Made the trip to Lowes yesterday and found out that the welder I bought should be run off a 50 amp breaker verses a 30 amp (Dryer) but could use it at low voltage with little to now issues. So I got the dryer plug and welder receptor, put it together this morning and hooked it up. I had all of the bed parts just outside the back garage door so I brought them to set up.
This was the fun part! When I measured and cut the bed, well it was not as straight as a ruler but, close to being square... ha ha Using the welder to spot or tack weld with the thin metal was wearing thin on my mind due to blowouts. I get the head board tacked on to both fenders and pull out the 110 welder I had in the attic thinking it would be an even lower amp for this metal, Nope! However, it was using less electricity and Lisa needed the dryer for washing clothes.
I had some more measuring and cutting to even up the edges so they would match up closer. I removed the tail gate due to weight and used WD40 on the wheel well nuts to remove them later to take more weight off. Found a huge wire wheel cup and started removing over 40 years of layers. Noticed a couple braces that need to be tack welded and when grinding with the wheel I seen a rust spot that will need cut out and replaced.
Have a friend that is going to assist in December with welding up the bed with a Mig welder. This will help considerably with the blow outs and create a smooth weld. These will be ground down so that only a small amount of filler has to be used. Until then, more grinding and sanding will be done to the bed parts as well as cut away parts that will be used to extend the cab.
I will start looking for paint and body shops around here that can do a great job of doing the small details of finish work and smoothing out the things I didn't do and then give the whole truck the paint job from top to bottom that will be eye popping. What color or colors are they, Not sold on one or two yet. I will also have to find an upholstery shop to do the seats, headers, and whatever.
Getting a little ahead of myself, This was enough for one day!
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ReplyDeleteChris Gilman Medford, Or