More welding work

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Pixel

In the continuing adventures of my rotted out ’64 Chevy truck. Today’s plan was to get the front of the passenger inner fender repaired enough that I no longer need the core-support in for reference. As a reminder, this is what I started with.

First patch went in.

Second patch went in

Third & fourth patches went in.

Then I started fabricating the end of the fender mounting flange.

The corner all welded up. As before, once the radiator support comes off I’ll be finishing up the grinding and re-doing some of the crappier welds as I’ll be able to reach them easier.

The beginning of the welding work

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Pixel

This year’s project with the ’64 pickup is to get the rust fixed so I can get some paint on it. To that end, the front end was stripped down so I can start start in on the incredibly crusty mess.

The first target is the inner fenders. The front edge has a bracket on the underside from the factory that traps muck thrown up by the tires and always rusts out. The ones on this truck were previously “fixed” with super thin sheet metal pop-riveted on and covered in roofing tar. This worked so well the patches had rusted through as well.

I started in on the driver’s side by cutting out the rot until I reached good metal. I’m doing this with the radiator support still in place so I can use it as a guideline to make sure everything lines up. Once I have both sides done the rad support will come out so I can finish the patches & so I can fix the massive rot on the support.

I set up my metal bender in a convenient location, then it was just the tedious process of cutting, bending & fitting patches. I am using 18ga steel for strength, so my flanging tool doesn’t make the flange deep enough to be flush. I’m not too worried as this area is not visible with the hood down.

One patch in…

Two patches in…

And patches 3-6 in.

Then two more patches to replace the fender mounting flange.

It is far from perfect, and there is a lot of grinding still to do(as well as re-doing some of the uglier welds), but it seems solid. Once the radiator support is out I will need to add one more patch to the front edge of the raised portion, and drill out the various bolt holes.

Getting started on this year’s plans for the truck.

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Pixel

My plan now that the weather is warmed up is to start in on the rust repair on the truck. My hope is to get the bodywork done so I can get paint on it before the end of the season. At a minimum though I want to get the cab & inner structure repaired so even if I don’t finish all the bodywork this season, I’ll know the underlying structure is solid.

Step one was the pull the front end apart. That turned out to be easier said than done, everything is so rusty nearly every bolt was a challenge. I averaged 1 snapped bolt for every 3-4 that came out normally. The front-most fender bolt was particularly difficult as you can see.

In addition to looking ridiculous, this actually was really helpful. I could see what I was doing, and therefore could figure out what tools would fit and let me get the bolt off.

Once the fenders & grille were off and the front grille panel was loosened(it won’t come off completely until the front bumper or radiator support come off), I could see the degree of the problem.

AS you can see there is a lot of work here. However since one of the reasons I bought this truck was to practice welding and fabrication, this is not as terrible as it might be to someone else. My plan is to see how much I can fix/fabricate myself before buying any more parts.

Truck bits acquired

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Pixel

Since there is a bit more money in the truck fund, I’ve started acquiring the bits to do the rust repair the longbed needs. To that end I found someone on Craigslist selling a lot of ’66 Chevy truck parts left over from a project he got rid of.

I was able to pick up every bit I need to fix the rockers on both sides, including some I probably won’t need. It was about $400 of metal for $200. This includes inner & outer rockers, front floors, floor braces, cab corners & front footwells.

I was also able to get a less rusty hood, and a complete(if somewhat rusty) roof section to fix the dents & damaged roof drip rails. It looks like the sections I most need are in good shape.

I was also able to get a set of good sunvisors to replace the one destroyed one in the truck, a spare set of wheel cylinders, and a free 1966 shop manual supplement(wrong year, but close enough to be useful).

Box hauled it all home easily, with the new metal pieces inside & the hood & roof sections strapped onto Box’s roof.

Now I just need the weather to warm up, and I’ll be able to start working on the truck again.

Fender work

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Pixel

I finally decided to get back to doing some rust work on the truck. I haven’t yet figured out how to fabricate the inner rocker, so I decided to work on the rot in the fenders first.

I cut the bottom of the fender off, only to discover the inner bracket was rotted out and a prior owner had done some hack repair work. All the original bracketry for attaching the fender was cut out and not replaced properly The fender was actually welded to the cab.

Now I have an entirely new problem to deal with. I have to decide whether to buy all the patch panels to fix the cab mounts & fender bracket which would cost about $250. The other option is to fab it all from scratch, or only buy part and fab the rest. I’m going to have to do more thinking on this.

Instant Upgrade? Just add Seat

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Pixel

The seat in the ’64 Chevy was a disaster area, and made the cab look like it had been a home to wolverines with a 2-pack a day habit.

It was torn, paint splattered, and yellowed with nicotine stains. And it was covered with a cheap ill-fitting cover that came off every time you climbed in.

A factory-correct replacement seat cover was $150 + shipping and that wouldn’t fix the battered foam. A local upholstery shop gave me a quote of $250 to completely re-upholster it, but that would be in plain vinyl that would be pretty boring looking.

I was surfing the list that is Craig’s one day when I found this bench seat for sale for all of $100. It is from a similar truck but had been custom upholstered. The seller was replacing it with some bucket seats. It was in perfect condition aside from one minor tear in the piping.

I power-washed the whole thing to get the grime out of all the nooks & crannies. It turns out the tweed portions were once blue, but had faded to the current grey(which I’m ok with, as I prefer the grey). I also painted the brackets on the sides while it was apart.

After installing the seat I was amazed at how much it changed the interior. With no other changes but the seat the cab now looks respectable with a bit of patina.

Tool Boxing Day

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Pixel

One thing the truck is sorely lacking is storage space. Putting stuff under the seat is a recipe for being smacked in the ankles under emergency braking. I had an old crate in the bed to hold various ratchet straps, bungee cords, tarps, etc. The problem was it would slide around when driving, and everything got soaking wet in the rain.

I bought this tool box at the flea market for all of $5, I liked its design, and the somewhat battered look suits the look of the truck quite well. I knew it would stop the getting wet problem, but I needed it to both not slide around, and to make it a little harder for someone to steal it.

I bought two wing screws(like wingnuts, but screws, I didn’t know this existed before I found them) and some nut inserts for wood. Then I figured out where I wanted the tool box to be(making sure to position it so the lid could open), and drilled two holes through the bottom of the and through the wood of the truck bed.

From below I hammered in the nut inserts, I went from below so they wouldn’t just get yanked out if someone tried to pull the tool box up. Turns out I didn’t get the holes completely straight which made getting the inserts to stay properly was a pain.

Finally the wing screws were installed. Now the tool box won’t be sliding around, but if I need to remove it, it should only take a moment to remove the wing screws and lift the whole thing out.

Quick tip, Locking gas cap

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Pixel

After the gas cap was stolen off the truck on night , I upgraded to a locking gas cap. However I didn’t want to add another key to my key ring, and didn’t want to risk losing it somewhere in the truck.

So I came up with this:

That is the key on a retracting key ring, like what security guards keep their keys on. It is clipped to part of the metal of the cab and is virtually invisible unless you know where to look.

Now when I want to fill up all I have to do is open the door, get out, reach over and grab the key, unlock the gas cap and let go. The key retracts out of the way and I don’t have to worry about misplacing it.

(weird hand placement is due to trying to get a picture with the other hand)

The start of rocker repair on the truck

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Pixel

When I bought the ’64 Chevy I knew the worst rot on the truck was in the driver’s rocker area, the whole area was rotted badly enough you couldn’t step there without the whole thing crunching and feeling like it would collapse at any second.

Part of my plan with this truck is to fabricate metal repairs wherever possible, so I could practice metal fabrication, and save money. With the rocker I decided to buy a replacement outer rocker, but fabricate the inner stuff myself.

I started by pulling off the sill plate(which was a ruin in and of itself), and made a pass with my Harbor Freight sandblaster to find all the rust holes.

I was left with very little good metal. It quickly became clear that the decorative sill plate had become structural, and was stronger than the remaining rocker.

So first I cut back to solid metal, getting rid of all the marginal stuff so I knew I had a solid base to start from.

Then came the first of four patches. I formed the right angle bends with the help of a brake, but the rest was hammer formed using whatever around the garage had the shape I needed.

Then it(and the second filler patch) was welded in and ground smooth.

Then the second patch, before and after.

And the third. This patch only got tack welded in before I ran out of light.

Then between Hurricane Sandy & selling the wagon I haven’t gotten back to it. But the floor is already noticeably more solid with just this much completed.

Amazing what a difference some paint makes

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Pixel

When I bought the truck, it had a terrible set of bias ply tires on it. So the first task was to get some decent radials on it. Not having the $500 for a set of new tires, I spent a few days tracking down a used set and having them mounted.

The wheels however were equal parts black & surface rust. So I put the truck up on jack stands and pulled the wheels.

What then followed was an hour or so of using a wire brush in my angle grinder to make the wheels shiny clean and me a grubby mess of paint flakes & rust dust.

Then went on a coat of etching primer.

And finally a couple coats of gloss white.

Once they were dry I bolted them on. It is amazing how much of a difference they made to the look of the truck. Just compare the picture below to the one at the top of this article. The only change is the wheels.

Improbable Garage

Where anything is possible, just not very probable.

Category Archives: 1964 Chevrolet C10 base longbed