Thread: Project Special K

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Today, I did a bunch of little work projects that actually left time for the truck!
So I decided to get the welder out and go for it. I patched the holes in the cab on the drivers side, and puttied in any little stuff to make it look nice, then I cut and welded 18 gauge steel to the inside of the cab, covering where the gas tank filler spout used to be. I then welded a patch to that and puttied in the last little areas. It came out nice considering I've never welded before, and don't work with metal. I do have a lot of respect for all of the nice fabrication work I see posted here. Here are a few photos.

Here is a look at the patch from the inside. It's not pretty, but will be hidden by interior panels when done.

Originally Posted by BradC

I love how the blood fills the top of my head while cutting off some of the bolts, the factory had to have just to keep something from coming loose........LOL
BradC

Now you guys know why Tom's coupe spent so much time upside down on my garage floor!!!!!

Get back to work, hire a goat to eat the grass........LOL
BradC

Brad it's funny you should say that, my two dogs left enough holes in the lawn, that I spent part of the day, filling them in and reseeding them!
here is a before shot of the grill and I'll post an after shot in a little bit.

Ok here is the grill after stripping off the old paint and hitting it with one step rust converter. It has a few small dents that will need filling, and a big one that I might need to pound out a little further.

And yes here is the yard Brad, goats would be easier

Ooooooooh, that lawn looks like too much work to me! No, actually, I miss not having a lawn to care for now that I live in a Condo. I used to really enjoy getting out on a Saturday, putting some rock and roll on my walkman, and pushing the mower to get some exercise.

Your grille cleaned up really well. What one step did you use to kill the rust?

Don

Thanks Don. It is Mar-Hyde One Step. It's a nice product for hitting a sanded rusty surface and then priming over. The more rust the better it sticks. It comes both in spray can and liquid bottle, that works great in a cheap mister bottle,like you use for water. The lawn is a futile project between weeds dogs and the hot summer, but I love looking out on the green area right after it's mowed!

I've got 3 acres to cut, well my sister is home, she's been cutting the grass this summer. I just been sitting around on my fat butt watching her...LOL
That grille came out pretty good with that rust killer.
BradC

Sure looks like you have a nice yard and the truck just blends right in. I here ya on having a couple of dogs and trying to keep it nice, I just redid my back yard last year and they're already wrecking the grass. Put in a new driveway, retaining wall and all new grass, had to add an ornament also. I never want to touch another paving stone either, I layed 3500 between the driveway, patio and sidewalk. Maybe if Don would come over with his walkman................the grill looks great also.

Sean

Sean my driveway has been waiting for pavers for three years! It's dirt right now, so every time the Harley comes out I have to go over it with a magnet to catch any nails the construction crew seeded the back yard with. It's amazing, I always come up with at least 10.
3500 sounds back breaking! My driveway is 110 feet long, so I dread the costs of having it done!
Yesterday, we picked all the fruit off my apricot tree and decided to can it, before it all went bad. It was a young tree(2 years old) so it only produced enough fruit for 8 jars of jam, but it was fun, working with my wife on a project, and smelling all that fresh apricot smell throughout the house!
Back to the truck today!

Today I spent the better part of the afternoon with just getting the passenger door striped and primed. I figure shoot low and then you won't be disappointed. No wonder people shell out 15 k for paint jobs!
I started by sanding with 60 grit, but didn't get far. Then pulled out the paint stripper and buttered it up. Three rounds latter, hit it with 40 grit, then 60 then steel wool. Finally a three coats of rust converter, followed by steel wool, etch primer and a quick coat of acrylic SEM primer. Not tooo bad. At least I can see where some touch up work will be needed and maybe some filler!
P.S. I love my wife. She got me this poster at a garden show she was volunteering for in a beer booth! I like her style!

Heres the door, stripped, the rust inhibited, finally primed.

did you neutralize the paint stripper?

Originally Posted by Matt167

did you neutralize the paint stripper?

Matt thats a great point I guess I'll be sanding some more, The primer was just to stop rust anyway, since I put it up for the night, but have more work to do on the door, I guess tomorrow will include washing it down after sanding and starting over!
I guess I was in a bit of a hurry! Thanks for chiming in, that would definately been a bummer down the road!

Well today involved tackling the roof of the cab. Boy between rust and stripping old paint, it took several hours just to get half the roof done. I kept finding bondo spots too! And one big metal spot of a weld that I'm guessing pluged a hole in the roof. Tomorrow will be a full day of the same! I figure the one area at a time approach is working on whittling down the whole body! Also scored some new old stock clear glass lenses for the front turn signal indicators on Ebay(8 bucks). I'm still hunting for a 1970's ford f150 9 inch rear to change out the stock one. Craigslist hasn't provided what I'm looking for yet!