Green Gus the 68 shortbed convert

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Man that looks awesome. Love the eventual look of the engine. It's really going to set your truck up and away. A 355 huh. I knew you'd need a little more oomph.

It's funny how with everyone doing an LS these days, the small block seems to be the one that's a cool oddity to build up again. For what I'm doing, I can't justify the expense and time it would take to go LS, plus I just love the look of a simple small block.

Originally Posted by GR8-68

Glad to see some paint going on it, those dents look great

Don't they? And I haven't even gouged the paint out of them yet...

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by hewittca

It's funny how with everyone doing an LS these days, the small block seems to be the one that's a cool oddity to build up again. For what I'm doing, I can't justify the expense and time it would take to go LS, plus I just love the look of a simple small block.

Looks awesome!

Same here. My truck has been set up over the years with A/C, OD, etc and it all works with a SBC. It would almost be stupid for me to move to an LS with all the time and $ I have into it. I also have a brand new GM 350 crate in the garage dressed up and waiting to go in. Someday, right?

You know you want to add the 1968 CST trim now...

This is a recent pic of an event with my truck club. No joke, 7 out of 10 trucks in the pic are LS swapped. My 67, the orangish 68 and the white squarebody are the only ones that aren't.

[GR8-68]

Exactly why I am staying with my sbc

[67ChevyRedneck]

Oh noes, you ruined it!

Seriously, it looks like it's going to match quite close!

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by GR8-68

Wow !! That is going to look awesome

Thanks!

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Oh noes, you ruined it!

Seriously, it looks like it's going to match quite close!

Oh I'm sure when I bring it out to the cruise-ins around here that I'm going to get a lot of, "You did WHAT to that paint!?"

[rusty76]

Looks great. It is amazing how something so simple in thought might change the attitude of the truck. I liked it. So when you going to paint it? Nah just kidding.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Looks great. It is amazing how something so simple in thought might change the attitude of the truck. I liked it. So when you going to paint it? Nah just kidding.

Not the last time I'll get that question I'm sure. My reply, I already did!

[tinydb84]

Man that green looks good. Nice job blending it. Truck looks great.

[hewittca]

I had a chance this morning to knock out the patina process on one bed side. I've noticed that the color match really depends on the sheen of the finish. When the patina is roughed in with 400 grit the paint looks more like a standard green, and as I finish it further with 1000, 2000, and #000 steel wool, it really darkens up. I have it pretty close right now, but I did miss a few of the 400 grit scratches that stand out. I will probably continue to work it until I get it closer, but this is a good start. I also can't tell if I'm just over analyzing it because I know it's been painted, or if there really is a slightly noticeable difference. In some lights it looks perfect and in others I think I can see a difference.









I took it down the road to snap a few photos at one of my favorite spots just to see it in a different light.







A little before and after comparison.





And finally, I put the truck to work this afternoon hauling around a picnic table.

[rusty76]

It looks good. Hard to see any differences in the colors in the pics but the patina process is looking good. So many times when someone is doing a patina job they over work the paint. Patina itself is gradual and involves time. The trick is to get it close and let Mother Nature do the rest. Too many people want instant gratification and end up doing a ton of sanding and end up with an unnatural look. Your truck looks great and I'm sure in person it will be much nicer. Keep on keeping on.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by rusty76

... Too many people want instant gratification and end up doing a ton of sanding and end up with an unnatural look. Your truck looks great and I'm sure in person it will be much nicer. Keep on keeping on.

I agree, and that was one of my worries with doing it. It's hard to make it look naturally random when I'm consciously working the paint. I definitely don't like the painted on patina finishes, those never look right to me. That's why I started fresh with new paint so I could mimic mother nature's process as closely as possible, just at a much more accelerated rate. I figured the fade is a combination of wear on the paint from use/washing and sun exposure. I tried to copy the wear, but I'll let the sun finish it off over time.

[GR8-68]

It is looking great !!! I love it

[rusty76]

Originally Posted by hewittca

I agree, and that was one of my worries with doing it. It's hard to make it look naturally random when I'm consciously working the paint. I definitely don't like the painted on patina finishes, those never look right to me. That's why I started fresh with new paint so I could mimic mother nature's process as closely as possible, just at a much more accelerated rate. I figured the fade is a combination of wear on the paint from use/washing and sun exposure. I tried to copy the wear, but I'll let the sun finish it off over time.

And too weathering here in NC will be somewhat different than in Arizona. The sun bakes stuff around here but not like out west. It does look good.

[hewittca]

I knocked out the passenger side last night, and overall I'm pretty happy with how both sides turned out. After rolling it out into the sun there are still a few small adjustments I want to do to the finish, but it's basically done. I also changed my process slightly. I found it was to hard to bring the sheen up to where it matches from a coarser finish, but much easier to knock it down from a finer finish. So after 2000 grit wet, I polished the paint with compound and a wool wheel. Then, I knocked the shine off with steel wool. This gives a closer match.





I also tried to make it look a little more authentic by replicating the scratch down the side of the bed. Someone ran into something and left a scratch down most of the passenger side, so I took a screw driver to the paint and extended the scratch down the bedside like it was originally.





I think that's enough updates on the bedsides for now! My next project is spindles and blocks but that will be on hold for a while. In the meantime, I plan to just drive the truck and use it to make sure everything is mechanically sound after all the work I did to it these past two months. That's it for now.

[Derek@AccuAir]

You did an amazing job! Just enough cut through to make it match the cab and in all the right places. Looks killer!

[rusty76]

Looks really nice. Good job with the screwdriver.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by Derek@AccuAir

You did an amazing job! Just enough cut through to make it match the cab and in all the right places. Looks killer!

Thanks! I wasn't 100% happy with the results even after the updates above, so I did a little more experimenting last night and I think I finally perfected the technique. Because of this, I actually ended up taking off a bit more paint than I originally planned on but it still looks right I think, and the overall match now is dead on.

Originally Posted by rusty76

Looks really nice. Good job with the screwdriver.

I'm used to pampering the paint on my vehicles so it was a nice change to attack the paint for once and not care if it gets scratched up. Everyone who has seen it in person so far (mostly family) has questioned me about it like I was crazy. That's ok though, I like it. They just don't have the vision.

[MMcMasters]

I think you did a great job, and the screwdriver scratch was the perfect final touch

[GR8-68]

Looks great Corey, do you want to come scratch mine up for me ?

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by GR8-68

Looks great Corey, do you want to come scratch mine up for me ?

Haha. I'd be happy to come help you ruin your paint.

[GR8-68]

Here is one of our doors I built for my personal kitchen, it is barn wood distressed.

[YBNORML]

I finally found some time and read through your thread. Pictures don't do justice to the work you've done. Awesome.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by YBNORML

I finally found some time and read through your thread. Pictures don't do justice to the work you've done. Awesome.

Thanks man! In a way, that is kind of the plan. I want it to look like an original old truck with a few tweaks to the styling.

[hewittca]

So now that the shortbed conversion is done and I'm in between large projects, I've been thinking about a few other small things I wanted to do on the truck. One of those was shaving the sidewalls. I hate the look of modern sidewall designs, especially on low profile tires. So, I started attacking (very carefully!) my tires with a very worn out 60 grit flapper wheel. I was surprised with how quickly and smoothly this method knocked all marking off the sidewall. The finish was a completely smooth and matte finish. I think this added the perfect touch to finish off the vintage inspired look of this wheel/tire combo. Most people would probably never notice it, but to me it made a big difference in the way the tires look in person as you walk around the truck.













Now that the sidewalls are smooth, I'm considering another vintage touch to this setup, white line tires. On my Malibu, I painted thin whites on the tires with great success, so I'm considering doing it on the truck as well since many of these truck came with them. For now, I just drew them on with chalk to get an idea of how it looks. I definitely like it but am not ready to commit to it yet because I also really like the blackwall look too. For now, it's fun to just draw them on when I want.











Now, what should I ruin next?

[GR8-68]

Some sweet ideas Corey, I would have never thought to remove tire markings like that The truck looks great