Ready for paint!

[davepl]

Well, after about eight months of work tearing it down and then rebuilding the drivetrain, suspension, and chassis, I stuck the cab and bed back on today so that it can be transported for the paint and body work.

Sort of sad, in a way, because it looked a lot nicer with just the minty chassis!

[ole dollor]

looking good so far...what plans for the color

[davepl]

Same color, Wht/DkBlue/Wht 592. I will be removing the travel tank doors, otherwise much as it is (but straighter and shinier I hope!).

Haven't decided if I'm going to weld up the front bed extension seams. I know some Longhorn owners take pride in them, but it's a pretty hillbilly solution right from the factory the way they did it. I usually err on the side of whatever the factory did, but that's one I'm having trouble with...

[jocko]

wow - suspension and rad braces, etc look awesome! Can't wait to see it - you're building one of my favorite trucks btw. Hey, can you tell me a little bit about the cab clearance lights? Are those aftermarket? Looks like it, but they look pretty nice- just curious. Thanks!

[weaintscared]

It's nice to see another one being finished.
Posted via Mobile Device

[davepl]

Originally Posted by jocko

wow - suspension and rad braces, etc look awesome! Can't wait to see it - you're building one of my favorite trucks btw. Hey, can you tell me a little bit about the cab clearance lights? Are those aftermarket? Looks like it, but they look pretty nice- just curious. Thanks!

They're aftermarket, but they reproductions of what was popular as a dealer-install item back in the day. I got mine from LMC, and they're nice quality (metal, not plastic). There's a name for them which escapes me at the moment...

[70cst]

Very inpressive davepl...

It is going to look killer when you get it done

[CC69Rat]

Dave -- just a thought. What if you built some 'roll around' dollies for your cab and bed? Why take your freshly painted and detailed chassis to the paint shop? You'll get overspray and stuff on it .. (I'm sure you know)

I'd just keep the rolling chassis tucked away for a bit and just carry them what you want painted.

[RenoKeene]

Looks good Dave. Always good to hit those build milestones. Going to be a sweet ride.

[faribran]

what CC69RAT said....... overspray is gonna be rampant

[davepl]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

Dave -- just a thought. What if you built some 'roll around' dollies for your cab and bed? Why take your freshly painted and detailed chassis to the paint shop? You'll get overspray and stuff on it .. (I'm sure you know)

I'd just keep the rolling chassis tucked away for a bit and just carry them what you want painted.

I've had it on rolling dollies the whole time I've been working on the chassis, and my original plan was to have the body done in parallel. After talking to a couple of higher-end body shops, though, they talked me out of it.

Apparently in order to get the body lines straight and the gaps correct and so on the body needs to be on the frame. Actually, it needs to be on -a- frame, if you had a spare truck frame I suppose you could use it.

The body shop will wrap the chassis in plastic (like Saran wrap, I guess) in order to keep it clean.

I imagine if there was a bunch of rust repair you could do that in advance, but as soon as you get past the primer stage and start blocking, it needs to be mocked up. If you try to block sand a door off the body, for example, the edges will "roll" away. Ideally you want the gaps to look like the body was a single piece and the gaps were cut out of that solid block.

If you were content with the fit and finish of a GM factory in 1970, none of it would matter (I've seen bed moulding that was a full inch off the line of the cab moulding)... but I'm picky.

[HeloCrewChief]

Awesome truck. I can already picture it finished. Awesome garage by the way. I lived in North Tacoma from last October until April. Man I miss Washington. Such a beautiful state you guys have.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by HeloCrewChief

Awesome truck. I can already picture it finished. Awesome garage by the way. I lived in North Tacoma from last October until April. Man I miss Washington. Such a beautiful state you guys have.

Thanks! I just had the shop expanded this year. The original builder wasn't a "car guy" so they built it about 2 feet too short to park 4 cars in it. Once you decide to move a wall 2 feet, you might as well go wild, so now it holds 8-9. Of course I have 4 kids that'll eventually want to park in there... So I'm very fortunate. But it's a "real" garage with tools and dirt and metal shavings, not a neon-sign man cave where I park cars that other people build for me (OK, one of the cars, but the rest I do).

When I came out here from Saskatchewan to interview for a job back in the 90s, it was beautiful and sunny the whole week. Then I moved here and discovered the other 51 weeks, it rains. Well, not quite... the summers are awesome.

[67cheby]

looks great

[HeloCrewChief]

I didn't even mind the winter there and I'm originally from Southern California. When its nice out, it's just beautiful.