exterior buildup

Here are some "in progress" shots of the exterior work, a detailed write-up and additional pics coming soon.

These are some "before and after" shots of some of the body work.

These are pictures that were taken after the cab was soda blasted and epoxy primed.

The cab has returned from the painter and is back home where it belongs...on the frame!

I just got back the entire front clip and both doors from my painter. I hope to have them installed very soon.

These are pictures of the C-channels I fabricated and will be welding to the underside of the bed where I had to notch the cross sills for shackle and fuel sender clearance. While I was at it, I also fabricated some stake pocket fillers since they too will be getting welded shut.

Here are a few pictures with the core support, and the components on it, installed.

These pictures were taken after being stripped down to bare metal via media blasting. As you can see, the bed itself is very clean, but has had LOTS of holes drilled in it by previous owners. It was obvious the truck had a topper and/or camper on it at one time, as evident by the holes atop the bed rails, inside the bed (wiring I assume), and thru the sides of the bed (hold downs). Plans for the bed call for shaved stake pockets, shaved gas doors (one was non-factory...and badly "closed up"), all non factory holes welded closed, and a new front bed panel. The bed will be painted yellow inside and out, with the inside bed floor being lined with yellow Line-X or Rhino liner...haven't decided which one yet.

While the bed is out of the garage at the body shop, I had some space and time to work on the truck itself. I purchased some BFGoodrich tires for the Weld Pro Stars I already had, got them mounted, and got the truck off the jack stands for the first time in over five years! This is the wheel and tire package I will be running... know it is old school and not quite the trend of today, but I like them and that's how it's going to be.