Projects '60 F100 Daily Driver Project.

The Somebody Better Call Someone Because I've Completely Lost My Shit Update:

Hey, gang.

Happy 4th of July weekend, y'all!!!

Not much progress as it's been hot, and the AC in the house went out. Compressor bit it but they came and fixed it pretty quick. However, there were about 4 gruelling days with no AC and a VERY cranky wife... so I might need a hug.

But, anyway, I digress. Back when I was researching tailgate emblems, I bought this nice, 1/16" thick, laser cut Ford script, kind of as a joke.

Just goofin' around I set it on the inside of the tailgate and the more I looked at it the more I though... "huh."

It's been cooler the last two days, so I felt a little more like working. Said "fuck it", got out my electric booger machine and glued it on with metal... poorly, of course.






Got in there good with a light smear of bondo and then sanded on it long enough to cherry the thumb and index finger on both hands. So much for bowling and nose picking for a while. Then I tossed some etching primer on it just to see where I need to go from here.







I always find more work for myself, especially when I need to be doing other things.

Now it looks like the tailgate is stamped from the outside and it will help protect the screw heads for the emblem from dragging things across them.

I dig it. I was going to put it on backwards just to screw with people but facing this way, looking into the bed, looks pretty decent.

As with everything else, this needs a few hours of fine tuning to get it were I want it but we're getting there.

I still have a LONG way to go. But... I can officially declare the body & paint portion of this freakshow underway.

Heh heh. I took off a tailgate that screamed "FORD!!!" at the drivers behind me and have replaced it with one that merely mutters it all over the back of the truck.

Have a great weekend and don't blow your fingers off!

 

It's the "Oh, Christ! Not THIS thread again!!!" Update:


Started some bondo work until I found a nice big oil can on the left side.

I know-I know! "It's because you were a jackass and welded that graffiti on the inside of the tailgate!!!"

The distortion was minimal so I found the center of the bulge and heated it. Two whacks with the hammer and dolly, and some filing later... BOOM!, no more oil can and the panel is straight again. JEEZ!!! THAT was nerve wracking!

Anyway, back on track and the bondo work is going swimmingly.






Yes... that's a spoon. It's my shop spoon. Old school body man taught me that trick for doling out small amounts of bondo. Has served me well for years. The paper plates... well, they might make me look full blown amateur, but they work.



I still have some cleanup on the bottom to straighten the seam a bit but we're getting there. A few more hours and I can start working on the business side of the tailgate.





Found some nice machine bushings at the local hardware store. (In the background, upper left of the next pic) which I will use on either side to keep the gate centered on the truck.

I'm not completely sold yet, but I picked up some brass acorn nuts I MAY use to secure the gate to the truck. They polish up nice. I dunno.



After I wrap this post up, I'm going back out there and plug away some more on the tailgate. Better get this shit done soon, as I am already missing a cruise-in tonight because I want to get this thing done.


AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!



Built a nice little DIY forge. I have two containers full of empty soda cans and some fun stuff cooked up. Watch the main forum for a thread where I try to do something cool and end up with third degree burns.




That's all I have going today. Hope your weekends all went well!


Cheers!

 

Had a 1967 F100 with a rubber floor mat (factory) and it had this lightning bolt on a gear embossed in the middle of the transmission hump. My little brother and I had just watched some 60's spy movie the night before and he pointed at the floor mat and said "hey look, that was the bad guys emblem" and he was right! Can't remember what movie it was but I know where they got their image from!

 

That emblem on the endgate fits the truck looks good there wont be another one like it.

 

“Built a nice little DIY forge. I have two containers full of empty soda cans and some fun stuff cooked up. Watch the main forum for a thread where I try to do something cool and end up with third degree burns.”

Please post a link here to make it easy for us to find and follow this new thread when you start it! I have similar interests in this.

Love the truck and have really enjoyed following your progress!

 

The script on the inside of the tailgate is cool!!!

 

Thanks, guys!!! Yes, I will absolutely post up a separate thread on what I'm cooking up. I'm sure you guys might be able to guess where I'm goin' but let me make sure it works out before I post anything up.

No update this weekend. I'm nursing a swollen piriformis which is pinching my sciatic nerve.
So... I'm kind of a bear with a sore ass, literally.

I have been looking around the truck for a good place to french in an antenna or two. A few candidates are:

• Cab corner where gas filler used to be.
• Top of passenger fender (if there is room between the fender and inner cowl).
• Somewhere on the top rail of the bed (hell, maybe even a set of '61 Impala antennas on the top of each bedside. No frenching.).

I dunno, just thinking out loud and half delirious.

Just want to take a minute to thank all of you for the support you've given me over the last few years. Your encouragement and guidance have prompted me to try harder and take more risks. Thank you guys for that!!!

Have a great weekend, ya heathens!

 

You know I was going to make a comment about avoiding the buffet line at the CCain residence after looking at the spoon and paper plates, but I won't! Instead I learned a cool trick regarding yet another use for a spoon that may have disappeared from the house.

Not only do I love the tech you provide, but also the entertaining way to share it!

Great work man!
(You're still a bastard for giving me a host of anxiety related issues for me not getting enough done on my truck)

 

Oh, man... If you ask the wife, I'm a bastard for WAY worse then that.
Don't feel too bad. I have been on my ass for going on 4 weeks now.

Side note: Everyone needs a "Shop Spoon".

This sciatic thing is no joke, man. I've probably only gotten about 5 good hours of sleep this month. Holy hell, this sucks some major league donkey dong! I don't wanna hear anybody bitching about childbirth or whatever.

Jesus, I passed a kidney stone that didn't hurt this much. I dislocated my hip in the military 20 years ago and it didn't hurt like this. I got blown the fuck up in Iraq and it didn't hurt this much. Meh... maybe I'm just getting soft as I advance in years, but Christ on a cracker... Geez Louise! It's a slow progression but I am finally starting to feel better. This has literally put the kibosh on my entire summer.

Anyway, enough of that.

In the midst of all of this, The wife got a new, better paying job, I had a beloved pet up and croak on me, and had to buy a new car to replace the old family hauler.

But, as of today, the new tailgate is still laying untouched in the bed of my truck.



I'm probably not going to get it under paint until later in September sometime (maybe around the... 21st night of September. ) , which is kinda nice because some of the heat will have died down by then around here.



^^^ It's impossible to stay in a bad mood when you listen to Earth Wind & Fire. ^^^

So, there's where I'm at right now.

Stay thirsty, my friends!

 

Glad you doing better Chris, and still kicking! Also, yep EWF is perpetual happy music!

 

I thought I had sciatic and you are right it hurts. It turned out to be from sitting on a fat wallet in back pocket driving for 9 hours a day. Moved the new SLIM wallet to my front pocket and no more pains.

 

Hahaha. I can ASSURE you that, in my case, it is most certainly NOT from setting on a FAT wallet.

Anyway, two months to the day and I'm just now starting to get back in the swing of things. I guess it's for the best, it's been way too hot around here to paint, but thankfully, it seems the weather has broken and, now that I can stand up without wanting to piss myself, I can get back to working on the tailgate.

It's funny how quickly stuff gets out of control when you're down. The front yard is a mess and the jungle I used to call a back yard is now a habitat for dinosaurs.

Of course, I'm exaggerating a bit but still...

On the plus side, I was able to binge watch every episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 while I was down. So...



But, I'm off the couch and feeling much better.

Yesterday, I sat on the garage floor and scrubbed the brown tire bloom off my brand new pinner whitewalls. That sucked. It took a combination of Bleche-White and acetone to get them white again. What sucks is the bloom got pretty bad for only setting while I was down.

I also blew a butt ton of dust off the truck and wiped her down. It's funny how much better you feel when you check off one little thing from a daunting list of crap that compiles quicker than you think it does, but I digress.





Pay no attention to that weirdo's reflection in the chrome funhouse mirror that is the grille of my truck. Six foot legs, an eighteen inch torso, with a tiny little pinhead. It's about right except for the legs.


Okay, that's it. Not much of an update, but we'll get there.

Behave yourselves and remember, if you can't be good, be good at it.

 

Good to see you back on the move!

Devin

 

Who said sitting on you ass wouldn't finish your project?! Glad you're back at!

 

Thanks, guys!!!

I have a built up quite the "honey-do" list and spent yesterday cutting out a giant bird of paradise, three succulents, and about 14 stalks of bamboo -AND- I wasn't crippled by the time I was done...



And, because I'm 12 years old, I took some time and installed a stupid, obnoxious, cable operated "bullhorn" that moos.





The first time I tried it out, the wife about pissed herself laughing at this and that was all it took to erase any apprehension I had about it.

I love this stupid thing... mostly because I'm not quite right in the head.

So, now I have a choice between a sad, regular horn, or a horn that says "I'm gonna climb up your ass if you don't get off your freakin' phone and drive.".

I'm actually back on the tailgate and will post up some pics soon.

 

It's the "About Damned Time" update:

I'm actually seeing some progress on the "honey-do" list on my large dry-erase board. Damned list is almost as long as a CVS receipt.

That wife of mine missed her calling as a chain-gang boss, I'll tell ya what.




Being what my wife called "dramatic" about her leadership style aside, I've still been able to get back at it over the last two days.

Got the back dialed in and under primer...



and got the front of the thing under etching primer.



Still have tens of hours in this thing before we can even consider paint, but we're getting there one bite at a time...

There's still lots of little pin holes and pecker tracks to work through,but overall, it's not too awful, I guess. At least there's not going to be huge amounts of bondo on this thing.

Well, that's about it. Let me close with a special dedication to my foreman... er... I mean wife.

 

Love the update! Pretty sure Wive's learn the boss trait in school!

 

Yeah... I'm not a conspiracist, but I'm thinking there were more "leadership" skills taught in home economics than most of us are aware.

--

And now for a milky gray, pruny fingered, real time, tailgate update:

Blocked out the etching primer and layed down a few heavy coats of filler primer.



And then came the wet sanding. First with 600 on my medium fileboard, then a hand rub.

How's this for an action shot?



Surface feels REAL good. Nice and smooth. Soapy... Slippery... OOOOH baby!!! I left my mind to wander and was getting into it and having a good time until Barry White started playin' on the radio. Then I REALLY got into it. I even smacked it a few times.

It's okay, the wife sprayed me down with the garden hose before it was too late.

You know, I really should start writing these updates BEFORE I start day drinkin'.

Anyway, here's a gratuitous, sexy "wet" shot of the thing.



And, of course, I had to try the bling on just to see.



All that's left is everything. I still have to fill all my little sins, and it's going to get several more coats of filler primer. Making progress, but I think I'm about done for the day.

Okay, well... that's about it. I gotta run. There's a big, fat, dog rocket of a cigar, and an unopened bottle of triple malt calling my name.

Cheers!

 

Awesome

 

Wives don't learn that shit in Home Economics.... They don't learn it anywhere. It's in their DNA. They're born with that capability. Kind of like tits... some develop more, some less, but they've all got it!

 

Yeah, I think you're onto something there. An instinctual thing. Hell, I'll bet you even cavemen had to watch out for their wive's clubs and sharpened stones.

Anyway. I broke down and joined my local car club. I guess I'm a "Drifter" now.

Having said that, there was a club meeting this morning. I showed up for the doughnuts and left having made a ton of new acquaintances. I have a good feeling about this.

Pics of the HAMB friendliest cars there today... you'll have to excuse some of the OT wheels and cars in the background. So, don't get your panties in a bunch. Okay, fellas?



















Had a great time and look forward to getting out more, and blowing the stink off me and the truck.

Home now. Gotta run, I've got a tailgate to finish.

 

I had a flash back on that first pic... I stood up, felt the blood rush to my face and said, "Hi, my name is Jeff and..." then I remembered that I finished that chapter of my life!

Congrats on the new club my friend!

 

Right?!? Same feeling. I never want to revisit my "VW/Mini Truck Addiction" support group days. Talk about a misspent youth!

I still carry the scars of raising up too quick under a VW hood and having my head impaled by the latch.

--

Okay... so sometimes, in the morning, as I sip my first cup of coffee, I reflect on my errant thoughts and ideations. More often than not, it takes me down a dark path. That path is usually an expensive one that will leave me broke, dirty, and exhausted.

Here's my latest round of insanity.



I'm thinking, that once the tailgate is done, I might see if I can fabricate a decent facsimile of the "belly-burner exhaust/bed-rail" setup that you see on this old Canadian M-100.

I'd hook them up to my cuttouts. I'd probably try to keep them tighter against the top of the bedsides.

I dunno. This is all just the ramblings brought forth by my early stages of dementia, and this morning's insufficient coffee intake (I'm working on the latter as we speak.). Hell, I may just end up wandering off and being found on a park bench two towns away.

Have a great morning, guys!!!

Cheers

 

The "fu@& it, we'll do it live" update:

Posting this from my phone, so I can't guarantee how this is going to go.

Got the tailgate under basecoat. Its tacking up as we speak.





I'll be clearing in a half hour or so.

Stay tuned. It could still all go south.

 

First coat of clear.

 

We're under clear. And, just like when I painted the ass end after frenching the tail lights, the temps in the shop started going up. The fun thing is, it has almost the identical amount of orange peel the rear of the truck has. I dumped enough clear on it to cut and buff it pretty heavily. Its just more work, that's all. And, boy-o-boy, do I know how to make more work for myself.







But, it's red now and I'm happy. Not as professional as I like but not bad for coming out of this shop. Harbor Freight purple gun does it again.

Now comes the hard part... being patient enough to wait for it to cure before I go slapping in on the truck.

Stay tuned. Watch this space for even more fuckery.

Have a great day, guys!!!

 

Looking great!

 

Looks great!

 

The weekend was kinda busy. I just realized I forgot to post a pic of it all put together.



There's an AWFUL lot of red back there now.

I also painted that dog dick of a gas tank black. What a difference.

 

Great work on the tailgate and paint, Chris! Painting the tank made it disappear!