Hey all, I haven't posted in quite awhile but its time for an update on my build. I had a leak on one of the new brake lines, due to no fault of mine, well mostly. The T for the brake light switch had an imperfection where the flare tightened against it. It caused a defect in the flare which caused the leak so make sure you inspect those parts. So I was bummed and side-lined the panel for a bit cuz we had our first child shortly after the leak. Well almost a year and a half later I'm back at it with my new little "helper". He loves to be in the shop and mess around in the back of the panel truck. Well i broke down and bought the eastwood type flaring tool and a new T and presto, no leaks. Then the body got slapped back on and everything wired back up and hooked back up. Then a week ago I took Lola's Panel out and drove her down the road for the first time in 30yrs. It was AWESOME to say the least. Of course there was no front clip on and absolutely no sound deadening and no anti rattle for the windows which made for a really loud experience, especially with the glass packs and the exhaust dumping out of the side in front of the passenger rear tire. The brakes were a little squishy but it steered great and even did a couple small burnouts. It still needs a bunch of work but its rolling and that is a huge win for us. I took some videos and hope to get them up on here for everyone. Here are some pics of the running board patch panels I made yesterday. They aren't pebble beach quality but neither is the rest of it haha.

drivers side after i cut out the rust

test fitting the patch


this is the jig that I made to make the ribs




this is the piece of 1" bar stock I used as the "Forming" die. I just clamped the piece in the jig and held the bar stock and beat it into submission with a 2lb hammer


pretty close match




passenger side before



not to bad from this far away lol

 

Very nice job!

 

Looks good from here too! Slap some paint on it and it will look even better.

 

Good work! Apparently, your rust was less ambitious than some of mine.

 

Great work on the patch. Congratulations too on getting your panel rolling again--and on the new addition to your family!

Children are a wonderful blessing. Enjoy the ride. You seem to be good at shaping and molding metal. Being a good father should come naturally to you. Some of the principles are the same. The mold is yours and your wife's values and positive example--and sometimes a few hammer taps may be needed to get the shape just right. Of course there is more to it than that, but you'll learn as you go--just like working on your truck.

Best wishes for your truck and on being a new dad!!

(Psalm 127:3-5)



Jim