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That stud gun from HF is the same one im using that I borrowed from my cousin. It works good.

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Ok for all you guys that have the auto dark welding hood all I can say is wow, how the heck could someone have gotten this far without them!!

And the stud welder works like a charm too.
Pulling a dent is alot like reading the lie on the putting green. I have seen it isnt just about planting the stud in the deepest part of the dent and going to town on it. I had better luck by planting 3-4 in that area between the outer edge of the dent and the deep center and pulling it out one side/quarter at a time..... thoughts?

Started the weekend off with the spot weld cutter and cut out the drip rails from the leading edge of my doors. I have to agree with all you "old timers" it does look alot cleaner without them, and the rust under them !! What a crappy design.

Then it was filling the CB antenna hole in the top of my cab.
I was having a hell of a time because the hot air keep blowing up thru my welds and I could never get the weld to seal the hole. Not until I got my wife to hold the shop vacuum up to the bottom of the hole inside the cab. With that back pressure for the hot air I was able to get my welds to seal up finally.

Then I moved to the drip rail.
Stodder did a "sombreo" style where he flatened and tapered his all the way around, and that gave me the idea.
I did more of a "fedora" style where I only flatened and filled mine in the front with a down drip lip.
At this time it is still a little rough, but it is looking along the lines I want it to.

I love this hood!
I was looking for holes to fill and stuff to weld ... but i am down to 500psi on my tank of gas so it is going to be time to change that soon.

Pic #1 and #2 is my drip rail before and after.
#3 is my CB Antenna hole filled (yay!!)

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Just a few more pics of my drip rail mod...

Pic #1 is the before (as if you guys dont know what these look like, I know)
#2 is my flatened drip rail, and I filled my seams too.
#3 is another view of the drip rail
#4 is just the drivers side, which I have to say was more cooperative. It was so bad I started to wonder if it was because I am right handed, and standing on the front frame doing all this...???

Please comment, the only skills and ideas I have in this are from you guys on this board.

Thanks for looking !!!

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Nice looking work!! I been thinking about taking my side drip rails off also. I know mine has rust under them too. It looks like the door gap is still ok even with them off. Can you get a straight on pic of the door gap where the side drip rails were removed? Are you going to have to add any filler metal??

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The gaps aren't bad at all, maybe 3/16 to 1/4". I got some welding rods and they look to fill the space pretty good, or I may just cut the original drip channels and flip their direction to fill the gap.

Not sure yet.

One thing I learned with those rods is they make filling holes alot easier and faster. If you can imagine holding a rod like you were brazing or soldering while you were mig welding then that is how I have been doing it. A lot of the time the working end of the rod will melt off, but if not I just cut it with the grinder.

Pic #1 is head on to the gap.
#2 is squared off to the side of the truck.
#3 is the welding rod idea.

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Nice work McMurphy, you have my respect for braving an Alaska winter. I had a friend that was in the Air Force and was stationed there for a few years. He told stories of putting the kids to bed and then playing 18 holes of golf (IN DAYLIGHT).

Keep up the good work

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Thanks for the extra pics!! Those gaps dont look too bad at all to me. I set the door gaps on my door using a paint stirring stick. Ill have to get my cab flipped back over and doors back on and check mine. If I remember correctly mine was kinda tight fit around the side drip rail. So maybe I can remove mine and it will be fine. That filler rod seems like alot of work to finish it out, but I may be wrong, would like to see one finished and how it was done. Good luck on yours, thanks for the pics.

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looks good ,just wondering do you think re moving the drip rail will increase wind noise in the cab......... come to think about who cares thats why they make flow masters and loud music:lol:

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There are certainly some stories to be had up here for both ends of the year with the -60 degrees in winter and the 24 hours of day light in the summer! We just turned our first of three years up here this weekend on the 10th. After this we are hoping to get Germany, Hawaii, or Ft Lewis up in Washington state!

No problem on the pics, happy to be of some help instead of just sponging wisdom and ideas off you guys!!


I am counting on new seals all around to eliminate wind noise. If that dont do the trick then I guess I could always just caulk the doors shut and climb in and out of the window like a race car.....
Yeah just kidding :mm:

Loud music definately!!
If you look at my Tempest I dropped a 460w amp to push 8 speakers into it. I can get loud, but clarity was my goal, especially in a convertible. When you sit in the back seat of that car you feel like you are IN the band! So since day one with this rig, the music has always been lurking.... waiting for its turn... laughing at my debit card for the carnage to come.... :metal:

Thanks for looking guys!
Time to build some positive faction with the F.L.O. (freekin loved one)

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love your build..

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Yep Collins, we popped the hub caps on it tonight and sure as hell 8 lugs under there. Is Ok though, still more parts to be had from it than paying individually!

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Thanks for looking 57truckguy!!

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Nice build!! Looks like you are making good progress up there in the frigid North!

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hey McMurphy, you seen santa leave yet? he supposed to be bringing me some parts cant hardly sleep at night:lol:

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Thanks for looking.
It has been warm enough to snow most this week, but is supposed to drop to -40* for Christmas day. Indoor garage and kerosene heater for the win!

Not yet Flips, sorry.
But then I go to bed too early as well....

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Even though I was on call for the hospital this Christmas weekend, I still got some stuff done.

Friday before I was called in, I got a replacement p-side cab corner....more to follow on that.
While I was fighting the donor rig for that, my lovely wife was yanking a bench seat from a 92 Bronco for me that totally fits the bill. Split folding back, head rests, and seatbelt ready! Yay wife !!!
I am glad she had fun doing it, since not only was it sorta chilly out there in 12" of fresh powder snow, but it was our 14th wedding anniversary too!!

Then the rest of the weekend between getting called in for surgical cases, I worked on the grill face of the truck. I filled in the frame cuts/wells in the bottom for a smooth and continuous body line, (I have already cut the frame where the front bumper mounts to accomdate this mod) and I cut out some nasty dents and replaced those with donors from a spare face I have.
The frame wells didnt turn out as good as I hoped, but given my skill level I am not going to cry about it. If they bother me too much I can just cut them out again and do over....
The areas I cut the dents out of though, I am surprised how well they lined up. I may actually get the hang of this welding gig!!

Pic #1 is my wife being the awesome gal she is having fun in a frozen bone yard
#2,3,and 4 is my metal working mishaps.

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That's awesome she's into it with you. Glab to see more progress, keep it up my friend!

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Thanks for looking man!
I hope your life settles down soon and you can get back to your Tanya!!

BTW my father was born in Janesville, just down the road from you. There are a lot of McMurphy headstones in the graveyard up there. Guess my people been there a spell....

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Wow man, that's pretty cool. I have seen the names in the graveyards around here.....it really is a small world. Do you still have any family around here? Ever get down this way?

I'm not giving up on Tanya by any shot. Still collecting parts as I can, in fact I'm probably heading to the junkyard this weekend to continue looking for an inline 6 HEI distributor.

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looking good, my hats off to you and your wife, braving the alaskan winter to get truck parts, that awesome.

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Those patches you made and welded in the front look like they fit perfect. My hats off to you also. Your getting a lot more done than I would be if I was living up there. Im loving my sunny mid 50s here.

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Welding rods and the like have been used for filling gaps every since I can remember.. LOL Older than dirt I am.. Welding rods are nice because they give you a round look to the addition instead of sharp.. Just looks better... sometimes.. Looking good .

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Anyone named McMurphy that you would come across is certainly related. There were 2 brothers that came over from Ireland in the early 1700s. One side of the family settled in the mid-east side, and the other side came out west. My father was the youngest of 7 that grew up in your area.
If you ever hear a story of some kid that blew up an old tree in the center of town with dynamite around 1940-ish, that was my dad. He got in a lot of trouble for that cause it blew out some store windows too.....

Good luck on your HEI hunt, hope to see some pics in your thread soon, yours has always been one I kept up on!

Flips, we are from snow country in NE Washington state, so the rule of thumb is if it is warm enough to snow, it is Ok to go outside and get stuff done! I know how crazy that must sound :lol:

Thanks Allabout! I can only take as much credit as is needed to read you guy's builds and how-to stuff on this board! Some great teachers and sharing of tips, tricks, and ideas here :metal:

I am with you on that 57truckguy!
I bought a box of rods just for that, and I been saving the studs from my stud gun and using some of them to help back fill some of the smaller spots too. I was just remarking to the wife I wish someone made a hole fill kit with all different sizes and thickness of plugs. It would be so much faster and easier if I could stud gun a stud onto a dime or quarter for example, and then just weld it in to fill some of these. If I had a kit like that I would fill all kinds of holes in the frame ect....

Thanks for taking a look guys...
I expect to get my cab corner in this weekend, and finish up the face a little more for the cosmetic stuff I want to do to it.
Just an off the wall question... to flatten a line of welds, has anyone ever tried putting a heavy weight metal file/rasp into the end of an air hammer? Trying to grind welds down to a flat straight line or surface is not in my skill set so there has got to be a simpler/better way.

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I see you now have a donor for that section.
I still haven't tackled mine.
When were you thinking of attempting yours?

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Tomorrow sir.

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Great progress!! Much respect to your wifey! I see she's helping you! That's amazing!

And it's really cool to passionate trokita owners all around the world. Have a great day in Alaska (or night)? Lol have no clue what's the time difference :)

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Thanks for looking!!
My wife really liked your set up too, and boggled when I showed here where you are in the world Hehehehehehehe

I am posting some pics of my art for you.
Please bear with me, I dont show this stuff very often.

#1 a bladed heart
#2 Darkness from the old Tom Cruise/Tim Curry movie "Legend"
#3 a scene from a story a world I created when I was 14 years old
#4 a study in armor detail on a medusa themed monster
#5 a rose I did with felt pens...

Nothing special, I just have some talented pens and pencils I think.

Enjoy

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Welding hood looks cool and your making some great progress. Keep it up.
Posted via Mobile Device

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Hahaha hope google found it lol Czech republic is super small country in the middle of Europe. Pretty boring sometimes:) no crime and also not a big car scene... and NO truck scene. Oh well:)

Thank you very much for posting your works here. I know how it feels to show your stuff in public. I wasn't always confident to do that too...
And I really dig your style! Nice details and colors WOW! And what a fantasy you have. I could never go this far! Awesome! How big are those drawings?

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Thanks for the kind words, the sizes are vaired.
#1 a bladed heart = is the size of normal piece of copy paper
#2 Darkness from the old Tom Cruise/Tim Curry movie "Legend" AND
#3 a scene from a story a world I created when I was 14 years old = is half poster size
#4 a study in armor detail on a medusa themed monster = copy paper sized
#5 a rose I did with felt pens... = Greeting Card size

Decided that -23* was just too chilly to spend too much time at the junk yard this morning, I am trying to get the headlight buckets cut out of a donor core support for my pop up lights project.
Got both sides 75% cut before my batteries pooped out on me, and my toes and fingers were starting to protest.

So I came home and started in on my cab corner.

#1 is my donor section and my problem area.
#2 I started with cutting out the spot welds along the door jamb.
#3 Then I taped off and cut out the minimum of the problem area.

#4 I used the cut out problem area as a template, then holding the donor section up to the cab, I traced my cut lines again from the inside of the cab in a different color, and over size cut my patch. Then I slowly and incrementally trimmed the patch and the cab until the two fit up nice enough for me to start worrying about over doing it.

#5 I think as I tack weld it in I will be able to get that gap closed even more that it is showing in the pic. I only had a couple of vice-clamps holding it in place for photos.

Am done for the day, wife has dinner ready and I deserve some serious beers!
Check you all tomorrow!!!

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Btw awesome art work!!

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Thanks Alan !!

I cannot seem to post any pics. I am getting this error:

Any ideas?

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Where you trying to post porn?:lol: Because thats not allowed. Even large amount of bare skin are frowned upon. Really no ideas;)

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When it comes to porn I dont like to share.... :lol:
But now that you mention it, it was a rather large patch panel I am putting in :waah:

I will try again laters I guess.

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Looks like I can post pics now so going to try this progress update again!!

#1 is my donor section and my problem area.
#2 I started with cutting out the spot welds along the door jamb.
#3 Then I taped off and cut out the minimum of the problem area.

#4 I used the cut out problem area as a template, then holding the donor section up to the cab, I traced my cut lines again from the inside of the cab in a different color, and over size cut my patch. Then I slowly and incrementally trimmed the patch and the cab until the two fit up nice enough for me to start worrying about over doing it.

#5 I think as I tack weld it in I will be able to get that gap closed even more that it is showing in the pic. I only had a couple of vice-clamps holding it in place for photos.

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Looks much better now McMurphy!

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That patch panel looks good. I know what you mean about trim a little, check it, trim , check it. It takes me so long to this kind of stuff. I know you will get it. Take your time and it will turn out perfect.

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Thanks guys!!
Well here is how it turned out...

#1 after my initial pass on all my spot welding, I had to cut a half dozen of them on the back side on the long verticle seam because I was not paying attention and it mis-aligned on me.

#2 this is how it sits now, ready for a light skim of filler, and paint. I also bonked myself because it wasnt until I took this pic that I even thought about the body lines aligning. Guess it is better to be lucky than smart, because I was HUGELY relieved to see they lined up as well as they did !

#3 this is my proud pic, this part looks so near seamless that I could lie and tell someone I know what I am doing ..... yah riiiiiiiight !!!

#4 while I was running my spot welds on the patch panel, I was scooting over to the d-side and installing my fuel fill patch as well.

#5 looks good to me !!

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I think it is time for me to get the floor patches now that I feel more confident on what I am doing with the welder.
I know I will need both rear cab corners, both side floor pans and both rocker panels. I will probably order the complete rockers instead of the partials.

I guess tomorrow will be a toss up between more fab work, or cutting out bad flooring.....

I am certainly uncertain, at least I am pretty sure I am....

Good night all, beer time !!

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Man, that looks good... and a huge improvement on the old ratty piece! Keep up the great job and keep the updates coming our way....