Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Stock.

I stopped by the body shop Saturday and Marcos was in the process of final polishing one of my bedsides. They look great - I hope I don’t screw them up by assembling/morning the bed myself. I’m gonna get some bubble wrap for them at Home Cheapo to carry them home/store them til assembly.

I’ll pick up most of the parts this week. I am officially retiring Friday, 12/29 so thereafter all the delays wil be on me! I thought I’d have the truck totally done by my retirement date but now I know it’ll still be awhile. But that’s ok. Gives me plenty to work on!

Congratulations on retirement Dan! Please keep pics of your build coming, they provide me with inspiration...

[Russell Ashley]

Congratulations on your retirement, Dan.

[NorCalGal]

Retirement hmmm ........sounds like you need to start looking for your next project.

[Advanced Design]

Congratulations on the upcoming retirement! And for the time you will have available to finish your truck. Enjoy!

[bosco]

Truck is looking great. Congratulations on your retirement. I still have a few years to go, but looking forward to working projects on my truck. Enjoy your retirement and truck.

[oldman3]

Dan, add my congrats on your retirement, and welcome to the retirement group...Jim

[Dan in Pasadena]

^^^ Thanks you guys^^^

I kinda agonized over whether I should pull the plug even though I reached 63 on December 1st - which is the “magic” age for my CalPERS pension.

Then the week of Thanksgiving I found out my best friend in middle school and high school had died. We hadn’t been in touch in a long time but mutual friends told me he’d been struggling with alcoholism, was estranged from his whole family, and died at home alone and no one knew until the police were called days later. An awful way to go out in my opinion. It made me sad, and made me more determined to make the absolute most out of my retirement years. Sorry for the sob story but its the real reason behind the kinda sudden decision.

[Nut Case]

Go full throttle for as long as you can, then do a slow burn. Rustin out is not in my plan!!!

Congratulation.

nc

[lower50's]

Congrats on the soon retirement!!! I have a few years to go yet.

[ChuckDriver]

Congrats Dan! Now get back to work on this awesome truck!

[Daze57]

congrats on retirement dan ---ive been at my job a very long time ----for me i still like what i do and keeping my hands and mind busy isnt so bad.
Enjoy your time -----you have earned it --truck looks great and you will have a great time with it

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Daze57

---ive been at my job a very long time ----

Me too. 26 years though I purchased additional time so 31 years “on the books.”

Originally Posted by Daze57

...for me i still like what i do and keeping my hands and mind busy isnt so bad.

I still like what I do too. It’s HARD to take a lifetime becoming an expert in a unique specialty, then decide you won’t use that knowledge and experience anymore....it’s why I struggled to decide.

In addition to my old friend who passed away, i just found out a younger co-worker(52) already had a heart attack and a bout with cancer! I’d rather regret retiring too soon than regret retiring too late!

[joedoh]

yeah man, no one ever dies wishing they had more money, they all want time!

see my sig quote, HDT said it and its true, retire and be happy!

[56hotrodred]

Congratulations on the upcoming retirement!

I was more or less forced into retirement about 3 or 4 years ago when the price of a barrel of oil plummeted. It was only a few years earlier than was planned and I still had a few big jobs to do around the ranch but with all the time on my hands I basically did them myself.

I have also watched several of my friends and family members pass away way to early and not get to enjoy any sort of retirement. My step-father passed away at 70 less than 1 year after his official retirement. He worked hard to get to where he was!

Anyway enjoy! It great!

[G&R's57GMC]

Congrats on your up coming retirement ! Or How did I have time for work ?

When my day came I loaded the last of the stuff into my '56 and as I pulled out of the building the dozer started tearing the place down . I stood outside of the construction fence watching as the dozer finished off my last place of work for the last 20 years , Then it hit me I'm retired ! Retired at last !

That was 1998 . My wife retired later that year . Then we bought a Casita and started traveling . Moved, designed and built my garage and shop addition, bought a new rental house and designed a second garage for it, still more travel, found a builder and split my old homes lot and traded 2 lots for him to build a house that I designed for me on my lot this was 2006 ,still traveling, Sold that house in 2011 and bought a second new rental here . 2012 Bought a '69 Airstream and started to rebuild it then the wife was diagnosed with cancer and started treatments in 2013 by 2014 she was in remission and I was back on the Airstream got it usable by 2015 and we took a long trip in it. Unfortunately she relapsed and died in 2015.

2016 I met my future wife and we traveled all year. We got married in January 2017 and have been traveling ever since along with getting my Dart back on the road.

At this rate I may get back to my other projects sometime in the future . Hopefully sooner then later.

Good luck with the bed assembly but already painted that's a 2 person job who have done it a bunch of times before. Ya might want to rethink the idea of having the shop do it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Ah Glen, very sorry to hear about your loss. It must be painful still. So sorry.

My retirement is coming at the right time. I have been “out of the office” assigned to heavy civil construction jobs sites in L.A. for over the last 10 years. This was good in that I had complete freedom and autonomy. But the bad part was guys in the field are completely overlooked when it comes to promotion. In fact getting passed over for the last one in favor of someone who admittedly knows nothing about construction and would never agree to work in a field environment tore it for me. I was looking for a way out after that. But I’m ok with it. I wouldn't have wanted to go back to the coat and tie, 8 to 5 environment anyway. I have 26 years service and another 5 years we’re allowed to “buy” for a total of 31. With my age that gives me the most pension I can get for the years. With some money I’ve managed to save for later when inflation hits me and a reduced Social Security I’ll get eventually because I have a pension from a public agency I will hopefully be fine.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Back to the truck, I picked up a bunch of my parts from the painter this afternoon:

Bed front panel
Side steps
Cowl vent panel (I’ll use the non-vented panel instead)
Door panels - Man, they look great!
Some small miscellaneous parts like ash tray, glove box hinge, etc.

I bubble wrapped it all so there could be no damage and put it safely in my garage for assembly later.

I REALLY need to get going on finishing the bed wood because it’s a time eater. I also need to drive the truck to a local place for glass installation. But to do that safely I need a seat installed. Those broken gas tank strap bolts^^^, keep me from putting in the seat, can’t put the seat in without putting in the seat belts first. And on and on. “Everything is waiting on everything else.” But I will have lots for time after 12/29 so it’ll get done.

[bobinbc]

"I REALLY need to get going on finishing the bed wood because it’s a time eater. I also need to drive the truck to a local place for glass installation. But to do that safely I need a seat installed. Those broken gas tank strap bolts^^^, keep me from putting in the seat, can’t put the seat in without putting in the seat belts first. And on and on. “Everything is waiting on everything else.”

HOLY ANAL-ITIS Dan! Don't let a little thing like this bog you down! I just crawled under my truck and the front tank strap bolts are visible from below. Go under the truck and clamp a vise grip onto the end of the bolts and turn them out from the bottom! If there is nothing to get a grip on them then seal the hole from the top, install your sound deadener and carpet over and forget about them. They won't leak and they won't be seen and nobody will ever know... Plus they are already painted/bedlinered to match lol Then put the belts and seat in and get the glass done, presto!

Also I've assembled a bed for one of these before in primer and although it could be done I would not want to do it single-handed in fresh paint FYI.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement! You are going to woder how you ever found the time to work a full-time job

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by bobinbc

"I REALLY need to get going on finishing the bed wood because it’s a time eater. I also need to drive the truck to a local place for glass installation. But to do that safely I need a seat installed. Those broken gas tank strap bolts^^^, keep me from putting in the seat, can’t put the seat in without putting in the seat belts first. And on and on. “Everything is waiting on everything else.”

HOLY ANAL-ITIS Dan! Don't let a little thing like this bog you down!

Ha ha, this made me laugh out loud because you’re absolutely right of course.

You caught me thinking out loud when I posted that. I DO tend to think things to death. I arrange all the steps I need to take in order and think about the tools and time I need, how I need to jack the truck up as high as I can so I can get leverage on whatever tool I’ll use to turn those bolt “stubs” out, etc. Sometimes I need a slap or a splash of water to come out of it and you JUST gave it to me - Thanks, Bob!

Originally Posted by bobinbc

Also I've assembled a bed for one of these before in primer and although it could be done I would not want to do it single-handed in fresh paint FYI.

Thanks for this advice too. The parts I picked up yesterday look PUURFECT. I am stoked over how great they look and the idea of messing them up kills me. As soon as I get the wood finished I will reconsider my options. By then the holidays will be over and maybe I’ll just let the painter do the reassembly.

Originally Posted by bobinbc

Congrats on your upcoming retirement! You are going to wonder how you ever found the time to work a full-time job

Thanks again. This is what everyone says. I hope it’s true.

[Flames97]

Really like your build, everything looks great!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Flames97

Really like your build, everything looks great!

Thanks so much.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

I bought a bunch of small stuff today at the Car & Truck Shop. I hope I don’t end up regretting buying the windshield and rear window rubber from Soft Seal instead of Steele Rubber like I had intended. They were also out of the chrome lock strip I intended to get......but I was there and I need it so....

I bought the polished stainless bolt kit for the bed, the rubber pads that go under the bed cross sills, side glass window wipers, felt channels & glue, polished stainless tail lights and probably more I’m not remembering right now. Tomorrow and Saturday I should FINALLY get some things installed!

[Russell Ashley]

I called Steele to buy the rubber for my BBW and they said they didn't have the chrome lock strip. I definitely wanted the chrome so ordered one from BowTie Bits. I fits and looks good so I'm happy with it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Saturday, December 16, 2017

I picked up the bed sides today. They’ve been final cut and polished and look incredible. We bubble wrapped them and I’ll leave them that way until assembly starts. I’m beginning to be concerned I can put it together without messing them up no matter how careful I am.

Sorry the pictures rotated. I don’t know how to fix it either.

[G&R's57GMC]

Hay Dan

I'd think twice about assembling the bed by yourself .

The other day I tried to hang the rear fender on my junk truck bed by myself , that was not going to happen so I got my wife to help . It was still a challenge to get a bolt lined up without the fender moving all over the place. If this was a finished painted bed it would have been a disaster.

Heck I even had an outline to line up with on the body side and still it was a pain to get even close to the step alignment .

It might be easer to mount the fender to the bedside before the side is vertical but that might make the bed assembly a pain.

In any case lots of blue tape on the parts to be put together.

Get a friend to help or have the shop assemble it .

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Glen. Yeah, more and more I’m thinking I’m likely to chip or scratch the parts, and that would kill me. Not to mention cost to get touch ups made right.

But I will use LOTS of tape and I’ll have to have a friend come over for the event.