So I last left off on the final front fender, and I say final as it’s the last piece that needed some bodywork before finishing my last bit of painting on the truck ... The new putty that I am using that my buddy JohnnyC told me about is a pleasure to use and I got the last bit of sanding done in short order .... Primer sealer has been applied and it’s now ready for painting tomorrow. In between the prep and paint I dropped the truck off it’s wood stands, rolled it back towards the garage door and rolled the motor, ******, and engine hoist up front getting things ready to mate the motor and trans and drop it in the truck .... It’s crowded but with good weather I can pop the garage door and roll it back further to give me more room. I am going to make one paint change. My plan all along was to use the 40 Ford standard painted headlight surrounds in the body color. While looking on the HAMB the other night I spotted another 40 Pickup that painted the headlight surrounds black. Since his truck was a light color and running boards, rims, bumpers (cannot not remember if the truck had bumpers bumpers actually), and the grille are black like my truck, I really liked the fact that his headlight surrounds were painted black. In a sea of color, it really looked good and would still fit the theme for my truck so I am going to do the same ..... The only bit of chrome will be the running/signal light surrounds in the headlight surrounds, and the center grille piece (having patina’d chrome). The running/signal gl*** are the commercial ones. While I had the time, I put up my ezup to protect the fenders from pollen and tree **** (as I surrounded by trees) while painting them tomorrow .... The weather today is perfect for painting and tomorrow is supposed to be the same (fingers crossed!) ....
Painted the fenders but my paint gun gave me fits - it would never really shoot in a smooth manner and although the color is right, the surface is rough and not like the other panels on the truck. The other panels are more textured, not rough. Tough to see in the pictures but here goes .... The right front fender I knocked down with a scotch bright pad and although it is smoother and the color is still there, the sheen does not look right. Here’s the fender up against my tailgate ..... ...... and up against my hood ... Although not in natural light, you can see how rough the non scotch brite fender is. The scotch brite fender doesn’t look too bad up against the tailgate. I will let them dry overnight and we will see what tomorrow brings ......
Ok - bottom line: I am sanding the fenders down and they will be repainted ..... Couple of rookie mistakes,though not major ones, contributed to the problem. The paint was a bit thick - I strained it out of the can into the mixing cup and then into the paint gun cup but it was a bit too thick. In that scenario I should have added some slow reducer to slow the drying process. All of the previous painting was done in 75 degree weather or lower. Yesterday got at least 10 degrees higher or better and the paint dried too quick, probably just out of the gun. Anyway, the front fenders would not have matched the hood, cowl, or doors well anyway. So, I called an audible and a repaint it will be. Just need a quart (or less) of slow acrylic enamel reducer and I will paint them again. Both fenders are now smooth again. I also mixed the two gallons of partially used cans of paint into one, straining the newer can that I have been working out of into the older can which is still very fluid. That should cut out any thick paint problems along with adding the reducer. Remember that this TCPGlobal paint is 8 parts paint, one part hardener - there’s no reducer in the mix and I add flattener 1to1 to the paint. I will keep you posted ... if I can get the reducer tomorrow, they will be painted by Saturday eve. If not, it may have to wait a bit as other things will take precedence for a week or so. One step forward, two steps back but a lesson learned ....
when you fit the 78 up metric caliper, do you need to have the brake flexi re-routed so it comes from the caliper the other way, file a u-channel into the caliper, so it doesn't go towards the king pin ?
Right now my calipers are mounted incorrectly. Once they are correct, I will see what needs to be done ..... it’s been way too long since the last time I put disc brakes on anything. Most of my stuff since 2001 or so has been drum brake .....
Finally got a chance to reshoot the front fenders. I picked up some slow reducer and started shooting when it was about 85 degrees. I guess we all have 20-20 hindsite ... The result was decent but the paint just does not have the sheen and they do not match the rest of the rest of the truck. It just got waaay too hot ..... You can see the color difference. So I will sand them smooth again and wait until I have some cooler temps and hopefully get a result closer to what the rest of the truck looks like. I am thinking the third time’s the charm?!?! Maybe?!?!? Lol!
Just a quick update - I had 2 cans of paint for this truck. One was used by my buddy when he did the cab, the second and newer can I have used exclusively to paint the truck here in this forum except for the front by two fenders. Last time I painted the fenders I combined what was left of the newer can I have been into the older can. The newer can was getting pretty gloppy. Both cans have the same codes and everything but different batches and perhaps my buddy who painted the cab around 15 years ago now (long running project ....) perhaps mixed reducer or flattener in the can. Unfortunately he p***ed so I don’t know for sure. I am thinking that was also one of the reasons for the difference in paint color which looked a lot like what had been on my cab. So, I got out the newer can I had been working out of (hadn’t thrown it away yet), and I have strained out what I think is enough to final shoot the front fenders. Whatever is left I will use for touch up. Another rookie mistake but I should have known better. It’s all part of the learning process no matter how old you are (as for us older guys you just have to remember what you learned! Lol!). No excuses here - just glad that I may have a way out to complete the paint job ....
I sanded the fenders down and got them ready for paint. Fortunately I lucked out on the day - sunny, about 75-80 and only about 50% humidity and virtually no wind - a great day for painting! I had s****ed out the new can of paint I had initially tossed. There was enough for 3 short paint opportunities and it was just enough. The sheen and color are back …. Once they were dry I compared the fender to the truck bed color …. The truck bed is dirty but it’s a good match compared to last time …. The only thing I can think of is that my buddy mixed in the flattener with the paint as it looked exactly like the exterior of the cab used to look. Ya win some and ya lose some. I lucked out that I had just enough paint to correct the problem. I did order another qt of paint though just in case….. I don’t know about you guys but when I run into a project problem I need to overcome or resolve it before I can move on. The painting of the front fenders were the last two pieces and I just had to see it resolved ……
Happy for you that you were able to resolve that. Stuff like that would drive me crazy until I fixed it as well.
Got some time on the project today. Filled the 700R4 torque converter with 2 qts of transmission fluid and slid it onto the shaft of the ******. This a rebuilt unit without the lockup torque converter. I had the trans and ****** ready to be bolted together when I ran out of time. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. I have to roll the truck back to have enough room to use the engine hoist and if all goes well I can swing it into the truck. Then we shall see what kind of space/clearance I have after lowering the truck cab by putting the cab mounting blocks in the right position making the nose of the cab drop 3/4” at the front mounting holes … fingers crossed …..
So I had some “free” time on Father’s Day and thought I would swing in the motor and trans combo. Bolted up the ******, torque converter bolts in, and pretty much had it all in place save for the last inch. Turns out I had a long bolt to hold the chain on the motor and I could not get it all in place as it was jammed in to the firewall. With no way to back it out or cut it, it all came back out. My “bull in a China shop syndrome popped up again - lol!
Hey, Lee - how ya been? Still kickin here (except when the latest project kicks my ****) - send me a PM when you get a chance and we can catch up …
I got the motor and trans installed in the truck today. There are some issues that I see need to be resolved- do not know how serious they are until I get down and dirty with ‘em …., At first glance the steering link is rubbing the underside of the oil pan. I will adjust the steering box more nose down and see how much that changes things …. there’s always an answer to a problem. It just depends how much work is involved to correct it! Lol!
I was able to finally get some time on the truck today and I continued work on the steering rubbing on the underside of the oil pan. Here’s what I am working with …. The rod end is on the end of the steering was angled towards the back of the truck …. I thought if I rotated the end of the steering arm so the rod end was straight up and down I might clear things better. Usually ng some stuff wire I made a template …. …. bent the end and pretty much nailed it on the first shot …. That worked out great but I still did not have good clearance. After readjusting the steering box again, I was able to lift the motor up and not have any steering joint interference issues, and with about 1 1/8” of washers, I have a good amount of clearance …. … but a ha d left turn is still pretty close with out suspension travel. Tomorrow I hope to work on it some more, simulating the p***enger side going up a driveway lip sees ng what kind of clearance I have then. I was ll also adjust the ****** mount up and hopefully gain some additional clearance. The washers will not remain as I will come up with a spacer to set the rubber biscuit on. After a 6 week layoff it took awhile to reorient myself and get back on track. There is still more house project work to do - I am just waiting for others and the weather is not good for painting doors outside right now …..
I had a small window of time today and my buddy Ben came over to look at my steering dilemma. I think he has convinced me to modify the oil pan for clearance. I have two other engines that I can have one modified from and then make the swap. I just have to make sure I have oil pump pickup clearance ….. it’s just the most logical route to take at this point (although for some reason I did not really want to do it this way). Slice and dice - that’s me! Lol!
The Jalopy Journal
