Lots of ambition out there this weekend... you all must be young. No truck stuff for me. Wife is having some surgery done next week that will have her up on blocks for about a month so we're taking a weekend trip while she's still able to move around.

After the surgery I'll be the maid in addition to the daily grind so don't see much in the near future either. But, I will look so cute in that little upstairs maid outfit she bought me.

Maybe if we get back in town early enough tomorrow I can drag the rear end out from under the bench and start prepping it for paint. The garage needs a good cleaning. I usually try to do that when I can't take two full steps without stepping OVER something. Right now to get to one corner I have to step over twice with two steps and climb over with the third.

these dark at 5PM days are killing me

everyone enjoy your weekend no matter what your endeavors may be..
and BE SAFE !!!

j

 

i just got my mc booster combo and am going to install that today. and i hope that i will have enough time to paint my motor.
trapper

 

Well i got in on this a bit late didn't i. but i had a pretty good weekend I got most of the holes in my firewall welded over. and got my garage cleaned up. My son had a bunch of HUGE speakers stacked up on one side of the garage. He's into that THUMPIN noise. You hear 5minutes before you see anybody. But his sister came in from out of town so i loaded up her truck with um now i have LOTS of room to work on my truck. jniolon Wish your wife the best next week. Hope all goes well.

 

Didn't get quite as far as I hoped or planned. Yesterday I drove the 3 hrs to get more floor paint, came home to find my wife not feeling well and the temp outside dropping like a rock. Waited until near noon until the air warmed up today to start the painting. Got it done by ~ 4 PM. My wife went to visit her 88 year old great aunt at the hospital where she is recovering from a mild stroke. I sat down to watch the Nascar race while I waited for her to get home and fell asleep thru most of it. This entire year has been very trying and exhausting, if something could go wrong it did.
John the best for your wife's surgery and quick recovery!

 

I got a chance to talk to the local SW rep, and he said they stopped selling Rexthane. They dropped off some Hyperpoxy (name?) for our shop floor's annual recoating. Anyway, he said it was good stuff...the Rexthane.

As for my weekend, I help a friend move....that was it.

 

Got my front sheet metal hung and aligned pretty well. The first time to rough it in and find out what adjustments I would have to make, made them (slotted attach holes, etc) and rehung all. Gaps look decent. Now, I just have to figure out how I want to close them up and take out a taper at the rear of the hood and driver's fender gap.

The 1/8" holes I match-drilled thru the sheet metal pieces before I took it apart made it a snap to put back together. I had the whole clip hung on the truck by clecos alone before adding strategically placed bolts. I only needed the wife's help to lift the hood on and off twice.

Now, I just need some noodle time. All in all, a good weekend. It's starting to look like a truck again.

 

Curses! Foiled again! Called the salvage yard Saturday and found out they aren't open weekends. How's a guy supposed to browse through the yard on a weekend if they aren't open? It's a time honored tradition to check new wrecks on weekends. I'll try during the week.

 

I put my engine back in after a little more painting on the frame and have my trans mount completed except for drilling the holes in the frame where it will bolt up. I did manage to strip the left front cab corner down to bare metal and epoxy prime it.
I tried setting a swing pedal in I have and seeing what it will take to mount it up. It didnt look too good. Its about 6" to short. I might have to cut the arm and extend the pedal down. More figuring and head scratching.

 

Remember when you extend the pedal arms you also increase the leverage and the total travel. Be sure you have enough room for the travel distance without hitting the floor and be careful you don't gain so much leverage that just touching the pedal doesn't stand the truck on it's nose. Not much fun to drive if you lock up the tires every time you stop. Be VERY sure to warn anyone else that drives it for the first time or you might be replacing a lot of windshields and bed fronts.

 

installing an EZ21 wiring harness/six gauge mech instrument cluster. Tired of the mangeled mess the po had going. Also waiting on pins and needles for my newly refurbished stock bench seat. Having it redone black rolled and pleated.

 

Gentlemen,

It was a great weekend!!! I managed to get quite a bit down on my bed modifications. Friday night I got a couple of pieces of steel cut down to size (mostly). Saturday, after taking care of business in the a.m. I got started just before noon. I managed to mock up the stake pockets on the truck, get the 2x3 tubing cut down and shaped to fit inside of the pockets. Then came the tough part. I needed to cut 1/2" off of the long leg of the tubing. After a little bit of head scratching I mounted a 7" cut-off wheel in a table saw and slowly made the cut (1 side at a time). It worked really well.
I then mocked it back up on the truck with it nestled inside the stake pockets and I fit the 2" round tubing underneath it all.
On Sunday i managed to get a couple of hours of free time. I cut some doubler plates tha will be welded inside the tubing and stake pockets and will be used to mount the tailgate (I'll be able to drill and tap holes in them) I made a few patch pieces to fill some areas on the bedsides and then I started worrying about the tailgate.

I had tentatively planned on narrowing a late model tailgate and adding the center section of my tailgate to it to retain the Ford script. Now I think I might try and fabricate the main body of the tailgate......still thinkin this part out.

I took a handful of pics of what I got done but I havent had a chance to upload them yet. Hopefully later tonight or tomorrow.

Bobby

 

to my earlier post..it was Macropoxy 646