When I finished my last post and attached pictures, just for grins, I checked the date stamp on them. I brought the truck home in August of 2018 and the date on the pictures when I completed the sheet metal was May of 2022. So, at that point I had been at it for almost 4 years. The good thing is, I still look forward to every weekend I know I am going to get some shop time to work on it.
Now on to the body work. The timing worked out well with it being May the warmer weather was coming, and I didn't have to try to heat the shop to help with cure time on things.
I first pulled the cab back off the frame and set it on the horses again to make it closer to the ground and easier to work on. Also, so I could get to the front of the bed and the back of the cab.
I started filling along the edges of the accent molding above and below it and any splices in it and the sheet metal. I would let that cure while I did the same on the cab. Then I would start sanding. When I had one sanded, I would add filer again in the low spots and sand on the other while that cured. I went back and forth for what seemed like months until I was happy with it. Also, when I welded in the new corners in on the upper cab, I lowered them the 11" to a line with the bottoms of the Doors. This left the step in the back of the cab for the frame a mess. I keep looking at it while it was setting on the horses trying to decide how to clean this up and not look like a garbage. My first though was to cut the sides straight and cover it with some kind of grill. After I got it all cut and cleaned up, I liked the more open cleaned up look. So, I decided to kind of highlight it instead of hiding it. Digging through the pile of material I have leaning up in the corner of the shop I found a piece of 1 1/4" X 1/8" angle that was long enough to wrap around it. With the corners rounded on the cab I had to make relief cuts in it and wrap it around them. Once I had it shaped, I temporarily bolted it up and tack welded the relief cuts. Then I pulled it off so I could fillet weld all the cuts and then I ground it smooth. When it was all cleaned up, I hung it in the spray booth and painted it so it would be ready to install latter.
At this point the rear deck was ready for paint, and I began to concentrate on the rear of the cab because I knew it needed to get painted before it went back on the frame, or I would never be able to get to it to paint it on the frame(I'm sorry I don't have pictures of it at this stage but I either forgot to take some or with all the body work and sanding, the shop was a such a mess I was too embarrassed to let anyone see it).
I pulled the truck less the cab out of the shop so I could give it and the shop a thorough cleaning. I needed the shop extra clean because I was ready for paint and the truck was no way going to fit into the spray booth, so I was going to have to paint it in the main shop area.
I think I started painting over the 4th of July weekend and the date stamp on the pictures of it being done are August 28th. With priming and all the different colors and currying times in between, it was a slow process.
But being the middle of summer and warm out it helped the paint cure out nicely without having to blow heat on it and by the air movement dust around the shop.
Thanks for following and don't be bashful let me know what you think. COCOE
Sorry but I'm on a different computer and I can't post pictures to go along with this, but I will shortly. COCOE
Last edited by COCOE; 11/10/20234:25 AM. Reason: to add pictures
