FoamyPirate : 1987 Chevy Silverado

[foamypirate]

I really need to clean and organize my garage...

[foamypirate]

Just requested an estimate for some of the powder coating I am going to have done. I am pretty much doing every bracket on the truck and all of the suspension.

[foamypirate]

Got bored tonight and decided I didn't like the gaps on my custom fabbed (not by me...I haz no skillz!) 6x9 speaker brackets, so I busted out mah' welder and fixed em' up. This was my first try on sheet metal, kind of a primer to bodywork, if you will.

[foamypirate]

Boom! My front suspension exploded into a million pieces. Got it all torn down to the individual components for the most part. I still need to remove bushings and the like. After that, I need to order my drop spindles, and then it's off to the powder coaters with a bunch of stuff.

[mtnbikaah]

gotta love how simple theses trucks are!

[foamypirate]

While I am waiting for some money to come my way to do the powder coating, I decided to tackle the cab seam, which I am shaving.

I got the cab seam cleaned out of all the gunk, but then discovered that I suck at sheet metal welding. I was a little too hot on one part of the cab and those parts warped a little bit, but nothing I can't fix later on when I do body work with a stud gun and a hammer. The second half of the cab I did went much better, had the heat turned down and figured out what I was doing for the most part. Pictures below!


Here is the warping I was talking about. I was kind of pissed that I messed it up, but it can be fixed, no point being mad about it.




Here is the second half of the cab. The welds are much neater, and there was ZERO warping, since I was cooling the welds immediately after I completed them with compressed air.










Here is a comparison of the first attempted welds on the left (which I've started to grind down a little in this photo) and my second try, on the right. As you can see, my second attempt was WAY better and more consistant.



Here is a shot of the nearly complete cab seam, showing my 2nd attempt again.



My 2nd attempt after wire wheeling. Looking good! A few blips and whatnot here and there that aren't perfect, but pretty decent overall.



Here is the cab band and corner moldings I scored from the JY.

[baracuda]

While I am waiting for some money to come my way to do the powder coating, I decided to tackle the cab seam, which I am shaving.

I got the cab seam cleaned out of all the gunk, but then discovered that I suck at sheet metal welding. I was a little too hot on one part of the cab and those parts warped a little bit, but nothing I can't fix later on when I do body work with a stud gun and a hammer. The second half of the cab I did went much better, had the heat turned down and figured out what I was doing for the most part. Pictures below!


Here is the warping I was talking about. I was kind of pissed that I messed it up, but it can be fixed, no point being mad about it.




Here is the second half of the cab. The welds are much neater, and there was ZERO warping, since I was cooling the welds immediately after I completed them with compressed air.










Here is a comparison of the first attempted welds on the left (which I've started to grind down a little in this photo) and my second try, on the right. As you can see, my second attempt was WAY better and more consistant.



Here is a shot of the nearly complete cab seam, showing my 2nd attempt again.



My 2nd attempt after wire wheeling. Looking good! A few blips and whatnot here and there that aren't perfect, but pretty decent overall.



Here is the cab band and corner moldings I scored from the JY.

Anymore updates or has the other truck been taking all your time? Both are looking great. Too bad you got out of the cb game, your skills keep improving. I may have to have you weld some things for me .

[foamypirate]

Anymore updates or has the other truck been taking all your time? Both are looking great. Too bad you got out of the cb game, your skills keep improving. I may have to have you weld some things for me .

No updates at the moment, I've mostly been focusing on the 84'. The wife and I are also about 1 month away from delivering our first kid, so that's put a kibosh on the money flow for a bit. Once the baby is here and we get settled in, I plan to get back to the 87'. I definitely appreciate the kind words! Just let me know when/if you want something welded and I'll let you know if it's something I can handle.

[baracuda]

No updates at the moment, I've mostly been focusing on the 84'. The wife and I are also about 1 month away from delivering our first kid, so that's put a kibosh on the money flow for a bit. Once the baby is here and we get settled in, I plan to get back to the 87'. I definitely appreciate the kind words! Just let me know when/if you want something welded and I'll let you know if it's something I can handle.

Congrats on the child, Mine just turned one back in june, so i can totally understand the money flow issue lol.