My 1959 Fleetside Build

[pbeguy]

Originally Posted by renegade6

My cab had the same damage in the place where you have all of the bondo. It was ugly so, I replaced the entire rear of the cab.

Are you getting rid of your inner cab corners?

I treated the inners with GEM rust converter.

Since this is going to be a fun and loose build, I don't mind using body filler.
(I use the good stuff)

[pbeguy]

I have been working on both trucks and it is driving me crazy. I was going to drive the Blue and White one but every time I replace an item it leads me to another item that I want to fix. I put a bench seat in it. I replaced the carb with a Carter YF. I redid the ignition system. I am doing the entire brake system now.
The other truck is coming along. I got the front mocked up and I think I can run 30 inch overall tires on it. That will allow me to run a 24" rear and 22" front combo some day. I redid all the bushings and ball joints in the front. My Camaro dropped spindles came in. I cut the frame for bags and mocked them up. So far I am pleased with how it is working out.

[oldcouple]

Originally Posted by pbeguy

Got both corners finished. Found a lot of little dings and dents but I can hammer and dolly most of them out. I have no idea why the bondo is below the window. I am going to sand it off and see what it looks like underneath.

That is the area that sits above the bed, always got lots of dents from loads that slid forward. It is a double panel area, the inner cab block access. A lot of trucks at car shows will be prefect body wise except for this are.

[TX58]

Hey PBEguy
I see you live in Spring,I live in Humble. Just got my 58 and would like to know if you have any parts. Would love to see that truck of yours too. Any other Houston area TaskForce owners out there that you know from the forum?
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[pbeguy]

Originally Posted by TX58

Hey PBEguy
I see you live in Spring,I live in Humble. Just got my 58 and would like to know if you have any parts. Would love to see that truck of yours too. Any other Houston area TaskForce owners out there that you know from the forum?
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Absolutely. I will send you ny info via pm.

[TX58]

Originally Posted by pbeguy

Got both corners finished. Found a lot of little dings and dents but I can hammer and dolly most of them out. I have no idea why the bondo is below the window. I am going to sand it off and see what it looks like underneath.

My truck had the same damage, i guess when putting stuff in the bed that part got whacked alot. Mine had lots of small dents. I took off all the body filler and redone it with premium gold. My first body filler job on this truck.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by pbeguy

... but every time I replace an item it leads me to another item that I want to fix...

sweet truck, but the line above is the bane of every hotrodder.
i'm not sure that i've ever seen the chrome spears on the side of the bed

[pbeguy]

Plodding along. Front is done for the most part. Found a great deal on new rotors and calipers. Been working on the rear. Bought a big miller mig to speed it up. I welded the 4-link in and took the axle all the way up till it stopped. No binding and plenty of travel.
Found some triple bags that have 11 inches of travel. I want to be able to air the back up enough to change a tire without removing the bed.
The rear axle is sitting at normal drive height.

[CAL 58 GMC]

Looking good!

[pbeguy]

I worked on the blue and white truck this weekend.
I replaced with new... all 4 drums, all the brake shoes, all the wheel cylinders, all 3 brake hoses, 3 brake lines, all the U-bolts and nuts, swapped to tapered bearings in front, new tires (had the whitewalls cut bigger) and new lugnuts. I removed a few springs and used some shackles I made to lower it about 3" in front and 5" in the rear.
After replacing the carb and switching to HEI dist. it seems road worth now.
The first show in this area is the Lone Star Showdown on Feb 24th. I will be taking it to that show and The Texas Hoedown on March 3rd.

[pbeguy]

Here is a pic after the work from the previous post. The brakes are awesome. About 2 inches of pedal slows her down. I am going to do the window rubbers this week and get out on the road for a shakedown this weekend. Here is an after (top) and a before (bottom). The new houndstooth bench seat makes a huge difference.

[Kim57]

The truck looks good.
Kim

[pbeguy]

Thanks Kim, it will tide me over while I work on the other one. It is really like stepping back in time when I drive this truck. Every thing is so old school.
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[pbeguy]

Have not posted in a while but still working hard on my project.
Wheels and tires finally arrived. Biggest tires (305/40/22) I could get and not go over the bed rail. The fronts are ridiculous compared to the Camaro stocker. Got the gas tank fitted into the frame yesterday. Working on boxing the frame. I am starting to see some progress.

[Kim57]

Nice wheels.
Kim

[pbeguy]

Thanks, Kim. I was looking for something I don't see on many other trucks. They are huge. 22x11 and 22x9.
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[sgtusmc]

hahahhaha...NO! I've got the same wheels for my 59 in my attic. I was just saving up for some tires.

[pbeguy]

Sorry Buddy. Had I seen yours I might have chosen another style. Getting the proper offset is the hardest part.
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[apache200]

what gastank did you use? how hard was the air bag setup? and what 4 link did you use? sorry for so many questions i want to run air on my 55 and wondered how hard it was going to be.

[pbeguy]

Originally Posted by apache200

what gastank did you use? how hard was the air bag setup? and what 4 link did you use? sorry for so many questions i want to run air on my 55 and wondered how hard it was going to be.

69 Mustang tank (eBay) Air ride setup was tough because of how low I want to ride.
I used different parts and built the back from scratch. It has a big notch. Front uses Camaro sub-frame and stock control arms.

I would chat about it if you pm me a number to call.

[sgtusmc]

The wheels look great on your truck. I traded some 37" mud tires for a set of 18's & 20"s. Your build is come'n along nicely. Keep up the good work!

[dubie]

this thing looks sinister already!!

[sqrlnts]

SUBSCRIBED! any updates?

[pbeguy]

I took 3 steps backwards. After it all got hooked up I decided the 4-link would just not work the way I had installed it. I cut it all off and started over. I now have a modified 3-link with 50" trailing arm/bars. It allows the kind of movement I need. I had to change my rear-end because the tires were up against the bed walls. I picked up a very nice front clip and have it in primer. I went ahead and bought my paint. I blasted the cab and got in etch-primer.

Headed to Vegas for the weekend but I will post some more pics.

In this pic you can see that the hubs clear the top of the frame when it is aired out.

[pbeguy]

Update.
Wow what a time consuming project. I got the bags done and it all works great. I am happy with the way it lays out. Actually I am gonna raise the frame a bit because it is a little to low in front. The rockers hit and I still have a 1-1/2 drop left. It is sitting on its own with no jacks or stands!! Woo-Hoo!! The engine sits nice and high in the engine bay. My rear track is 72" and the front is 70" (just like my stock truck) I am going to go ahead and put the body on and get it running and driving before I work on any more metal or Bondo. I did end up putting a small tunnel in the rear cab floor to clear the drive shaft.
Ok. back to work.