I have the cab completely stripped of every nut, bolt, fastener, gauge,
heater, etc.. everything. Glass is removed, Park Brake mechanism gone, no
stone unturned in my quest to strip it clean. I have a few concerns at this
point I am hoping to get some input on:
1) I am not a body man... I have never welded, torched, sanded, or painted
anything. I don't have a clue how to proceed from here. All I know is I want
a perfectly repaired and painted cab in the end. I THINK there are two
colors in the interior? The color of the dash and then the rest is a
different color (the color of the outside? or what?)
2) Before contacting a body shop, do they have a special method of cleaning
the cab of all dirt, rust and old paint? Or do I have to get out my drill
and brush and clean it myself? I want to save money in labor so I wont have
them do what I can do. So, how do I give it to the body shop? Clean or
dirty.. also.. the roof is a little rough from corrosion. Not bad, but still
there.. so I sand it myself?
3) Any tips on what kind of body shop to contact? There are quite a few
people who do this kind of work in their garage part time, but I want a very
good job done. In the end I am hoping for a really clean pickup with no
compromises.
4) I am thinking about painting the exterior Black. I have always loved
Black on cars and with a lot of chrome accent that is possible on the AD's,
I think it would really look wonderful. What do you all think? I am assuming
that Black was a standard color available in 1950.
I wish I knew how to weld. Problem is, with cab corners and such, an amatuer
welder is NOT what I need. There are other smaller places that need repair
and even if I took a welding course (offered around here all the time) I
just dont feel I could be good enough to do this job right. I can buy the
equipment, but of no use with no talent. Painting is the same. The level of
quality I want isnt found just anywhere.. the talent behind the paint
sprayer must know what they are doing. I can overhaul engines and drive
train no problem, but where the pretty stuff is concerned, I just dont have
it!
Thanks everyone!
Deve Krehbiel
Hesston, KS
50 3100
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