The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop My Truck Is Back From Paint!

Hey, all.

I finally got my truck back from having the body completely restored; taken down to bare metal and painted anew.

The color is candy cherry with a fine metal flake ... the grill and tailgate letters are gun metal gray.

Pics and details are here:
http://www.alanhorvath.com/54chevy/back_from_paint.php

Alan

Looks very nice Alan........Too bad about the wiring...I've followed your project for awhile and know you spent a lot of time and dough on the wiring.....Good luck
Dan

Thanks, Dan.

Another problem ... due to the truck sitting for 3 years with no gas in its 30-gallon tank ... is that my gas tank is **loaded** with rust!

I'm taking it to a buddy's shop this afternoon and we'll be putting a new tank in. I was going to have the tank boiled and lined for $300 but my buddy knows a guy who can fit me with a brand new tank (same size, etc.) for $125 ... so that's what I'll be doing today. Then I'll be "back on the road" and able to drive like I did before paint. But it's taken me over 3 months to get everything on the truck back in order!

Amazing.

Alan

Alan, congrats on being "on the road again". I know yoru excited. Pits about the wires but just move forward and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing and I DO like the color.

I'm thinkin',"Good. Always looking for truck reccomendations here in Jersey." Oops. Anyway, truck looks really good. The gun metal trim color adds subtle styling. Nice all around.

Looks good Alan, sorry to hear about your problems, I am sure you will get it all worked out. I bet your interior looks good with that paint job. I know how hard you worked on your seats!!

Alan,

You get the A+ for patience, forgiveness and understanding. The truck looks great.

That is a sweet looking truck! Please tell us you have a garage to park it in!?

Thanks, everyone.

jomichael: Yes. I just moved into an apartment to be close to my Mom, and a garage will be happening soon. In the meantime, I have a good friend letting me use his (he has 3 bays and all the tools in the world).

I put the new fuel tank in and decided to also run all new fuel lines, including a new fuel pump (for $20, why not, right!?). But after all that, I discovered my carb was absolutely ruined from running contaminated gas through it. A buddy, who is a great mechanic (old school), told me to just forget it and put a brand new carb on ... so I did.

I installed a new Edelbrock 1406 600 cfm 4 bbl (same one I had), just a few days ago and man, oh man!!! What a dream she is to drive NOW!

HalleluYah! I have my truck BACK!

Now, get ready: The weekend of the 30th I'll be installing the seats I made with buffalo hides (see the seats here ... or ... [b]view the whole project, start to finish, here[/b]) and then I'll be doing the interior and posting my usual photo-tutorials on my web site.

Alan

Where do you get buffalo hide? That must be hard to work with! Indestructible I would say. Love the grain pattern.

Can't wait to see it with your new interior, Alan! Bet it will look sharp.!

jomichael: I got the buffalo hides from a long-time tanning company out in California. What you saw on the seats is "dark chocolate" ... I also have "cream" hides.

coach-frank: Thanks, Coach! I'm really looking forward to this project! The hides really **are** thick; I don't know of any interior guys that work with actual hides.

Alan

Alan, the truck looks great, cept for that heavy looking back bumper. But it's ur truck, enjoy it.

Dan

Amen, Dan. The back bumper is a mess (full of rust) and will be a project to tackle in the near future.

I want to put a new bumper on and just trash that one ... you're right - it doesn't make sense.

Any suggestions on the bumper I should consider would be greatly appreciated.

I agree the stock bumper would look great on your truck, Alan! But its your call!

Thanks, guys. I'll be looking into it, for sure.

PS: Has anyone purchased bumpers? Any recommendations?

I saw one outfit advertising "triple chrome plated" for like twice the cost (maybe even a bit more) ... has anyone done that? Is it worth it?

I was able to compare products from three vendors in Southern CA on the same morning. All of them looked good. The one that sold parts labeled as "Counter Parts" seemed to be heavier steel. I purchased those but they are still in the boxes. I have no way of knowing whether the heavier steel is better or worse than the lighter stuff. I don't have any way of knowing the quality of the chrome of how well it will hold up over time. "Triple chrome plated" would refer to copper, nickel, and chromium in really good shops but it could mean almost anything to some manufacturers.

I do not know how well my parts will hold up. With all the reports of poor quality chrome from overseas parts I would give more consideration to stainless steel next time. It would be great to hear from someone running these parts for a longer duration report on their performance.

Chuck

Thanks, Chuck.

I hadn't thought about stainless steel. I had my front bumper rechromed after we welded the bolts onto the back-side and shaved the front smooth. It's a great look! And there won't be any concerns about rust-drips that are typical under the bolt heads.