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The Beginnings of a Restoration:
Here's my Girl as she is off-loaded from a step deck trailer. It has been a long ride but she made it to beautiful La Mesa, CA in stride. Her days as a rusty, spray-can rig are numbered. I had no idea how rusty the body was but luckily, I found a donor body. The rear fenders, saddle tank, tool box, and A-Frame are headed for the scrap pile.
Here is what the same truck looks like without everything but springs. Disassembly has been a bear due to rust, dirt, grease, and fifty years of not being taken apart. My advice for disassembly: be patient! If something doesn't want to come apart, stop and think about why. A little thought goes a long way.
The real work begins. This is where the true restoration starts. This frame is in good shape aside from some pitting over the rear suspension. Sandblasting is time consuming but very effective. Next we primer and paint.
Here we have a freshly painted frame. After Sandblasting, the frame was treated with PPG DX579 Metal Cleaner, Coated with PPG DP90 Epoxy Primer, then Painted with Eastwood's Chassis Black Paint. As the paint tacked up, I rolled it into the sun for it to bake. Once dry, it is a nice durable surface with very low gloss. Now we start building a truck!
Here we have the front suspension on with brakes assembled and steering linkage in place. All leaf springs were disassembled, sandblasted, painted, and assembled with new hardware. Rear leaf springs are in place and waiting for the forgotten rear end assembly. Who can blame me? Those things are a bear to restore - heavy, oily, smelly, and a general bear to work on but, its next on the list of things to do...
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