Restorable???

[JReed]

Last week I worked on getting the cab insulated. For the first layer I used a sound deadener called Stinger Roadkill. Its mostly for noise from vibration and it works really well. The second layer I used dense carpet pad like material with a reflective face for radiant insulation. It is for ambient noise and obviously works as a thermal insulation too. I installed a firewall pad I found online, but I don't think It will help a whole lot with sound, so I plan on pulling it and putting a layer of mass loaded vinyl I have for the cab floor behind there too.

[JReed]

To finish bringing everything up to date, yesterday I decided to install the hood, which meant I first had to put the cab doors on temporarily so I could get the cab shimmed appropriately for any issues with door clearance. I had to take the right rear corner up a little strong of 1/16" to get safe clearance on my passenger door. I installed the hood lace and radiator-cab tie rods and set the hood on there. between the cab, hood, and radiator shell it took some time to get everything aligned and fitted right. I had to split a few small differences but it all turned out really well, I'm guessing better than it was from the factory. Seeing the hood on there got me going, so I had to set the fenders in place and tape a headlight on just to get a look. Anyway, I don't want to install the fenders until I do a little more work under the hood. I still have to get the steering gear painted and put back in.

[Bruce in BC]

hmmmmmmmmm

Those gauges look absolutely great. the dash looks good with them in place, good on you.

[Doc Dave]

Beautiful work, and photos.
Thanks for posting!

[Desoto61]

Looks really good! I know what you mean about getting the sheet metal back on. I want to install the hood on mine but still have a little work to do under it so it stays off for the time being, but I had test fitted it and a fender and it does seem to make all the time worth it!

Keep the photos coming!

[Bruce]

Whew

Very nice, the quiet factor is important too.

[tuko]

Looks great

[CSCameron]

Very nice! Great progress. Keep the pics coming!

Clark

[Dutch]

You are going to have a beautiful truck when your done.

[Waspworks]

Excellent pics and great to see things progressing Joel.

It was with your help and advice I purchased the new rear bed section for my truck, along with new running boards and rear fenders from Matt Tisdale.

Every thing is on a boat sailing towards Western Australia at this very moment and I look forward to starting my resto story on the pages of this forum.

Keep up the great work and keep posting up the pics as I live vicariously through your thread at the moment.

Greg.

[cj7ox]

Looking good, JReed! That is going to be one beautiful piece of automotive history!

[JReed]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate it.

Well I went down to Fort Collins this weekend to pick up my bed from paint and to drop my seat off for upholstery. I picked the bed up on Friday afternoon and the more I looked at it the more unsatisfied I was with it. The paint job was really terrible. It looked like I had a drywaller texture it and paint it with a roller. Really I'm not sure what I was thinkin' to leave with it in the first place. Besides the orange peel, after I left and got it in the sunlight I found that it had a crease and some ripples where the holes for the spare tire carrier were filled in.

This same painter sprayed my front end a while back and he did a pretty good job. I couldn't believe that he could have degraded so badly on the bed. Anyway I stayed in town and took the bed back to him on Saturday and told him that it was unacceptable. He wasn't happy but after talking to him awhile he said he would make it right. I was definitely frustrated. It made me wish I had painted the truck myself. I think I'm patient enough that, though I don't have much experience with it, I could have had a much better job in the end. Just seems like there are a lot of incompetent 'professionals' out there these days.

Heres a pretty good snapshot of what the whole bed looked like. Just looked like a big blue orange. The tailgate was the worse, but I didn't get a picture.

Sorry for the venting. Anyway, its dealt with now. The side with the un-straight sheet metal is being redone altogether and the rest is getting wet sanded, cleared, wet sanded again and buffed. Hopefully that'll be enough to get everything mostly flat.

[JReed]

Excellent pics and great to see things progressing Joel.

It was with your help and advice I purchased the new rear bed section for my truck, along with new running boards and rear fenders from Matt Tisdale.

Every thing is on a boat sailing towards Western Australia at this very moment and I look forward to starting my resto story on the pages of this forum.

Keep up the great work and keep posting up the pics as I live vicariously through your thread at the moment.

Greg.

Hey Greg. I definitely look forward to watching your build if you do decide to keep a thread going. You've got an awesome truck planned with that LS3 and the rest... and now you'll have a sweet bed to go with it. Theres not a build on here quite like yours so I think there'll be a lot of interest.

[Desoto61]

I think I'm patient enough that, though I don't have much experience with it, I could have had a much better job in the end. Just seems like there are a lot of incompetent 'professionals' out there these days.

I have no doubt you could, but the amount of time associated with doing the wet sand/clear/sand/buff is huge, especially with a surface as complicated as that. I'm honestly not sure I'm going to try wet sanding mine any time soon. Burn through the clear and you're practically back to square one. Every body shop job will have some orange peel, it's all that sanding and buffing that makes it look so smooth, but it's also where most of the money goes too, paying labor for all that time.

Part of me wants to get mine perfect and smooth, but I also know that I'll mess it up at least once doing so, plus even if I do get it right I'll be too scared to use it for fear of messing up that perfect paint job.

Still, it will look beautiful when they're done, and I still love that color!

[JReed]

I have no doubt you could, but the amount of time associated with doing the wet sand/clear/sand/buff is huge, especially with a surface as complicated as that. I'm honestly not sure I'm going to try wet sanding mine any time soon. Burn through the clear and you're practically back to square one. Every body shop job will have some orange peel, it's all that sanding and buffing that makes it look so smooth, but it's also where most of the money goes too, paying labor for all that time.

Part of me wants to get mine perfect and smooth, but I also know that I'll mess it up at least once doing so, plus even if I do get it right I'll be too scared to use it for fear of messing up that perfect paint job.

Still, it will look beautiful when they're done, and I still love that color!

Yeah man, I was probably overstating things a little bit. Anyway, it wasn't as flat as the front end, but if he gets it to that point I'll be more than happy. I did tell him I didn't expect him to get all the little stamped areas flat... just the large, easy to sand areas. I think that if not for the deformed metal where those holes were filled I might have just let it go. I went to an antique car show for a while on Saturday, so maybe that raised my expectations, ha. A lot of nice paint jobs. That being said, I don't think I'll kick myself for not dropping ten plus grand on paint. I do plan on using the truck.

By the way, your truck is looking awesome. Im impressed you got so much to fit behind that dash. It's a complicated project. You definitely didn't make it easy on yourself. You probably look at a truck like mine and wonder whats taking so long.