1955 big back window named RUSTY cummins to be......

[bowmans_army]

well my wife bought me this 55 big back window 3200 long box for my birthday for 400 bucks. of course i did all the work to bring it home plus the 2 hour drive into no were Colorado. This build is going to be a body swap onto my 91 dodge cummins 4x4 when the body is fixed. it is rusted out every were from the cowl down on each pillar driver side floor steps rockers cab corners and this is just the cab. you might wonder why i would go through all this trouble one its a big back window cab two i am an ase tek can fix anything build rock crawlers can weld good but dont know a lot about sheet metal so i figure that after i fix all this i will be good to go with body work good skill to put into my tool box (mind) while these are my reason so no why not just cab swap it bla bla blaaaa.
firs thing i did was strip the cab and find all the rust.


then i took the metal roof sheeting off the floor and found out that it had a lot of roof tar on it and huge holes.



also this truck was fixed probably like 20 plus years ago but ****ty cut an old truck apart and welded steps over the rusted steeps now i have too rusted out steps to deal with. and all the foam stuffed into the vent rust area ya

[bowmans_army]

so the first thing i did was take the cab off the frame and chop the nice bent rusty frame up saving the part the cab mounts to so i could make a cab dolly. Once in my garage i assessed the rust and priced out the patch panels and figured out what i could fix myself i bought new steps rockers door hinge pockets so far then i decided to take care of the cowl vent kick panel mess and floor myself. cut all the rust out started on the drives side first. dont know why the hell chevy designed the **** that way retarded. so i cut it all out and got rid of the vent the vent bubble piece thing. and will fill in the cowl vent in front of the window so there will be no more vent and the water that follows with it here is what i did to take care of the rust and get rid of the vent when i do the body swap i am going to run the wiring trough there and along the inner fender this is how far i got and what it will be like better than chevy stock for what i want plus as you can see it was all but gone with rust anyways i figure one less 55 chevy going to the scrap yard im saving this one for the future its a good feeling. of course this is going to be built to my needs so it is what it is what i want. more tomorrow.




and here are some of the floor i still have yet to fix gonna make/ fix the front supports myself gonna be slow but steady my friend is bringing me doors fenders windows and the interior from oregon in a few weeks.


and one of my toy

[bowmans_army]

dont mind the ugly welds still figuring out how to weld thin metal not really used to welding anything thinner that 1/4.

[Maxxd07]

Cant wait to see this beast done! Alot of work lies ahead.

[bowmans_army]

yep the works the fun part though i enjoy it more than anything thats why im a mechanic

[Kim57]

Welcome to the site.
That's one heck of a project you've got there.
Kim

[57HotTruck]

Welcome
I thought that my truck was rusty, it was nothing compared to your truck.
Good luck with your project. I look forward to seeing more.

[mr48chev]

You sir are a braver man than I am. I think I would have cut it off above the rust and found a stripped standard cab to supply the bottom half.

[bowmans_army]

thanks everyone i was thinking about getting a good cab but then whats the fun in restoring something if it were easy how would i learn anything JK. i guess i just talked myself into it its already a fun project should pick up some speed once my patch panels get here end of the week. I will get a picture of the truck that's gonna sacrifice its drive train for this build i daily drive it.

[dicer]

For welding thin stuff, its just a spot here and there till its all welded up.
And wow I thought mine was rusty. At least your making better progress than me. I haven't done nothin for a month now. Too many other projects and honey do's.

[bowmans_army]

Originally Posted by dicer

For welding thin stuff, its just a spot here and there till its all welded up.
And wow I thought mine was rusty. At least your making better progress than me. I haven't done nothin for a month now. Too many other projects and honey do's.

my wife bought it for me so to her it is a honey do great wife. My next perchase is going to be a flanger tool so all the metal on the floor and all the other panels that im gonna patch will be nicer and easyer to mate. My buddy is bringing me 2 ton fenders and doors i have a great plan for the rust free 2 ton fenders and the bottom lip of the 1/2 ton fenders but cant start that till he gets here should have some more progress tomorow. I am going to replace the front cab braces with sqaure tube caped off, i plan on using this truck to tow and for off road fun def dont want all the rust to just come back in 20 years for me or whomever i sell it to im fixing all the things i see wrong with the original design. But i have to admit the rust kind of eased my hand on that one

[Dieselwrencher]

Great project! I'm looking forward to seeing this one through!

[bowmans_army]

well my patch panels got here from brothers. So i put my truck on the cab dolly i made and started drill spot weld but first i had to remove this yep its an aftermarket step patch panel from over 20 years ago and its welded over the rust

once i got it off this is all the rust that was there




the cab is so out of whack i didn't even bother putting supports in im gonna have to get it square once the patch panels and floor is in the whole drivers side was sunk down about 5 inches but it will all come together. here are the pics


here is the floor that is getting the chop next

and this is my dodge cummins that the body is going onto when its all done.

[Kim57]

Wow that's a lot of rust. When I see things like this it makes me appreciate the good shape my truck was in.
Km

[meter swinger]

Wow is right. ive scrapped better. You will have yourself a really nice classic4x4 when done. Lookin good!
Posted via Mobile Device

[bowmans_army]

ya it was about to be scraped when i got it. I actually have tow rust free cabs in oregon but thats along way from here my buddy is bringing me parts from those this week on his way from Oregon to Texas. should have the cab done by the middle to end of Augusta its actually the wort part of the truck the bed is in great shape

[bowmans_army]

So after chopping all the rust out it was time to square up the cab up so i threw the door on it and pushed pulled and strapped it till all the gaps were good then i braced it up and pulled the door off and started fitting the panels. you can see in the last few the floor patch section i made that will be squared up once the steps and other patch panels are in.I also patched up the cab mount and made it stronger. should have the drivers side of the cab fixed tomorrow "SHOULD" is the word its Now just a lot of welding. The passenger side will be a lot easier because its not so rusted and still square so i can just brace it up and cut and replace. still have to order my cab corners on the first. Once the cabs done the built should start picking up speed well here are the pics enjoy.




also got to use my new flanger for the first time works nice panels line up great.


i then started mocking it up then quit for the night

[hammerdog57]

Looking good. With the amount of metal replacement and jacking the cab around i would mock up windshield to make sure it will fit. It doesnt take much moving of the A piller to throw windshield opening off. The general shape of these windshields leave little room for error.

[bowmans_army]

so its been a little since last time i posted did what hammer dog said and checked the window everything was still strait so i final got around to getting some free metal sheet it was 11 gauge for the floor and front cab corner. It turned out great only regret is that i bought the PS floor replacement panel so it will look odd until i Dino mat and carpet it but o well. After replacing the rocker, step, cab mount, drivers side floor, toe board and remaking the entire front door jam cab corner the worst side is done the. The PS kick panel are will retain the vent and such for the ac and heater system going into it. well on with the pics thanks for all the help and advice. hey one thing were are you guys buying por 15 locally? Im in Colorado springs and haven't had any luck. and i spent more time making the door shut strait and the gaps all even then i have invested over it feels like well lessen learned for the other side. on with the pics

the last one is of my half the parts i have my buddy brought me the doors and fenders off my 2 ton from oregon either going to sell the fenders or make them patch fenders for my broke ones

[Kim57]

That's a lot of work you've done.
Looks like it will be real solid.
Kim

[bowmans_army]

thanks kim57

[55dude]

i just sent this build thread off to a few friends that were stalled because of some minor rust issues and it this thread doesn't "INSPIRE" them nothing will! normally the way all the pictures are posted i would say something as it kinda drives ya crazy but can't really fault ya for having the amount of drive you need on this project! SUBSCRIBED DUDE!

[bowmans_army]

thanks how am i posting them let me know and i can fix it or stop doing it. thanks again im usually beat after work and working on it so just getting the pics on here takes some motivation.

[Rude Dude]

Doing a good job really like your build!

[bowmans_army]

thanks every one im going to try and i post from re-sized pics from now on, i think i have it figured out... well maybe. sorry for the huge pictures on here everyone.