Projects 1950 3100 Truck Project

Looks like things are coming along nicely. Keep up the good work.

 

Dude - this whole thing you've done is awesome. My 52 Chevy 3100 was sort of like your deal, but no where near as bad. You won that contest hands down. Mine was billed as a solid truck with "an earlier restoration" done on it. I laugh every time I find areas where they soda blasted the frame - but didn't wash it all out. Every now and then I get chunks of soda powder falling out from under the dash.

Your work and effort is inspiring but I'm not going to be any where near as brave as you in bringing my ride back to shape. I'm just going to ride around and enjoy it for the value it is. An old rusty 216 stove bolt, 6 volt creaking, squeeking truck.

The difference is? When you're finished your ride will be your pride. Justified!

 

Got the dr side inner cowl panel in and welded up. Got to fill in a bunch of holes where the parking brake used to be still and fab up piece to seal up the firewall to cowl panel joint on both sides still. Thinking of fill in the battery cover hole as I bought a drop down battery holder. Also need to fit the trans cover, it doesnt fit very well.



Another angle...



Need to fix a few rust through spots above the windshield, no big deal...



Sprayed the back of the cab with primer jhust so that is was all one color. Was tired of looking at it. I got rid of all the rust and there was just a little old paint left but nothing loose.




I am thinking about have the inside of the firewall, floor, rockers and rear wall under the window line-x'd. Want to leave the pillars, dash and rear window/headliner area so I can paint it up nice.

Any downside to doing this? I figger it will help with noise, vibration, heat and look nice too. I have a place we send trucks to that says they can do it since it is a bare cab and I agreed to tape it all up. Havent talked price yet but I assume it will be about as much as a bedliner which they charge me $299. I think it is worth it for all the benefits. I know there are cheaper was to accomplish the same thing. Thoughts?

 

So am taking a break on the cab for a bit and working on the fenders. This week I sprayed down the inside of the rear fenders with phosphoric acid and scrubbed them down, then got a bunch of dents out, or at least mostly out, with the hammer and dolly. Then Hit them with the wire wheel and primered the inside. Gotta repair some cracks and fill in some holes but they are looking good. I plan on spraying the inside with undercoating to keep them nice down the road.





Going to take some stuff to the sand blast/powder coater soon, Want to have it all ready when the time comes for reassembly. Also going to work on getting the engine fired up soon, I need to run a fuel line and get a new fuel pump, the one I bought wont work with the fuel inlet/outlet where they are at. Anyone want to trade a GM performance pump with inlet outlet on either side for one with both on one side or out the bottom?

Lastly, I know these is going to irritate some of you, but I have decided against painting the outside for now. I fear if I drag this out any longer it will never get done. I am going to put it back together as it sits once I get the inner portions of everything treated and undercoated, and get it to where it is driveable. I do however, want to make the inside as nice as possible and paint the dash.

I also put the front end together temp just so I can have something to look at. It has been apart long enough I was starting to forget what it looks like.

 

So I just came back from a quick trip to a car show here in town, and found out there is a new shop that just opened up! They offer full resto's and various services including media blasting and powder coating. Part of the reasoning with skipping the paint work is there isnt anyone local to blast and I wasnt looking forward to driving stuff all over town, but this place is literally just a few miles away. I just sent an email requesting a quote so we'll see what transpires.

 

Good deal, thanks for the updates. Can't wait to see more of your progress.

 

Here is what I did today, nice having a day off during the week.

As usual had to cut and mod the pieces to get them to fit right. Still have to make a piece that seals the kick panels to the firewall and a little plate to cap off the ends of the cowl.

 

A little progress each day adds up, looking good...Jim

 

Glad to see it progressing! Great work!

 

WOW, I just finished reading your whole thread and you are doing a hell of a job. I am so glad you sent me a PM letting me know about your project. As I have just started my project and have questioned myself if I can do this and now having read your thread it has encouraged me to keep on trucking through it. As I start to get more of it apart it sure helps being able to see you and others have gone through these same issues and to see how it is done and how not to do it, it sure eases the mind. Please keep up with the pics they are super and again thank you Shadams.

 

So is a week enough time for a shop to have responded to my email? For shits sake they are the second shop I have emailed with questions that hasnt even bothered to respond. Guess I'll give them a call and see what the deal is, maybe they were closed for the week of the fourth....

 

So yesterday I got the cracks in the rear fenders welded up and ground down and pound out the dents as best as I could, then got the insides of the rear fenders sprayed with the rustoleum leak seal I have been using.



Last week I had sprayed down the inside of the hood with phosphoric acid and then yesterday I got out the wire wheel and took it to more or less bare metal. Then sprayed it with primer. By the way have used rustoleum rusty metal primer for all my interior painting, seems to be some good thick stuff that will keep it protected.



I dont know if I should use the leak seal on the hood due to the high temps. Prob just spray with a satin black to match the engine compartment.

So today I went out a bought a DA sander and some sticky sand discs so I can start sanding off the rust/paint and get the parts in primer. Have decided again to paint it, ha! Anyway, have a ways to go before I actually do that like finish the insides of the front fenders and running boards, etc. and I need to settle on a good exterior primer still. Then I need to get the bed out and start welding up cracks and take out the newer truck bed metal floor someone welded and caulked in place.

Lastly, I found the rusty metal primer I have been using in gallons at home depot. Never saw it sitting right next to the cans I have been buying for 5 bucks a pop. Probable have used 10-15 cans already. A gallon was 30 after tax and has 11.5 cans in it. Gonna use my cheapie primer gun I bought a while back to do the rest of the work. Damn...

 

Your pieces are starting to take shape....Jim

 

To paint or not to paint - that is the question! I remember the first model car I put together when I was a kid. No paint, just glue the parts together, and it was together in a couple of days! After that, each one took just a little bit longer as I started detailing & painting the parts. Still true with the big toys.

You're making great progress, though.

 

Yes, they are and it is really gratifying. I was reading back in the thread and remembered how unsure I was about all this. Shit, now is a piece of cake. I have really learned a lot with this build. Still a ways to go but at least the list is getting shorted instead of longer.

Just for grins I went on LMC and picked every big and litte plart I still need and it was nearly 4000 dollars. I just about crapped my self. But I think I can whittle it down quite a bit fixing things instead of replacing and trying to find parts online like on craigs list, etc.

I did the exact same thing. Matter of fact my grandma called me over one day to help clean out her garage and I found a box with all my old models in it. She had saved them all these years. She "gave" them to me and said they were keepsakes but honestly they hit the trash bin a few days later, along with all my old dirtbike trophies. I just cant stand keeping crap around.

ANYWAY, back on point. Got the pass door cleaned up and primed on the back side. Used a spray gun and i used a ton less paint, those cans empty with the quickness. I highly recommend going that route if you can.

 

I do the shopping cart deal myself every now and then. Very daunting, but like you said, Craigslist and Classifieds really help cutting down costs!

 

Made quite a bit of progress in the last couple weeks. Havent worked on it as much as I would have liked. Between family stuff and the damn heat it makes it tough...So here is where I am at...

Finally got my wheels re-powdercoated. As I have mentioned, my tastes have changed quite a bit since I started this, so I decided to go with gloss black. I actually bought a set of spider caps off of CL but they didnt fit, wrong size, they looked killer though..





Gotta tell you the story with the tires. I eventually want a set of wide whites, but came across a full set of brand new indy 500's for $100. 215/65-15. Now I wanted to run bigger in the back, so I busted my ass for 3 days before I finally found a pair of matching 255/70-15's for the back. The indy 500 is on its way out apparently. I really like the look of this wheel/tire combo. Kinda 60's style, but what do I know..

Here they are on the chassis, look great. I just hope the fit up front. We'll see....





Primed up the seat frame and cushion frames. The cushions need a few springs but otherwise are ready for upholstery, the frame will be powder coated at a later date...

 

Unless I come across a new chorme grill, I'll have to run this one a while...



The radiator support had been hacked a little and had all kinds of shit welded to it. Got it all ground down and ready for blasting/powdercoating..



Got all the old undercoating off the front fenders and all the dents knocked out. Ready for soadblasting..



Rear fender cracks welded up, dents knocked out, ready for exterior soda blasting..



Running boards straightend, no welding needed..



Roof dents gone, at least to the best of my ability...



Bed tore down, everything trash except bed sides. I acid soaked them which is why they are white. I should be alright to sand blast these, they are much thicker than the rest of the sheet metal. Sides nice, bed rails have some cracks and dents to fix, angle strips ok. Contemplating leaving them, blasting them, treating them and buying the covers that go over as opposed to drilling out a ton of spot welds and replacing them, they arent that bad..




One rear stake pocket needs a little work, otherwise good to go. Need front panel and tail gate, cross rails and rear sill...

 

Battery box mounted...drop down style...



Lastly, our super bad ass paint booth where I work at. Hopefully I can use it, yea right....

 

You've been busy and making nice progress, looking good...Jim

 

Man! Gimme a few hours in that booth!!

 

Looks like a lot of progress to me! Keep at it - it's coming together.

 

use a mid 80s elcamino chassis will measure up in the areas you need and gives you all the parts you want with discs and rear ..
good luck and keep up the great work ..

 

Bought a new tailgate and a 7-piece Durablock sanding kit this weekend at the Fredricksburg swap meet. Also got a DA and a roll of 120 grit sticky paper for it. Time to get things moving.....

 

Looks to me like you got a shit load done in the last little while looking good. Are you doing the blasting or senting it out? I just blasted the frame, man was that a lot of work. I think I need more air if I am going to do the rest of truck.

 

No I will be paying someone to do my body blasting. it is too fricken hot here and I just flat out dont want to do it. As a matter of fact I just spoke with a local guy here that was actually knowledgeable and sounded like he was ready to go as opposed to everyone else I have ever dealt with on the build that acted like they were doing me a favor talking to me... got a little welding left to do but hopefully I can get the cab to him next weekend...

 

Man, this is a great build to read and follow! That paint booth is amazing! Only one better I have seen is at a base I use to be stationed at. It was big enough to fully paint a C-130 in. (I do aircraft fab and paint) Cant wait to see your truck put together! I will subscribe to this. I wish I had the time to do a build like this, I have the space but not the tools nor do I have the welding skills (we rivet everything on jets haha) This is pretty inspiring though, I hope to be able to accomplish something similar to this one day. I think once I retire from the military and know I will be staying where I will be living I will try to do something like this. Good luck man, you've done outstanding so far!

 

Did a few things yesterday..Trying to get back out today, so damn hot though...

 

Looking good!

 

Very nice...Jim