My 57 Pro Street

[Kim57]

I removed the drip rail from the cab.
It was a bit of a pain for me as the roof skin was slightly off from one side to the other. I didn't want to remove and replace the whole top so I had to compromise on the look I wanted.
The pics are kinda boring but here they are.
Kim

[Kim57]

Now for some more door fun.
These pics show the radius I came up with for the corners and how they look on the truck.
Kim

[Kim57]

These pics show how bad the door fits in the opening.
The drip rail hid some of the poor factory gaps but now that its gone I will have to do quit a bit of work to fix them.
Kim

[my67chevytruck]

looking good!

[CAL 58 GMC]

Nice fab work Kim!

[hotrodsbyray]

Kim,
I have exactly the same alignment problem - don't exactly know how to properly correct it. I currently am experimenting with shims, dropping the front fenders / grille / radiator assembly, adding metal, or just brunt major movements with applied pressure devices (sledge hammer and short losses of temper!)
I wonder if raising the rear until it is level then bolting or attaching it to the cowl some way, then dropping the front might do it. Not much help but if something suddenly and magically works I'll let you know.
The other problem I see is that when the fender to cowl areas seem to get close to fitting, then the hood is all "wanker-jawed" as my granddaddy used to say.

[hammerdog57]

Looks like you are going to have to weld some metal bar stock in places to get the body lines to look good. I think i would have all front sheet metal including the hood in place and adjusted as close as possible before i added or cut anything.

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by hotrodsbyray

Kim,
I have exactly the same alignment problem - don't exactly know how to properly correct it. I currently am experimenting with shims, dropping the front fenders / grille / radiator assembly, adding metal, or just brunt major movements with applied pressure devices (sledge hammer and short losses of temper!)
I wonder if raising the rear until it is level then bolting or attaching it to the cowl some way, then dropping the front might do it. Not much help but if something suddenly and magically works I'll let you know.
The other problem I see is that when the fender to cowl areas seem to get close to fitting, then the hood is all "wanker-jawed" as my granddaddy used to say.

Originally Posted by hammerdog57

Looks like you are going to have to weld some metal bar stock in places to get the body lines to look good. I think i would have all front sheet metal including the hood in place and adjusted as close as possible before i added or cut anything.

Thanks for the info guys.
My biggest concern right now is the fender and cowl alignment. I hate to have a 1/4 inch of body filler at the edge where they meet so I will have to think about how I'm going to tackle it.
The passenger side seems to line up a lot better.
Kim

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by hammerdog57

Looks like you are going to have to weld some metal bar stock in places to get the body lines to look good. I think i would have all front sheet metal including the hood in place and adjusted as close as possible before i added or cut anything.

Good advice, previous alignment discussion have said to align the cab/hood/radiator support first as the hood is the hardest to get it to sit right when closed. Then work on the doors/cab/fenders. Finally check the bed to make sure the horizontal lines match front to back. When I took my truck apart I photoed and counted shims, washers, etc. at all the connection points and bagged and labeled them. I do not think I found any place that was exactly the same. If you want those perfect door gaps you will have to trim or add to the doors or body, they did not match and were not perfect from the factory, these were working trucks not the family show piece. Good luck.

[jjjmm56]

I had a problem with fender to cowl gap also . Mine was hitting the cab under the fender, theres a raised area right under the curve of the fender.I tapped mine in to get the fender gap closer. I also trimmed the mount on top the fender because it was hitting the cab not allowing the fender gap to close. Then welded a washer in the new location.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by jjjmm56

I had a problem with fender to cowl gap also . Mine was hitting the cab under the fender, theres a raised area right under the curve of the fender.I tapped mine in to get the fender gap closer. I also trimmed the mount on top the fender because it was hitting the cab not allowing the fender gap to close. Then welded a washer in the new location.

I posted about that in my build thread. I could not figure out how every 55-59 I saw with the fenders off was beat in that area. My fenders had never been off and one side was hammered a little the other quite a bit. I read somewhere that the inside stamping was drawn and tooled wrong, someone had not taken into consideration interference with the fender brace (or it may have been beefed up during design). Rather than retool they just issued the fender install guys on the line a 2# adjustment tool. So if yours is beat, don't work to hard making it pretty because you will probably just get to pound down your new paint again. Look close at my cab photos and you will see the dents still there on mine.

[CAL 58 GMC]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

I posted about that in my build thread. I could not figure out how every 55-59 I saw with the fenders off was beat in that area. My fenders had never been off and one side was hammered a little the other quite a bit. I read somewhere that the inside stamping was drawn and tooled wrong, someone had not taken into consideration interference with the fender brace (or it may have been beefed up during design). Rather than retool they just issued the fender install guys on the line a 2# adjustment tool. So if yours is beat, don't work to hard making it pretty because you will probably just get to pound down your new paint again. Look close at my cab photos and you will see the dents still there on mine.

Now that you mention it mine had those same dents, I just thought it must have be from an accident at some point in it's life. Sorry Kim for jumping in on your thread!

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by CAL 58 GMC

Now that you mention it mine had those same dents, I just thought it must have be from an accident at some point in it's life. Sorry Kim for jumping in on your thread!

It's OK. The info is welcome.
Kim

[chevyrestoguy]

Kim-
I'm going throught the same thing right now with aligning my doors. I thought my situation was unique. I had considered cutting my cage nuts loose on my upperhinges and relocating them more outboard so the top of the door could move outward and get the door's front edge and cowl more aligned. But, that would cause issues on everything forward of that gap. The fenders and the hood wouldn't line up, and you'd wind up having to add metal at all of your gaps in order to close them up. I'm an probably going to align the doors as best as possible, and then do bodywork to make everything look right. I did a shop tour at Boyd's years ago when he was in the old shop, and they were working on Cadzilla for Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. They got the doors as best they could by aligning and then closing up the gaps with sheet metal and welding rods, then they did a 36" sweep of filler from top to bottom at all of the door gaps and blocked the area until the gaps were consistent and the panel intersections were flat and even. I'm a stickler about panel gaps, and that amount of work that they did gave me a real appreciation of what it takes to make it look right.

[bensimmons_05]

you know I have always wondered how those dents got there one both of the trucks I have. It is all very clear now, thanks for the info.

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Coming along very well Kim!
Haven't touched mine yet.
Just dust it and kick the tires!

[FRENCHBLUE72]

I have seen this truck at the portland roadster show and it is awesome for sure..

[Kim57]

That's a very cool truck.
Kim

[Kim57]

Made a little progress on getting the brackets for the brakes mounted.
The pics are pretty self explanatory.
I cut the original mount for the pedal off.
I'm using 3/4"x1/2" DOM going through the frame to mount them.
I still have to weld everything in but it's raining and I don't like to weld with bad weather.
Kim

[Kim57]

Here are a few more pics.
Sorry the last one is a bit blurry. You can see the access hole I had to cut in the cab mount to be adle to get the bolt in.
Kim

[Tri5Nerd]

Good job Kim, keep us posted with your progress.

Tri5

[addicted2dunes]

Originally Posted by Kim57

I still have to weld everything in but it's raining and I don't like to weld with bad weather.
Kim

Hey Kim, yeah, isn't the weather here just wonderful. I've been having the same problem..... I do all my plasma-ing outside and every time I get ready to cut something it starts pouring! Damn the weather, at least it should clear up for weekend!

[butchp]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Made a little progress on getting the brackets for the brakes mounted.
The pics are pretty self explanatory.
I cut the original mount for the pedal off.
I'm using 3/4"x1/2" DOM going through the frame to mount them.
I still have to weld everything in but it's raining and I don't like to weld with bad weather.
Kim

Do you still have that plate you cut off that holds the pedals? My frame does not have it.

[hotrod1]

Hey Kim:

That is fantastic! Where did you get the knowledge of how to run the lines?

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by R.A.D

nicely detailed something to be proud of kim.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Denee007

Incredible and WOW comes to mind!!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks.

Originally Posted by butchp

Do you still have that plate you cut off that holds the pedals? My frame does not have it.

Sorry but that is long gone.

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Hey Kim:

That is fantastic! Where did you get the knowledge of how to run the lines?

Thanks.
"Necessity is the mother of invention". I did have plenty that went the way of the recycle bin.
Kim