AmericanSavage Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I am new, and posted many relevant pics, etc., of my restore to date. The cab is shot and done. My work on the bed now commences. I linked to the beginnings of the restore over at another site, and those links are in my first post for new members. Here is what I am dealing with now (from yesterday): Took yesterday off from the truck, mostly. Only seated the gasket around the back window. Waiting to put it in. It fit snug to the back glass. The people who sold me the truck gave me a smoke sliding glass back window with the gasket. Another selling point. But I was beat tired after three days of prep and shoot. Today? The rear of the bed. I finally started to tackle that. Cut out the rust—actually is was mostly bondo filled over a 3x6” hole on pass side. I mean I get as FuzzFace2 pointed out that time is money, but seriously? Bondo over that big a hole? Expect to weld first piece in tomorrow. I also started to put some pieces back IN the cab today, and am thinking about the radio I need to buy and a dual dash speaker. Speakers for doors came today. So labeled the wires for that and routed the speaker wire to their point. Also fixed the light above ash tray. Pics follow for rear lower bed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanSavage Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 Subscribed! That is a lot of Bondo. What were they thinking? Glad you are doing it right. I'm following along. My truck had probably even more Bondo than that in the same spot. It was folded and rotten! I was really impressed by how well the Tabco repair panel fit when I painted it last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas75 Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 Also subscribed! I am also working on a 1980 F350 4x4 and it seems to have rust in all the same places as yours. I saw your photos over in the new members area and it gives me hope after seeing your A pillar repair that it can be saved. I have been focusing on mechanical and drivability projects thus far but body work will be in my future. I ordered a Marti report for my truck as well (it is posted in my project thread) and I learned quite a bit about it…including the original paint color. I also found my paint color on the buck tag under the hood. On my truck it was located on the firewall dead center at the top. It is a metal tag usually screwed in. It could have been removed during the repaint though, and not reinstalled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanSavage Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 Also subscribed! I am also working on a 1980 F350 4x4 and it seems to have rust in all the same places as yours. I saw your photos over in the new members area and it gives me hope after seeing your A pillar repair that it can be saved. I have been focusing on mechanical and drivability projects thus far but body work will be in my future. I ordered a Marti report for my truck as well (it is posted in my project thread) and I learned quite a bit about it…including the original paint color. I also found my paint color on the buck tag under the hood. On my truck it was located on the firewall dead center at the top. It is a metal tag usually screwed in. It could have been removed during the repaint though, and not reinstalled. Hi Carl, Thank you! Here is an additional pic of the single piece I fashioned. I tried several ways to make it, but the single top piece fit better and looked better. I scored the sheet metal along matching the line of the truck in two areas to bend it better and on a curve. It astonishingly (to me) worked! Here it is spot welded in: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanSavage Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 Update: We are under flood watch this morning so bed work is delayed, but from 2 days ago, here is one piece stitched in—I am not the best at welding, but my experience with the flux welder makes me have great desire to purchase a MIG in the future—after we move one day and I build my workshop. You can see one place I accidentally burnt a hole. ARGH!! I will back plate that area for mud. Still, this is way better than when I started. It has been a learning experience all the way around. The 2nd photo is my start to fitting pieces inside the bed. The 3rd photo is my bench seat, which is not original—looks like 87+ to me! I have my MARTI report now. Saving that for another post. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanSavage Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 Update: We are under flood watch this morning so bed work is delayed, but from 2 days ago, here is one piece stitched in—I am not the best at welding, but my experience with the flux welder makes me have great desire to purchase a MIG in the future—after we move one day and I build my workshop. You can see one place I accidentally burnt a hole. ARGH!! I will back plate that area for mud. Still, this is way better than when I started. It has been a learning experience all the way around. The 2nd photo is my start to fitting pieces inside the bed. The 3rd photo is my bench seat, which is not original—looks like 87+ to me! I have my MARTI report now. Saving that for another post. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanSavage Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 Once again, did not take all my photos—here are the other 2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 Once again, did not take all my photos—here are the other 2: Yes, I'd say the seat is 87+. But it might be quite handy with the fold down arm rest. And I can't fault the welding as I'm probably not any better, although I do use shielding gas instead of flux. Stay safe in the flooding. We are in a drought and will hit 110F in a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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