Things that grind my gears

[Chevy nutcase]

I'm neck deep in body work on my 66 c10 doing what I originally thought was just going to be just inner and outer rockers. As I started cutting I realized there was more to be done so the following list is a few things recently added to my gear grinding list.

what I thought was just outer rockers morphed into inner rockers, cab supports, footwell below the side vents and front and rear lower pillars. Now with the doors and fenders off I may as well tackle the inner fenders areas where they attach to the grill support. It just keeps going and going lol

every single piece I mentioned needed to be modified in some way to fit. I knew there would be some adjustments needed but some were extreme. The pieces I got from LMC needed the least tweaking, the rear cab supports from rockauto were completely unusable. I had to make several pie cuts to change every angle and the floor pans from jegs are hilariously bad. They resemble my floors but nothing lines up. Thankfully I only needed a small portion of each one

when removing the front body mount bolts I found they were the super common 9/16 variety but the thing is the head of the bolt I think is 13/16 and the nut is bigger at 7/8.... why? At any rate I got new ones at a tractor supply and what do ya know the bolt and nut are again not the same?

My welding and fabrication skills have been thoroughly tested as have my patients. Im proud of how cool I've stayed and how I'm making this puzzle all fit together

[SkinnyG]

It's going to be nice when it's done.

It's going to be hell getting there.

I'm taking two years off of building vehicles entirely to find my Mojo again after completing my '61; it was almost the end of me.

[Braunschweiger]

That's right, it's a tough walk,
the reward afterwards is great.

[Tempest67]

I recently purchased a project that may be too much (too much rust) , but I just look at 1 piece at a time, and enjoy the process.

If it was easy, then everyone would have a classic truck/car.

Hang in there, after all, this is a Hobby that we do cause we enjoy it.

[Grounded63]

Originally Posted by Chevy nutcase

when removing the front body mount bolts I found they were the super common 9/16 variety but the thing is the head of the bolt I think is 13/16 and the nut is bigger at 7/8.... why? At any rate I got new ones at a tractor supply and what do ya know the bolt and nut are again not the same?

The, American Standard Finished Hexagon Bolt. Spec, is for a 9/16" bolt to have a 13/16" head, across the flats.

And, the American Standard Finished Hexagon Nut. Spec, is for a 9/16" nut to be 7/8" across the flats.

The fitment of those replacment panels is pretty much par for the course. In regards to restoration work. You'll probably also notice, that they are sometimes, also not really complete. Often missing re-enforcing layers and, finished edges where the panel naturally ends. Along with poorly located and stamped features. They are really just a semi-finished ruff guide of what you need/want.

[Grounded63]

The first pic shows the frt dvr body mount alignment. With the panel fiting well, everywhere else. But the body mount location is pretty well off.

The second shows the replacement bolt point. Along with the factory formed floor piece and, the pitted factory re-enforcement washer. Which would not fit on to the replacement panel. Because the stamping in that area is so poor. Not to mention that it need to be re-positioned

Third shows the the factory piece, being fit to the replacement panel. To fix both issues.

[Chevy nutcase]

Originally Posted by Grounded63

The first pic shows the frt dvr body mount alignment. With the panel fiting well, everywhere else. But the body mount location is pretty well off.

The second shows the replacement bolt point. Along with the factory formed floor piece and, the pitted factory re-enforcement washer. Which would not fit on to the replacement panel. Because the stamping in that area is so poor. Not to mention that it need to be re-positioned

Third shows the the factory piece, being fit to the replacement panel. To fix both issues.

I almost have the driver side done and I wish I'd have taken pictures of the process and the way nothing fit. When I do the passenger side I'll have a library to share of the before and after pics of the alterations ill likely have to make again to each piece. It's just frustrating because the tweaks are doubling if not tripling the time to completion

[SkinnyG]

My '61 had never been in an accident, and I can tell you for certain that the truck's fit and finish (everything, not just panels) was drunk from the factory, and not even symmetrically drunk.