If you have a little shit Box to drive, that would really help...just in case this one is off the road longer than you think it will be.
Too many people are scared of mechanical things....heck even some self proclaimed gearheads are scared to work on a car....Bottom line, it was built by humans....and of that era (now don't take offense at this people) for the most part, not very educated humans....they were smart though and kept things simple. Old Cars/trucks are easy, components were designed to work with each other and for the most part are very modular unlike todays cars that are all tied together with unibodies and computers. Part off.....clean, paint, part on.....if you dont like the part that came off, modify to suit your needs/wants. If you break it down into components it will not be near as intimidating, (IE fix cab mount, then fix rocker, etc) if you look at the project as a whole you wont get anywhere. If you break it up into learning experiences you will....In my projects I tend to do things in pairs, take rear cab corners for instance, I do the drivers side first, then move to the passenger side and take what I learned from the first time I did it and apply to the second. The second time around usually takes much less time than the first. Heck we all had to start somewhere, I remember the learning curve, and quite honestly am still in one....but its only steel, if you fuck it up, cut it back apart and start over....heck I just cut a friggen truck in half for heavens sake and I certainly don't claim to know a 1/10th of what some of these other guys do....if I get stuck, I do a little reading and go tinker around with something else till an epiphany hits... Simple cars for simple minds....if they can get a rocket into space, you can rehab a simple old truck.
If you have to buy a welder , buy a good one . A cheap one is a waiste of money , you can t do anything good with it . That s why I had to buy a second one , more expensive then the first
Thanks everyone for the input, it is appreciated and I will use it. Actually got the vehicle running decent last night, going to start going through the brakes this week.
Hey, if its cheap, you can't ruin it. Just do it over again if you mess up. Got to start somewhere. You can do it
Just do your research, get decent tools to work with from the start, and take your time. In the end you will be glad that you did. Nothing is to much if you dedicate yourself to it.
I'm 100% rookie at this stuff, and I'm working 98% alone on this... I took a couple of college welding classes and bought a cheap welder. Most of the other tools I use are just the basics, nothing fancy. It's not rocket surgery, and once you get into it a lot of stuff is demystified pretty quickly. Take your time, keep safe, and get at it.
I might follow up with my comments. For a professional, or even semi-professional, it is better to just gut the vehicle out and go after everything, but it takes dollars and time, probably more so than knowledge. The dollars and time will ALWAYS be underestimated. As a beginner, you will be WAY ahead by keeping the old bomb running while working on it and focusing on the running part. It will be more fun, more interesting and hold your interest longer if you can enjoy it and then start to make it better later. It will also remain more valuable if you hit a financial roadblock or lose interest and decide to sell it. My personal 55 Chevy ended up being a LONG term project that almost didn't get done, not because I didn't have the knowledge, but because I gutted it out and planned to do a frame up at about the same time I got married, had kids and bought a house. Guess what took priority for the next 18 years? (and rightfully so) The 55 was in varied states of restoration every year for a LONG time before I finally was able to get it done. I literally brought a baby home in the back seat the very year I tore the car apart and he had his high school graduation party the year the car was completed. Many other "car things" were happening in between all of that, but my own personal project just kept getting stalled out. Go through the brakes 100%. You can get new hoses, new pads, springs, wheel cylinders and master cylinder for next to nothing in real costs and they will serve you well for a LONG time. The same with the steering assembly. Replace the various parts and then you can just forget about the chassis being safe and sound. Then you can chase the inevitable wiring gremlins, mechanical gremlins, etc throughout the rest of the truck while you are picking at the bodywork issues a little at a time. Most of all, HAVE FUN!
If you have the time desire spare cash and patience and want to learn, this is your opportunity. If you post a build progression and show the guys here your progress, question a few things and proceed you are going to learn a lot of cool stuff. That's your intention, to learn, here you go, have fun. Look forward to seeing you grow.
I was in almost exactly the same boat as you a year and a half ago, I had a few years of metal shop in High School and can turn a wrench, but still very much a begginer. I'm building a '66 C10 with my son, its a lot worse than yours as far as rust, but now I've almost finished the cab work. It was extremely intimidating when I started, almost overwhelming, but like some of these guys said, look at it as a lot of little jobs rather than one big one (Replace that floor panel, replace that pillar bottom, replace that rusty thing etc) and it's not so scary. Also, the hardest part is getting started and just doing it...Its easy to overthink it all, you just have to get in there and start working. Ask questions when you need to, but you can figure out most of it. Remember, its messed up now, you really can't go wrong: it'll be better when you're done no matter what! Also, do a build thread....When I have been frustrated and feel like it will never be done, I go through mine from the start and realize how much progress I've made, I always feel better and am able to get on track again. Plus these guys will look at it, its nice to get the feedback. Heres my build thread, you might like it since its almost exactly the job you are looking at... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=564083 Good luck!
what you have there is a rolling class room grab a catalog and go to town best lessons are learned doing it hands on
dragging a roached out incomplete 30's car from a field thats been there since the 70's, too much. But a mostly complete late 50's truck, na go for it bro! we only learn through exp. and we only getthat by jumping in... as a very smart good friend of mine always says, "It's just sheet metal" it may not always be easy but you'll ask questions and learn just like the rest of us, then you will be waay stoked that you did it and you'll be even more stoked the next time you build something and you actually have an idea as to what you are doing and subsequently it turns out even better!!!
It looks like a good start, I am still working on my techniques for paint and welding, but where else would I get the experience. The forum members have been helpful and with out there help and experience I would never had gotten more involved in bigger jobs. One of my projects right now is a 1970 buick and I have learned alot along the way, I hope then to use some of skills towards rebuilding a shoebox ford. I say go for it !! its the only was to get started and learn some skills.
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