Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted May 25, 2022 Author Share Posted May 25, 2022 5 hours ago, r1lark said: The paint looks really great Mike! What brand are you using? It’s imperium base and clear 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share Posted May 27, 2022 Today a friend stopped by to look at my paint work. He said I did a good job and he has seen a lot worst be professional painters. That made my feel great. He is going to come back in a week or so to cut and buff. He was a painter and does it on the side now. He did give me some pointers which will help. He wants the body panels mounted to make it so they won’t move like they would if on the stand for painting. After lunch, I worked on stripping paint off the discharge valves. Someone in the past painted them silver over the chrome. A little easy off and a little scrubbing with a brass wire brush and the paint was gone. Some good old fashion elbow grease with chrome polish and the look pretty good. After cleaning that up, I started putting the fenders and side skirts on, hopefully for the last time. It’s starting to look like a truck again. Its been almost five years since the painter fenders were on. I’m really satisfied/proud of all the work so far. Tomorrow I will be putting the cowl and radiator back on. Then I can work on the hood and the bed. Once the cut and buff is done, I can start wiring process. Till tomorrow, enjoy Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted May 29, 2022 Author Share Posted May 29, 2022 A moment ago New Add bookmark #35 Over the past couple of days, I put the fenders, side skirts, cowl and radiator back on. At some point someone painted the pump discharge valves silver. I took some hd easy off and a brass wire brush and presto, chrome. Some good old chrome polish and elbow grease and they don’t look too bad. I’ve been looking for someone to rechrome the bed rails. They are almost 9’ long and 42” tall so they would take a 5X10 tank. After the valves came out so good, I took a bed rail and started to clean off the silver paint off. They are aluminum. This is good news as my future son in law does polishing on the side. A quick call and I’m in the process of sanding them to at least 600. This will speed his part up quite a bit. We have had rain the past couple of day but today was in the 70s and lower humidity. This is great for painting. with a couple of tips from a friend, I painted and cleared the pump assembly. It will be a couple of weeks before I can get it installed. I’ll have to wait till the cut and buff is done as it hangs over the side skirts. It’s time to relax with a cold one so till next time. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 It’s been a while since the last update. My friend came by and picked up the seat for a cut and buff. It came out awesome. I then took to the upholster and should be getting it back soon. After some work and new metal I put new bed side metal on. The original ones were quite warped. They looked like a roller coaster. I think it was a good choice as they are good and straight now. With some help from my daughter, we were able to get all of the bed primer sanded yesterday with the plan that I paint on Monday and clear on Tuesday since old Mother Nature was going to cooperate with low humidity. Well she did so once I got off work and home, the floor swept I started painting. Looks good so far with three coats of base. I’m planning on clear tomorrow evening after a little scuffing to remove any overspray that may be present. I’ll post some pics of the finished bed tomorrow. Mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 Looks great! Keep up the good work😀 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted June 29, 2022 Author Share Posted June 29, 2022 I was able to clear the bed tonight and it came out good. Once it’s cut and buffed it will look great. After the first of three coats, my shoulder was about done, I wondered how long it takes to do one coat. Well it took about twenty minutes per coat. No wonder my shoulder heals like it does. I only doing small parts/pieces at a time. I can’t imagine doing a large car/truck all at once. I talked to my friend that paints on the side and he said he did his brothers car and it took twenty-nine laps around it to apply the paint job. I only did three color and three clear. Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Shoulders take a long time as I’m learning myself. It’s been 12 weeks since my rotator cuff surgery and while I have excellent range of motion,( because I’m doing my therapy religiously), I still have very little strength in the left arm and I’m still not supposed to pick up any weight much greater than a coffee cup until week 13-14 when I’m supposed to start light weight training. Then I’m supposed to come off my disability in two weeks but I don’t understand how they think I can go back to work if I’m not really supposed to lift any weight and have very little strength in that arm. Hopefully the doctor will put me in for an extension. Worked all my life since 13 and now I’m almost 61 never collecting so I think the system can spot me another 4-6weeks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 2 hours ago, chistech said: Shoulders take a long time as I’m learning myself. It’s been 12 weeks since my rotator cuff surgery and while I have excellent range of motion,( because I’m doing my therapy religiously), I still have very little strength in the left arm and I’m still not supposed to pick up any weight much greater than a coffee cup until week 13-14 when I’m supposed to start light weight training. Then I’m supposed to come off my disability in two weeks but I don’t understand how they think I can go back to work if I’m not really supposed to lift any weight and have very little strength in that arm. Hopefully the doctor will put me in for an extension. Worked all my life since 13 and now I’m almost 61 never collecting so I think the system can spot me another 4-6weeks. Chistech, I feel your pain and agree. I took last night off. My shoulder feels a lot better today, so I’m back at it again. I hope you can get back at it soon. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 I spent some time in the wood shop Monday preparing the wood for the tail board. Then out to the barn to get it installed. I decided to use Kregg screw to assemble it came out great. I alternated the boards for strength. I’m planning on filling the pocket screw holes with epoxy and then painting. Once all that is done, I’ll mount it permanently and nail the the sheet metal down. I’ll be adding the rubber mat on the running boards, tail boards and cab as the last item. This will keep them looking good for awhile. Next up wood wise are the running boards. Till next time. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERRILL Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 I see that it was Miller time😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 8 hours ago, MERRILL said: I see that it was Miller time😀 That it was. I didn’t spend too much time in the barn as the temp inside and out was close to 100 and quite humid. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 It’s looking great! Now that I’m 60 it seems I finally developed a taste for alcohol. My cellar fridge has Mic lights in it and they’re so damn cold, perfect for these hot humid days! They go down so fast I’ve got to grab two at a time so I’m not up and down the stairs every 5 minutes!🤣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 9 hours ago, chistech said: It’s looking great! Now that I’m 60 it seems I finally developed a taste for alcohol. My cellar fridge has Mic lights in it and they’re so damn cold, perfect for these hot humid days! They go down so fast I’ve got to grab two at a time so I’m not up and down the stairs every 5 minutes!🤣 I’m 57 and the fridge is in the garage which is about 100’ from the barn. The first one when I get home usually goes quite quick. The only problem is there’s no restroom in the barn. Here’s today’s work for me and my helper. The electric mini excavator is sitting outside with a bucket full since there wasn’t enough room to empty it inside. Replacing the sewer main. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 9, 2022 Author Share Posted July 9, 2022 As far as work goes, the piping is all finished, bedded with pea fill ,backfilled and extra fill all hauled outside. All this by hand, so I took last night off. Tonight I started stripping the paint off the gas tank. To my surprise, a lot of golf leaf was hidden under several coats of paint and primmer. This just adds to the history of this truck. I only have bits and pieces of the history so far. That will have to wait until it’s on the road again. I’m going to prime he tank, tank bracket and tank mounts tomorrow and paint on Sunday. Till next time, Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 9, 2022 Author Share Posted July 9, 2022 On the one end is a crest/shield. My daughter said she was going to try and find out who used this, just more history 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 When you filling your holes With epoxy, I always added sawdust to get it closer to the wood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 Well between my daughter and me, we were able to figure out what is on the gas tank end. It turns out to be the manufacturer, Boyer. They used it from the 20s to the early 40s. I’ll just have to reproduce it twice. The pic is from the Boyer book that covers all Boyer fire trucks. Mike 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted July 17, 2022 Author Share Posted July 17, 2022 Not too much to update. Just lots of sanding primer, removing paint, and priming again. You know, the boring and time consuming stuff. The weather isn’t cooperating for paint, but I’m not going to complain as we really need the rain. My yard looks like it’s late August. So today was spent milling down some of the wood for the bed sides. And of course it involves sanding before staining. I’ve ordered some smith’s epoxy to put on before I install. All the bed wood will get stained, epoxy and the clear coated. Well till next time. Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 Well since the last update, I got a call from the upholstery guy and my seat is done. My wife picked it up on Monday. I was able to do some painting over the weekend as well as work on getting the bed sides installed. I picked up the last of the wood for the bed floor and got it milled and have it almost all installed. I’ll remove it and epoxy it and then reinstall it. Once it is installed I will clear coat it and that part will be done and off the list. Well I’m off to the barn to work on the flooring so have a great evening and enjoy. Mike 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 Not too much to report. I was able to get the bed wood cleared Saturday and it looks great. Cleaned up the steering column and got it reinstalled with the help of my daughter. Headlights and gas tank got cut and buffed and look awesome. I did get the headlights mounted and wired. Heard from the guy that’s remaking the rear fenders and hopefully they will be done soon. Enjoy some pics and until next time, mike 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 That wood work looks great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 4 hours ago, GARY F said: That wood work looks great. Thanks. As always it just take lots of time and money. I’m glad that part is done. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 The bed looks like a piece of fine furniture!! Great job Mike. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 21 hours ago, r1lark said: The bed looks like a piece of fine furniture!! Great job Mike. Thanks. I’ve made and helped made fine furniture. There’s really not that much difference between building a piece of fine furniture and restoring a vehicle. Time and money are the big ones. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 21, 2022 Author Share Posted August 21, 2022 Well after a long week, work and play, my daughter and me taped off the seat for gold leaf. She made me a negative of the No 5 that was originally on the gas tank. I have 5/8” gold for 1/2” stripes and patent sheets for letters. I’ve never thought I would be gold leafing anything. I think it looks good so far. It will look even better once I put the black pin stripes on either side of the gold and around the No 5. The No 5 also gets shadowed. Here’s a couple of pics of the seat and tank. I also worked on the hood. I welded up several holes and a few cracks. There’s 42 louvres per side and are quite time consuming sanding. I just wish that they were done and ready for paint, but I’ll get there soon. Mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 Not much to report for this past week. I did get the No 5 shadowed and one end of the gas tank gold leafed. I even payed out the other end, applied the size and then removed the tape. That’s when the clear started to peel off as well as some paint. I really don’t know why, but as I started sanding the end down today, it’s like the tape had something to do with the paint lifting. Anyway, it’s one step forward and two steps back. I did get the tank end, the four hood pieces, and the rear sheet metal primed and sanded. Had to do some spot priming on them. I’ll be sanding most of the week in hopes I can paint next weekend. My neighbor did come over and resized the water tank. It’s on the list of items to paint. Till next time. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 7, 2022 Author Share Posted September 7, 2022 Not too much to justify pics, but progress. I’ve been sanding the hood for about a week and a half. I have come to the conclusion that the devil is the one responsible for creating louvers. They are the biggest pain to sand. My fingers are quite worn and I still need to do the 600 wet sanding. There’s 42 per side and if you do the math, that’s way too many to count. I think I’ve made seven passes per side. I’m hoping to be done sanding tomorrow so I can paint on Thursday or Friday. The weather will be cooperating with low humidity and low to mid 80s. If all goes well, I’ll post the pics this coming weekend. I’m hoping that the new rear fenders will be done this week also. Well till next time. Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 As promised, the pic of the hood parts. This is just one more part of the puzzle almost done. I’m working on the fuel line and should have it done by tomorrow. I’m hoping to have the water tank and battery box ready to paint early next week. That will leave just the rear fenders that aren’t done yet. I’m gaining to add the pin stripes to the gas tank before I get it mounted and I’ll post those pics when done. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 It’s looking great Mike. I feel your pain on the louvers. After 14 coats of spar varnish on my wheels with sanding between every coat in every nook and cranny, I vowed to never do a set again! My buddy Moses calls that sanding “finger F’ing”! It rips up the tips of your fingers by the time your half way through and you still have the other half to go. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 11 hours ago, chistech said: It’s looking great Mike. I feel your pain on the louvers. After 14 coats of spar varnish on my wheels with sanding between every coat in every nook and cranny, I vowed to never do a set again! My buddy Moses calls that sanding “finger F’ing”! It rips up the tips of your fingers by the time your half way through and you still have the other half to go. I’ll agree. The best part is that I have just one more sanding to do on them for the cut and buff. I might redcoat the louvered panels just to get rid of some of the orange peel as well as keep me from sanding through when I cut and buff. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 Here are the pics of the gas tank. My daughter is working on the scrolls that go in the corners and center. Mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 This past week saw quite some visual progress. I was able to get the water tank, battery box and lid, and the other axle painted and cleared. Even recleared the hood louvered panels. They really came out great with minimal orange peel. I’ve been working on getting the rims cleaned up and painted and have one left. I’m hoping to get tires mounted soon. I picked up the new rear fenders up this morning. I have one mounted and started on the other before calling it for the night. It’s really looks like a truck again. This week will be finish the other fender and getting them ready for paint. I’m hoping to paint them by Friday. Well til next time, mike 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 It’s looking really great Mike. Kudos to you tackling a project of this size and doing it yourself. I have a large 31 Cadillac coming in and I’m kind of dreading the size and amount of room it’s going to take up in my garage! The rear fender resembles in my mind those galvanized cellar window pits they used to put along the foundations.😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 9 hours ago, chistech said: It’s looking really great Mike. Kudos to you tackling a project of this size and doing it yourself. I have a large 31 Cadillac coming in and I’m kind of dreading the size and amount of room it’s going to take up in my garage! The rear fender resembles in my mind those galvanized cellar window pits they used to put along the foundations.😄 Thanks for the compliment. And yes, they kinda resemble them just a lot bigger. They are 54” at the bottom. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 50 minutes ago, Mike "Hubbie" Stearns said: Thanks for the compliment. And yes, they kinda resemble them just a lot bigger. They are 54” at the bottom. Mike I was thinking hot rod rear wheel tubs.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 Some progress this past week and weekend. Three of the four rims are done and ready for tires. I’m planning on finishing the last one tomorrow evening. I did get the rear fenders painted and cleared tonight as well as the rear door. I now have reached a milestone. I have no more to red shoot. I did make a pair of templates for the running boards while I was waiting for the paint and clear to flash. This week will be put new gaskets in the radiator. I need to hook up the oil pressure gauge, finish up the battery box and do some wiring before I can start the engine. It’s been too quiet for too long now. The only major item left to get is the drag link made and installed. Well till next time, Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 This week started out slow on the fire truck but fast at work. We have went to 10+ hour days till the end of the year. The good thing is that I did quite a bit done this week. I’ve been getting some of the wiring done so now I can start it with a key instead of a toggle switch and a push button start switch. I did get the drag link ordered and should be done early this next week. The throttle linkage is all done except for final adjustments. The rims all wire brushed and painted. Yesterday I took the rims to the tire shop. It took about 6 hours to mount the tires. Today I was able to get the rear fenders mounted. That meant I could add the rear tires. It’s been quite some time since it has been off the jack stands. The right front also got mounted. I’m waiting on the last one till the drag link is installed. The last thing I did was add gas to the tank. Then I had to tighten a couple of fittings that were leaking. Just for kicks I hooked up the battery and hit the key. A few pumps of the peddle and it fired right up. This surprised me as it has been at least a year since I’ve heard it running. Well till next time. Mike 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Great progress and updates, Mike! You are in the home stretch! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now