She'll be comin' round the mountain
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,104
Likes: 138
From: Orcas Island Wa.
Thanks! Well the cab corner is repaired and finally tonight after work I bled the brakes and reinstalled the rear tires. Took a quick victory lap and it did real well. I bypassed the booster with a loop of brake tubing as I didn't want to spend the money rebuilding the booster right now. This weekend if I get a chance I will post up some pics like the cab corner. The guy did an amazing job with a couple of square scraps of 18 gauge sheet metal. So great to have this behemoth back on wheels again, and with brakes no less........
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,104
Likes: 138
From: Orcas Island Wa.
Here's the one I have showing the inner panel he made. At this point I had no idea what the finished product would look like. I will follow up after breakfast with what it looks like now. The corner was a trade for a puppy. On Christmas eve afternoon my wife and I were coming out of the local tavern/eatery and heading for the grocery store next door. There was a man (a very clever man) selling puppys from the back of a pickup. I saw this guy who I knew did body work and he was holding a puppy and had picked up various ones and I asked why he wasn't getting one.... After all, my wife picked out her's in the first few seconds. We visited about trucks etc for a few minutes and at some point he said he'd love one, but quietly admitted he didn't have the 200 bucks required, having spent his Christmas money on the grandkids. I got a flash and asked if he'd like to trade for body work on one of 3 vehicles I had that needed some. He agreed and I went to the atm machine and procurred the funds. A few days later he showed up and he chose the '47s cab corner. It took him 3 afternoons and a few beers, but I think you'll agree I got a real bargain. The brother and sister puppys enjoyed the sessions as well, as they raced around the property. A good time was had by all, and I made a new friend to boot!
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,104
Likes: 138
From: Orcas Island Wa.
Here it is. He put a very thin mud layer in a few places and told me to prime it with some high build lacquer sandable primer to fill the scratches. Well I wasn't about to drive the 24 mile round trip to town and buy a six dollar rattle can so I shot it with my favorite.... rustoleum rusty metal primer. To me the truck's existing 'patina' wasn't really good enough, or more importantly, protective enough for our damp climate. I am not sure what I will do about paint. Knowing myself as I do, I will probably mix up various flat paints and smudge and smear my way to what some call a fauxtina. It won't look like one, I assure you.
Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,157
Likes: 198
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Thread Starter
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,104
Likes: 138
From: Orcas Island Wa.
All my good ol' pics are on my old computer. It's a real pain to fire it up. Real soon I'm gonna get them transfered by a professional. Maybe tomorrow I get a pic of the bed on my '59 and my favorite, the grill on my 1939 toro golf course tractor......Oh never mind, I'll be on a jobsite from 7 til 5:30. But later maybe.
Marmon-Herrington Man
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 11,986
Likes: 446
From: Central Illinois
Marmon-Herrington Man
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 11,986
Likes: 446
From: Central Illinois
Yeah but seeing the Toro grille in my pics doesn't give appreciation for the fact that you remade half of it out of foam board, aluminum strips, and God knows what else. From that point of your description my brain turned to mush. I can attest that even on close inspection it looks original. Stu
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,104
Likes: 138
From: Orcas Island Wa.
So the entire bottom 1/3rd of the cast aluminum grill was broken off and missing. I extended the remainder with a wood center post and 1/8 x 1 aluminum strap from the hardware store. This was bolted and epoxyed together, then 1/4" foam board wrapped around to get the surround area. This foam was covered with fiberglass window screen and epoxy mender. The horizontal grill bars were formed from 1/2x1/2 aluminum angle, wrapped around a tire for the curve, and pinched a bit in the vise to match the cast grill bars. Dowels were inserted into the wood center post and everything sanded a bit and seven colors of paint, some set on fire, some fine sand and wood ash dusted on the wet paint to look sand cast.... Good thing for the heavy steel bumper, it wouldn't withstand much of an impact. (careful buying a used car from this guy) 