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Started surgery on the passenger side of the cab tonight. Welded in some temporary support braces and worked on removing side panel, lower door jambs and rocker panel. Took lots of measirements and have the drivers side as a reference.
Lots of rust and dirt behind the scenes.
Inner a d outer cab corners being done as well. Rocker is out. At this point I cleaned up the leftover surface rust on structural parts and treated them with rust converter. So much Bondo and rust in this corner.
Wow a lot more work to be done than the first pics looked like. Isn't that the way pics are?? Anyway it looks like you have a job similar to what I did on my 56. Check out my basket case thread to see what I did. Now I am working on the doors and top of mine. I been adding updates as I go . I used to get a lot of comments but lately none. I still figure it's pay back for help I've received on this site, to post progress as we go along as someone later will hopefully use our experiences to help them in their projects. Good job- keep it up!!
Wow a lot more work to be done than the first pics looked like. Isn't that the way pics are?? Anyway it looks like you have a job similar to what I did on my 56. Check out my basket case thread to see what I did. Now I am working on the doors and top of mine. I been adding updates as I go . I used to get a lot of comments but lately none. I still figure it's pay back for help I've received on this site, to post progress as we go along as someone later will hopefully use our experiences to help them in their projects. Good job- keep it up!!
Thanks Greg. I've been reading your build. Hell of a job.
It's time to assemble this puzzle and start stitching it together. I bought patch panels from a few sources due to mid fifty being backordered on inner cab corners and nobody having dash patch panels. It's interesting the difference in fit and design. The mid fifty rocker I got for the passenger side is a nice piece but it is different from the original at both ends. The originals step in at the front and back to help line up with the other panels and the mid fifty one doesn't. The one I bought for drivers side from carid is identical to factory.
This is where I started today. The rocker panel was just held on with a clamp. Started by cutting out the inner cab corner. I cleaned up the structural metal with a flapper disk, filled in my drill marks with the welder, ground it all smooth and sprayed rust treatment on it. Lined up the new inner cab corner and tacked it in. I tacked in the rocker and then spent a ton of time getting the front pillar lined up and tacked in. Rear pillar tacked in. Used measurements from the drivers side and indexed to the front pillar. Everything tacked in. I'm going to call it a night and start by remeasuring everything tomorrow before moving on to mocking up the outer cab corner. Then tons of welding, grinding, and painting to finalize everything. I'll have to bring in the passenger side door tomorrow to make sure it will fit and have good gaps.
The difference in the rocker panel you got for the passenger side is for the 53-55 which didn't have the extra length from the triangle bracket...nice job by the way..
The difference in the rocker panel you got for the passenger side is for the 53-55 which didn't have the extra length from the triangle bracket...nice job by the way..
That makes sense. I was able to work with it, just took more fiddling. Thanks!
I like the panel you got for the right side. I was trying to figure out why it looked so much different than my truck as I couldn't really remember how I did mine, But then I think John's reply summed it up. The reason it doesn't look familiar is my truck is a combination of 55/56 and the floors are actually 55, which is a little different. My rockers I ordered thru MF were for "53-56" so were good for me. I think it is pretty strange that Ford changed so much on the 56 for a one year truck. Then they came out with a whole new truck design in 1957. Your work looks outstanding! It's a lot of fun once you really get into it and "on a roll" isn't it?
I like the panel you got for the right side. I was trying to figure out why it looked so much different than my truck as I couldn't really remember how I did mine, But then I think John's reply summed it up. The reason it doesn't look familiar is my truck is a combination of 55/56 and the floors are actually 55, which is a little different. My rockers I ordered thru MF were for "53-56" so were good for me. I think it is pretty strange that Ford changed so much on the 56 for a one year truck. Then they came out with a whole new truck design in 1957. Your work looks outstanding! It's a lot of fun once you really get into it and "on a roll" isn't it?
Yeah, momentum is a hell of a thing. I look at the mountain of work and think 'no way'. Then I just start with one thing and before you know it a bunch of it is done.
I burned in the door pillars and rocker panel on Saturday. Today I'm tackling the cab corner. After verifying fit of the door I welded up everything. Some grinding and filler and I will be all set on this part. I have a helper in the garage today. He insists on wearing the eyeball welding helmet. The inner cab corner just wouldn't line up right. Part of it is due to the '53-'55 rocker and part is imprecise stamping. No way the outer corner panel fits the way it is. So I picked a couple of spots to cut it and do some shaping work. Plugged and stitched back together. I can work with it now!
I have been working on the cowl this week and took a break today to clean up the shop and rearrange things.
Cut out the damaged cowl and stopped short of the seam in order to keep the original structure up top. Vents filled with lead. Lots of it. So many welds to drill out. Cleaned with wire brush then sprayed with rust inhibitor and top coated with vht. Mocked up the new cowl Tacked in up top. Am leaving the bottom for now as I am going to mount the door and set the gaps before burning it all in. Threw some old mustang wheels on the front end so I could move the chassis around. Also put the front clip and bed on there for temporary storage. Opened up a lot of room to work on the cab. I was feeling too cramped and was tired of dirty floors
Looking great. Good idea to wait and install the door to finish welding it. It will be nice if you can match the door perfectly. Thanks for the pictures.
Marry Christmas guys!
Waygonner,
Well for only a few posts you have a really well documented build started on your 56! I can almost imagine that if I was to ever get a truck this would be the work I might run into also. These build threads really help understand the sheet metal details on these trucks too. It looks like you can get just about every rusted out part now!
Good luck on your build!
Regards,
Chris
Waygonner,
Well for only a few posts you have a really well documented build started on your 56! I can almost imagine that if I was to ever get a truck this would be the work I might run into also. These build threads really help understand the sheet metal details on these trucks too. It looks like you can get just about every rusted out part now!
Good luck on your build!
Regards,
Chris
Sometimes parts aren’t available and people like rick here have to rely on me to supply the non available parts. I’m sure he will show the details soon.
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Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
