Paint Colors Choosen

Finally made the decision on the paint colors.
The bottom of the truck will be painted Mercedes Iridium Silver and the top half and dash will be painted Bright Atlantic Blue. That is a Ford color. I personally think it will look nice when completed. Hopefully should be completely painted by this coming summer. This sample doesn't show the metallic in both paints. It really pops in the sun
Merry Christmas to you all. Been another great year.

Preping cab for paint

Went to Quincy last week to get some 1/2 pints of paint to do a test spray. Got the silver and three different colors of blue for Jeff to sample spray. Jeff has part of the cab body work done and the doors are close to being ready for paint. He will spray all the colors on a panel and then call me to come down for a look see.
The silver will be Mercedes Iridium Silver. The three choices for the blue are a Mercedes dark blue,  One called Laser Blue, which is a newer Chevy color, and one call Brilliant Atlantic Blue which is a Ford color.
Did a little more research on a roll pan for the rear of the truck bed. May buy one off E-BAY and modify it. Got to put my thinking cap on for this one.

Bed Panels back together

Spent the last two warm days putting the bed back together.  I first cleaned up the cross pieces the bed mounts on and welded in some caged nuts to make putting it together a little easier.  Then I brought the pieces in and painted them black to match the frame.
Got all the panels attached and welded up the top round holes in the tailgate to smooth it up.
While I was waiting for paint to dry, I mounted the radiator overflow tank I got from Yogi's.  Fits off the drivers side of the fan guard. Looks pretty good there.
After looking at the rear of the box, I'm thinking maybe it needs a roll pan.  I think I can make one myself, but I don't have any way to roll the metal. I will have to look into that.
Looks like the good weather is gone, so will have to find things to do inside for a while.

Cab goes to Paint

Got a call from my painter Sunday night and he said to bring the cab down .
Called my friends Bob Ertzinger and Dean Long to help me pull the cab back off the chassis and load it on my little trailer. They showed up this morning in 32 degree weather and loaded the cab and cab doors. Picked up Tony Cetta on the way for more beef to unload everthing. Tony has been very instrumental in getting this paint job done. The painter, Jeff Crow, lives and works out of his home just south of Warsaw Illinois. We got the cab and doors unloaded and in Jeff's work area about noon today.  Lots of talk about the job and colors and some other car stuff BS.  Jeff will smooth out everything and block sand til he drops. He may have to wait until spring to actually shoot the cab. It's got to be a warm day when that happens.
When the Cab is done, we will bring the chassis down along with the bed attached for the next phase. Fenders and hood will follow.
I finished doing the welding on the truck bed yesterday and now need to put it back together on the chassis.
I may bring the bench seat in next and start pulling it apart. Need to figure out the upholstery soon.
Would like to rebuild the seat for a more cushy ride.
I'm a happy boy today. "Daddy's Little Fatty" may run this next year. Whoot, Whoot!

Bed Boards Finished

I ended up putting four coats of the spray Spar Urethane on the bed boards, sanding with a 500 grit pad in-between coats. I was going to wax them today but after doing the back of one board, it kind of dulled the finish a little so I thought, that's enough on these boards. Lets move on.
The cold got me last week and I didn't finish welding the tear drops in the drivers side bed panel. The weather person says 40 degrees today so we will see. I would like to get that finished up.
Then maybe some polishing stainless pieces.
Oh the joy.

Beside Teardrops

Made some filler pieces for the front and back of the bedsides. They are called teardrops. Got the right side done yesterday and finishing up the left side today.
Have to make a trip into town to get some Helmsman Spar Urethane spray. I first bought a quart of it and was going to use that on the bed boards with a paint brush. I had a couple of spray cans left over from another project and thought the spray would even out better with less foreign particles being injected in the surface. After re-sanding the last POR-15 coat I sprayed the first coat on the back of the boards. Right away, I noticed the finish was flattening out. I looked at the can and saw it said semi gloss. Soooo, now I'm headed to town. Mistakes have been made. Now to straighten them up. (again).

Workin the Doors

Painted the insides of the cab doors with Internal frame spray from Eastwood. They send you a special flexible tube that hooks to the spray can and the nozzle has 4 holes in it to give a bigger spray pattern.  The flexible tube lets you get into the corners.
I also sprayed the window roller pieces with some green I had left over from another project. May have to change that or re-spray them with a different color even though they wont be seen inside the door.  I would know what was in there. Maybe bad dreams.
Back to the bed boards soon for the Spar Urethane.

POR-15 on bed boards

Got the three coats of POR-15 applied to the bed boards . Now I have to let them cure for 4 or 5 days. Then I will sand again lightly and put 2 or three coats of Spar Urethane on them.
Meanwhile, I brought the cab doors in today. Will clean up the interior and paint with a rust preventative I got at Eastwood. Need to do a little more work on the doors before their ready for paint.

Sanding the bed boards

Got a little way laid again. My best helper (Nancy), had a total right knee replacement last week and I am now the caregiver. She is doing great with her recuperation. Should be back on the vacuum cleaner soon.
Got the sanding done on the bed boards and will start the finish process tomorrow.
I will put on three coats of POR-15 Clear Coat at four to five hour intervals. Sanding with 220 grit in-between coats. That has to set and cure for about four or five days. Then we add three more coats of Helmsman Clear Gloss Spar Urethane, sanding lightly in-between coats. Then they can be set aside for final installation.
After that the cab doors come inside to get the interior of the doors painted for rust protection.
Man, it's cold outside.

Gas Filler and Tailgate Straps

Got the holes drilled  in the hood for the Stainless side strips. The hood looks good now except I found one spot welded nut missing, so have to weld another in it's place. Then the hood is ready to go to the painter.
Worked on installing the pop-up fuel door in the bed. Made some router jigs to inlay the door into the wood bed. I think it turned out pretty good.
Also applied the tailgate straps that keep the tailgate from flopping all the way down. That was a fairly simple operation. I don't know how strong the straps are, but seem pretty tough. Anyway, nobody should be setting on it. If they do, their toast.
Took all the wood bed pieces back out and will put a finish on them in my wood shop, later, where it is warmer.
Need to put a coat of rust proof paint on the inside of the doors next.
Winter is catching up with me. Not many good days left. Hurry, Hurry, Hurry.

The Good Hood

Finished sandblasting the top of the hood yesterday and blasted the rest of the hood parts today. That may be the last of the sandblasting on this project, and that won't hurt my feelings. Found out the holes for the side stainless pieces on the hood were welded up on this one. Now have to decide if I want the bling or go without it. Think I like it with the bling, so will have to re-drill the holes. 
Tailgate straps from Yogi's came in the mail today so will have to attach them and inlay the fuel door in the wood bed. Also making some teardrops to weld on the ends of the bed sides when I take it back apart.

Replacement Hood

Got the replacement hood this last week. Came in by bus from Sioux City. Looks better than the first one I had pictures of. Unwrapped it and got the bottom side sandblasted a couple days ago. Took yesterday off and Bob and I took the original Ford rear box to Ottumwa where we met a nice guy named Doug and his dad, who bought the box for his Ford F1 project. Doug also brought picture of the Cobra replica that he built. All I can say is it looks awesome. Had a good time chatting with him and his dad about gearhead stuff. Another good road trip.
Gonna take Nancy for a Harley ride today as the weather is still great. Looks like I will have to buy lunch also. Then I will sandblast the top of the hood.
.

Bed and Fenders

My friend Bob came down and helped me yesterday and we got a lot more done.   Got the new shorter gas tank fill neck and installed it. The gas cap will be under to bed boards now. Ordered a billet flip up gas cover that I will inlay into the bed boards. Also ordered some tailgate straps to keep the tailgate from flopping all the way down. Got the new tailgate spring loaded latches installed. I like them really well.. Have to make some round and teardrop filler pieces for the ends of the box and tailgate. I will weld them in and smooth them up.  Once all that is done, I can take the box all back apart and clean it up for paint..
The replacement hood should be here tomorrow. The guy said he sent me a better one than the one he sent pictures of. We'll see tomorrow. It's got to be better than the one I have now.

Some parts here and some parts coming

Got the rubber pads that go between the frame and bed and the special bolts and washers for mounting the bed. Got the tailgate latches ordered. I found out they are actually for aircraft canopies. Found a hood in Alvord, Iowa.  Should be coming by bus the first of next week. Looks pretty good in the pictures. Will see how good it is after I sandblast it next week. I still need to decide on a hinge or cable set up to hold the tailgate when it is open and then get it ordered.
Meanwhile I have been working on the back fenders again. The old bed had a bead in the side panels and the new bed is flat. The fenders were made to fit the bead. Sooo, I had to weld in a 1/4 inch wide adder piece along the edge of both fenders. About 70 inches of welding on both sides of the adder pieces. Then a whole lot of grinding after the welding. Not perfect, but I think they will work. I put on the first coat of filler and need to smooth that out.
New shorter gas tank neck should be here tomorrow and then I can finish fitting the red oak boards.
Car show in Quincy tomorrow. I'm going.   Someday I will drive my truck there.

New Bed

Started putting the new bed  together this week. Got all the metal mounted and drilled holes to mount the front piece to the side pieces. Cross and tail pieces are in. Mounted the tail gate. Want to use some kind of hidden tailgate latches and do away with the chains. Researching that now. As you can see in the pictures, I had my best helper on duty again. She even put on her apron so she wouldn't get dirty.
Did a mock-up on the red oak flooring. Looks to be nice wood. Got the two outside pieces laying in place. now have to drill a bunch of mounting holes along each side. All the rest of the mounting bolts will go in-between the boards. The stainless skid runners have a protective coating on them now so they won't get marked up.
Ordered the pads that go between the bed and frame and four other special bolts and washers for hold downs.
Looks like I will have to get a shorter gas tank fill neck to go under the wood floor. Then will have to make a trap door to access the fill.
Still trying to find a different hood. No luck yet, but have a lot of feelers out.
I'm glad I went with the new bed.  It's been nice getting back at it

Time to get started again

Well, I was a great summer. Spent 2 months on Lake Pend O'reille in northern Idaho on Nancy's sailboat. Saw lots of family and friends and had a great time.
Finally got back in the garage last week. Got the hood sandblasted and found some disturbing things under the paint and Bondo. Big patch on the nose that I think I can live with. The worst part is a lot of rusted through pin holes showed up. Been doing some research on how to fix them. I'm afraid to start welding them up as I might blow bigger holes than is there now. Most of them are about the size of a pencil lead or smaller. There's a bunch of them all over the hood. Not just in one spot. I have even started looking for a new hood on the internet. No luck yet.  While I try to figure that out, I will start putting the new bed together. It has some surface rust that also needs attention.  Will start on that tomorrow.

Painting may start soon????

Time for some play time.

Tomorrow Nancy and I head to Idaho with the sailboat for two months. Been working this last week on getting the boat ready for the trip. When we return in September I think the painting will start on the F1. A little more work on finalizing the colors but should end up being silver on the bottom and blue on the top.
We will be at Pond Oreille lake just north of Coeur 'd alene, Idaho and about 45 miles East of Spokane where three of our kids live.
If anyone is reading this, hope you have a great summer. We will be back in a couple of months.

A little primer finally

As stated before, I have been working the mud on the front fenders. Lots of mud and lots of sanding.
My friend Bob came down yesterday and we set up a temporary paint booth outside to do some priming.  Bob was the mixer and I was the painter. We shot the front inner fender wells, the upper and lower front  fenders and a few other front end pieces before we ran out of primer. Sure was  a lot easier with the two of us. At least this will keep the rust away for a while until the real painter gets going. That should happen within a few months.
Now I need to take the hood apart and strip all the paint off it. There are still a lot of pieces to get ready and prime yet. At least we got a good start yesterday..
Got to take my grandson Parker home tomorrow or at least to Chicago so he can fly home to Seattle. I think he had a good time here in Iowa.
Forth of July coming up this weekend. Headed to Cedar Rapids to spend the weekend with family.
On the 11th of July we pull the boat out to Idaho for a couple months. Looks like the F1 will sit for a while. Hopefully the real painting will start when we get back in September.

More Fender Work

Well, Hannah and I did jump out of a plane last week and it was a gas. I think Hannah will remember that the rest of her life. It was the second time for me and yes, I would do it again.
More work on the fenders. Doing some mud work with Evercote Metal 2 Metal. Had to get another quart today. Will apply more today and then some sanding. Then I will prime them and get them ready for the painter. He will do more mudding, sanding and blocking before the actual paint is applied.
Got the grandson Parker here from Seattle for a couple of weeks, so a few more distractions ahead.

More Fender Repair

Worked on the right fender which has more rusted out areas than the left one. Anyway, have all the rust cut out and new metal welded back in. Needs a lot more grinding and clean up before the mudding begins. Glad I decided to go with the metal fenders. Took more time than I thought to do the repair.
Gonna take a few days off and head to Minneapolis. Gonna jump out of an airplane with my granddaughter Hannah on Wednesday. 14,000 feet. Hannah and I have been planning this for the last 13 years. She's 18 years old now and just graduated from High School.
I wonder how high I will bounce.
These are tandem jumps by the way. We want to make sure someone pulls the cord to open the chutes on the way down. Yes, we are going to film it.

Boogie til ya Puke!

Paint Test

After talking to my friend Tony Cetta, we thought a trip to the paint store would be a good thing to look at chips. My friend Bob and I picked up Tony and headed to Quincy where the store, Jeff the painter, uses is located. Remember I had decided on Mercedes Iridium Silver. Well after looking at about a million chips I decided on a Light silver called Sun Light silver. Can't tell them apart, and it's also less expensive.. On Jeff and Tony's suggestion I bought a half pint to test shoot.  We took it to Jeff and he set up an old door panel and shot the color. Jeff says silver is hard to shoot as it can tiger strip and mottle. Even so, he said don't worry about the problems shooting it, just choose the color I want. We also talked again about doing a two tone. After thinking on it for a couple of days and doing more internet research I'm back to two tone blue on top and silver on the bottom If it comes out like I think, I will be awesome.

Left Front Fender Almost Ready for Mud

Cut, Grind, cut some more, grind, weld, weld, grind, hammer, ----- you get the picture. Test fit of the left front fender went pretty well. needs more clean up and then the mud work.
Meanwhile, I am already started on the right fender. It is in a lot worse shape than the first one.
I will cut, grind, weld, grind, hammer, grind, ---- you get the picture.

Metal Work 101

My friend Rubber Toes Droz says " Patients is a waste of time",  but in this case, I think it helps. Been working the cancerous metal on the left front top fender the last few days. Sandblasted the fender first, then tackled the bottom back of the fender first. The whole bottom was gone so used the fiberglass ones as a template guide to form new material. That part didn't look to bad and with some Mud filler,  we will see. Next came what I thought would be the hardest part to reform. Made a flange first using the fiberglass again as a pattern. Cut out the bad part and hand formed a new piece welding a little at a time. Got the flange all ground down and still have more grinding on the face to do. Will finish up that tomorrow and tackle the last cancer spot. Then it will be test fit time for that side. Still have the right one to go.  I think I see a lot of mud (Bondo) in my future.

New Truck Bed

Removed all the pieces of the new truck bed from the box and started to do a quick mock-up to make sure all parts were there and initial fitment. Looked like it would be easier to put together by doing it upside down. Got the side pieces together with the three cross pieces. Then came the front panel. It didn't look like it fit at all. Finally, I called Midwest Early Ford and got Brian on the phone and told him my dilemma. Sounds like he has answered the same questions many times. Found out I was going at it all wrong and he got me pointed in the right direction. I asked him why they don't send out directions with the kit?  He stated, they just haven't had time to do that and besides they thought other companies would steal their efforts. I thought to myself, so what, you would have a lot less phone calls to deal with. Maybe I should make some up and GIVE them to them. HA. Anyway, I will now let the bed rest (pun intended) until I get the fender situation figured out. Gonna work on the metal ones and see if my skills improve.

The good, the good and the not so good

Been up and down with the front fender issue. Don't know how this will work out yet, but I think we are making forward progress. The fenders will probably be a combination of both steel and fiberglass.
Jeff Crow, the fellow that will do the paint and friend Tony Cetta came up to check out how I was coming with the sheet metal, and gave me more tips on fitting the fenders. Also on priming the new bed.
On a brighter note, the new Torq Thrust ll  17x7 PVD wheels are here. I mocked up a shot with Nancy and the wheels, then told her they were a Mothers day present. Now have to decide on tires.  Also the new complete truck bed showed up yesterday, from Midwest Early Ford. Just took the lid off the box. Haven't had time to look at it in depth yet, but looks like it is going to be nice.
Enough chit chat, got to get to work or this thing will never get done.

The fear of fiberglass

My friend Bob came down last week and was helping me work at fitting the front fiberglass fenders. After fumbling with that for a few hours, nothing was going right. It looked like there was no possibility in lining everything up. Told Bob I was frustrated and was going back to repairing the metal fenders. I did some more patch work on the two lower parts as they are smaller and easier to work with. After patch work was done, I bolted them up to the front nose section. Didn't look too bad from 40 feet, but after making a template off the flange of the lower fiberglass piece I could see that the metal ones had been bent so bad and very lumpy, that it was  going to take more skill than I had to make them right.
My next idea was to use the fiberglass lower section and the metal top piece.. I did a bunch of measuring and some cutting, (cutting your first fiberglass is a bit scary) and fit them in place. Went pretty good and looked even better than the metal ones. Okay, if they fit pretty good, how about working with the fiberglass top pieces. That's where I  am now. Got a few bolts in so far. My friend Roger says "Patience is a waste of time".  It does take a lot of time.
Gonna take a break and go play golf tomorrow.

Front end metal on

Filled a bunch of holes in the inner fender wells and fixed some rips. Still need some mud work on them but will do that later. The center grill piece needed work and after re-sandblasting it I found one side bracket (one inch angle about 18 inches long) rusty, pitted and partially gone. Fabricated a new piece and welded it in. Put all the sheet metal back on the front with all the bolts in place. I put the left side upper and lower metal fenders temporarily in place to see how it was going to fit and look.
Today I will try my luck at fitting the new fiberglass fenders to the right side. Don't want to drill all those holes in the wrong place. Wish me luck. Gonna rain today.

Something is not right

Weather is finally starting to cooperate. Had to do some yard honey do's first but went back to the garage this last week. Something wasn't looking right with the front mock-up. The front wheels were no where near being centered in either the metal or fiberglass fenders. I decided I needed to put the cab back on and start from square one. My friend Bob came down and after taking all the sheet metal back off the front end, we got Nancy to help us put the cab back on. The inner fender wells were not lining up correctly. We measured the distance between the front and back wheels to make sure the new front suspension hadn't altered measurements. Come to find out, with Bob's help, that I had attached the inner fenders to the wrong holes. They have three different sets of holes punched for different engines. (V8" and straight 6's). Also had to loosen up the radiator frame to bring the right holes in alignment. Looking better now. I have been filling holes that are not needed in the inner panels and will try to make them look better than they are now.  They are rust pitted and mounting holes are elongated and ripped out. After I get them straightened out, then I can start adding other front end sheet metal. Looks more like a truck with the cab back on.

Will this cold weather ever end?

Did a two week stint in Washington DC, house sitting in February, and taking care of a great Yellow Lab. Saw a lot of museums, war memorials and the capitol.  Didn't see anyone working in the capitol except the tour guides. Typical I think. Still, it was a great gig.
Anyway, did get a couple of days in on the F1 this last week. I thought I would update the blog this morning as it is still 35 degrees out.
Began by mocking up the front end sheet metal. I started doing a little patch work on one of the lower fenders. If it turns out somewhat decent I may try to tackle the main front fenders. Yes, I did buy fiberglass ones but may change my mind again. Would be nice to say it is ALL metal.  We will see just how good my skills are improving.
Now, when are those Canadians gonna quit pushing that cold air south.?

Back from Panama

Spent 5 weeks in Darkland Bay, near Bocas Tel Toro Panama, house setting and taking care of a great dog named Turbo over Christmas and New years. The weather was great.
Got home a couple weeks ago to very cold weather. Been working on two more rocking chairs in my wood shop until the weather breaks. Looks like a couple more weeks of cold ahead. Just finished gluing the back legs to the seats and while waiting for the glue to dry, I am working on the back splats. Long way to go on the chairs yet.
Got some good news on the truck.  Made arrangements to paint the truck this spring or summer. Will do the cab first so I can get it back on the frame and start the wiring. Would like to get the engine started and broke in this year. The fellow that will do the painting is Jeff Crow. He lives about 40 miles south of me in Warsaw Illinois. He does beautiful work.  This was arranged with the help of Bob Ertzinger and Tony Cetta, two very good friends.  The color has been decided and will be Mercedes Iridium Silver. I've decided on a single color. I was going to do a two tone with dark blue on top. Decided against that and will do some pin striping instead.  Anxious to get started again. The front sheet metal needs to be addressed and the hood still needs to be sandblasted. A lot of work to do before the painting gets started.
Oh yes, I still have the bed to do too. Oh yes, and Nancy wants to do more traveling this year.
I may have to start working a second shift. I think the pay is the same.