What did you do with your truck today, Part 3

[Tempest67]

mejum - That is a beauty..........

[_Ogre]

dang mejum, that gave me a little wood...

[nvrdone]

went to a "Hotrod & Hogs" show not too far from home. They had about 250 cars pre registered and were fast approaching 500 by noon. Great cars & great people. Looking forward to more shows this year.

[mick53]

Three days on and off in the hot sun and I finished stripping down my donor chassis. I'm just using the frame rails but I could not bring myself to just torch it apart. Me or someone else may need something someday. I also wanted to keep from damaging it. I tried a few things but what worked best for me was to drill the head of the rivet, 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and then pop it off with the air hammer and flat blade. This left a nice divot for the pointy attachment on the air hammer. They were still very much stuck in there. There was no deterioration in the rivets or steel. I thought there would be rust in there. I then took the oxy torch and heated the back side of the rivet head cherry red and they popped right out. I was surprised to see when I took the rivets out of the front crossmember first that the rails were under about an inch of tension. My plan is to use the frame rails to box the chassis on my 53 3100. I bought the chassis from a nice fellow on the Stovebolt in Wisconsin about 4 hours away for $200. He kept the running board brackets. Sorry so long. Thank you for your time.

[Black_Sheep]

I got a free truck wash...

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mick53

Three days on and off in the hot sun and I finished stripping down my donor chassis. I'm just using the frame rails but I could not bring myself to just torch it apart. Me or someone else may need something someday. I also wanted to keep from damaging it. I tried a few things but what worked best for me was to drill the head of the rivet, 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and then pop it off with the air hammer and flat blade. This left a nice divot for the pointy attachment on the air hammer. They were still very much stuck in there. There was no deterioration in the rivets or steel. I thought there would be rust in there. I then took the oxy torch and heated the back side of the rivet head cherry red and they popped right out. I was surprised to see when I took the rivets out of the front crossmember first that the rails were under about an inch of tension. My plan is to use the frame rails to box the chassis on my 53 3100. I bought the chassis from a nice fellow on the Stovebolt in Wisconsin about 4 hours away for $200. He kept the running board brackets. Sorry so long. Thank you for your time.

WOW! that is a project!

Brian

[Bridgeman57]

What do y’all think about moving my 57 cab onto the rear of the frame so I can finish painting the frame and finishing firewall? Has anyone done it?

[Bridgeman57]

What do y’all think about moving my 57 cab onto the rear of the frame so I can finish painting the frame and finishing firewall? Has anyone done it?

[G&R's57GMC]

Originally Posted by Bridgeman57

What do y’all think about moving my 57 cab onto the rear of the frame so I can finish painting the frame and finishing firewall? Has anyone done it?

Yep it’s been done, saves the hassle of lifting it off and back on . But still a bit of a pain .

The easy way is jack it up from the chassis and put jack stands under the steps and the roll the chassis forward .

[Bridgeman57]

Thought about that but driveway is a bit to steep. Garage isn’t the biggest so I want to have as much room as possible to work.

[Bridgeman57]

Thought about that but driveway is a bit to steep. Garage isn’t the biggest so I want to have as much room as possible to work.

[mick53]

My wrist are sore from dismantling the frame so I spent a few hours working on polishing the back cover on my 6-71. This will be right in front of the windshield on the "hot chick side" of the truck so it has to be polished. I have all the rough grinding done except for the bearing covers. This is a pain but somebody has to do it.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Bridgeman57

What do y’all think about moving my 57 cab onto the rear of the frame so I can finish painting the frame and finishing firewall? Has anyone done it?

your not the only guy that finished his frame with the cab on. i welded in the mustII/motor mounts up front and rear end/sway bar install before pulling the cab. roughed in the trans x-member and under floor mc, finished welding after the cab came off. leaving the cab on make motor/trans mounts easier. just protect all your nice painted frame and work with plywood and blankets

you can also roll the cab on it's back if you need to modify the floor from underneath. just throw some plywood on the frame and a moving blanket and gently roll it back

[Bridgeman57]

Yeah that’s a good idea. I already have motor, tranny, t-case and all that installed. Just catching up now. Will be taking winders out this weekend to lighten it up. Previous owner really screwed up the dash/ radio. Nervous about attempting to do it myself

[idbeast]

Originally Posted by mejum

first car show of the season for me and first time ever showing my truck.


the truck isn't quite ready for prime time but i took her out anyway for a cruise and gathering. it was too beautiful a day to pass up.

saw it down in Centralia or Olympia... I don't remember!

[mick53]

I cut up the boat trailer I bought for my chassis jig, table, rack or whatever you call it. It's been in a vacant lot for years and was full of wasps. They mostly attacked the torch. I don't think they understood the problem. I got the 53 in the driveway. This is huge for me. 4 years working on drivetrain and axles and polishing. Now some fun. To me she is still as beautiful as 40 years ago.

[mick53]

I got the girl cleaned out and power washed today. The massive amount of wasps and hornets didn't hold up any better to the power washer than they did to the torch on the frame. I have most of the new parts to finish her including a new tailgate and bed with pockets from Jim Carter. I also have an original grill with heavy chrome and stainless bumpers. She's really not in that bad of shape. It was never driven in Indiana where I live now. I lived in the So-Cal desert when I was driving her. I drove it from LA to northern Indiana and back 5 times, stock. I was a much younger man then. If I was a patina guy it's the real deal. Thank you for your time.

[MiraclePieCo]

Cool history. When you get her done you'll have to make that drive again.

[Bridgeman57]

Getting some holes welded up on the firewall today. Finally picked up a welding blanket for the engine. Ordered some 16 gauge hole fillers from speedway. Finally getting a little progress done everyday.

[greg_h]

A friend told me to find a washer that fit the holes, weld them in, and then weld up the smaller center hole.

[89AKurt]

We got a massage. Wildfire smoke was bad. Didn't want a town picture, took a shortcut.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by Bridgeman57

Getting some holes welded up on the firewall today. Finally picked up a welding blanket for the engine. Ordered some 16 gauge hole fillers from speedway. Finally getting a little progress done everyday.

Are the little bumps on there to help hold them in place or just manufacturing process?

[Bridgeman57]

Originally Posted by mick53

Are the little bumps on there to help hold them in place or just manufacturing process?

Yeah just to help in them stay in place I suppose. Kind of a waste of there time making them that way since everyone uses clamps or magnets anyways

[Bridgeman57]

Just a quick question.
Can someone help point out exactly what holes I should keep?
I plan on keeping most things in stock locations.

Battery tray
Aftermarket heater assembly
Wiring grommet holes
High beam switch

Have to install brake booster
Plan on just having the bare minimum

[evilokc]

my brake lights stopped working. its yet another witing issue. really the only things that ever go wrong with my truck. i paid to have it wired and now i wish i had done it myself. i checked fuses and grounds. they were all fine. i put a power light on my colum plugs and got nothing. nothing for brakes or signals. hell not a single flash on the power light. im kinda stuck at this point. i put in an email to tech at Ididit to see what they have to say. i dont like things that kee me from driving my truck. ive been doing a lot of light body work and priming to make it look nicer. its getting there.