasn't thinking tall 4x4 when I built the garage. Standard roll-up doors front and back. IIRC, the truck is about 5" too tall. I would have to remove the tires and put the brake hubs on skates to get it in. Not worth it since I have two cars in the garage that I don't want to leave outside.

Hawaii was nice, 70-75 degrees F most of the time. Now I'm back home and we're having the coldest temps of the year. Near freezing at night and in the 50s - low 60s daytime.

Some recent pics:

[PuzzleTruck]

More pics:

[dsraven]

depending on what type of welding you will do on the fender patch, some want a very tight fit for tig welding and some will allow a small gap for mig welding, some use the sheet metal bodywork clamps but the little flat steel tang part that fits between the two pieces will leave a gap between the parts as thick as that steel tang part is, unless you gind out a short spot to fit the tang of the clamp and allow the body parts to fit up tight. another way, if you have cleco fasteners, is to mark where you would put in a cleco and then make a small 1/2 round divet on each part so that when the parts are put together the 2 half rounds make a round hole and a cleco can be used with a small flat washer behind for the cleco to grab into and to draw the parts together. the washer can be taped on the back side, glued on or spot welded on if the spot is in an area with no access to the rear side
https://www.amazon.com/Welding-Clamp.../dp/B0787XV8SX
just a thought

[dsraven]

post 51, those are temporary U bolts and spacers, right?

[PuzzleTruck]

Originally Posted by dsraven

post 51, those are temporary U bolts and spacers, right?

Yes, temporary spacers. The U-bolts were on it. I will either leave them and cut off the excess or get new. Haven’t decided yet.

[PuzzleTruck]

So I was able to locate a front end just an hour from home on CL. It included fenders, rad support and grill, upper and lower grill supports. I disassembled it and will use the fenders. They fit great, so I patched some rust and replaced the lower rear corners. Then I stripped them so I could start with bare metal. They're in epoxy primer now waiting for the weather to improve so I can begin filler application. They have a lot of little dings in places I can't get to the back of to pound out.

[PuzzleTruck]

Pics:

[PuzzleTruck]

More pics:

[PuzzleTruck]

This past week was an eventful one. On Monday, the guy who's helping me prep for paint, put the fenders, inner fenders, and radiator support in the bed of his 2019 Tacoma and took them to his house. He didn't take them out right away, and that night his truck got stolen from in front of his house. Apparently he dropped his key, or may have left it in the console. (I don't like push-button start, because you don't have to physically take the key out to shut it off.) We were both devastated. He lost his truck, and means of working, and I lost the impossible to find fenders I had just spent the last month restoring.

The next day we didn't work on the truck, but the following day he showed up in my driveway in his truck with the fenders in the back! He explained that after he reported it stolen, police had his plate# and a cruiser got behind his truck, noticed an expired sticker and called it in. Lights went on and they trapped the thieves in a cul-de-sac after a short chase. What a relief to get everything back!!

After that, work continued as scheduled, albeit one day behind. He came over on Saturday to make up for it. We got the cab in 4 coats of high build primer and will begin blocking after a week cure time. I'm getting pretty exited, as the truck is really taking shape. I took the tires off the wheels to blast and repaint them. I will use the same white on the wheels, grill, and roof. Then it's on to wiring, finishing brake lines, shift linkage, etc.

[57FleetsideC4]

Originally Posted by PuzzleTruck

This past week was an eventful one. On Monday, the guy who's helping me prep for paint, put the fenders, inner fenders, and radiator support in the bed of his 2019 Tacoma and took them to his house. He didn't take them out right away, and that night his truck got stolen from in front of his house. Apparently he dropped his key, or may have left it in the console. (I don't like push-button start, because you don't have to physically take the key out to shut it off.) We were both devastated. He lost his truck, and means of working, and I lost the impossible to find fenders I had just spent the last month restoring.

The next day we didn't work on the truck, but the following day he showed up in my driveway in his truck with the fenders in the back! He explained that after he reported it stolen, police had his plate# and a cruiser got behind his truck, noticed an expired sticker and called it in. Lights went on and they trapped the thieves in a cul-de-sac after a short chase. What a relief to get everything back!!

After that, work continued as scheduled, albeit one day behind. He came over on Saturday to make up for it. We got the cab in 4 coats of high build primer and will begin blocking after a week cure time. I'm getting pretty exited, as the truck is really taking shape. I took the tires off the wheels to blast and repaint them. I will use the same white on the wheels, grill, and roof. Then it's on to wiring, finishing brake lines, shift linkage, etc.

Wow so happy to hear you got your panels back. That would nave been horrible to start over on those. Nice progress and how will you paint the cab? some type of scaffolding? Steve

[PuzzleTruck]

Thanks Steve. Yeah, huge relief after months of tracking them down and getting them straight, not to have to go through that again.

I have a plywood platform on the frame behind the cab and a wooden 4 foot ladder for getting the forward areas. Just finished spraying inside the cab, very close to original fawn color. Still need to do inside of doors, glove box and other trim, but it looks good finally getting some color on it!