Projects '34 Ford Truck, Hay Hauler to Hot Rod(Done!)

Hell yeah, we goin' ridin' Chuckster! We'll just be ridin' in it whilst it's on the trailer.......NOT. Thanks fer the good words mang. Another midnight run.....

 

Wow, I guess I've been living under a rock. Just went through all the pages on this thread and your pickup could not get any cooler. I'm excited to see it in person.

 

That speedo cable is cool. Lots of work to make something look so simple. Nice carpet too.

 

Thanks Andrew and Tommy! Sorry for the lack of correspondence there Andrew, I know you were axin' about updates the other day. Man, the days are runnin' together. I'm gettin' in the short rows I do believe, I sure hope. I wish I was done and could come up for the Jalopy Jam Up. That sure looks like a cool event!! One day.......

 

Great looking truck!

 

Well got the floor done and speedo nonsense in, now I can fab up the kick panels. When I did the door panels, I just eyeballed where I wanted the piping to go and sewed it up. Now, the kick panel piping has got to match the door panel piping spacing (or we're back to the mud hut...). I know it sounds easy and looks easy... but when you've got two contrasting colors like black and white, it's gotta be right or it sticks out like a sore thumb. You know, you've got the material layered on top of itself when you're sewing and it's gotta be centered when you open it up after. SO, keep all of your edge cuts straight and measure off of them to keep your piping straight when you sew it and can't see it. Plus, the material kind of stretches (which it's supposed to do a little...) when you put it around the panel board, so I sewed it a hair narrow on the spacing between the upper and lower piping. You upholsterers chime in if that's right or wrong or there's a better way. ALWAYS open for suggestions!

Here we go, laying out the three pieces. I've already glued the sew foam to the back, laid out the pleats, and cut the pieces to size (allowing for this, allowing for that, measuring 3 and 4 times....) As I've said before, I HATE to redo stuff.....I will, but hate it. You can see the black piping I've already sewn up at the right of the photo.


Making the first stitch for the pleats. I fold the material right on this stitch and sew it again, 1/4" over, so you can't see the stitching and it gives the pleats a fuller look (again, right or wrong...). Then I cut the first stitch off, check my earlier pics.


Now I've got the center panel sewn up, board with 808 clips ready to go (countersink panel a hair for the clip heads so you don't have lumps), measure again.....


Didn't forget the notches in the board for the piping area this time! Here's something I tried and it seemed to work great. The panel clips can have a tendency to leave a small lump, even when you countersink the board a little (hey, you can only go so deep on an already thin board). I set the panel on the upholstery and marked through the holes onto the foam. Then I took a hole punch and spun it by hand where the clips would be. It took some trial an error to get the right amount of spinning and pressure. The idea was to cut some of the backing of the foam and maybe a little bit of foam. This releaved the tension in that small area and wouldn't make the material lump if the clip head happened to be up a bit. One of those...'hey, it worked for me' things. Try it some time. After spinning the punch on it and cutting things a bit, you can take your finger and feel the difference in tension of the backing.


Better post this 'fore sumpin' happens...

 

Nothin' to do but do it, gotta get it on the board. Sprayed a light bit of glue on the board and commenced to stickin', stretchin' (just a little), and staplin'. Steadily checking piping spacing.


So far, so good...hangin' in there.


I'm thinkin'....'good deal, time fer a cool one'.


And for the true test...does the dang thing line up. Well, sho' 'nuff.


Done dang deal. There's a short story on the screw that had to go in at the bottom. That was part of the delay and debate before I started the kick panels. Trust me, it was a necessary evil.

AND, we keep movin'...cheers!

 

looking good

 

You're a man of many talents. Nice.

 

Dang Tim, you're my hero. You going to paint that screw head?

 

If it bugs me enough, I'll get the dang thing powdercoated!

 

That interior is turning out awesome!

Are you going to be able to keep it clean? If it were mine it would have black marks and grease on it in before I could get it finished..........

 

It's a damn trailer queen I tell ya'!

 

You mean like a 'Joy Turner' kinda trailer queen. Yeah that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

 

Well, past time to wrap up this interior. Just gotta sit down and post.

I really had to look at this back panel for a while to decide how I was going to get it in there and look decent. I really didn't think I could pull off the wrap-around corners, so I decided on small panels from the back of the door to the back of the cab. Plus, it gave me somewhere to stop the pleats, really didn't want pleats running all the way across the back of the cab (lazy I guess...).

I had to put some layers of 1/4" closed cell foam to give the top of the rear panel something to sit against to make sure it stayed flat. I wanted the panel to be out about even with the rear window frame. So, cardboard template and then cut 'er out. Measure a hundred times.


Then had to figure a way to connect the side panels to the back panel and still be able to upholster over it without stuff showing up (lumps). I decided on some T-nuts for wood, just had to countersink the panel a bit, flatten the cleats, and grind off the threaded part to keep 'em flat. I pulled 'em down with an impact, bolt, and a block of wood. Simple, easy.

Pictures not really in order, but you get the idea. I used aluminum angle on the sides to attach the side panels to. Here ya have a rear panel.

Let me post these, be right back.

 

More cardboard templates for the side panels. Cut out the panel boards and then time for test fit.


No telling how many times I had these in and out before drilling the holes for the panel clips. I got good at gettin' 'em in there and out before making them permanent (...hate redoing stuff...). More pics, with clips now.


Then came covering time. It took me a good while to get the back panel worked out to something I could live with, and look decent. I used the threads on the bolts coming through the cab (were the original wood was attached) to put a coupling nut and have carriage bolts inside to hold the panel in place (polished up some stainless ones, worked fine). I added foam behind the panel, across the top, to keep the panel level with the piping on the cab seam. Left just enough room to tuck the material in between the panel and the cab seam. I also added some velcro strips embedded in the foam that was glued to the cab (contact adhesive), that held the center narrow portion in place and straight. It may sound simple, but damn if it didn't take me a while to decide and try different things. Here you can get an idea. I should have taken more pics of the foam arrangement on the back of the cab before I covered it up, but....didn't.


Got material and angles on it, nothin' to do but put 'er in. Sure enough held my breath cutting out for the back window. Didn't know how that was going to work out, had to cut it in just the right place to make it tuck right. Got 'er done.

I was happy. Not too bad for amateur hour. Postin' this, be right back.

 

Time for the small side panels, and sewing the last set of pleats and piping. Same technique as the other panels, not bad. Just wanted to really make sure the top piping lined up with the top piping of the seat. Measure, measure, measure....hold breath.



Now to put 'em in and see how it goes with the door panels.


Man, I'm getting excited now, stuff is actually lining up. Now for the seat.


Lookin' better all the time. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then! Time for a cool one! Then, get the bottom panels for the seat figured out. Posting, be back.

 

On the panels between the seat and floor, I didn't want just one big panel of white. So, I decided to add a two inch strip of carpet, separating it from the white by some stainless 5/8" stainless half-round. It kind of ties the interior to the half-round and white used in the bed (funny how stuff just kind of comes to ya when it's time...). More cardboard patterns and then sheet metal. Cut, roll, trim, fit, measure again. I made a piece of angle to attach the panel to. I used coupling nuts to get the distance I wanted for the panel setback.





I bent the half-round to the shape of the panel and then TIG welded studs to the back to mount 'em with (same thing I did on the strips in the bed).


Time to put all of the pieces together. Vinyl, foam, carpet, sheet metal, half-round....dang, two simple panels add up. But, I think it was worth it. Beats a plain white panel.

Let me post these and be back, don't wanna loose what I've got.

 

All the pieces goin' together on the home stretch for the interior. It took me a while to get to this point, glad to get here. The black carpet on the side panels really blends with the floor, so it doesn't show up well in the photos.

I kind of hate the wrinkles in the sides of the seat. But, I didn't do it, and don't know if I could have done any better given the same seat to work with. I'm super glad it's in and DONE. Like Blake Burwell was saying in his RPU build thread, he wanted to do it himself and call it his own, good or bad (which his RPU is looking great!). I'll really glad I tackled this interior myself (except for the seat). It was actually enjoyable. Frustrating at times, but still enjoyable. The satisfaction of accomplishing something totally out of my comfort zone is great! ( I don't have that big of a 'comfort zone' to start with, I always want to do better)

Now for some last odds and ends before I get this baby on the road. I'll post more soon. Thanks for reading along. Hope you can maybe pick up a few tips or something from the post. Jump in there and do it yourself, it's always a learning experience. Learning is good!

 

Looking good! Thanks for the detailed posts!

 

Holy smokes man! Love whatcha did under the seat there. Really finishes the interior out nicely. Now I wanna a ride, Dagnabbit!!

 

Looking great, Tim!! I really like how your interior has turned out.
I wonder if the side panels on the seat could be detached, add a thin layer of foam, then reattach to smooth them out?

 

awesome.

 

super job on the interior.very neat.

 

Truly impressive even if this WERENT your first upholstery work. That it is makes it miraculous. Well, not for you...you do everything nice. If I did it, it would be miraculous.

How about some pix of your Task Force truck, I assume a '57?

 

Damn dude you gonna start calling your shop "Fat Timmy's" ? Raising the bar is one thing ..... but damn .....

 

Good golly Miss Molly.Gee whiz,shazam.Ya recon ya got enough vice on your work bench?Looking good.Keep the updates coming.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Keep on it man! Looking awesome! Can't wait to see it on the road!

 

X-2

 

no shit.....