Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

how much did you widen your tubs?? i got another set of tubs, so when i get ready to widen mine they will be 3.75"-4" wider! yours look really good

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Hey Chad!
Thanks for the comment.
I made my tubs 2-1/2" wider.
I looked a a guys C-10 a few weeks back that had 20 x 10 wheels on it, and all he did was cut the fender lip.
I don't want to do that, but I can't see any reason to go any wider, unless you are gonna Pro-street it...My opinion.
If you think those pics looked good, look at the ones that I will soon post-up of the tubs in primer!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Since I hurdled through the learning-curve in the first wheel tub, the second turned-out significantly better!
They both are to my liking, but I had a better fitting/welding sequence figured out for the second one, so virtually no warpage.
On the first, I hammered & dollied it to make it look nice, but the second was good-to-go!
I was so geeked with the results! It was so much easier to finish the second, as compared to the first one.
Here are some pics...Really happy with the end results of both!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

just a heads up, incase you dont know the 67-72 wheel wells dont fit are trucks bed sides without some trimming to the inside of the bed were they bolt up at!! i had to trim mine and it comes reall close to cutting the support brace thats in there! because of the lip on the wheel well, so i just notched that lip around the area were the brace was!! the 70' steel floor on mine has the ridges in it and i just went to the next ridge to make it look kind of factory looking

the tubs look alot better in primer and yes you did do a better job on the second one!! the one thing i hate when i get to work on my truck i want it to look good, but i only work on it on the weekends so i rush myself at what i'm doing! i really dont want to do that to the body work, that and two days i have off i'm there from sun up til the sun goes down, the wife really loves it when i'm gone that long, lol!!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks for the heads-up Chad.
I have already trimmed the box-sides and welded & moved a few of the mounting holes in the wheel wells to better accommodate my application.
I liked these because they are a little taller than the correct ones, thus I can get a little lower with these.
I also only get to work on the truck on mainly weekends, as it it located about 35 miles from home. I usually work on it friday night till 10:00 p.m. Saturday all day till about 10:00 p.m. & Sunday all-day till about 7-8:00 p.m. because I need to get up at 4:00 a.m. for work.
Once in awhile I can sneak a weeknight in on it too.
I have no personal life outside of this right now...Not married & college aged kids...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

tubs look great, mine are in the mail,:lol:

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Ha-Ha-Ha!
Good one Flips!
seeing your post really made me laugh!!!...Seriously!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

How about I send you a pair and you keep the best two and send me the other two back.Pretty good deal........ LOL

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Nice build and looks like you're doing an awesome job. You got your build thread on your signature just fine.
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Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

I learned a few more things this weekend!
I learned that almost everyone wants wider rear wheel tubs, and that pretty much nobody wants to make them themselves!
LOL!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Sounds like a business opportunity to me...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

i plan on doing mine in a couple weeks, if the weather will let me, lol!! its been raining for the last two weekends when i have been off work

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

my kids are going to be 3 and 4 this yr. i also have a 9yr. old girl in cali. that i hope will be coming to live with me in the next week or two finely!! thats one of my biggest reasons i havent got any real updates on my truck lately, i've been trying to get her out here for awhile now!!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

when I do mine I'm gonna measure tubs and tires really close, hopefully I'll get the width I want without having to do what you did.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

And what if the wheel-maker doesn't offer the style wheel that you want with the backspacing/offset that you need?...Custom? $$$
All that I'm saying, is that you have a lot more choices of wheels if you have a little extra room...
My opinion.
Secondly, I didn't want to have to do this after it was painted & assembled.
These were the last pieces that I need to prep for paint, and my painter isn't ready to spray it quite yet.
I want 20 x 10's on the back of this thing, and I think I have my bases covered!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

are you going to narrow the rearend any, or just run stock width and more backspacing, or will it work like it is with factory backspacing? i really am wanting some more meat under the rear of mine as well the 60 series look small on the rear.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Hey Flips!
I wasn't going to narrow the rear end any, at least not initially, because a lot of the wheels for newer vehicles have a bigger positive offset. And since I want more of a Pro-Touring style wheel, I thought that I would have better luck finding a wheel style that I like, with the offset that I need.
But if it comes down to narrowing the rear, I could do that too. I narrowed the 9" rear & re-splined the axles that are in my dad's Pro-street '48 pictured a few pages back. He has 3 more of those rear end assy's and an assortment of center sections with different gear ratios sitting here, that he will never use!
One way, or another, it WILL have some big meats under the a$$-end!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

sweet, i have a 9 inch for mine thats 2 inches narrow than the one in it now, just incase something was to break with the slicks on it, thats when i will mail my tubs to ya:lol:

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Quite likely That something may break with that hypo-motor you have in that rig!
Do you want me to plan on it then? Ha-Ha!
BTW, I block sanded & sprayed my tubs with another coat of primer tonight.
They looooook perfect!!!!
Also, I was meaning to ask you, what brand of paint & clear did you use on your truck? And how happy are you with the results....Assuming that it is a basecoat/clearcoat finish.
And did you sand & rub it?....Or did a body-shop do it all?...Forgive me for not sifting back through your build for these answers if you already posted this info...
I got a quote today for Dupont clear, activator & reducer, gotta see what the reduction ratio is, & what it boils down to as sprayable product, but $500.00...Seems a bit pricey.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

i used sikkens brand base and clear, it was given to me by a paint rep, as far as the rubbing went i ultrafined it with 1500 then 3000 and used 3m rubbing compound with a wool pad, then went to 3m polish and a less coarse wool pad then 3m ultrafine mahine polish with a black foam pad. as far as the price of the clear you were talking about sounds about right and it actually a little cheaper than the sikkens, but here is one place you dont want to scrimp on materials. better materials longer its gonna last.as far as my paint job goes i have pretty much done it all except re -spraying my bed and drivers door,my friend who owns a body shop and was letting me use his booth was a little slow so he did it while i was at work, good to have friends.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

How much base & clear did you end up using?
Did you paint the bottom of your cab & inside the fenders with it too?
I'm trying to get a good idea of how much product that I need to buy, because I want the color to be from the same lot.
I was already thinking that I would need 2 Gallons of clear, unless I pick a color that I can single stage the underside with, and about the same with basecoat....Also pondering the idea of wetsanding it with a DA & 3M foam backed sanding media. I already have all of the 3M polishing media & foam pads.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

with the re-spraying of the bed and door, i would say at least 2 gallons of clear and probably the same in base coat, not really sure never really kept up with it, i did so many panels at diffrent times and just mixed it as we went. the bottom of my cab and also the inner side of the fenders and bedsides are done with raptor tintable bedliner so thers is some more base coat, i also used the bedliner in the inside of the truck floor and rear wall for sound deadning. even with solid colors i would get all my material at the same time, thats why i had to re-do the bed,there is about four diffrent mixes for victory red. by the way i love the raptor bed liner material, 4 quarts, a gun and the hardner for 109.00 on ebay with free shipping,and when tinted it looks great.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks for the quick response Flips!
Kinda what I was thinking then, 2 gallons of base, & 2 gallons of clear.
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I've been doin some aluminum tig-welding for a buddy in the evenings & on the weekend, who is really busy at the moment...Gotta make hay when the sun is shining!
I gotta supplement my income to pay for this paint work somehow!
I like your idea of tint-able bedliner but the finish is a little rough for me...at least where it is in plain view. I'm thinking about doing those areas with 3-M schutzs, or a gravel-guard type of material instead...I think I spelled schutz correctly!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Reading back through your build. Man you got some sick skillz!:metal:

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Hey Bomp!
Look who's talkin!
I appreciate all the comments
Haven't posted anything lately as I'm trying to get some color on this thing!
Maybe later this week we will blow some parts, and you can bet that I will post pics as soon as I do!
I AM SO ANXIOUS TO SEE SOMETHING WITH PAINT ON IT!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Hey Bomp!
Look who's talkin!
I appreciate all the comments
Haven't posted anything lately as I'm trying to get some color on this thing!
Maybe later this week we will blow some parts, and you can bet that I will post pics as soon as I do!
I AM SO ANXIOUS TO SEE SOMETHING WITH PAINT ON IT!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

I haven't been doing anything lately besides final prep for paint. Real boring as far as photos go.
But I have had a chance in between paint prep, to build brackets for my radiator & fan, and mock it up prior to prepping the support for paint.
The radiator & fan are from an SS Camaro that was the donor car.
The brackets turned out really slick...I chopped off the original mounts on the fan shroud and now the fan hangs on the integrated hooks on the radiator tanks, and will simply lift off... and all of the hoses & transmission lines hook-up like from the factory.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

That is very slick. Nice work!
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Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

:agree: :thumbs:

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

YAHOO!!!
Tonight I finally got a chance to get a little color into the picture!
After work I went to my friends house, where we will be cutting-in all of the body panels with paint in order to shoot the back-side of a few panels, to see if I even liked the color that I have chosen....I am thinking thumbs-up!!!...I am pretty excited!
Bear in mind that these are the the unexposed sides of panels, and that a minimal amount of time was spent prepping, as compared to the exposed sides of these. Also it was simply a color test to determine if the color was what was interpreted from the color chip.....I am ordering more paint tomorrow!
Some pics are with & without a flash..

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

And a few more pics!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

man... that is rich. love that blue.
solid color or 2-toning it?

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks, I really dig the color too!
Yeah, It is gonna be 2-toned.
Corvette Jet-stream blue & Mercedes Iridium silver.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

It's always exciting seeing fresh Paint go on. That is really nice.
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Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

I agree...finally got to lay down a little color myself this weekend. Nice work on the radiator/fan

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks Guys!
Gonna try to spray some more color tonight!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

very nice color modge,love it, and the radiator is sick, heck you will be doing burnouts before you know it. fresh paint gets you pumped up and things really start coming together.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks for the comments Flips!
I am soooo pumped!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

A few more pics from last night.
Second session of paint....Starting to make progress!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

That does look awesome Modges !!
Better than mine.