Projects 50 chevy truck-slow progress

Well I screwed up, I just finished painting the front fenders, and tried to bolt them on.... don't fit, looks like they are for a BIG truck.

They now are for sale, cheap........or trade....
I don't know how I did not see this.

 

Alright/OK, I bought new fenders, & grill(chrome and white)- sold the wrong fenders to a guy putting them on a one-ton, so I need to do some body work on the seams to smooth them.
Question- should I remove the coating they came with or can I scuff it good with 80grit and prime over? I have heard of some adhesion issues. Also how should I finish the undersides? Undercoating?

 

I used 320 on them to cut the e-coat then primed all over to block sand them out using a guide coat.
As for the seams, make sure you hammer dolly the correct shape to match stock contour and weld the seams fully before filling. They will crack after paint if not solid.
These are aftermarket fenders. A lot of work but no rust.

 

Yea, I thought about welding them, just thinking about the paint underneath. At least there aren't any rusty holes and dents to fill.

 

I left the underside as is. That e-coat is pretty tough.
If it`s a daily driver I would spray rubberized undercoating to keep the noise and rock chips down.
It would take a pretty big rock to dent those fenders from underneath.

 

Your paint looks great-

 

I had the underside of my fenders an running boards an cab sprayed with speed liner spray on bed liner to seal them up an cut down on a lil road noise.,.

 

Thanks.
Lots of sanding and buffing.
Basecoat/clearcoat DuPont Indigo Blue Metallic.

 

I have been picking away at the small stuff- wiring and redoing things I see now won't work right. I started building a battery box, it will sit behind the seat, so needs to be sealed. The first try I made from mdf and plexi- and hated it- so I chucked it into the fire, and started an alum one- but soon saw that I would have to pay to have it welded and pop rivets wouldn't work. Now the third try- steel- angle iron strap and 20 gauge- still need to make the top and finish welding , but looks pretty good so far. My son gave me a old sign that I cut up and will put in front of the steel panel.

 

Well I have been busy, my bud Doc G came over helped me hang the hood and fenders, not easy. I will be lining up the fenders and the lower pan, then the grill goes in then trying to aling eveything. Also started to install the air ride compressor and tank.

 

Krap! The grill is giving me fits.... nothing fitting right... frustrating. I'm taking a break from it for a while, before I push it to the curb and dump it.

 

Well I have been picking away at the finishing details, like welding the spring perches, and having to buy one new u-bolt when a nut decided to seize. but getting closer- actually drove around the block- still need to rebleed brakes and align and tighten front end, I will prob leave the sheet metal alignment till later when I am calm about it.

 

Will the Carnage never cease?
I have been chasing very poor idle and ticking after I had a frost plug blow out, I had finally ruled out the carb and distributor and put a vac gauge on and it was going from 0 to 12 very fast. Decided to pull the valve cover- got the plugs out- #5 cylinder plug smashed, pulled cover- #5 exhaust valve stuck down, push rod very slight bend. Well now time to pull the head-
That is the top of the valve stuck sideways in the seat, must have been bouncing around because-
top of piston is scoured. also looks like #1 exhaust valve is bent and was smacking the piston too. Hopefully the head is savable.
This was a pretty fresh rebuild, but the water holes seem clogged up with black sandy junk, could it be old casting sand that loosened? It looked clean when I assembled it. Maybe next time I will run the pressure washer in each hole first?