I have been able to put some time into my '48/51 F-4 project. I have even been able to get my two sons to help. I'm trying to teach them some basic MIG welding. They like it but really want to jump into the filler part of the project.

Any way last year when I picked up my '48 F-4 up in Minnesota I was able to also pick up a complete front clip from another person up there. I wasn't in the best of shape but it was only $30 and I figured the grill was worth that.



I thought I would show off some of the work we have been able to accomplish in the last couple of weeks.





It was a lot of cutting and welding but I found it relaxing, something different from the normal daily grind.


Next, POR-15 on the underside and stripping the remaining surface rust and what little paint is left. Then comes the filler

Bob Jones--Fat Fender Aficionado--
49 F-2 pickup
48 F-1 panel truck
49 8N tractor
51 F-4 flatbed
Click here to visit my web site

 

nice work. the F6 I hope to pick up this summer has the same rust areas and about the same amount too. In college, we did sheet metal repairs like this by forming replacement panels from flat sheetmetal stock. long and tedious, but patience pays for itself.

 

Bob it looks great!...Next time you're in Connecticut you can teach me...My F3 could use a little of your talent

 

Sure wish I had that talent. I hope to get there some day, but for now I'll just keep practicing.

 

I agree, Bob. Patching and welding that old sheet metal is the most fun I've had on my truck. I'm looking forward to some more.

 

My hat is off to you guys. I've tried doing the metal work and replacing the rusted sections on various cars in the past. It's too much work for me and never seemed to come out right? It was easier to find a part in good shape and replace the defective sections. Then again, that explains why I don't do body and fender work....

 

Nice job! Wish I had your skills. And the forklift would come in handy, too!

 

Very nice work Bob!

If you really want to relax why don't you take a stroll down to the deserts of New Mexico and relax all over my truck. You'd be able to get rid of soo much stress that it would add another 10 years to your life.

Nice job on the metal work
Bobby

 

Nice work ! Was there a pun in "the daily grind" comment. Good work and a great Truck.

 

havi - you have a 88 T-Bird ? I may have the opportunity to buy the same one for the second time - my ex said she may sell it this year - will let me know. I am just glad she kept it in good condition, for the year. It was a great car.

 

Nice work Bob,
I was able to relax for about a months worth of spare time hrs. last summer on the fenders of my F-1 I haven't sandblasted the old paint yet(got tied up in new windows & siding on the house) but when it finally warms up for good here in the frozen north I'm gonna jump right on it
Later...Randy

 

Thanks everyone for the compliments, the boys and I really appreciate it. It gives them encouragement to get on with the job.

Yeah, that was my stab at humor.

Bobby,

When I was a teenager I liked working on cars. I worked in the body shop industry for over five years when I got out of high school. I started my F-2 before I started working in the shops, while I was still in high school, but once I started pulling dents and grinding bondo for ten hours a days, six and half days a week I never had the ambition to work on my F-2. It sat in storage for over eight years until after I found a new career. I tore it apart and did a total restoration. I found a whole different career and found body repair fun again.

BTW, I thought all the sheet metal in dry NM, and southern CA, is rust free and laying around all over. I have a feeling that's a misconception of us "Rust Belters" perpetuated by people we meet up here who are from the south west. All we ever hear from them is there are rust free cars all over down there sitting along the road everywhere you go. I have come to believe some of these people are stretching the truth a little, maybe. Everyone likes to embellish the good and bad about from where they came from.

As for better sheet metal, everything up here is eaten away by road salt they love to dump on our roads by the truckload. Good, solid sheet metal is a rare find around here that's why I patch rust bucket pieces of sheet metal like this together. Plus if I don't do it, who will

 

Bob,
I know what you mean. I worked as a mechanic for way too many years. Even now, my daily drivers suffer from a lack of regular maintenance (drives my wife crazy!). I do enjoy tinkering on projects though.
It is true that we are relativley rust free, but not totally. In alot of places out here they use cinder instead of salt. Compared to what you are facing...its pretty safe to say that we are rust free.
My truck has a couple of small spots that were mainly due to plugged drain holes, setting for too many years with leaves, etc in the bed....that kind of stuff. I haven't started the major bodywork on my truck just yet, and it mainly consists of straightening the fenders. My front fenders have a healthy dose of filler on them. If you look at the back side they have more dimples than a fat lady's rear. Yup, the ol' girl has cellulite thighs.

I think its great that you have found the work enjoyable and relaxing again, and that you can share it with your boys.

My hats off to you
Bobby

 

Whenever a couple of motorheads get together and start dreaming about cars and trucks the conversation usually includes our fantasies of taking a drive "down south" to get a nice solid vehicles. That thought has been played out by a lot of people, now I am assuming by listening to some of the people on the internet boards I visit. The place to look is in the western part of the upper midwest, CO and WY area parts of Canada to the north. They me get a lot of snow but it's a dry area and when it does snow they park the farm trucks for the season. From what I have seen on the internet there is pretty good sheet metal out there but the biggest problem is getting there. It seems everyone knows someone in CA or one of the southern states and when they visit relatives or friends they bring something back with them, but no one lives in the westen part of the upper midwest. Just check out eBay, there are quite a few really nice, solid looking trucks going cheap or not selling at all. If you check out their location on one of the internet map sites the trucks are located in areas of the those states hundreds of miles from the nearest major city. This country is so big, which I think is awesome, that it would cost a small fortune to go out and retrieve the truck out there. As they say in realestate, the three most important factors in selling or buying something are location, location, location!

This just my perspective, I could be entirely wrong.

 

I think you are right. It seems like there is alot of steel for sale up in the Dakotas.

Its probably a good thing that its so far away, I don't think my marriage could survive that many trucks

Bobby