Making good progress

Matt came over tonight and we made a lot of headway in a hurry.  We got the entire front clip and front fenders off.  We found a LOT more rot than we expected.  So, it may require two new front fenders, we'll see.

The front bumper had six bolts so it should have taken five minutes tops.  Instead, it took well over an hour since we had to cut most of them off with a grinder.  

Finally the bolts relented and we won!  So now, we can disconnect the transmission and pull the engine and trans together as one piece.  

I took a picture of Matt hard at work, but....   I mean butt...  Not quite the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction, butt...  Seriously, he had bloody knuckles at the end of the night so you know he had fun.

Here we are loving the work.  More to come.  

Having a blast

Undertaking a project like this requires some fairly specialized tools.  So, yesterday I took my Harbor Freight coupon down and purchased a blast cabinet.  What is a blast cabinet you ask?  Well, it is where you put smaller parts to media blast the gunk off of them.  Your can use different types of media from sand to crushed walnut shells to soda.  I wanted to go with walnut shells, but they didn't have any.  So, I wound up with soda.  You've heard of baking soda?  Pretty much the same thing, in fact this had the arm and hammer logo on it.

So, I started with a big box of parts and a couple of hours later it looked like this.

You stick your part in, close the door, turn on the compressor and shop vac attachment to take care of dust and you're ready to start.  You stick your hands into the two holes you see there and there are gloves on the inside.  Then, you look though the glass and blast away.

Here are two parts.  One has been blasted and the other has not.  Can you tell which one is which?

Hot mess!

Most of you know that I retired from the military. And, the military loves accronyms.  Guess what?  Horny Old Truck makes a great accronym and it is HOT, literally.  So, I really do have a hot mess on my hands.  Here are just a few examples.

So, this is a view of the passenger's side floor board where someone did a "restoration" by using thinsheet aluminum and Bondo to make a patch.  Needless to say it just created more rust, surprise.

Then, there was the bird's nest.

And, then there was the "professional" wiring job.  OK, you can add a junction box in your house complete with lamp wiring and wire nuts, but for the record it is NOT OK in a vehicle of any kind.  

There is a saving grace to all of this.  Whoever did this work at least had good taste in music.  This is what I found in the tape player.  Elvis music and HOT just seems to go together.  

Horny old truck!

Lori says I can't call it the "Horny Old Truck"!  But what would you call it?  It had not one, not two or even three, but four horns.  I'm not even kidding!

Here's one!

Here's two!

Here's three and four!!

So, I'll be calling it the Horny Old Truck.  I would make other references, but discretion is the better part of valor, so I will abstain.  Ha.

I am old!

Well, this year I turn 50.  And, it has me thinking about how old 50 really is.  So, I decided to tackle a project I normally wouldn't do.  I am going to restore a 50 year old truck.  To be specific, it is a 1964 Chevy Step Side C-10 pick-up.  Now, the truck is in really rough shape like most 50 year old things.  But, it's OK my dad has an awesome set of tools (sorry, Fast Times at Ridgemount High reference).  So, my son-in-law and I are going to disassemble it one piece at a time and refurbish the whole thing.  When we finish it will be nice!  

It's a boat time!

No, I'm not Canadian...  But, it is about time, eh?  I am so happy this thing is finally done!  In the end, I've got a 15 foot boat that should be able to handle some fairly rough water. 

 Remember the front end where the gunwales came together?  Remember it looked like crap?  Well, here's the result.  I cut a little piece of wedge shaped wood in the middle and glassed it in.  I think it turned out okay.

 I used 16 foot lumber designed for deck material to make the gunwales and spray rails.  Lori said I should leave the natural wood grain and I have to say she was right.  It looks really cool with the wood showing.  I just painted them with the epoxy resin to protect them.   I decided to show the wood grain on the seats too.  Let's everyone know we've got a homemade boat.  Now comes the interesting part...  I've got to convince the North Carolina Department of Transportation that Lowe's Home Improvement sells pre-assembled boats!

Here are the lessons I learned while building this boat:

1.  Building anything out of fiberglass in the winter is a mistake unless you own a distributorship that sells propane and propane products (veiled King of the Hill reference).
2.  Power equipment and loose fitting clothes don't mix.  I had a great vest given to me by my in-laws that was eaten by my belt sander.  I barely got away with my life.
3.  When you breathe wood dust, you end up with wood boogers!
4.  When you breathe fiberglass dust, you end up with fiberglass boogers!
5.  When you breathe fiberglass resin, you end up high!
6.  When you breathe fiberglass resin and drink Killians you end up really high!
7. Cats eat corn.
8. True friends are the only ones that will help you sand.
9. Wood boats leave splinters...  Lots of them!
10.  If you sit a belt sander down before it stops, it will become an effective shop missile.  No really!!!!

I think this will be my final boat blog, but keep watching because I enjoyed this process and I'm sure I'll have more projects to follow.  So, stay tuned. 
Cheers,
Dennis  

Side Splitting Fun

Well, we finally installed the gunwales (pronounced gunnels).  Gunwales are the tops of the sides.  I went to my favorite marine store, you know, Home Depot.  I bought two 16 foot boards that are used for back yard decks.  I ripped the wood to about 2 inches X 16 feet.  Then, I cut a grove in the bottom that is a little over one quarter of an inch wide and about an inch deep.  

Fitting these things was a trick.  It was a two man, I mean two person job for sure.  My lovely bride dropped her quilting project and helped me fit these fiddly bits.  Thanks Lori!! 

We first fitted them and made the cuts in front and back.  Then, we mixed up some epoxy flox and put it in a ziploc bag.  We cut a small hole in one corner of the bag and then shot the mixture down into the grove.  Once we got it down on the sides, some of the mixture squirted out. 

The only problem we had was a small split on the left rear.  Not to worry, we can fix it with fiberglass.

I know what you're thinking...  You're thinking this joint looks like we were a little tipsy when we fitted it.  Now, it may look a little disappointing, but I think we can make it look better.  Tune in next time to see if we can salvage it...