Looking Great!

 

Thanks Guys!!! Its finally coming together. Next week I hope to get the bed floor sanded and a UV varnish applied. Gerald suggested I rent a floor sander and make a few passes and with a little hand sanding, we will be ready for the varnish. The only section of the bed that will show will be between the wheel wells the length of the bed. The 4 bins cover the rest of the bed. I will still coat these areas too for protection.

Bobby, I am glad I listened to Gerald's suggestion about not painting the diamond plate. It really pops!! Same for the compartment door handles. The original ones were painted but the stainless one's really look good.

 

A little update. Didn't get a chance to do any work this past week but I dropped all my parts that need to be chromed off at the local plating company. I know chroming is not cheap so I was not surprised at the $400 + bill. They are replating a replacement Ford Hood trim piece ($80) as my original was heavily pitted, plus rear tail light and other bezels. My interior door handles willl be re-nickel plated like original. I also am having my rear grab handles redone. I ordered and received a roll of black rubber diamond plate. I plan on using this on the upper cab floor and up the fire wall. This obviously deviates from the original cardboard covering which was crumbling apart. I didn't like the reproduction abs plastic ones so I think the diamond plate look will be cool.

I was going through some pics on my computer and found some of the rig on fire scenes. Kinda cool!! Here they are:






From 2003 with a fresh coat of red house paint and still sporting her front mounted pump!!

 

Keith,

Great pics!!

So you had a new reproduction piece rechromed? and it cost $80?
My dad had his hood trim piece rechromed last summer. They had to do a bit of straightening and finishing on it and the whole tab came out to $80 also. At the time I thought that was kind of steep, but if it cost you $80 to have a new one rechromed I don't think dad's price was too bad.

Thanks for the pics
Bobby

 

Bobby,

It was an original Ford hood piece that I had rechromed. The original one that was on the rig was badly pitted so I found a replacement one on ebay without pits and had it redone. I am not aware of a reproduction for the hood emblem. Do they make one?

I went out today and started cleaning the engine compartment. It ad some minor overspray and lots of dirt. I am trying to get it ready for the hood to go on.

 

Keith,
I see. I don't know if they make a repro unit or not, The one Dad had was badly bent from where a PO owner overtightened it once.

I finally got my truck out of the garage and on the road again. I think I'll even drive it to work tomorrow

Bobby

 

No 51 hood front molding available in reproduction. Cost me $130 to rechrome one that didn't have any pitting.

 

Ok then...$80 was a bargain

 

Looking good. I love the old pic's. Memory's of another time for sure. Maybe not a better time for me. Life is good right now.

Keep the pic's coming. More old ones please.

 

Bobby, how did your ride to work go?? Is the truck running good??

I will try to post some more old pics!!

 

CFP, A floor sander is very difficult to use and direct, especially in an enclosed space. You're likely to spend more time beating the sides of the bed than sanding the wood. Kinda like swatting flies with a sheet of plywood, really overkill. Unless you have a lot of wood to remove, a simple belt sander followed with an orbital sander should do the trick. If you need to remve a significant amount ofwood you'd be better served by taking the boards out and run them thru a thickness planer or drum sander individually.

 

Fantastic! The truck fired right up (well, right up after a little time on the battery charger). Runs and drives great. It sure felt good to run it around again.
You'll know what it feels like soon enough, keep plugging away at it and you'll be able to drive your beast around soon

Bobby

 

AxRacer,

I know its probably overkill. I tried a belt sander and it didn't work too well maybe operator error lol. I just need to clean the surface up a little.

 

Get some 80 grit and 120 grit silicon carbide belts (likely will need to buy them online, most DIY stores don't stock silicon carbide) SC will cut thru grit, dirt, metal bits whereas AlOx grit will just wear out. Make sure you sand with the grain (long direction of the boards). Use the 80 grit to remove all the surface you want to clean up, then go over the entire surface twice more with the 120 grit. Vacuum the surface. Switch to an orbital sander with 220 grit and sand until all the 120 scratches are gone. Vacuum again then wipe the surface with a wet rag or sponge, wetting the surface enough to change the color, but don't soak it. Allow it to dry overnight, the surface should feel fuzzy. Sand off the fuzz with 400 grit on the orbital sander. Vacuum once more and you are ready to apply whatever finish you desire.

 

Thanks for the info AXracer!!

Arctic here is another oldie for you!!