My little mule, Pe'pe

[chuzie]

Can someone say NovRun! I am very pleased with your progress. Looking forward to being your panel sanding beotch!

Sent from my GS3 on Cyanogenmod with the older / better version of Tapatalk!

[broncomatt]

Got some done this week, no pics since that would be counter productive. Finished putting in the seat belt bar and then pulled the engine cage out, the spare tire mount and main cage. They can be prepped for paint now. I then started on the body work. The dash is almost ready, for spot putty. I started on the right rear quarter next. Stripping it down and then refinishing it properly. I am now reminded how much I hate body work.

[chuzie]

I really want to help with the body work Matt. It is the one area I feel I could stand to learn more about. I head back home next Monday. Let's get together!

Sent from my GS3 on Cyanogenmod with the older / better version of Tapatalk!

[broncosbybart]

That is a good offer right there! Sounds like you're keeping after it. When do you want to have it done by?

[broncomatt]

chuzie

I will be sure to take you up on your offer to help, once things are farther along I will figure out a weekend we can get together, THANKS!!
My deadline is for spring 2016, in time to make the 50th events next year. Really trying to take the time to build this right so I will be going back in to sand blast some rust off the seams and reseal. Really want to paint by the end of april.
I will have a set of doors for sale soon, going a different way with my door plans so if anyone needs a good set hit me up.

[broncomatt]

Well I have made some more progress, not all of it good. I am going to use the soft upper doors that were on the roadster so I stripped my old doors, cut the rest of the frame off and welded a plate over the OE slot. The next step would be to drill and weld the tube in to accept the upper frames. I decided to mount the door to be sure the frame is exactly where I want it. This is when I found out the true shape of the tub. The door was off on the bottom more than can be achieved by normal adjustment. I installed the other door to be sure of my suspicions. Then I mounted the fenders and hood and grill. I went back to the photos of the tub when I first got the truck. The roadster's tub (ok the whole truck) had been dragged on the drivers side and the front clip was hit hard on the passenger side. So much so the fenders and grill were junk and I had to beat the quarters into some shape to skim coat them. The tub is twisted on both rear quarters and the front end is shifted to the drivers side. So to get the doors in line I'm going to put some relief cuts in the C pillars and pull till I get the numbers I'm looking for. Then I will pull the front end over to set the front end. I was hoping to be farther along with the body work but I'm glad I caught this before I wasted too much time on other aspects of the body prep. The good news is with some sand blasting the doors can be patched up, I found one spot in the tailgate that will need a patch. The grill is in better shape than I thought and with some hammer and dolly work it came into shape quick. Just need to skim coat and start sanding.
The other step I'm getting ready for is to put the rear fender flares on. I'm going to do things different (what a surprise huh!), I have been looking at the 3M panel adhesive. It is often used to put quarter panels and non structural body parts on cars for years. I'm going to try putting the flares on with that, not rivets. I will use a few machine bolts to hold the flares in place and secure till the epoxy cures. Then fill those holes in. Stay tuned....

[broncomatt]

Well after much cutting and pulling I have the main part back in shape. I have been hammering and bondo where I can to bring it back into shape. I got to the point to spray primer for the first time. I still have some filler to spread and lots of sanding to do. But getting much closer. The doors have several small patches to put in and the patch to the tailgate has one large one. I hope to have all those patches in and sanded down this week. I need to hang the doors and tailgate and smooth those out too. The grill just needs skim coated and then I can see if the fenders are where I want them. The last thing to strip will be the hood.
I'm very happy with the dash, just one little spot to finish it up. The push is on, I need to get this painted by the end of April. Other wise the humitity will be to high.
The cage, engine cage and swing away are all awaiting sand blasting and painting.

[chuzie]

So what ended up happening with the misaligned door?

Sent from my GS3 on Cyanogenmod with the older / better version of Tapatalk!

[broncomatt]

So what ended up happening with the misaligned door?

Sent from my GS3 on Cyanogenmod with the older / better version of Tapatalk!

I got a little crazy, I put some cuts in the B pillar and used 12ton ratchet straps to pull the quarters in the direction I needed. Once it sat for a while to loose the metal memory I then welded the cut back together. One other thing I found was that when I put the hinge post in on the pass side it ended too narrow at the top. While I was pulling the quarter I used my fancy tool (a scissor jack welded to 4" square stock) to spread the door jamb where I wanted it.
I also pulled the from end over, but the metal memory was too strong and it still came back some. I will try again once the grill is mounted since its only off by 1/8".

[Crawdad]

I pray to get all my panels within an 1/8"!!!!!