SUPER CREW!!!

[m880cummins]

Here's last night.

Had a paper due for school but screw it!







On dollies!

[m880cummins]

Here's last night.

Shaved firewall and repaired the hacked clutch linkage area. Stil need to do upper floor pan in same area.





Dealt with the roof. Has several holes in the main support. Not sure what to do yet.





Clown Pubes! (carpet insulation)




Charlie

[m880cummins]

Block is torn down, more cab prep, fenders stripped!

Working on it again today. Pics tonight!

[m880cummins]

I finished up the inner roof support and got that painted. Then drilled 2 holes in the cab roof and used spray foam in the center between the two roof skins to get rid of the drumming effect. Engine is mostly apart, just need to get the rust ridges out of the cylinders to get the 5 other pistons out

Crank and rod bearings looked great except two of them which had a heavy groove in them from dirt or metal. Hopefully crank doesn't need ground. Pistons looked great! No scoring on the side and the rods are BRAZIL Wrist pins are nice and snug and have no scoring on the wrist pin bearings.





Shop getting cleaned up:



Most of saturday was consumed doing fab work on a model A rat that is going to get a 4BT...

Charlie

[m880cummins]

Here's this saturday. Spent a lot of time working on my buddy's '30 AA rat rod. Got the sub frame done on the cab for it and doors finished. Needs the top chopped, suicide hinges put on and firewall welded in and cab will be done.





Got 1/2 the floor stripped down to bare metal and the pillars on the drivers side. Doors are sanded down to primer base now just need finished sanded with finer grit. Hope to have at least the floors and doors in Dupont Epoxy primer next Saturday.





The source for center pillar rot. Going to weld this all together and seal it up!



Cowl Cracks











Charlie

[m880cummins]

Got one fender prepped! Took 3 hours to paint strip and sand with 80gr then 100gr then 220 but it is SUPER NICE!!!! I did both sides and took care of 100% of it so I plan to epoxy prime the cab, doors and fenders this week. Just takes MOTIVATION!!!!

If you ever wondered why dodge paint peels, it is because, in my truck's case, they did not use primer! On top of that, the zinc/galvanizing that was on the metal is not a good bonding surface because while I was using scotchbrite on the inside, it was powdery and obiviously not a good suface to paint on.

Yes, taking it down to bare metal is a TON of work but realize this, you HAVE NO IDEA the quality of the paint that is currently on the surface, how well the metal was prepped or what is under the paint! I found on the cab that the floors looked great and the paint was nice but when I took the paint off the metal was starting to corrode underneath! It was not visible from the top side but the factory paint didnt SEAL the suface. The bare metal gives you 110 better adhesion, protection and quality of the product. If you keep the vehicle for a long time, a good paint job lasts 20 years so when it comes time to do it again you just have to take the clear coat off and ruff up the base. Using good products will prevent the extra elbow grease of maintenance down the road, hold up to oxidation better and the paint surface quality is going to be that of a show car. Yes I know, its a truck and it will be worked, but it is a creampuff and I want to make it look good and last. I like doing it right the first time. In the coming years, trucks of this era especially crew cabs will be increasingly harder to find and rust free ones will disappear.

After 80 grit. This was done with an electric Black & Decker DA sander. It is small and meant for small jobs but I have done numerous restorations of tractors, small engines and other metal projects with it.


Just need to weld a couple trim holes closed and delete the antenna mount.

[cmann250]

I'm pretty sure taking it down to bare metal is the ONLY way to go. I have a Dewalt electric non-DA sander and it's great too. I keep moving and it does fine. I can't believe you still have painting weather up there. I ran out of good weather, it got too cold

[m880cummins]

I'm going to try to get the entire body ready for paint in the next 3 weeks. HOPEFULLY we will have a couple good mid 60* days so I can just paint in my shop rather than rent a climate controlled booth for a day.

Charlie

[m880cummins]

Started out using brush on stripper in a gallon and was suggested the Rustoleum Aircraft Stripper aerosol and I'm never using brush on stripper again! It's nice because it soaks in, does not require water to remove and it didn't leave any nasty residue! I'm still going to wipe all surfaces down with metal prep and wax/grease remover to be safe but it is a really great product. $8 a can sounds pricey but I was able to do all of my doors and fenders as well as both sides of my bed with 2 CANS!!! It scrapes pretty easy too!

Here's some bare mexican metal bling!

By the way this is moving it should be MANGO TANGO in time for HALLOWEEN! I'll have a big orange jack-o-lantern of a cab in the shop! I guess right now im carving my own pumpkin!

Load of ugly panels



Not so ugly now! Took me 3 hours to do a fender using the brush on stuff and took me an hour and a half to do each of the rear doors with the spray on stripper.





Rear doors don't have any dents so I don't think I will need any bondo on them! Just high build primer and block it out! The inside is clean and rust free so I will just scotchbrite that and try my best to spray the inside. Not all about pulling a Houdini act of sanding the inside of a door when it really doesn't need it. The outside is completely paint, plating and surface rust free!









Picking up paint supplies Thursday to take care of this bare metal pile that is continuing to grow...My buddy says I now have a bare metal fetish. I gotta admit it is pretty nice to look at! Just gotta do the rad support, valence, left fender, 2 front doors and finish stripping and sanding the cab. I bought an NOS 70s hood for $50 tonight that's only a half hour away! Epoxy primer this weekend!



Charlie

[PToombs]

Clear coat it and say it's stainless! Tell everbody it's a DeLorean prototype.

[m880cummins]

Yeah, I had several say that! Well, if I had the chassis done I would mock the entire thing up with a bare metal body and send it into HOT ROD!

Charlie

[m880cummins]

It's going to run me about $1000 in paint supplies to paint the crew

Spent $583 today for everything but only got 1.5qts of color. The color is $137/quart. Has 10 different color tones mixed in. Very tedious to mix but done by hand with a digital scale so it is accurate. Should get everything stripped and etch primed this weekend! Worked with a really great guy in Willow Grove PA. His is a private run business out of his garage at home. Has a huge selection of every auto cosmetic thing you would ever need. Way better pricing than anywhere else. All good products too. I went with matrix brand with the Mica clear coat.

Here's a peek of the Tango!





Charlie

[CE_TX]

I can tell you for sure you are saving a ton of cash by doing the paint and body work yourself! I farmed that part out on my build and it's costing way more than I budgeted for. It's going to be nice, already have the cab back, but it's costing me.

Keep up the great work and I will be watching to see how it comes out.

[m880cummins]

Got quite a bit done yesterday and tonight. Welded up about 70 holes that used to be trim and engine bay accessories and then ground them all down. Next was spraying all inside and outside surfaces with Matrix Rose colored etch primer.

Windchimes!




Today, I started bodywork. Using the 3M brand filler is much better than bondo and a bottle of 2 part glazing filler, I was able to finish both rear doors and the drivers side front door. I didn't have the time to do the front fenders but they have filler on them. I used a 14" air-powered long block to get the filler knocked down flush then blocked it out by hand with a 14" block and 220 grit.








Used the remaining etch primer on the drivers cab floor and door jambs. I am welding up all the seams on the rockers and lower door jambs for added strength.





Started bodywork on the firewall. This is going to take some time:



Welded up cowl completely. Still need to weld in reinforcement plates in 2 places on each side.



Charlie

[m880cummins]

Little stuff:

Wilwood slave cylinder I will mount right to the firewall.





Disasterous chassis paint shipment. Burned like napalm! Took pictures of the mess and sent it to the seller. Should be able to get an entire kit again.













Here's what I sent to the seller.



Charlie