Ran out of time this evening...but making progress...
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and tips. (and encouragement)...I have managed to get the seam welded again. It will have body filler in it but I can live with it. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a little more time free and move this along. I would love to be spraying primer on that side of the bed by tomorrow afternoon.
I had an hour or two yesterday evening to get in the garage and work on the bed. I sanded all of the outer panels with 220 and filled a couple of low spots. Sprayed a little more primer on the sides. I still have what I call a "wonkie" on the drivers side. I like to wet the primer down and then you can see the imperfections in the shine.
Hopefully, today I will get out there and work the sides a little bit more. I'm trying not to get in a hurry and say/think "that's good enough." I want to get the sides as straight as possible....which might be impossible with my skill set. I will probably block sand the sides to get them right.
I also welded in a small (2"x8") patch onto one of the inner wheel wells and started sanding the inside of the bed. I will not get it as smooth and nice as the outside, but I want to improve the way it looks.
04sd wrote:A tonneau cover will fix the inside of the bed.
I like that Idea Bill...lol. I did build a tonneau cover for my '66 that I restored in the mid 1990's. I've been seriously thinking of making another one. This thing is "caving my backside in" as far as working on it. I sanded and welded and pounded (on the inner wheel wells) today and made some progress. Still a ways to go....
Well after several days of sanding the primer off and reworking some of the body work, I shot some more primer on the bed this evening. I am fairly happy with the result. The plan is to spray some color, if white is a color lol, on Monday. Still working on the inside of the bed. It will not be perfect on the inside because I am planning on using the truck. I have beat some of the dents out of the wheel wells and applied some bondo on the drivers side one. I am planning to prep and paint the rear of the cab before installing the bed. I'm hoping to be sitting the bed on by the end of this upcoming week.
More to come....stay tuned.
Oh...here's some pics...
Planning on painting the bed tomorrow. I want to paint the back of the cab before installing the bed. I have this to deal with first... Undoubtedly when the bed was hit years ago it pushed it into the cab and caved in this area. It was filled with almost 1/4" of bondo. I dug it all out and hammered it out to this point. I will have to fabricate a patch panel.
04sd wrote:In the first picture of the cab corner it looks like almost zero clearance between the door and cab?
The out side of the bed looks great.
Bill...I had to go back and look at the pic...and you're right. I had never noticed. I don't know if there is anything that I can do about that at this point. I welded a patch panel in this evening and coated the whole mess with....you guessed it....more bondo. Thanks for the compliment on the bed...again, I am not a professional...or an amateur....just a "back-yard" hack.
This truck is the "gift" that keeps on giving....lol....but I love it.
The bed looks good Steve. Looks like you're getting the hang of body work. It seems most people don't care for it but I enjoy it but then again I started learning in the spring of 1967 and I'm still learning. Keep up the good work.
grump wrote:The bed looks good Steve. Looks like you're getting the hang of body work. It seems most people don't care for it but I enjoy it but then again I started learning in the spring of 1967 and I'm still learning. Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
I haven't worked on the truck much the past day or so...Hoping to get time out there today and finish the cab corner. It is challenging because it has so many curves to it and the metal is shot. I have already cut some of the damaged metal out and started welding patches in.
Now to get the bed set back on....We have an area-wide cruise-in Saturday night. It is literally a cruise in...ride up and down main street and you can park, but you can't get out of your car. If you do the Nazi's will shoot you....
Not much has happened with the truck in the past week or so...family stuff intervenes. My 15 year old grandson has been visiting this week and my intention (and his) was to get him in the garage and put him to work on my truck. Other things happened instead....
