I finally finished up the metal work on the front end and was able to shoot some paint this week. No pics yet of the first coat of black, since it was getting dark.
I did add a piece of 2" angle stock to reinforce the Dodge frame where the winch mounts will insert into the frame. the angle is tied to the '57 frame stubs, in case someone were to lift the front end via the winch mount.
I shot the inside of the frame rails with this stuff. Should keep the rust issues under control now, especially with drain holes. I'm thinking of getting some more for the cowl vent area as well.
After shooting the inside of the frame and allowing things to cure, I pulled out the sand blaster and cleaned up the welds that I could not get to with the wire brush. Fate was working against me this week. My trusty DeWalt angle grinder has begun to show its age. It is a refurbished unit that has required me to repair the cord, twice now as of Monday. Then the brass insert for the side handle came out of the plastic body yesterday. Looks like I'll be asking Santa for a new one this year. In the meanwhile, I'm going to try some JBWeld to see if that helps to snug things up a bit.
I ran out of light gray primer, so there is some dark gray patches where I finished it off. No matter, the topcoat will be semigloss black.
-Joe