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Not a project for the weak of heart,lol. Yesterday and today I was working on straightening out the rear door area. Got a pretty good start and got a lot of crap off. It's going to need all new wood.
Getting the bolts out.
I decided to grind off a couple square feet of blue every time I work on it.
Get the lead out. it was 1/2 inch thick in places.
Where I quite for the day. I got the twisted up r/h lower door post straightened and welded up. Fun laying under there torching off bolts.
Very next thing is weld a brace across the bottom because the wood on the right side is gone and the bottom can move.
Most progress hasn't been picture worthy. I've got the rear door checks all straightened out and fixed. Got my body side rear hinge halves extracted from the donor door posts. I spent a few hours yesterday working on the rear pan. It was a mess. I'm trying to decide whether to fill those big holes or maybe mount some backup lights there. Or maybe put the tail lights there, 50 Pontiac?? Anyway, it's coming along pretty good.
I am always amazed at the skills shown in posts here. I failed at three simple tasks on my 1940 panel yesterday and returned home with my head hung down. I love seeing everyone's progress.
The rear panel looks 80% better than before. It sounds like you are going to eliminate the flat bar additions to the bumper brackets. ++
The Pontiac tail lights would look great on the rear panel but you may have to patch in those holes at least partially before installing the round lights.
I like original tail lights but finding two of them might be a problem. Originally they probably only had one tail light?
I answered my own question.
It looks like you have more room above the bumper, like this one.
I think they only had one and probably was mounted to the license plate which hung from the left door. It's going to be a daily driver (hopefully) so I want turn signals.
Also I like these but I don't want to make it look like a chevy.
Mine I think is original with the one light and bracket. I did add another because I like good, visible brake lights. I guess it doesn't show in this pic my wife took when I was rebuilding my rear leafs. It's on a boly on bracket on the rifgt bumper support. Easily removed by a future 'correct restoration guy'....
Banged on the rear pan some more today, got one hole filled in and some more done lower center where cracks needed fixed. At regular body shop prices, this is fast approaching a $1000 part,lol.
Update;
I got my front doors hung and all working good. Decided today to get the fenders off. Then I decide I might as well pull the running boards. Midway through that I remember Gary saying you have to lift the body, yep, that. Also I've been doing some measuring on using the Scout front stub. I will have to go almost to the cross member to make that work, well aft of the front cab mounts. Now with the running board thing and I'm looking at the floor wood, I'll only be 2 bolts away from haveing the body loose from the frame. So the logical thing is to pull the body (insert gnashing of teeth) I really don't want to go there and the project has gone well beyond the scope of my resources. I could plow ahead but I really only have 3-4 good hours a day in me before knees, elbows or mental stamina just give out.
I think I'll get the rear fenders off and pull it out of the way for a while. Get my 62 Ranchero in, get floor pans in it and get it running to sell, take a breather from the panel truck. And If I decide to get back on it, I have half a winters worth of tin work on fenders and doors to do indoors.
Oh, and one other thought on the running boards, cut off the brackets, then weld them back on when I re-install the running boards.
End of today's ramble.
Also plans B and C under consideration. Keep the stock frame and put the scout axle under it which would make the panel set up high, a look I really don't want. Or simpler yet, just get something like a 57-60 F100 or F250 donor for both axles and use the Toyota power steering I have.
I have looked at the 60 in this ad about a year ago. I might try to negotiate on it if it has any other sellable parts, I remember the cab was rusty and the front fenders junk.
I like the idea of cutting the brackets and re-welding them later. Actually removing the running boards looks like torture at our age. I cut mine off from underneath with an angle grinder/cutoff wheel, leaving the whole upper part still on the frame. Even that was a very miserable job. Pickups are so easy just removing the front clip and the bed. My rear fenders are quite bad, but as long as I look at it as a beater I can live with them for a while. Like you, I have other projects tugging at me and never enough time or money for all of them....
I think I've pretty much decided against the Scout Frame stub. The frame will remain and the body isn't coming off. Either or both of those aspects would render this a project that would probably never get finished. It needs a bunch of body work still, mostly stuff I don't mind doing but the amount of it is starting to be a bit overwhelming. Lower cowl area needs some pretty major cancer repair after I got the fenders off. But just one side Body sides are bith bulged out an inch or so, need brought back in and cracks, bent stuff fixed. Driver's side rear door post pushed in at the bottom hinge and needs pulled out. Gas tank completely junk. I could probably get by without pulling the rear fenders but they really need the remains of the old petrified welt gone and new installed. Drivetrain, suspension, steering, wiring.....this is starting to fall into the wtf was I thinking category, but I press on.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
