Cross road in restoration

[metalho]

I've hit a wall guys, Ive suddenly realized I'm not sure what to do next on my 30 pickup restoration. I'm mechanically set, all body wood, top and body work is complete. Should I start laying on fenders, running boards and skirts for fit, we did fit everything up prior to epoxy and fill primer. Should I even bother putting the cab back on before shooting color?

[Tom Wesenberg]

First make sure the frame is straight. Pull a string tight along the top rails and make sure you don't have a 1/8" or more dip near the rear motor mounts.

[gweilbaker]

Shoot the cab, fit on the assembled chassis and go from there.

[Mitch//pa]

Shoot every piece cab, fenders,aprons,doors, etc apart then reassemble. Shoot the gas tank assembled in the body.

[Steve Wastler]

Looking great, must be a good feeling at this stage, keep posting pics of the progress!

[metalho]

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Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

First make sure the frame is straight. Pull a string tight along the top rails and make sure you don't have a 1/8" or more dip near the rear motor mounts.

No dip Tom, thank you. We checked that

[metalho]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

Shoot every piece cab, fenders,aprons,doors, etc apart then reassemble. Shoot the gas tank assembled in the body.

Yup, remeber that. Thank you

[Tom Wesenberg]

I'm not a body man, but shouldn't all the sheet metal be fitted together BEFORE painting? At least fit the front fenders to the splash aprons, especially if either or both are repro parts.

[Mitch//pa]

tom,
he stated in his original post that he did fit everything before priming

[metalho]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

tom,
he stated in his original post that he did fit everything before priming

Yup, thinkin Im gonna do it again though. Oooops, sorry Tom. Running boards and aprons ARE re-pop.............Howels lol

[Kirby1374]

sounds like you are ready to paint to me.....that said from someone who has never done a resto

[Ross/Kzoo]

After that much work I'd do a final fit just to eliminate any abnormalities/tweaks that might have been thrown in there.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

tom,
he stated in his original post that he did fit everything before priming

Brain (((freeze))) ........it's @%&$# cold in MN.

[Mitch//pa]

it happens to me also you caught me a few times

[metalho]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Brain (((freeze))) ........it's @%&$# cold in MN.

You got it. Non heated garage too. Damn humidity is gonna be too high till July here. Still tryin to figure something out. Ya cant blow paint when your air tanks just fill with water. I know I know...............the correct fix will be around $600.

[TinCup]

I would be dangerous with a shop that big!

[glenn in camino]

If the frame is straight, put it all back together.

[Marco Tahtaras]

If the frame didn't need straightening then you missed it or it was straightened before you got it. With that said, only you know what was actually "fitted" and done. If it's done it's done, if it's not it will come back to bite you. You need to base you decisions on what has been checked/tested. Think it through. You only need to check what you may have missed.

[Logan]

Paint the body and put it back together. As long as the frame hasn't obviously been tweaked it'll be fine to use and if its already painted I wouldn't worry about it. I've put together some bodies/fenders on frames that were severely warped and it still looked decent when it was done. (Wasn't my decision to not straiten the frame). I would paint the tank out of the car though. As long as you're careful you won't scratch anything when installing it. And you get a better paint job with it out. To me it looks like you're ready to paint and put back together as long as you are happy with the body work.

[dumb person]

i paint the inside/underside of the parts and where they bolt together. As they are assembled the paint is already protecting the seams/internals and the outside can be painted, during assembly my unskills will not scratch the paint on the outside that people will see because the final paint is not there to be scratched.