Crushing Gumby 71 Shortbed Patina build

[moose1008]

Been reading through this thread most of the weekend and all I can say is wow! Gumby is looking better and better each new page I click on.

[jasonvw]

Thanks guys! Making a small parts run today to pick up some new seals and stuff like that so I can rebuild the doors when its all done. I like a rattle free ride

[jasonhall]

Awesome build ! Very nice!

[jasonvw]

Thanks a lot! Just in case you guys missed it, I update my Instagram page often too so if your not following me there, you should. Its Deadairgarage. The direct link in in my signature also.

[c10Dream'n]

anybody have any status on Gumby, I don't have instagram so i can't see any updates if there were any.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by c10Dream'n

anybody have any status on Gumby, I don't have instagram so i can't see any updates if there were any.

Current pic,...

[preacher anthony]

Thanks, I don't have it either, I had been waiting to see something. I would love to see photos of while it was at Delmo's.

[c10Dream'n]

thanks for the pic Keith. it looks awesome. Is it completed?

[preacher anthony]

I feel faint!!

[lolife99]

Another cool picture from Porterbuilt's Facebook page.
"the Trader" in the background,...

[LEX]

So nice. The white wheels and top look great together.

[lolife99]

One more,...

[mooseknuckles]

beauty!

[orngsikL]

can i get some info on that bulk head wiring harness on the firewall? where can i get one?

[jasonvw]

Sorry guys, I have been lagging on updates here. Most of my photos are in Instagram but I will update the site here soon. Just a side note for everyone!

Please watch the TV show I was a part of last year. It airs tonight called
Lords of the Car Hoards and it airs at 10pm tonight on Discovery Channel right after Fast and Loud!!! Please tell your friends.

I won't show up until episode 4 or so, but check it out. I hope you guys like it!

Also, did anyone see Gumby make a cameo spot on Justified last week???? It was featured prominently during a very cool scene shot at Delmos!

[buckstoy]

Very cool, I'll have to watch that again (Justified) I thought the huge sign in the background looked familiar!

[jasonvw]

Been quite a while without an update so I guess its as good a time as any. Gumby has come a long way. I will catch back up from where I left off. Engine bay with Hills fender tubs installed.


Shot of the rear wheel at ride height. I planned to go with gloss off white wheels but ended up with matte finish to match the roof. It looks good to me so Im sticking with them.


And then Gumby came back home to get all the mechanicals, visuals, and tuning handled. Now the fun starts and now that it looks like something exciting, the motivation was there for me to finish the truck the right way.


The paint had oxidized again, so I decided to start there and get it looking right. I will detail the process so all of you with patina trucks can do the job right and get a perfect result. There were tons of jobs screaming at me on the truck but I broke it all down onto a list and got to it.

[jasonvw]

So here we go, polish time. There are a ton of products out there that will shine up your paint but when it comes to original paint or a very old repaint, you have to have a system and over the years of playing with lots of OG paint cars, I have developed one that works for me. I avoid all those gnarly abrasive compounds and start with a product called Duzall. Its a nice mild cutter that is safe for clear coat. It does a perfect job of lubricating the paint. It gets into the color and gives it life again. The biggest mistake people make is they head straight to a compound and cut right into the paint and remove way too much material. By doing that way you will end up with a multi hued finish with color change all over the place. Start slow, cut only when needed and you get a uniform color in the end


I do 2 coats of Duzall, then follow it up with 2 coats of ultimate cutter, then 2 coats of wax, and 2 coats of pure carnuba wax all applied on new buffer pads at no more than 2K rpm. Each panel will take you at least a day... Yeh a day, but once you finish its such a transformation.
Before


After

Once you see the outside photos it will look so much more impressive. The key to doing the polishing this way is that you will get a lasting finish that will stay glossy, and look natural, and not like an imperfect mirror.

[jasonvw]

After 3 full days the passenger side was done. The shine is really looking good at this point


The hood was looking really dry and dead so i saved that for last since it was going to burn up a ton of material. You can see that the paint still is really thick and strong, just dead.



And here is the finished product on the drivers side. So far at this point I have 96 hours in the rehab of the outside of the truck.


Its lots of work but the difference it makes in the appearance of the truck is massive. Taking your time and doing it right makes the result so much more rewarding.

Now it is starting to really look like something...

[jasonvw]

And Im sure you noticed the squarebody in the background... Well as if I didn't have my hands full already, a truck I have been dreaming about popped up for sale and I grabbed it. This is Lefty, and I bought it from Joe Yezzi who has built a few squares on this site. Lefty is an all OG 73. I bought it just off of that fact alone but after it arrived I did some pretty in depth research and found out some great history on the truck.

Here it is arriving

[Hankster]

All the trucks look good! You gonna start up a thread for the square?

[Rusbuilt]

Looking good sir!

[jasonvw]

Thanks guys. I will start a thread on Lefty in the near future. Im still full speed on Gumby right now getting it up to my standards before I move on to other trucks

The next item on my list was to fix the altered wheel tubs. As you can see they were modified for the raised bed floor but leaving bare metal showing isn't my style...


After a quick sanding I had the metal looking fresh and smooth


Then a few coats of heavy prime, sanding and priming, and then some top coat. After that I hit it with clear and then some wet sand. The end result is a near perfect match to the rest of the truck with the appropriate amount of shine so it looks proper. Much better than leaving it how it was.


Looking down from the top you can see the match is pretty dead on. The only thing left back here is to get the bed looking its best.

[jasonvw]

After the wheel tubs I popped out the rear window and swapped in a nice new rubber seal since the old one was pretty beat and faded



This is a really easy job to do at home with some thick rope and plenty of dish soap. It makes all the difference in the world visually as well.

[jasonvw]

After getting the rear glass done I decided it would be a great idea to do the front windshield too.... Bad idea! Trust me, this is a pain in the ass job and really, trying to do it at home is not a good one. I pulled the windshield out because it was not original and I wanted to have all OG glass in the truck. I got a new gasket too just to do the job right.
First step was the lube up the channel where the rubber sits


Then I put the gasket out in the sun for almost all day to get nice and warm so it could flex



I got some help from the old man getting the rubber on the glass and the rope installed so I could pull it into the window frame. Take your time here and get plenty of dish soap in the rubber lip or you will rip the hell out of the gasket


Then everyone got involved with equal pressure on both sides of the glass. I stated to pull in the window. It took a solid hour to get it in and right. Its not an easy job!