My 72 GMC Rustoration

[disgruntled11]

Hey guys I haven't contributed much here because my project found itself on the back burner and I honestly haven't done anything to it till now. I found out I'm deploying a little earlier than expected and it kinda lit a fire under my ass to make some progress before I left.

The before pics:



I plan on getting rid of as much cancer as I can and hopefully primed before May but we'll see how that goes.

[disgruntled11]

Last week I got man enough to cut it up, I've never actually put in patch panels, have used chicken wire and bondo though but now I know better. First time mig welding sheetmetal too so please don't hate too much.

Mocking the fender patch:



After the cut (I ran out of blades for my cutoff wheel so I had to use the one on my grinder more on that later):



And how it sit's now. I took it off the truck to finish welding it and and have spent more time filling holes than anything I've done to the truck up to this point which is kinda sad:






Using the bigger cutoff wheel made twice as much work for me, I think I'm good for tonight though and I'll finish grinding and put some more spot welds on the back side tomorrow.

[disgruntled11]

So far I havent really decided which direction I want to go on it. I have a 76 GMC K20 back in Alabama that I thought of pirating the frame and axles from, or leave well enough alone have a decent, moderately restored tow rig. I plan on painting it black and shaving the trim so if anyone in the area is interested in the trim you can pm me. Also I need some direction on what to do with the bed. The PO tacked in what looks like 3/8 steel diamond plate and I don't know whether to roll with it and hope it doesnt rust out underneath, or cut it out and fix the rust underneath


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[disgruntled11]

Thanks for the heads up 71swb4x4 I'll have to try that next time. It was nothing but trouble filling that gap and the holes I made. Does anyone here have experience with chrome powder coat? I was considering powdercoating the grill vs a repop or having it rechromed and how does it look/hold up.
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[71swb4x4]

I am not an expert at welding, but that looks like a huge gap. Next time put a small notch in each panel where your clamp goes (semicircles) so you can close that gap up. It will probably be much easier to weld with less gap.

[disgruntled11]

Things didn't go as well as expected, I had a few buddies that said they were going to help me with the paint but we just ran out of time. Anyone have any experience with body shops in south Alabama? My wife is staying with my family in Flomaton but Mobile and Pensacola aren't too far away and I was looking for a reputable body shop. The last two quotes I got were for over 5 grand and I'm not looking to spend that much so it might have to wait till I get back.
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