Projects My roadster pickup project.

Super cool !!!!!!!!!!!

 

looks great! coming along well Don,

I saw your post of dan's quarter eliptic setup in another thread - totally using it as a guide for my next build.

 

Thanks guys. Lamb, let me know how your quarter eliptic setup works out.

I haven't done anything on my rpu for a while so tonight I decided to start making the bed sides out of 18 gauge. I cut out the piece I needed with a nibler, then scribed lines on it where it would need bent up in the brake. But before I did the bending I rolled a simple bead pattern in the side to give it some detail and to strengthen it.

The platform and fence I made for the bead roller really helped and I was able to do it all by myself, something that would have been hard to do before. Once the bead was rolled I bent the lip on the top edge as well as the "wing", then I put one at the very bottom to stiffen it even more.

It is nothing elaborate, just a simple bed side, and I will bend up some stake pockets, one for the front of each side and one for the back. We have decided it will be just as easy to make new ones as it is to modify the ones I already have.

Tomorrow I will make a duplicate for the other side, and then I can start making the front panel and the tailgate. Here are some pictures from tonight.

Don





I temporarily clamped the bed side to the frame, but this is not where it will sit. It will actually go much closer to the tire. I just wanted to see how the height looked.

 

Damb skippy

 

Looks excellent so far Don


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hey Don, I might have missed it but will ask, what gas tank are you running?

 

Thanks guys. Lamb, I think I will be running a spun aluminum tank from Speedway, like I ran on the back of my 23, except I may use the 8 inch diameter instead of the 10 incher. However, I ran into a guy at a swap meet who makes custom aluminum tanks and he can make them in any shape and dimensions. I may be able to tuck one down below the floor in the bed, but I have suspension and a battery fighting for space there too. Once I get the bed all done I will have a better idea of which way I have to go.

Don

 

Snazzy looking bed sides Don. Nice to see some detail in them.

I was down in Clearwater this past weekend. Damn you guys have some nice weather in Florida! The babes aren't bad either.

 

Here are a couple still hanging around and being used as daily drivers.
Normbc9

 

I shall stay tuned Don, great build

-Owen-

 

Great build. Are you thinking about using a rear hoop?

 

Thanks again, guys. sstock, not sure exactly what you mean by rear hoop ?

Don

 

Don,the lil truck is really starting to come together,,I really like the style. HRP

 

Roll bar Don.

 

Thanks HRP. Ah, ok sstock. I am still on the fence about a roll bar. Once I get the bed done and on I will have a better idea.

Don

 

Keep us posted , really like your ideas and build.

 

Tonight I got the second bed side bent up and the beads rolled into it. I was pretty happy to see it was dimensionally an exact copy of the first side. Seems no matter how carefully you measure it is hard to make two of something exactly the same size and shape, but I lucked out somehow.

The next step will be to make a tailgate and a front panel then I can start making an internal framework to give the bed some strength. I will probably use 1 x 1 thin wall box tubing for that part of the build.

Here is where I ended up tonight.







I put the plywood tailgate back in place and drew an outline of where I am going to roll a bead to match the ones on the sides. I trial fitted a license plate and although I usually use a Hollywood license light this time I think I am going to use two very old license lights off of some unknown car. I have had them laying around forever and I think one on each side of the plate will look good.




I think for the stake pockets I am going to make something different than the traditional ones. I want to cap the open area on the wing to finish it off, and I think I can make a nice stake pocket with holes drilled in it so it will match the headlight/shock mounts on the front of the car. I have an idea in my head that I think will look good.

Tomorrow night I will probably bend up the tailgate and front panel and get the bed cleco'd together so I can see what I have. Once that is done I can roll the car outside and then stand way back and see how I like the height and proportions.

One other thing I am thinking about is making two T shaped pushbars for the rear to dress it up a little and give me some protection back there. Also, I am kicking aroung not using the louvered panel I have as a tonneau cover, but instead using it as a bed floor. It might look cool to have an open bed with a bunch of louvers on the floor itself.

Here is the panel I may cut up for the bed floor.



Don

 

Dig that license plate! The bed is looking great, Don. Keep at it.


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Thanks, TS. I had that plate on my 27 for years and years. The first question people always asked was "Is this a kit ?" But after I got the vanity plate I would just tell them to read it.......saved a lot of answering.

Don

 

But Don, if you use a floor with holes in it all your sand will fall through

It is a truck, isn't it?

 

Love following your project.
Have you considered a fabric tarp with snaps? May be more fitting for a hot rod truck, a louvered bed cover or floor could maybe look too race car like. Just my opinion of course.

 

I think the louvered panel for the floor would look pretty cool considering it is going to be a pretty shallow bed in the first place. Really nice work Don.

 

I have considered that too, Rich. Nothing is set in stone yet.

Yep, it is only going to be about 5.5 inches deep from the bottom of the wings to the floor. I even considered not running a tailgate, just a panel that continues down from the floor, like Littleman has on his drag truck.

Actually Striper, I was thinking more along the lines of big cheese grater.


Don

 

Don, I think that louvered panel could be a problem for you in your bed.

You should just send it to me I could find a use for it. Think tonneau cover for my RPU

Larry.

 

Haha, it's in the mail, Larry. Hope they don't lose it enroute. you know how the USPS is.


Tonight I made the tailgate piece for the bed. I bent a one inch lip all around it, and rolled some beads to match the ones in the sides. I decided to drop the license plate down lower, and will find some cool old frame for it, maybe at Turkey Run or on Ebay.



I terminated the lower two beads just short of the little license lights I am going to use. They say Fomoco on them, so they are evidently from some Ford product, but I have no idea where I got them or what year they are from. For this car they should be pretty nice though.








Tomorrow I will bend up the front panel, and then I can start making the skeleton to reinforce it all, and then I can make the stake pockets.

Don

 

Looks good so far Don.

 

Those are rad little lights they go well with the rad little truck

 

Thanks, guys. One thing I have to do is clean up the lenses on the lights. They are crimped into the housing so I can't remove them to clean them up. I have heard of soaking them in a muriatic acid mixture but I am afraid what it would do to the stainless or chrome (not sure which yet) housings. Anyone have any experience, maybe another product ?

Don

 

Don,
If that lens is a form of plastic I suggest you try the Number 2 Scratch Remover from Novus.
It's made for plexiglass and does a great job with little work.
Love your work, as usual....
Joe