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Progress has been slow but steady.
I took apart the front clip, removing it completely from the cab. I then spent the next couple of days carefully masking off the exterior surfaces of the inner and outer fenders, the lower outer fenders, the headlight panels, and both cowls. Fun!!! I sanded everything to 180. The inner fenders had only been patched, so I still had a little priming sanding and filling to do. I shot 3 coats of epoxy on the inner fenders, sanded them, and finished with 2 more coats of epoxy. All of the parts that were already in epoxy primer got sanded and an additional 2 coats of epoxy. I have never shot bedliner, but figured-how hard can it be? Watched a couple of videos, then ordered a 1 liter kit of black Raptor Bedliner with the Schutz gun included. Actually very easy to shoot! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...62962d503d.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Wheel Side of Inner Fender and Upper Cowl https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e46f5e5245.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Wheel Side of Outer Fender https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b913ff4f3d.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Wheel Side of Outer Fender https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f792463c72.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Wheel Side of Lower Outer Fender https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...93555a386b.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Wheel Side of Lower Outer Fender https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...69046b2382.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Bottom Face of Radiator Splash Guard https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...776e75ef7e.jpg Raptor Bedliner Shot on Wheel Side of Inner Fender I still have 1 bottle of the bedliner, which will be enough to do the underside of the cab. I will have to buy a little more to cover the rear fenders. I got everything unmasked as quickly as I could after the Raptor started to set up. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d7817a8839.jpg Inside of Front Outer Fender With Masking Removed and One Day Dry https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...00b7f46871.jpg Wheel Side of Inner Fender, Inside of Upper Cowl With Masking Removed and One Day Dry https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7ff80dc91f.jpg Inside of Front Outer Fender, Inside of Lower Cowl With Masking Removed and One Day Dry https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b68300d6c7.jpg Wheel Side of Inner Fender With Masking Removed and One Day Dry https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...afa9c23f9c.jpg Inner and Outer Fenders, Fender Braces, etc. With Masking Removed and One Day Dry I will let the Raptor cure for about a week, then I plan to mask off the Raptor side and prep the exterior exposed sides of the front clip for final paint. As always, more to come..... |
Deleted double post.
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I haven't updated in a while, though I have been making steady progress.
I decided to break down and buy a rotisserie in order to do the final work on the cab. After shopping around, I found this company: https://www.adktool.com/commercial-s...otisserie.html Price was excellent at $1,335.00 including the truck mounting and unibody mounting kits. They were delivering 2 other rotisseries to this area, so shipping was free. All USA made in their shop except for the hydraulic pumps. Recently, they came out with balancers to make it easier to adjust the height of the car to get the correct centerline; I ordered a set for $80.00 and should have them soon. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0ca6a35446.jpg Cab Mounted to Rotisserie. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d92212015f.jpg Cab Mounted to Rotisserie. Using the Unibody Mounts that came with the Rotisserie, I made a set of custom front and rear adapters to bolt the cab to the rotisserie. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...412883eaf5.jpg Custom Front Cab Mount. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...610c4f2479.jpg Custom Rear Cab Mount. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...402246e945.jpg Custom Rear Cab Mount. Once I got the cab mounted, I needed to get the underside sanded, epoxy primed. seam filled, and primed again, ready for the bedliner. Spinning it on the rotisserie really makes life easier!! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0107b33c2d.jpg Cab Bottom-Primed, Seam Sealed, Primed and Ready for Bedliner. I masked off and shot the bedliner: https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0dc7da76d3.jpg Cab Bottom-Masked, Bedliner Sprayed. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...891e8ed147.jpg Cab Bottom-Masked, Bedliner Sprayed. Removed the masking and decided to let the Raptor Bedliner set for a few days before going any further. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...bb37d3e431.jpg Cab Bottom-Bedliner Completed. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0481285ea7.jpg Cab Bottom-Bedliner Completed. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...da43d70d23.jpg Cab Bottom-Bedliner Completed. More to follow.... |
So now the tedious process of filling, blocking, priming, filling, blocking, priming.......repeat until satisfied could begin. The front clip-fenders and upper and lower cowls, had been completed as as assembly prior to my spraying the bedliner on the insides, but they still need to be gone over at least one more time. The cab and doors had been put through a few steps of the process, but were far from ready for paint. So it began...
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6e9c01cd27.jpg Back of Cab-Filled and Blocked. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b99afed64d.jpg Driver Rear Cab Corner-Filled and Blocked. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...c6bbe10d3a.jpg Passenger Rear Cab Corner-Filled and Blocked. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...07fe3ff558.jpg Passenger Door-Filled and Blocked. I had previously fitted and adjusted the doors to line up with the body and to have consistent gaps, so at this point I just needed to fill and block them as necessary to fine tune the alignment. I cut small 1/4" +/- blocks of wood and adhered them to the door jambs with double stick tape. I used stretch wrap to hold the doors closed and tight while I blocked. This blocking, filling, and priming process was repeated 4 times, until I was pretty satisfied with the light reflections on wet primer. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...2053020153.jpg Driver Side-Almost Ready for 2K Primer. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e29238f2de.jpg Driver Side-Reflected Ceiling Lights on Wet Primer. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...630e84cc2e.jpg Driver Side-Reflected Ceiling Lights on Wet Primer. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...a1d0378b7f.jpg Driver Side-Reflected Ceiling Lights on Wet Primer. Everything look good to me, so I shot 3 wet coats of SPI 2K Primer. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...2aa7a7a7ec.jpg Driver Side Door-Reflected Ceiling Lights in Wet 2K Primer. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7be550905e.jpg Passenger Side Door-Reflected Ceiling Lights in Wet 2K Primer. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...3f01251c0f.jpg Passenger Side Rear Cab Corner-Reflected Ceiling Lights in Wet 2K Primer. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...adc535ecaa.jpg Passenger Side Door-Reflected Ceiling Lights in Wet 2K Primer. I was pleased with the results, but, of course, it really isn't good enough yet. So I block sanded off about 80% of the 2K, applied 3 more coats of 2K, block sanded off about 80% of that, then finished everything with 2 coats of epoxy primer. Now it's close!!! I was not happy with the body line on the driver side door, so I spent some time filling and blocking it straight. Then I read about using a tape line to define and edge, and it sounded like a good idea to me. I laid a straightedge across the door just below the window and held it in place 3/4" from the body line with welding magnets. I pulled a strip of 3/4" masking tape along the straightedge and laid it down, making sure to hold the edge straight. I removed the straightedge and blocked the door panel to the tape edge; when I was happy with it, I used the existing tape edge to pull another piece of 3/4" tape on ther door panel side of the body line, being careful to put it down straight against the old tape. I removed the upper piece of tape and blocked the window frame section of the door body line. I removed the tape, epoxy primed the line, then repeated this process again. No pictures right now, but the body line is perfect. I pulled the doors from the cab at this point and block sanded them to 320, finding a few low spots. Today, I shot more 2K on the low areas and will sand them tomorrow, which is also when I will get more pictures. As always, more to follow.... |
It must be costing you a small fortune in primer...lol
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I am burning through primer, that's for sure!!
Luckily, SPI epoxy is shipped to my door for less than $100.00 per gallon. |
I could not agree more how good it is to work on a rottiserie. I did not do my cab on one but my current project I used one. In my case it is a unibody. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...c212d29775.jpg
I did all of my media blasting, metal work, priming and painting the underbody/wheel wells in final color. I am currently using parts of the rotisserie as a dolly. It is a borrowed rotisserie from a friend. |
Love the rotisserie; great work. Glad to see it coming along. I always enjoy reading the progress you've made on this truck!
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You do awesome work, Hulley! Not bad for a woodworker. Can't wait for more pics.
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I didn't previously post this detail:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...9f864799e3.jpg Handmade Cab Front Cowl Bottom Filler. I made cardboard patterns of both front cowl bottom fillers, transferred the patterns to 18 gage sheet metal, cut them, bent them, welded the corners, and primed them. I installed them using the 3M Body Panel Adhesive, because it would create a nice seal around the edges and I didn't want to weld thru my primer. |
I had described a method using that I had read about that involved using tape to help cut accurate body lines; here are photos.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5f38ad9ee9.jpg Using a Straight Edge to Tape the Upper Side of the Body Line. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...15582eecff.jpg Lower Body Line Blocked to the Tape. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...2ef3ecdfc3.jpg Close Up of Lower Body Line Blocked to the Tape. Once the lower body line was blocked to the tape, I used the blocked tape to guide the placement of the other side of the body line. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0a90bb3834.jpg Using the Blocked Tape to Align the Other Side of the Body Line. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4a6226353a.jpg Upper Body Line Blocked to the Tape. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...72fc40998d.jpg Upper Body Line Blocked to the Tape. After the tape was removed: https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4dd00fab6b.jpg Body Line-Blocked to Tape, Tape Removed. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...cd31176bcf.jpg Close Up of Body Line-Blocked to Tape, Tape Removed. I am now to the point where I need to do my final blocking. I did some research into using a guide coat, and settled on the pounce bag/chalk method. I chose this method because it is quick, there is no dry time, and I did not have to purchase primer in a different color. I made the pounce bag out of some old T-shirt material, cutting a 6x6 square, putting a good pile of chalk in the center, laying a folded piece of material over the chalk, and pulling up the sides secured with a rubber band. Because my primer is black, I needed a white chalk; a little on-line research led me to "Tajima Snap Line Dye". As the name implies, this chalk is dry yet sticky enough that, once spread, it cannot be removed by wiping or scrubbing. I did a quick blocking of the door panels with 320, just enough to create a scratch pattern. The applied chalk looked like this: https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f14b4a3cda.jpg Door Panel Scuffed to 320 and Chalk Applied. Using my longest block and 320 paper, I blocked the door until all of the chalk was removed. As it turned out, I removed all of the chalk, indicating that all of the high and low spots were level, which told me that the door panel is as flat as I can get it. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...fe1d7a9e8c.jpg Door Panel Blocked to 320, Guide Coat Removed. I finished blocking both doors, then shot a double coat of black epoxy primer. I will let that coat set while I work on other parts to allow it to shrink and settle, then I will do a final wetsand blocking with 600 right before I paint. More to come..... |
I masked off the inside surfaces of the front fenders, front fender lower sections, and front upper and lower cowls. I blocked all of these parts again, then shot another coat of epoxy primer. Like the doors, I will leave these for now until I am ready to paint; at that time, I will go over these parts with 600 wet.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...604d2f489f.jpg Fenders and Cowls Ready for Final Wetsand. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...cffb6452fd.jpg Reflected Lights-Lower Front Fenders, Upper Front Cowl. Next I will be moving on to the cab itself. As with the doors and front clip, the cab is at 95% ready; I have to scuff it with 320, guide coat it, and block it out. ........... |
Pictures of the Doors with body lines blocked to tape and primed.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...fea8b8f0e9.jpg Driver Door-Body Line After Blocking to Tape, Guide Coat Blocking, and Primer. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...80572bed0c.jpg Driver Door-Body Line After Blocking to Tape, Guide Coat Blocking, and Primer. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...842066a49a.jpg Passenger Door-Body Line After Blocking to Tape, Guide Coat Blocking, and Primer. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1b59c84288.jpg Passenger Door-Body Line After Blocking to Tape, Guide Coat Blocking, and Primer. I also got the front inner fenders completed and ready for paint. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f021b97868.jpg Front Inner Fenders-Raptor Bedliner Masked, Inside Faces Ready for Paint. |
I almost forgot-I have been doing a great deal of other work as well.
My truck came with an aftermarket wiring harness that had been installed by someone, then removed when the PO tore down the truck. It must have been a really cheap harness-all the wires were red! There were numbers printed on the wires, so I suppose that I could have made it work, but after reading here and on other forums about wiring nightmares, I decided to start fresh and scrap the old wiring. I did my homework and decided to go with Tyree Harris, because 1. he came highly recommended, and 2. when I called, he really impressed me with his knowledge. I ordered the complete wiring set up from him, for 12V negative ground, with the necessary modifications for my new gauges, heater, etc. Normally, the lead time varies from 3 weeks to 8 weeks, depending on Tyree's work load; I got my harnesses in about 4 weeks. They are beautiful!! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5955fa0cf7.jpg Tyree Harris Main Wiring Harness and Schematic. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...acb5c1fa28.jpg All Tryee Harris Wiring Harnesses with Schematics. I am really looking forward to the day when I can start installing all of this!! |
Knowing that there would be a long lead time, I started looking at my options for the interior finishes-upholstery, door panels, headliner, carpet, etc. This turned into an extremely time consuming and frustrating project!!
I quickly rejected the offerings from the usual vendors-LMC, CarTouche, etc. as too ordinary and boring. I really want the interior to be comfortable as well as attractive, and their offerings were very similar or exact reproductions of the stock interior. While I understand that this is how the trucks were back then-utilitarian-I want more than simple utility. So I looked at LaBarron Bonney next. I spoke with them and ordered samples, which, by the way, took weeks to receive. In the end, they could supply an upholstery kit, in vinyl or cloth, for the bench seat, and the same for door panels. I could get the carpet from them, and headliner material, but the selection of all materials was surprisingly limited in my color of choice, which is red. Not really satisfied with the options, I went to Automotive Interiors and Accessories Inc. They could provide the seat upholstery kit, door panels, carpet, and headliner material, all in a much broader range of reds than LaBarron Bonney. So now I at least have some options. Meanwhile, I ordered the ABS headliner, toe kick panels, and rear wall panels from Mid-Fifty, as I knew that I would be applying the upholstery to the parts, regardless as to where I bought it. I did not like any of Mid-Fifty's door panel options, so I ordered some ABS sheet stock from E-Plastics. All of this arrived within a couple of weeks of ordering, so I set it all aside for later. Well, except for the ABS headliner-I did dry fit that as soon as I got it, having read about all of the problems reported here. It fit very well and went in easily, so I set it aside with everything else for later. I had been going round and round on this for almost 2 months, and still didn't have a solution. The vinyl/cloth offerings were OK, but I worried about how hot and sticky the vinyl would be in the summer, and I was not crazy about the velour fabrics available in red. The carpet and headliner material aren't an issue, as there is only one red in loop carpet, and there are plenty of reds in headliner material. Finally, I talked to a friend of mine whgo has a 1975 Fiat that he had reupholstered 2 years ago. Turns out that his upholsterer is right around the corner from my shop! The guy does beautiful work; I checked over my friend's car and some other jobs he had done. My friend made the introduction. After discussing it with the upholsterer, I drew out what I wanted on the existing bench seat vinyl, then took the entire seat over to him for review. He looked it over, made a few notes and a few tweaks, and told me to leave the seat. He will strip it and call me to pick it so that I can repair and paint it. We decided to go with leather; I have wholesale sources, so he told me to buy the leather and deliver it and the seat back to him. The only downside is that he is busy, and it will most likely take up to 3 months to complete the seat. If only I hadn't wasted 2 months looking for prefabricated upholstery!! On the upside, the truck is likely to take me 2-3 months to finish and get ready for the seat, so the timing may actually work out! I don't have a price from him as yet, but I know from my friend that his prices are reasonable. This pretty much catches up the progress and status of my project..... |
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