Looking really good! The frame looks great, keep up the good work. I bought my project 10 years ago and am still working on it so I can relate to life slowing down projects like this

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement, there were a few times I questioned my sanity and considered cutting my losses on this one...

Removing every possible nut, bolt, and plastic clip holding these trucks together is one major commitment. I realized as I was drilling out the rivets on the ash tray to get the cover painted there was no turning back now.

I think when it's been painted and I get the bed and cab back on the frame I will actually feel like I have made significant progress. Last night was a major milestone as I got my wife's car back in the garage. At one point I told her in an exaggerated tone that I would have her back in the garage by the end of the year... Nailed it!

Here are a couple of pics






Making the A/C block off plate







off she goes

 

Made it to the body shop today, looking great. It's getting exciting to see this part come together.

 

This build is moving very fast. Nice work.

 

Made it by the bodyshop on Friday, making lots of progress on the metal work. I'm still trying to get my stuff together to get the last round of parts back to the industrial finisher that did the frame. Since I need to get the core support done, I figured I would take all of the other little parts and get them done too.

I'm struggling a bit with the 38 gallon gas tank. At this point I think I am going to have it painted black to see if it will hide any better under the truck after it's installed. I just have this nagging feeling that I am not going to like the way it looks once it's installed.

After having a lot of trouble finding a bodyshop, I am so far very pleased with the guy I found to do it.
























Since I deleted all of the chrome trim I figured I better get one of the toolbox latches painted black. Another thing to disassemble....

 

Hey Tim, nice build. They take a lot of dedication once you jump in, no looking back. I'm a fan of the cleaned up frame. Just enjoy a clean shiny frame with new bolts. Like rolling out of the factory. What did you paint your frame with?

 

The frame was sandblasted and then coated with a liquid epoxy. OEM Black 20% Gloss

I found a place locally that does industrial finishing, for the cash price I couldn't have done it for less myself with rattle cans.

 

Great looking project. Looking at th pics of the frame and that is very satisfying. We are at that stage with our project now and paint is the next step. Keep the pics coming.

 

The truck is coming along well, still working on filling holes and doing some bodywork. They sprayed some primer on it to get a better look at things and to start working on the fine details. They blocked it once and will lay down another layer of primer and block it again.

I couldn't get the smile off my face the entire time I was there. I really think I found the right guy to do the work.

 

I was only able to make it to the body shop on Monday last week so not a lot of progress shots. But I did manage to get a couple of shots. I also got the last of the stuff down to the industrial painter that needs to get sprayed black. Mostly it's the parts of the front clip that aren't painted the body color.

 

Wow, this is an excellent rebuild. Literally building it again from the ground up!

Keep up the good work, will you be modifying the engine at all?

- boingk

 

boingk,

I have the 360 that runs in one of my trucks that I plan on using. I'm waiting on the engine decisions until I figure out what I have to spend. The engine I'm going to use is in my other running truck. At the very least I will replace all the seals and clean it up. The truck runs well, so I've never taken the time to do a compression test. I figure I will do that soon to see if I need to rebuild the entire engine or if I can just get a new top half with some aluminum heads, new intake and carb.

Since I'm trying to keep the green truck as a runner, that will be one of the last things I do is pull that engine and get it ready to go in the new truck.

 

Picked up the parts from the industrial finisher yesterday. Took them home and couldn't help but unwrap some parts to enjoy them. Turns out my regular guy was on vacation and quality control isn't so great when he isn't there. Loaded up the parts and took them all back. Just wasn't happy with the finish and how poorly some of the stuff was sandblasted.

Good news is, the guy insisted I take back my cash and he took the parts back and said he will make it right. I believe him, but it just cost me another week.

The paint is taking a little longer than promised, but I'm totally OK with that as I'm not really ready to bring it all home yet. Still happy with the painter, he is straight with me and I like that. He had some insurance work come in and had to take it if he wanted to get the job.

So, I'm a little disappointed with the last round of black parts but I'd rather have it done right. I'm hoping they get some color on the body next week so I can get some more pictures.

Have a great weekend!

Tim

 

Finally got to see some color today. Looking like I should be able to pick up the pieces at the end of next week. So far so good, I think the color is going to look great.

 

Inspirational! That's just what it is.