Report from our shop, 34 pickup update pics! Sexy bare metal!

Been a while since I posted updated photos of the progress on my 34. Mostly because there hasn't been a lot. In the middle of may, I was asked to have the unfinished truck in clean bare metal to go to a June 10 show to benefit a hotrodding exhibit in the Art Museum of Western Virginia. So, my wife and i spent several tortured weeks lifting three paint jobs worth of paint, primer and bondo off the cab, and using three gallons of Ospho to clean the frame, suspension, and bed.

The upside is that I knocked out some detail work. Most important, i got a set of headers built. Went with a driveshaft style cone, except it's built from 2.5" exhaust tubing. Real driveshafts aren't small enough on the little end for what I needed, plus they're heavy. So I just "repop'd" em Couple header pics:







I will still be adding turnouts, waiting on the inserts from Car Chemistry to go in before I weld on the turnouts.

I also got a body line added around where I cut the cowl to go onto the frame. Found some double D shaped stock about 1/4" diameter, I think it was a dipstick from a fuel oil tank at one point!!





Welded up something like 35 holes in the firewall, including one where someone had a steering column once upon a time. That's about it for new shit I got done, but with those things done, I'm almost done with fab work. Just gotta finish tailgate hinges, make floors and a dash, and get door patches in. We got a LOT of prelim bodywork done just taking all the mud out of it and shrinking dents out of the cab. Almost no rust, but about 20 walnut size dents just mudded over. Took about two hours to make them disappear with hammer, dolley, torch, and wet rag. Thanks to my Dad for doing the torch shrinking, just because he wanted to try it!

 

Nice clean work there fella...love the attention to details...

Keep them coming...

 

...damn...double-damn...

 

Thanks guys...since I've followed both Rolf and larry's builds, I really appreciate the comments Here's a few more random bare metal pics:

 

What steering box are you using for the cowl set up ?

 

2 wheel drive Ford F100. i did a big post about it, I think it's in the tech archives.

When I first got the box, the guy told me it was for a Ranger, so I assumed late model Ranger. I totally forgot there was an F100 model badged as a ranger

 

...mmmm...I can see the shiny black paint now...

 

I got 2 words

cleeeaann



wait... nevermind

 

Very, very nice.....

 

Add me to the "damn that looks great" list! Exceptional looking truck, you should be proud of your work

 

I was checking out the radiator fan shroud. Looks nice and simple. Did you mount it to the grill shell, it looks that way in the pics. Is it flat, except for the ring around the fan ?

 

WOW! You are definately headed in the right direction. Dont turnaround now, keep on truckin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, I guess so. The lip where the welting would normally go has been cut off, and the back of the shell was totally covered over with a piece of sheet welded around the edge of the shell. Then I cut that out so that it left about a 2" lip behind the radiator. There's another flat piece screwed to that (the lip has nutserts in it), that's the part you can actually see, then the fan ring screws to that. Something like 50 nutserts total The radiator slides in from the bottom now.

Between the shroud, chopping the shell two inches, and making it 1" deeper, I think I've got about 40 hours in the grille.

 

Damn that's nice!

 

nice work, love your truck

 

Very well done man.

 

Good looking truck!

 

DAAAAAAAMN thats nice!!! love that truck... i like it in baremetal but shiny black would be cool too. i can see it now!! NICE!!!

 

Very nice work. Keep up with the pics.

 

I like it in bare metal too, but a: that other guy did that already, and b: I live in VA, just the humidity will rust stuff, even if it never goes out in the rain.

So, shiny black, or flat silver, some kinda paint is in this things future.

 

Thanks boss, and everybody else. After the marathon to get it to the show, I was kinda lacking motovation, this is helpin a LOT.

 

You Nailed It. Looks great.

 

Nice truck where did ya get the tail lights?

 

Please don't go so long before posting pics.

That thing is the shit!

Bare metal is sexy.

Rich

 

Great detail shots. It is inspirational for those of us who seem to be more of dreamers than doers.
Michael

 

KICK ASS TRUCK!! Hats off to ya!!

 

Sweet truck and great job on her, it would be a shame to hide that metal work..

 

Winner.
Bitchen.
Perfect.
Clean.
Spot on.
Badd ass.
Rightous.
Wow.

Me like.

 

Bitchen!

Sam.