Getting the body off was quite a challenge, between the intentionally-welded-together things and the bolts that were so rusted-on that they had to be broken or ground off. We endured, and “un-bolted” just about everything! I left the front fenders connected to the grille, as it was heavy but able to be lifted by a single person.
Once all the parts were disassembled they were a little easier to clean up, I was careful to leave any flavouring of a patina that they had, as I had yet to decide what to do with the truck’s finish. Do I leave it as a sixty-year-old paint job? Do I flat black everything? Do I buff it smooth and make it a shiny show car? It was chock full of opportunity!
It tucked neatly into the spot in the garage where my Jeep usually parks when I don’t want it to be cold. Well it was Summertime and who cares about frost when it’s July. Despite all the knocking around, there was still plenty more rust to come off once I got the project staged in the garage. I found myself sweeping red dust every day. The bench seat came out, not salvageable but for something’s nest in the backrest portion.
Trev suggested I get myself some special paint that he used to use in the Navy, really good at protecting surfaces despite the rust. POR15 did the trick on the grille and the inside of the cab, and it comes in any colour you want, as long as you want black.
Most of the controls were missing, but I did have to remove the choke knob, headlight switch, and some other knob that I could only guess at what it used to be in charge of. The gauges were still in the dash, and looked to be in pretty decent shape, so I polished them but I don’t have high hopes of fitting them with compatible connections to the newer guts I will be finding.
The steering wheel and column came out without me even realizing. I’d unbolted the retainer on the bottom of the dash, and before I could climb out of the cab, Trev handed the components to me from around the other side of the firewall.
As I cleaned the rust and dirt away from the floor, I found an access panel for a battery, and another access panel for the transmission. Somewhat interesting, but I don’t know what I am going to do about those panels. The entire floor area was looking in pretty sad shape. Maybe some sort of coating will save it, but I will be considering replacing it.
After some consideration I decided that Flat Black, an easy colour to locate in assorted fixerup materials, would be the staple colour inside the cab. I sprayed the dash and it came out pretty nice. I painted the defrost louvre in a gloss black, I think that will look pretty sharp.
The headliner had decomposed, and now seems really cardboardy, so I carefully removed the retainer screws and frame, and lifted it out to rest flat on the garage floor. Once it’s flattened I can trace it onto a styro product which I can upholster with something cool.
rattycan 