The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Sometimes I like to remind myself how far I have come...

Sometimes it is hard to believe that I have spent most of my free time working on this truck for the past 2+ years. Every now and then, I must remind myself where I started and where I am now.

Just a few more weeks until I attempt to get the old girl on the road. Can't wait for my first drive ever in a vintage Chevrolet truck.

Holy cow, what a transformation!?!?! You've spent many hours and LOTS of $$$ getting to this point. You should be proud of how much progress you have made & of the high quality work you have done on the truck. It's obvious you take a lot of pride in your work. Before you know it you'll be driving your new truck and all the hard work will have paid off. Congratulations!!!

That certainly is a remarkable transformation David. I've
studied your pictures very carefully and I still say, you or
your son have to have had body shop experience to pull that
off, none of it is amateur caliber. Looks like he was doing the
painting in one picture. I haven't been able to spot one run,
sag, or any orange peel inside or out and every panel looks as
straight as they come.
You've never mentioned the clean up you had to go thru to prep
it. There must have been a lot of blasting to get that much
rust off and a bunch of filling and sanding once you started to
see bare metal. I had a nearly a rust free truck to start with
and have worked with metal all my life and done my share of
painting and I'm not one quarter as close to finishing up as you
are.
Fine looking work there for sure.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Beautiful paint, love the Mariner Blue.

KMAC

As always, the compliments are appreciated. Denny, I started with the intention that I would media blast all the metal myself. Well, I did the grille, bumper, bumper apron, splash pan, radiator shroud and support, inner fenders and front fenders before I had enough. the rest of the sheet metal including the frame went out for media blasting. One of many good choices I (eventually) made. The parts were immediately primed in epoxy upon arriving back to my driveway.

I have experience with bodywork, but only as a DIY'er hobbyist. It's not rocket science and just takes patience...not cutting corners only because you are tired or lazy.

A few inconspicuous runs here and there in inconspicuous places, but they are easy to get rid of with single stage paint. After about 24 hours, I tape both ends of a razor blade and simply scrape the run away with the blade at 90 degrees to the painted surface. A little wet sanding/polishing and the run is completely gone. The paint is not perfect as I did it in my small garage... a few imperfections from dust, but generally acceptable. Yes, there is some orange peel, but I am not the type that needs a glass smooth surface on vintage vehicle. Still needs to polishing here and there, but I will get to that eventually. Hopefully, the rear fenders get painted this weekend and all painting is 100% complete. Onward through the fog.

Now, if I could just find someone to insure the truck while still allowing my son to operate it...ugh!

David,

I would like to add my compliments and congratulations. Beside being impressed by your work, I also like the Mariner Blue.

Are you looking for insurance to drive the truck anywhere/anytime for any purpose? If so, have you checked with you insurance agent - my State Farm agent now seems able to do this.

If you want collectors' insurance for driving to shows, etc (and minor incidental driving), and you have a locked garage, and all driver/members of you family have another insured vehicle, check with Hagerty.

Good luck,

Excellent work David! You'll be a grinnen ear to ear on that first drive. Good on ya!!!

Great Work David. I like how your mixing in the new in w/the old.
You'll be enjoying it soon and it's definitely worth it.
Dave

Yup.. I agree with all of the above. Envious of course since I am about two years behind you, but have learned a few things along the way. Keep the posts coming!

Great looking truck David, it looks like your going to be out of the fog real soon.
Don

Beautiful job David.. amazing what you have done!

Looks great !!!

I did 1/2 as much work...took twice as long...and yours looks 10 times better.


It's such a great feeling when you drive it for the first time.
but I must admit, I miss the work.

Good luck

Yes, I am trying to insure the truck for everyday use and any purpose. It will NOT be a trailer queen! Hagerty said "no way", American Collectors said "no way". USAA said we will insure it, but only for book value...whatever that might be. Hmm, 60 year old truck...lets see Mr. Frame, we will send you a check for $3000 (I can hear it now).

I will try State Farm, I know an agent. Thanks.

When you make one a daily driver you will only find companies willing to write 'book value' policies. The reason collector car policies are so cheap is because the vehicles are garage kept and not daily drivers. That's not saying you can't stop at the store for a loaf of bread if you're out for a pleasure drive (allowed in collector car policies) just be sure to tell them you didn't just drive it to the store if you have a claim. Having said that I believe Grundy has a policy class that may work for you. http://www.grundy.com/

Thanks for the tip. I just called Grundy and I must have a minimum of three vehicles insured with them to qualify. Don't want to remove two of my vehicles from USAA. Shoot.

David, you are doing a great job, the truck looks fantastic.

You might try Gulfway ( http://www.racensur.com/) if you haven't already. I switched to them from Hagerty about 6 years ago when they wouldn't insure my first big truck ('72 GMC 9500). They said it looked too commercial and not like collector material so I took my trailer and my '46 to Gulfway and have been treated very fairly ever since. By the way, since the day I cancelled my Hagerty policy, they have been trying to get me back.
Continued success with your truck.

Billy, thanks for the additional resource. Went back to USAA. Policy in place that covers truck at fair market value. Means they will take condition into consideration at time of lose. Means payout anywhere from $7500 to $44,000. My guess is my truck is closer to the $30,000 range when complete. No use restrictions...yippee!

Nice looking truck friend! I was going to suggest JC Taylor as that is who I have for insurance. Hope you get to take that first drive soon! Keep us posted with pics or video.