Projects '60 F100 Daily Driver Project.

Ask and ye shall receive.

Here she is.









Oh so much better than this time three years ago!



It feels like the scallops fit now.

Even looks good in black and white.

 

I LIKE IT!!

 

Nice! Very nice.

 

Slots are my favorite wheels on almost anything, but wow, those look great!!!

 

That looks fantastic.

And I'm taking credit for the gold-with-white-outline FORD on the tailgate, even if you'd already thought of it.

 

Nice

 

Hell yes!

 

That looks freakin' awesome!
Brings it together.

 

Very slick! That combination is perfect.

 

Sunday Shenanigans.

Okay, ya hooligans. Here's what's been goin' on around here this past week and where I stopped today.

Wrapped the top edge of the tail light buckets with 3/16" steel rod (because I want a factory looking body line around the light buckets.), cut holes for wires (my lights are flush mount, more on that later) , and drilled for the mounting screws.





Time to cut up a perfectly good truck...



No turnin' back now!

A CAN OF WORMS WAS OPENED!!!

When I went to cut the passenger side, I found a nice surprise. A nice big dent filled with bondo. THANKS PO!!!







OH, and there were drill holes where they tried to pull the dent, making little volcano shaped puckers and getting a dolly in there is impossiballs but I managed with a flat hardened steel chunk I had laying around!

Anyway... Here we are test fitting the bucket about half way through me beating out and heat stretching (shrinking) the sheet metal, easy peasy. Sheesh! Wonder how much metal I'm gonna find on the rest of this plastic truck?!?



I didn't take any pics of cleaning up inside the cavity and coating it, welding up all the holes, and welding in the buckets.

BUT, the round rod I welded to the buckets provided a nice groove to melt metal into without having too much grinding to do.

So, now we finesse this bitch into playing nice with a shine.



After sanding, sanding, and sanding some more, she's under filler primer.



Let's test fit a light, shall we?





That's where I'm stopping today. There's a whole lot of work ahead, but there's also cold Corona in the icebox, and a lawn chair with my name on it.

Happy Easter, y'all!

--Doc

 

Man this is really turning into a cool hauler…

 

Freaking love it! I had the same issue with a PO of my truck... apparently got Bondo by the barrel!

Keep up the great work!

Jeff

 

Thanks, guys!

Yeah, I've got a feeling I know who I'm gonna be fighting as I work my way around this truck.

​

"The name'sh, Bondo... James Bondo."​

Wet sanding on this assend today... film at 11.

Have a great day, gang!

 

Yep! Really liking the tail lights. A perfect complement to the shape of the back of the fender. 7/16" of bondo not withstanding!

 

Did you ever do body work in a shop for a living in the 60's or 70's , trying to break even on insurance work so you could feed your family ? You do what you're told or you find yourself unemployed , sometimes principles don't pay bills !

 

Y'know, I took a lot of auto shop classes in high school, and we had one of the best programs in the state back then. In my advanced auto body class, that's how we were taught to do it. Bring it out as far as possible with slide hammer, porta power, heat shrink, etc. Grind it, mud it and finish it. Pretty much the way production body shops did it "Back in the Day."
My own truck is no different. I found thick layers on the driver door below the window opening. It had a bunch of holes where various mirrors had been mounted, and I was gonna weld 'em up. Found bondo. Beaucoup bondo. By the time I got it ground out to weld the holes, it was so wide an area, I ended up making a patch panel 18" long, and 8" wide to get out to un-mudded steel.

 

Friday night pickled egg and beer fart update:

We're ready for paint.



Looking across the rear of the quarter panels. Not bad. Not perfect, but as close as it's ever going to be.





Ran to the paint shop this morning and got supplies, unfortunately it was just a bit too chilly for squirtin' paint today, but tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's so... check back, I guess.

--

Now... I had mentioned earlier that I would talk about my tail lights being flush mount.

Somewhat OT Warning:

The traditionalists are just going to have to cut me some slack for this one because its a safety issue.

Listen, I've been smashed in the ass before and it is no fun. Takes a while to recover from and you're antzy for the rest of your life at each and every traffic light or left turn off the road. I want as much light out back as I can get and those tiny ass Impala tails just weren't cutting it. So, the decision was made to "modernize" some Buick lights.



D'you ever wonder what's inside of one of these truck lights? This is the 6" oval Signal-Stat stop, tail, and turn light.



This... This is what's inside. And they are the perfect dimensions to play nice with the Buick lenses. The boards fit the overall height of the Buick lenses perfectly.



Used a dremel to carefully remove the lenses by cutting the perimeter then the guts just pop right out. At that point you can use side cutters to clip the wires and you're left with a clean led board. (pay no attention to the remnants of the backings that remain hooked to the wires in these pics.)

I didn't take pics of this next part and I did this about 2 years ago, so bear with me.

After field dressing the led lights, it was just a matter of figuring out how to mate them to the Buick lenses, make them not have any light bleed, and making certain that I can replace the boards should one go out.

I used our Glowforge to make acrylic filler panels for the back that fit the width of the led boards which I then epoxied to the Buick lenses. I then used silicone sealant to "glue" in the boards then sealed it all up with very neatly cut aluminum tape (for light bleed).

Now, if one goes out, I can just take it apart, cut out the sealant and replace it without having to buy a new Buick lens.

Once all that was done and the lights water tested, the lenses clipped back into the chrome housings with the factory clips. I used some thin EVA foam to make gaskets and Robert is your mother's brother, flush mount '52 Buick tail lights that are bright as fuck.



So bright, in fact, they dim my phone's camera when I video them.



Just note that if you are going to be doing any led work out back, you'll need to get an electronic flasher because leds don't draw enough current to heat up the sprung metal switch in a conventional flasher and the lights won't flash.

Okay then. I just figured I'd post up a quick update. Tomorrow we paint and hopefully by Sunday, have this thing put back together.

I'll let you guys know how tomorrow goes.

 

Great move on the taillights! Like you, I'll take "that's not traditional" criticism over whiplash any day!! Traditional is cool but it won't save your ass from the idiots we encounter on the roads today.

 

Thanks! Couldn't agree more.

Oh, yeah... I forgot to mention wiring.

These connector kits are available on Amazon and are dirt cheap but worth their weight in gold.





Just sayin'

 

Interesting idea on those lights! I should look into that for one of my rides. Those old 1157 bulbs just aren't that bright.

Devin

 

And now... the rest of the story.



Unh huh. Didn't expect to see ol' Paul Harvey today, did ya? Wail 'til I break out Huell Howser.

Saturday started out pretty good. Got everything masked up and wiped down with prepsolv and tack cloth'd the ass end.



Got her under basecoat. At this point I started fighting my purple gun... well, I should say my compressor. My regulator is shot. I can't find the small regulator that I used to use inline.



Did you guys know some oranges are red?

At least my orange peel isn't as bad as what the PO wound up with on the back of the cab. We're about to have a wet sanding and bufffing party. I've got beer and will order a few pizzas if anyone wants to lend a hand.



Here she is buttoned up with functioning Buick tails. My god, the tailgate is BAD! I'm hunting for a new one because I found bondo filled rust holes (I'm shocked ) all along the bottom. I'm not touching it. I might turn this one into a bench for the garden.



Gaze upon my amateur crappy paint job! GAZE UPON IT!!!



That's the tailgate at the extreme left of this next pic. I was somehow able to perfectly match the OP's orange peel there.



It is by no means perfect and the paint is like a half a shade off. And that orange peel!!! OMG!!! THE ORANGE PEEL!!!

I'm not kidding, the pressure was all over the place and started getting worse the farther I went. It was a real struggle to keep it wet whilst trying to not get any runs. I finally said "fuck it" and just went for it. It was like juggling.

I dumped two medium wet coats and one heavy coat of clear on it, so I have plenty of thickness there to really get in there with the wet sanding. Shouldn't have to, yet here we are.

Gonna have to tear into the compressor AND get a new inline regulator.



Holy hell!!! This really showcases just how bad that tailgate is.

Shit... even the wife was like...



Then she patted me on the back and said... "That tailgate has to go! Why don't you get a new one?"

Well... OKAY! It's not everyday the wife tells you to go buy parts. Although, I've been having a lot more of those lately.

I kinda want a smooth tailgate, but I would also kinda like the "FORD" to be there.
I dunno. I'm gonna look around. To be honest, I like the logo on the truck, I just wish the font wasn't billboard size.

If anybody has any ideas, or has a reasonably priced, halfway decent, tailgate (that is not rusted through and beat to hell) for a '53-72 F100, let me know.

So... all in all, I'm not really all that satisfied with it, but it'll work for now. I mean, I guess it's not so bad given the tools I have and where I had to do it but there is much room for improvement here.

I'm going to eventually paint the whole ass truck, but I'm gonna have to get in good with someone around here with a shop or paint booth I can use to do that. That's WELL down the road.

That's it. That's the story of how NOT to french in tail lights and paint your junk in a crappy environment. Do better than me. Be better than me.

I need a beer.


EDIT: These tail lights, like I said before, are BRIGHT as hell! I'll snap a pic this evening and post it up.

 

Just to console you a little..... Red is a bitch to match! Red is not 'just red', the shades are all over the spectrum. Don't sweat the orange peel, after all, it just means more bonding time (sanding) with your truck.
Good move on coaxing a suggested purchase out of your wife!

 

There was some discussion on a different forum about the re-pop tailgates... Yours may not be as bad as you think!

Let me know and I'll find the link and send it to you.

 

Great work on the paint and de-oranging of the red paint!
Btw, my original tailgate was rusted in the same place... was able to push my finger through it in far too many places, so I went the 'over my skill level' route. I had to move to the front and work there for a bit or else I'd lose my freaking mind. Learning lots, bleeding more, but all in all, it's good. Plus chicks dig scars, or so I'm told. My wife isn't one of those chicks though... I think too many years of yelling for her to bring me something to stop the bleeding...
Jeff

 

I've been using LED replacement bulbs in all my cars.........SHHHHHHH......it's a secret. With these you need to have a good ground, so you might need to run a separate wire and make sure your old housing/contacts are clean.

All different types of bulbs and bases.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/

 

Thanks Guys!

And, yeah @fauj that link would be great if you wouldn't mind.

Yeah, I get it. My wife only digs the scars she gave me.
When we were first married, she'd run in and nurse me over, now she makes me keep all the bandaids in the shop. I guess the bloom has to fall off the rose at some point.

But honestly, if you're not spilling blood all over the shop floor, are you really even hot rodding?

@1oldtimer Yeah, way ahead of you there. I've fought that dragon and lost before. The way I have it rigged now requires a dedicated ground.

I almost couldn't wait for it to get dark so I could see how the new tail lights look at night. These are just the tail lights. The brake lights almost blind you.



So... more visible. That's a good thing.

I'm diggin' how the reflection in the light buckets looks a little like neon. Happy accident.

Kinda look like jet thrusters or the impulse engines on the USS Enterprise.

"Mister Sulu, set a course to the pub."

 

Love the lights! I agree on the glow around them, very cool! Be seen or be hit, sad truth to driving around here anyway.

"now she makes me keep all the bandaids in the shop." Same here... I laugh every time I see the dried blood on my first aid kit!

 

Just my 2 cents. Avoid those repop tailgates. I've seen them. They are flimsy and don't fit well. Lights turned out great.

 

Worked a little more on visibility today.

Cleaned up the turn/parking light buckets, gave the lenses a good scrub and installed some 1157 (shh..LED) bulbs. Much brighter. Although I might shop around for some amber ones... these are damned near daytime running lights.





Lit up the thrusters!



Like four little rocket motors. That's gotta allot for at least 20... 30 horsepower, right?

That's all I've got for today. The sun is over the yardarm so... time for a beer.

 

Those shhled's are bright! Every day a bit better!