finally, an update! drivers door

finally pieced the drivers side door back together. i actually did this last week and just now got around to updating the build blog. it's coming together slowly but surely. i really need to get my firestone blackwalls before i can go much further. i want to start fabbing up the frame and i have to have my actual tire and rims mated together so i can set my final ride height. that's it for now, mike in k.c.

i have a name for the old girl....

i have been trying to come up with a name for the 39. drum roll please......Mayvelline! i have a cousin in arkansas named mayvelline. i like that name. it has a mid-century ring and feel to it. yea, that's it...Mayvelline it is!!! so, from now on, i will refer to her as such! i love this little truck. i have never felt this way about a car or truck before. i have so much labor into her that i know i will never let her go. i found her on jalopy journals forum, the h.a.m.b. she was in jefferson city, mo. she had been in the woods for many years until i answered the ad and drove down at 5:00am on a saturday morning earlier this year. i fell in love with this little cab on the spot. she was a little rough around the edges, but i knew she could be sweet...real sweet! the rest is chronicled here in this blog. next summer and she'll be at greaserama 2010 wearing new paint, rubber and oh yea, a big block chrysler and a 4 speed!!! hell yea!

passenger door is whole again!

the passenger door went back together quite nicely if i do say so myself! re-aligned perfectly. looks nice in the jamb and is arrow straight. i'll move onto the drivers door this weekend. the old girl is coming together better than expected and at a better pace than expected. hell, i'm almost ready to start framing the floor of the cab! i can't wait to get goin' on the floor. i think once the structural areas are sured up, the frame, bed and suspension will go pretty quik. i'm thinking next summer as a possible "first fire" target date. let's hope so. enjoy! mike in k.c.

the roof is back together finally!!!

finally, the roof is one piece again. now i can move this thing around again without it coming out of alignment. it looks great and i'm totally satisfied with how it turned out. gonna finish welding on it this week, but for now, bask in the glory!!!

on to the drivers side today

i moved from the passenger side, to the drivers side today. i did this side a little differently. i removed the grafted section that i cut out of the rusty red cab because i didn't like how it looked after it had been welded in place. i fabbed up the entire patch. inner bracing and outer skin from some 14 gauge flat sheet. it is thicker, but stronger. i just have to fill in the center gap and final weld the seams. i should finish the roof tomorrow. thats it for today.

stitching up the top...

i started stitching my way across the top of the cab. this part is really frustrating, trying to make the bridge piece even with the front and rear sections. the panels want to move with each strike of the mig. i dont have a bunch of high dollar vise grip long reach clamps, so i have to keep the panels even as i go up. this part is taking a lot of time, but it is going to be done correctly and i feel good about how it has gone so far. i cant wait to get it stitched up all the way across and begin on the doors. then i can move the truck around without fear of the truck coming out of alignment. thats it for tonite, mike in k.c.

more rust repair

the jambs on this cab are pretty bad. turns out the drip rail was the reason for rust in these areas. the tops skin rusted where the water was channeled, separating the top skin from the jamb inner supports. i cut a section of 20 gauge sheel steel, bent it in the shape of the opening, and welded it in place. i did the passenger side saturday, and worked on the drivers side today a little. i patched in a connecting piece today on the drivers side which bridged the gap created when the two halves of the roof were separated. that little step alone, really did a good job of keeping the cab from moving around on the stands. when you cut the top off of a car or truck like this, you really do have to brace everywhere or it will move around like a plate of jell-o!!! thats it for today, mike in k.c.