Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Looks great Vic

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thanks, Scott ...you're making great progress also. The Porterbuilt stuff is very nice quality and you've been getting the details done right too!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Great job Vic, love your attention to detail.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thank you Vic, I am taking notes from your build. I will be doing a frame alignment also once I get everything installed and painted.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

This morning we went to "Grandparents/Special Friends Day" for a little buddy of ours that lives down the street. We share a mutually entertaining afternoon and evening once a week with him, so we were very pleased when we got the invitation. When we returned home, there was a message on the machine that the driveshaft was finished, so I headed down to Inland to pick it up. They did a real nice job. The tubing and one yoke were trashed, so they supplied new parts and the result looks very stout.

It took a bit longer to make the curved lip for the firewall than I'd planned. Set up the shrinker and stretcher side by side since I needed to alternate between them to curve the Z shaped material. Once I had it fit up, I punched/drilled 1/8 holes and then used Clecos to mock it up. Normally I don't use rivets that much, but in this case, they're hidden and welding would be more of a pain. For final assembly, I used large flange stainless rivets to spread the clamping force over a larger area. I'm now in the process of rebuilding the rest of the pinchweld lip across the top. Should be done tomorrow. Jackie at DeTray called this afternoon to say my nickel plating was ready for pickup, so I need to work that into the schedule as well.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thanks, Dan. Some of my forum friends gave me a hard time when I said I was going to just fix a few things on this truck and keep it a beater. Guess they knew better than I that ignoring the details is not in my DNA. ;)

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

"Guess they knew better than I that ignoring the details is not in my DNA."

That's exactly why I'm following your build Vic. No stone left unturned. Always amazed to see the work you do.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Looking great Vic

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Ok, im up to date on the build, and im in.....nice work so far

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I really like the redesign of the pinchweld structure and what a great job you did on it, nice attention to detail Vic.
The driveshaft looks good and I bet you are happy to be done with the drivetrain part of the build.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Very nice work! I'd like to see exactly how you shaped these pieces. I'm lost when it comes to sheet metal fab. More pictures please

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Wow, I'm down for the rest of this one. You are a metal working madman Vic!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Welcome, guys! Hope I can keep it interesting. If you want to view the work of a true metal man, you need to check out this LINK. Keith Daleen and I have been friends for many years and his shop is a metalworking paradise. Charlie Smith, the vehicle designer, was a couple of years ahead of me in high school. Two amazing talents ...especially if you like customs. And even if you don't, the metal work is awesome.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Sure thing, Mike. I used a shrinker and stretcher to make the curved piece I grafted onto the cowl. The first picture below shows the shrinker on the left and the stretcher on the right with the jaws open. They each have four dies that move when the handle is depressed. There are serrations on the dies that grip the metal being formed. The second photo shows the jaws closed. You can see the shrinker starts out in the open position and ends up closed, while the stretcher is just the opposite. So when you place material in the gap, the shrinker squeezes the metal together slightly and conversely, the stretcher pulls it apart.

Where you grip the metal is important. The closer to the bent edge, the less "action" there is on the metal. The further away causes the metal to move more, but can result in tearing or wrinkling. Next post I'll show the results.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

When you shrink the metal, it causes the ends to bow inward toward the tool and when you stretch it, the ends move away from the tool. In the two top photos, I achieved the result by pressing down on the handle with moderate force in three places about 1/4" apart. It takes a bit of experience to judge how much force to use, how far apart to move the material and how close to the edge to place it between strokes. The good thing is, if you go a bit too far, you can shrink an overstretched section and bring it back where it needs to be.

As I worked the piece I added to the cowl, I kept test fitting it to the line I'd previously drawn. Doing a Z-shaped piece of material requires a bit more patience as you have to stretch one edge slightly and then shrink the corresponding area on the opposite edge. If you don't do them evenly, the piece will end up with some "twist" in it. Again, you can fix this by gently removing a small amount of the shrinkage or stretch from the appropriate edge.

It's normal to have some small wrinkles when shrinking sheetmetal. Also, if you're stretching a fairly wide edge and are trying to do a tight curve, you may see some splits in the metal before you're done. It will only stretch so far. I carefully dolly out any wrinkles once I have the shape I want.

I have individual tools because I don't like to take the time to swap out the dies, but if you're on a budget, I believe you can buy one tool and two sets of dies.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thanks Vic! that makes sense. I've never actually seen this process done or explained. I have to assume it has a handle at the top that is similar to an arbor press and pulling that does the business?
I have to get some of these tools. Super cool!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Yes ...if you scroll up a ways to the photo below the one of the driveshaft, you can see the handles a little better. They're about 5/8" diameter X 12" long solid rod. They just pivot in an arc and pushing them all the way down actuates the jaws. Like any specialized tool, cost vs. utility is a factor. Sometimes you're forced to make a piece because it isn't available in the aftermarket. I finally got weary of trying to outsource this kind of work. It's expensive and many times, you don't really get what you hoped for. Buying the tool may be a bit more expensive, but at least you have it and you can practice until the part turns out to your satisfaction. Just my $.02 worth.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Patched up a few more holes and finished the lip on the cowl today. I recently acquired a tool off eBay described as a jeweler's coin punch. Unlike a Greenlee punch that requires a hole thru the material to draw the cutter into a recess, the coin punch makes a round "coin" without the hole. I wanted to close the holes the windshield washer hose originally routed thru. I drilled them out to 1/2" using a Unibit and then lightly pressed a 1/2" round coin into the hole. When welded out, it makes a nice neat patch. For small holes, it's probably overkill. You could lay a copper backing strip behind the hole and MIG it, but that wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

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There was also an ugly big hole in the cowl on the driver side that needed a patch. I opened it up some more and made a paper template then cut the patch out of some 18 ga. Drilled a couple of holes into it so that after welding the perimeter I could "spotweld" it to the support behind it.

With the lip pretty much complete, next steps will be to clamp the firewall into place temporarily, modify and mount the map lights, fish the wiring for the lights and dash cam thru the A-pillar then glue the roof on. Doesn't sound like much when you say it fast.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Nice progress Vic! That jewelers coin punch looks cool. How does it work? Do you slip a piece of sheet metal between the two pieces and use a BFH to drive the punch through it or is it more sophisticated than that? I also appreciate the explanation of the shrinker/stretcher combo and how you made the z panel. Very cool.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Aw, you're a modest dude. The T-Bird build is crazy! Those guys make it look easy when you're flippin through the pages but most of us mortals know just how hard it is to patch a hole in a good panel. Hats off man, you're killing this "just a DD" build.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Hey Duane,
The tool is actually meant for soft materials like aluminum, copper, silver and etc. You're correct that you slip the material in the thin slot, position it where you want the hole and if it's soft material, a BFH works great. They don't recommend using it on steel, but so far, it's worked great. I use a light coat of oil on the sheet metal and set everything up in my press. It pushes the punch right thru the metal and then I use a rawhide hammer to tap the coin and the punch out the other side. Only reason I do it this way is I was afraid it might hose up the punch if it caught an edge. Pushing it thru with the press seems to allow it to find its way.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Really nice work, Vic. Now I want one of those coin punches! That would have saved me a TON of time over the years. Can't wait for the next installment!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

You're always welcome to borrow mine ...punch out an assortment to have on hand. BTW, after Vern brought Yeller by the other day I ordered up the SensaTrac shocks. They're still in the box, pending a color change. All four shocks and the driveshaft get the body color.

Burned way more time than I planned on the map lights. The original setup had both a slide and a rotary switch right in the middle. Couldn't have that, so I sectioned the housing and the lens to get rid of those parts. Once I had some dimensions, I cut the opening in the inner roof panel to accommodate the revised light assembly. The glue's curing right now, so it will be tomorrow before I know how much I have to massage everything to get it to fit.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I'm a little surprised you didn't cut off the outter lip of the plastic assembly and mill a new trim bezel out of aluminum with a center seperation strip to cover up the spit in the lense which would also work to secure both halves.
It's not too late to do it! :devil: