Project Pancho Villa - 1978 SWB

[BruthaMan]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement. There is NO WAY in hell I could have ever done this with the kind hearted people on this forum. I spend countless hours here, searching, reading and absorbing the thousands of combined years of experience!

Here's where I am:

1) Cab needs one final sanding of the 2k primer and ready for paint.

2) Bed coated inside, out, and underneath with Dupont Epoxy primer. Had a few small dings here and there that I filled with Rage Extreme. Love that stuff, but learned quickly to only mix enough for about 3-4 minutes, or it's toast.




The bed had a lot of little rust pits towards the front. At first I was not going to worry about it and just let it go, but I started filling them with the Rage and just kept going. Still have some fill work to do on that, then I'll sand it down. I figured with this much work and effort, not point in cutting it short now.




3) I've spent weeks going back and forth over Rally Wheels or Torq thrust 20s. In the end, it was just too much more money right now, and I really do like the old school rallies with raised white letter tires. So I bought a set that had been sandblasted off Ebay and ordered some Argent Silver paint from TCPGlobal (House of Kolor) to paint them with. Got two of them in Saturday, should have the others tomorrow. Ordered new rings and center caps, along with some tribar spinners. I may switch over to 20s down the road, but for now, it will be rallies with BFG T/A Radials.



4) On the same token, been wresting with color. Blue, Silver, Black. Blue, Silver, Black. Blue, Silver, Black. I've changed my mind a dozen times, each time with "how will it look with these wheels, or those wheels." I finally locked it down and went with Black basecoat/clearcoat. I have an Iwata LPH-400 I bought for the work.

5) I've got parts all over the house now. Thank God I have an understanding wife. In fact, so many parts, some are still sitting on the front porch! (We live in a secluded neighborhood). Garage is packed with the frame, the bed and cab on home built stands. Just not enough room!



6) Brakes came in! I ordered dual piston calipers, a rear disc brake kit, a chromed master cylinder and slotted/drilled rotors. Figured with a 383 stroker, I needed better braking though I don't plan on racing. Got all this from Performance Online.