I got the panel body on the lift today.




Now I can attack the dirt, road tar and rust.




I can sit on a rolling seat and work at a comfortable height.




Both wheel tubs have some rust, and two of the 45 degree braces need to be rebuilt.

 

You're moving along pretty fast and its looking good. I'm jealous of your lift. The next shop i build i'll have one

 

You guys with those lifts make me jealous too :-). Coming along well. Those panels sure are a lot of steel. Yours looks pretty solid, at least what I see.

 

Passenger side wheel tub rust out.




Drivers side wheel tub. Much worse than the passenger side.




Passenger side patch.




Fitting the drivers side patch. I will also weld up the firewall holes, and do a little patching of the floor in the cab.

Nick,, I consider the 2 post lift the best tool I have purchased. A scratch and dent special for $1500 delivered. Amortized over 3 builds, it's $500 per build. I get vertigo if I crawl under something low on a creeper and try to focus close up.. I couldn't work on builds without the lift. No problem sitting on a rolling seat and looking up, if I'm not laying down.

 

Patching holes in the firewall.

Fitting a patch for the old gas fill location.

I removed the cowl vent linkages and am working up to welding in the cowl vent.

Rusty area on the passenger side needs a patch.

 

I got these seats with a '38 Ford Coupe project I bought a few years ago. They fit well in the '51 panel truck. Power adjust, I can get them back enough not to be cramped behind the wheel. I'm 6' 4" and don't fit well behind the wheel in my F1 pick-up truck.

Rear view. The seats are from a '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

 

Keep it coming - my first old car was a '51 F1 Panel! I need to see if I can find a pic of that old beast...

 

Placement of the KRC reservoir on the radiator shroud.

 

I've finished the patching on the wheel wells. I've wire brushed, ground, sanded, sand blasted and finally painted all the underside, cross braces and wheel wells on the panel body.



Hard to see here, but the underside is finished painted.




I welded the cowl vent in place. Wire gap filler.




Welds complete and the tops ground off.




Firewall holes welded and smoothed.




Learning to do body filler on compound curves. Still more filler and sanding to go.

 

Making progress on the body work.




I'm trying to get the body ready for paint so I can get it back on the frame. The doors, hood and fenders, I can do later. I'm having a problem getting a painter interested. All the body shops want to do is insurance work. I hope I don't have to paint it myself. I've sprayed lots of walls and ceilings, but never anything automotive.