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.?