It has been a while since I’ve written any updates on the ’82 Chevy Shortbed, mostly because the builder has been working so hard on maintaining his 4.0 GPA
that there hasn’t been a lot of time left for the truck. What time there was did get put to good use, as seen in image left of the SM465 transmission
rebuild back in February. The laptop in the foreground is where all the homework is done.
Had he not been doing anything productive, I wouldn’t have been working on the truck for him, since the idea I repeatedly mention here is not to build
vehicles for my sons and hand them to them. The idea is for them to do, and learn, and accomplish. However, since he was learning other things elsewhere,
I decided I could help by taking on some of the chores where he had already built some skill.
Obviously repetition builds skill and he could have increased his welding and bodywork skills by doing even more of the same, but my starting on these was
the best way to keep the project moving forward without his missing out on some lesser-familiar process. To say these doors were a joke to start with
would be an understatement.
At some point on many of these older projects there is somewhere where many of us have to cut out bad metal to get to good so we have something
decent for welding, but this is the first time I can remember having to grind
away bondo in a hunt to find
any metal to work with. This stuff was inches deep.
The rear corner of the same door was a little better, not much, but a little… most probably because no previous attempt at a repair had been made. The
metal was allowed to rust underneath, bubbling the paint in cancerous fashion. All that was needed on this end was to remove the offending portion
of the outer skin before replacing it with a similarly-shaped piece of sheet and welding it in. That, and a lot of sanding.
Afterwards, I flipped the door over and started on the inside. What can I say that you haven’t read? Cut-out what’s left of the metal, make a new piece to
weld in, grind and sand until smooth. If I were reading this, I might think I enjoyed bodywork. Please don’t get that impression. Not this stuff
anyway. This is a labor of love.
But wait! There’s more!
Evidently, someone cut four holes below the stock mirror with a 1-1/4″ hole saw. They were probably working on some “custom” installation but quit part
way through since the hole on the left wasn’t even finished being cut before the bondo was getting slathered on to cover them all.
Here’s a look from inside the door.
So on went my evenings, by choice of course. One son working on his Willys Pickup, the other working on his education, me off on the side working on
some metal or something for one or the other. No complaints about any of that, mind you. Image shows the holes properly filled and smoothed with a
couple of repairs above where the mirror will mount.
But before going forward to primer and paint, it was worth mounting the door to get a look; checking to see that the bends in my repair panels actually fit
with the contours of the cab. I would hate to get it all done and then wish, “I should’ve…”. The light at the upper left of the door makes it look like a bad fit
in that corner, but that’s only in the picture. It looks good up close and personal. When I stepped back to snap a shot, without a latch installed the
door opened slightly in the breeze. It’s motivating just to see it hanging there.
Then we did some primer and paint.
