Finally, focusing on my b3b

[Brent B3B]

January 16th will mark one year ago I took the drivers door (off "George") into a local body shop for repair from a fender crease. (still haven't got it back yet  )

frustrated with how little I know about body work I have asked three different body repair shops to give me estimates on working over just the cab.... (dent removal, filler, epoxy and paint just the interior, firewall and leave the exterior epoxy) $7000. is the estimate I am getting from all three!

 

I am defiantly at a pivotal point with this hobby, I have a huge sentimental attachment to this truck and yet I can't bring myself to pay that kind of money.....

 

well in the meantime i'll take off some extra body filler I put on this summer    what a mess.... 

 

hats off to those that either done the work yourself or was able to have someone else do it. 

 

[Young Ed]

Sounds like you need to find a "guy". Maybe a post on your local craigslist? See if you can find someone that needs a sidejob or will come to you and teach while working.

[ggdad1951]

Brent find some old cheby parts to practice on and do it yourself

[pflaming]

Which do you want, a truck you can afford or a truck that is "perfect" whatever that means? My suggestion to you is: door, find a replacement door, (2) body work, do a section at a time to the best of your ability, start with the back of the cab the least noticeable area, then to a good area, etc., your ability will improve as you go, (3) do the most difficult area last and have a mentor for that, (3) don't go for perfection, go for acceptable and useabllity, (4) get it ready for color, choose a lighter one, then do all the taping so all you pay for is materials and spray time.

I would doubt you will have $1500.00 invested and it will be yours. I do patina and get a bit of static for that.but hey I am DRIVING my truck and get compliments every time I go down town. So I ask you, who is winning?

Edited December 19, 2015 by pflaming

[Brent B3B]

Sounds like you need to find a "guy". Maybe a post on your local craigslist? See if you can find someone that needs a sidejob or will come to you and teach while working.

hadn't thought about going at it like that. I have kicked around a local college "do it yourself" class on Saturdays but what a pain to load up and unload every other weekend  

 

Brent find some old cheby parts to practice on and do it yourself

good idea, they seem to be plentiful...... but you know,this whole mess is kind of your fault for setting the bar so high  . I was hoping for some dyi classes at the BBQ..... thinking different areas of 48D's shop, tig welding, body work, glass installation, axle pulling.....

[Brent B3B]

Which do you want, a truck you can afford or a truck that is "perfect" whatever that means? My suggestion to you is: door, find a replacement door, (2) body work, do a section at a time to the best of your ability, start with the back of the cab the least noticeable area, then to a good area, etc., your ability will improve as you go, (3) do the most difficult area last and have a mentor for that, (3) don't go for perfection, go for acceptable and useabllity, (4) get it ready for color, choose a lighter one, then do all the taping so all you pay for is materials and spray time.

I would doubt you will have $1500.00 invested and it will be yours. I do patina and get a bit of static for that.but hey I am DRIVING my truck and get compliments every time I go down town. So I ask you, who is winning?

it took me 30 years to know what I want. I can't do a "FEF" on this truck and I don't want to as I am going to use it, and knowing me, use it hard . looking for a good looking driver, but my wife tells me I am a perfectionist and there is my struggle. you are close on the money I priced materials and it is $2300.

I would never compete with you Paul. yes you win!    

 

one thing I like about this forum..... you guys won't let someone give up or feel sorry for themselves. I realize you can only help those that help themselves..

thanks for the ideas and the nudge,,,, 

[Young Ed]

it took me 30 years to know what I want. I can't do a "FEF" on this truck and I don't want to as I am going to use it, and knowing me, use it hard . looking for a good looking driver, but my wife tells me I am a perfectionist and there is my struggle. you are close on the money I priced materials and it is $2300.

I would never compete with you Paul. yes you win!    

 

one thing I like about this forum..... you guys won't let someone give up or feel sorry for themselves. I realize you can only help those that help themselves..

thanks for the ideas and the nudge,,,, 

 

Remember FEF was painted by another member of this forum! Also I think we realize that at 2300 in materials not many of us can afford do have a do-over because of a rookie mistake.

[JBNeal]

I've had dealings with several body shops over the years, and heard stories from others, and my opinion is that body shops maximize profit by doing high volume insurance claims (guaranteed $$$).  I've had body shops take a 4 day job and stretch it out to 8 weeks, I've had estimates for simple paint & body work that were almost the book value of my truck, I've had a body man flat turn down painting a truck because he said that he made more $$$ doing insurance claims and did not want to clog up his shop with small jobs...those estimates I'm hearing from ya sure sound like the latter, and I cannot blame these guys from turning away work if they've got more income coming from another source and they've got bills to pay.  There are at least 3 body shops out in the country where I live and knowing the guys who operate them, I am almost positive that they are skirting several laws by doing business this way, if not in violation of a few, just to make more $$$.

 

So awhile back I decided to do it all myself and have done research and experimenting to accomplish getting a paint job on the old Dodge.  I went to Amazon and got a Body Work book and a Paint Job book that were recommended from several sources, got'm sitting next to the couch for winter day reading.  I read grey beard's notes on his roller paint job on his truck and put those techniques to work on the 500 LPG tank by the house.  Four yrs later it still looks sharp, so I am confident that I can save some big $$$ by going that route.  I also have accepted that perfection is an impossibility, so whatever minor flaws in my work I will accept as "character"

[pflaming]

JB, I agree with you in that the prices of the pro shops are prohibitive for the hobby restorer or what have you. Here on the west coast there is a coffee shop saying, "If you have a concrete or painting project, find someone from south of the border! ". So, now that our govt. supports illegals, it is PC to do. I'm serious on that statement, I can drive down alleys and find what I need if I wish.

But more seriously, I found on the net a way to paint with a sponge brush. He admitted that the results will not charm the knowledgeable painter, but very few will ever notice and the cost on a coupe is less than $100.00.

I did not pursue my lifelong interest in old cars because the purists scared me off. Well, not anymore, I listen closely to know my options, then act accordingly without apologies. This a long post to encourage you to get with it and enjoy the adventure.

[ggdad1951]

hadn't thought about going at it like that. I have kicked around a local college "do it yourself" class on Saturdays but what a pain to load up and unload every other weekend

good idea, they seem to be plentiful...... but you know,this whole mess is kind of your fault for setting the bar so high . I was hoping for some dyi classes at the BBQ..... thinking different areas of 48D's shop, tig welding, body work, glass installation, axle pulling.....

As Ed pointed out, Dave did paint FEF, but I did pound out a ton of dents prior to hand-off and TODD will also be more learning. You can do it. And I agree lots of body shops only want to do insurance jobs.

[Brent B3B]

Thanks for the vote of encouragement. Think I WILL keep tappin and sanding...... pick up some reading material and look for a mentor. , anyone have a preferred dolly for these cabs?

Edited December 19, 2015 by Brent B3B

[pflaming]

Dolly? I prefer Parson!

[Brent B3B]

Dolly? I prefer Parson!

Haha, you mean Parton..... Darn auto correct! LOL :^)

[Jeff Balazs]

Brent;

Hang tough man. There will be a solution.....and you will find it.

I went through the same kind of stuff with my build. What worked for me was to concentrate on getting down to bare metal and repairing the worst problems while I searched for a painter. During the process I decided that most of the little blemishes and scars would just get cleaned up and left in place. I finally found a nearby paint shop that agreed to paint it apart for $2500. They even took care of a few areas of damage that I wanted fixed and were beyond my limited skills. They had it for about 6 weeks and used it as fill in work. I am very happy with the results. It is clean and rust free but still shows sign of it's life as a work truck. I am good with that because that is exactly what it is.....an old work truck.

 

Do as much as you can yourself. Identify the problems beyond your skill set and find help just for that. One tip I will share is that light colors like the one I chose don't show the blemishes as much as dark colors.

Go for it....and stay at it and it will work out. No surrender!

 

Jeff

[B1B Keven]

Brent,

Body work isn't hard, it just take a lot of patience.

Remove as much of the dent as you can that way you're

not using too much filler.

I learned a lot with the last two projects.

[Brent B3B]

yeah, there is that word patience again    you guys gave me the nudge I needed, right or wrong I am going to do what I can 

I am discovering, a lot of my frustration is, I created a ton of what I am now repairing when I was a teenager   

 

on a lighter note, it felt good to get the wiring ready if I ever get to that point (thanks JB for your notes) 

and look what Santa got me   

 

 

 

 

back at it! (HANG TOUGH, NO SURRENDER.....HANG TOUGH, NO SURENDER  )

Edited December 21, 2015 by Brent B3B

[Jeff Balazs]

Brent;

You know what? I am sure if you do the best you can....it will be plenty good enough. There is no doubt that we all reach points in our projects where we feel like we are totally frustrated or overwhelmed. When you hit that wall focus on something else for a while until you can see straight again. Just keep at it. Jobs stall out when all momentum stops. If you strive to make some sort of progress...however small it is.....it will help you keep that momentum.

 

Jeff

[Brent B3B]

been nibbling at this still..... took the cab off,  think ill ask for help putting it back on  I put a skin of filler on it  and yesterday prepped some parts for paint in my portable paint booth  

 

I might have a mentor come over next week to give me some pointers..... so until then I'll work on prepping the bottom

 

 

DUST EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!

 

[52b3b Joe]

It's looking good! Trial and error is the best teacher, and I definitely like the paint booth!!!! Keep at it and keep the progress pictures coming!!!

[48Dodger]

I'm on my way brother..... just got to get married first....then I'll be right there!!!  lol

 

It looks great Brent! Time to put some Epoxy primer on it, then some Surfacer primer, Guide coat it, and start finding all those "thumb" dents you missed!!!

 

48D

[Jocko_51_B3B]

Brent,

I'm going through some of the same things with my 51 b3b. My philosophy was pretty simple; take it apart, have it blasted down to bare metal, see what I really have, and go from there. I decided to have the guy who is blasting it to epoxy prime everything too to stop the parts from flash rusting. I'll be getting the cab, doors, tailgate, etc. back next week. Then I'm going to try my hand at sheet metal repair and painting. I only know what I learn on YouTube, from this forum, and from a body class I took at a local CC. But for me, the fun is in the learning as much as hoping for a nice truck when all is said and done. One more nice thing is how many interesting helpful people one meets when taking up a project like this.

[pflaming]

You will discover once you have it on the road even more people with interesting stories. I wish you well.

[Bobacuda]

I found trial and error to be the worst teacher - she gave the damn test, then the lesson.  Four of us set my cab back on the frame, going from the back, steering column off.  It will really start coming together soon!

[Bobacuda]

Found a photo of us installing the cab.  BTW, if you install this way, warn everyone about the running board supports.  They have a tendency to bite your knees as you go past them

 

[Brent B3B]

.............. Keep at it and keep the progress pictures coming!!!

still plugging along at it..... I had a friend put his honeymoon on hold to come by last month to lend a hand showed me some things.... made me some tools    48D you ROCK!

 

thru me on some color on the underside, firewall and interior

 

thanks again to the guys who help me figure my gun and color problems out!   

 

hey, I finally know what they mean by a 50 foot truck