The last details.

Today I started with the fabrication of the truck-bed risers.

 These are made From a section of rectangular tube. Cover with some plates with a hole in the middle and a few bets. This way the can not sift while mounting the bed.

 Then we made a adjustment to the bottom of the a-pillar. The door was binding with it. A cut and some hammering and welding and we now have perfect clearance.

 The doors were full with holes. Some welded trough and trough.

 After some sanding I welded them shut. and then they were grind flat.

 Even the inside of the door panels had some holes. We welded them to.

 The egde on which the seat rails are mounted are screwed up.

 We removed them and straightened them on the anvil.

 Then they were welded back in place and the weld were ground flush.

 A picture from the welded holes of the other door.

 And the mount for the frame rail on the other side.

 The frame rails were completely taken apart. All parts are cleaned and then painted with some galvanic paint.

 One of the rails to mount the bottom rubber to the door had some pitting and some rusted trough spots. With a oxy-acyteleen torch I welded them with some brazing rod.

 After grinding the welds flush all I have to do is to paint them with a good filler and you can't see the difference.

 I made the missing rod for the engine compartment to connect the inner fender with the firewall.

 I drilled a small hole in the door and hinges which will function as guide holes for mounting the doors when they are painted.

 A rod for connecting the rear fender with the frame was also made.

 After the paint had dried the seat rails were mounted again. On one side I made some new axles for the seat rail the originals had to much clearance.

 The rail on the driver side.

 Now that the frame rails are back in the car I mounted the seat frame onto them.

 The lower seat cover was put in place.

 And the height for the risers was measured. I can make risers of 45 mm max. If higher is needed you will see a gap between the seat and the lower frame.

Tomorrow we will continue with the seat and do some other stuff.

Almost the last welds.

Today I started with hoisting the bed from the work bench to the floor.

 Then I could start welding the a rear fender.

 Reshaping the top cover of the running boards.

 Finishing the shaping of the front bottom airduct.

 And restoring the frame for the radiator.

 Braces are welded in place and the top brace was fabricated from scratch.

 Then I cleaned the bed of My truck and layed some wood on it so I can lay all the parts on it instead of the floor. This gives us more room to work.

All I have to do is to make some definite risers for the truck bed rails.

Truck bed metalwork

This morning I started with putting the other side of the bed together.
The rail on the inside of the panel was installed and welded on with the spotwelder.

 The top tube of the last panel was cut and tacked on the new panel.

 And then the welding was started. The whole seem was welded with the mig in alternating sequences. After the welding was done it was ground flush and then it was straightened with a oxy-acetelyn torch.

 Then the back panel was attacked. The seem where it was welded was cut off and the lower panel was discarded.

 The new panel which I bent yesterday was then welded in place  and ground flus and straightened.

 Then the place was cleaned up for the next step.

 The  workbench has swiveling feet and is was leveled. Trestle's were put in place and leveled with the bench.

 Al this to be able to put the truck-bed together. All holes were drilled the side are mounted together with bolts and then welded ( only the rear rail).

 Then the tailgate was installed in place and the hinges are put in the right location and the holes were drilled. After some final welding and drilling some more holes the truck bed is finished.

Making some parts.

Today we started with the fabrication of the rear bumper struts.
So I started with milling a slot in the four pieces of flat stock my colleague bought yesterday.

 Then I installed the rear piece of the bed to be able to mount the rear splash guard above the bumper. Now i have a reference point to take my measurements.

Then I started shaping the first bar. and with that one as a mold I made a mirror of the first for the other side.

 Then the second bar is made .

 Measurements are taken to cut the bars to length and drill the mounting holes. And after some fitting and bending the fit nicely.

In order to finish the bed I had to disassemble the parts already mounted.

 With some precut metal strips I went to work where I was able to cut the parts to the correct size and bent it like they should. After I went back to my shop I first started with drilling the holes in the L-shaped rail.

 At work I also made a new piece for the back panel of the bed.

 The parts that need to be welded together are then sanded and coated with a galvanic paint.

 The corners for the side panels are then clamped to the panel with some claps and the welding could begin. The first corner is done .

 When both corners were welded on I turned it over to weld the L-shape to the panel.

 This is the finished result so far.

 The round tube like top section was cut-off the old panel.

 And then tacked to the new panel with a Mig welder.

The rest of this story will be for tomorrow.