Low buck 53' 3100 5 window

[Sim6]

Oh yeah, the obvious!

[Sim6]

Got home after a long day to a new set of coker white walls on my porch!

[99 to Life]

getting new whites neeeever gets old. esp when you have them on the truck while your building it. It really just boosts morale. I absolutely luv white walls, congrats.

[nvrdone]

be careful with a 4" drop. that can put your scrub line - the bottom of the axle below the bottom line of the wheels.

[Sim6]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

getting new whites neeeever gets old. esp when you have them on the truck while your building it. It really just boosts morale. I absolutely luv white walls, congrats.

Thanks! Cant wait to get them on the frame!

[Sim6]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

be careful with a 4" drop. that can put your scrub line - the bottom of the axle below the bottom line of the wheels.

Nvrdone,
Thanks for the reminder but I've changed directions and now have a S10 frame and don't have to worry about that as much.

[Poppyinfl]

Those will look great on your newly painted black rims!

[Sim6]

Been slow going the last few weeks. Got the passenger side floor tacked in, the firewall all tacked up and the old cab mounts off of the S10 frame. Heading to UT Knoxville Tennessee next week for training so I won't get anything done next week.

[Sim6]

I guess iPad will only do 1at a time.

[Sim6]

And........

[99 to Life]

man oh man, I never get tired of seeing white walls. Really uplifts the build moral. I won't even start a frame unless I got some new whites on it. cab is coming along. If it were me, not sure your plans. I personally don't like the stock inner cowls to kick panel area how they never line up. I'd put some seam sealer in there and coat that area with some por15 or chassis saver then some bedliner.

[Sim6]

Yeah, I was thinking of using por15 but also thought of just using a epoxy primer then under coating on it. Por would probably be best.

[99 to Life]

if you blast the frame, I'd epoxy it, then topcoat with bedliner or an enamel paint or something. If you just grind all that rust down by hand, I'd go with the por15 or comparable.

[Sim6]

Cool thanks.

[Sim6]

Word to the wise, don't buy sheet metal from big box stores, find a metal supply place. I've found its half the cost.

Got the driver's side floor and kick panel made and tacked in. I love welding, it's so rewarding. I'm not any good yet but I amagine I'll get better with practice.

[J48chevy]

Looks good. Keep up the great work.

[99 to Life]

hey man, we all can't learn the easy way. to be honest learning the hard way is prolly better because you can truly appreciate something in its entirety. Box stores are so insanely overpriced with metal. its a godsend finding a good metal supplier. one that will let you just go dig around and buy "drops". I always like to have sheet and tubing on hand.

as for welding. no matter how many tutorials you watch, you're really gonna learn by doing it. learning on a floor is the best cause you'll never see it. I'd say (aside from the HF welder and fluxcore) your doing really good. Not to say flux is bad, I'v learned on it, but once you go gas you'll never wanna go back. Just make sure the two pieces your welding are cleaned up good, even fresh metal from the supplier has a coating on it. Get it nice and shinny. Once your fully welded up you can skim some duraglass on the welds to cover any pin holes. the patches look great btw. just be patient

when learning on thinner sheet, like say 20g, maybe even 18 but not so much. its tuff to weld without tig and not get alot of build up and or burn through. You gotta know how to control the heat and bounce around. something I'v learned on my own, stitch weld first and when you come back to a previous tack, start at the tack and lay new metal in the same tack, like your creating a bead, but just pulsing it. hard to explain but that metal you just laid down is stronger than your 20g, so it withstand more, so if you aim for that and not the edges of your metal, you'll avoid burn through.

It is going to take hundreds of hours to really get the feel of it. just keep finding stuff to fix. all the hours I'v dumped into my current build has really let me just get more experience making patches and welding them in. and yes it is rewarding.

[Sim6]

Thanks J48chevy!

Thanks 99 for stopping by and giving words of encouragement and motivation. I appreciate your expertise and knowledge. Thanks!

[99 to Life]

no problem. I really enjoy seeing these trucks being saved. The more info and incentive to build them, the more that can survive and be passed on to the next generation.

[Sim6]

So I've been dying to strip one piece and see what it's going to intell. I did the drivers side splash shield, cleaned and cleared it.

[Sim6]

Also finished tack welding the lower corner and fender mounting piece. Only thing left is the inner cab corners!

[Sim6]

I'm a beginner welder so go easy on me.

[99 to Life]

looking really good

[oldman3]

We were all beginners at one time, doesn't look bad...Jim

[Sim6]

looking thru so pic's and found the truck I sold to buy my 53'.