Driveway cab swap gone wild

[trukcrazy]

Shark, I am still impressed by the work you are doing. I wish I was there to help you. We all want to see the final product, hurry up.

[Sharkdance]

I wish I was there to help you. We all want to see the final product, hurry up.

Thanks, I could use the help. But I have to admit. There is a real sense of satisfaction in having done it myself.
Anyway, all of you have helped me more than you could know. The support and knowledge gained from this website/forums and people here have really helped fuel this project. Without all of you, I probably wouldn't have gotten started and definitely wouldn't be this far in such a short amount of time.

I AM hurrying!Believe me. My wife wants to see me get this done almost as much as I do.

[trukcrazy]

Thanks, I could use the help. But I have to admit. There is a real sense of satisfaction in having done it myself.

Be that way then, nobody help Shark! It's been a few days, any more progress? I am using your project to build up to starting mine. I probably won't have the time to actually start it when I am home in May, but I hope to have a body shop picked out and get the equipment to pull the cab off the frame. I want to try the gantry from HF for this project along with the trolley.

[Joe Kriston]

Gosh,I just noticed this project,Shark....You're like,my hero now...And with no indoor shop,no less....Keep up the good work!!...and thanks for posting all of the updates....

[Sharkdance]

trukcrazy: "I want to try the gantry from HF for this project along with the trolley."

Yea one of those would have made things a lot easier moving and lifting my cab.

<"It's been a few days, any more progress?">

Yes, a little. But still no additional pix yet.
I sanded down the whole cab again and found a few spots that need more work and more primer. My wife says Im too picky but Im not gonna shortcut this project. Not after Ive gone this far.

"I am using your project to build up to starting mine"

Glad your interested in my project. But I have to admit. Im beginning to get a bit discouraged. Its sooooo slooooow going.
Working by myself, sometimes its hard to see the end of this thing.
Im still saving up for a firewall cover so I can start re-installing the wiring harness but now its starting to sink in that this is just the beginning of the true expense of finishing this project.
I still am going to have to buy front and rear glass seals, door seals, and a set of core support mounts. While none of that is real expensive it sure does start to add up. And just yesterday, I found out that my right inner fender apron is un-usable.
O.K., Ill stop with the sap story now. I know Ill get thru this with the support of this group. Thats why this place and you guys (& gals) are so important to me. You help keep me motivated.

[trukcrazy]

Hey Shark, it does add up fast even in small increments. Hang in there, you are just about over the top to the other side. What parts are you needing besides the firewall cover and inner fender? I will have to have someone do most of the work to my cab for me. I intend to set everything up on one trip home and then disassemble the truck and transport just the cab to a bodyshop to do the bodywork and paint. I would prefer to do it myself, but my limited time at home just won't allow it. Give a holler anytime you need some encouraging words and we will root you on. I am still impressed by you perseverance on your truck, great job.

[Sharkdance]

Gosh,I just noticed this project,Shark....You're like,my hero now...And with no indoor shop,no less....Keep up the good work!!...and thanks for posting all of the updates....

Hero? Me thinks your really mis-guided.

Hey, I checked out your truck pix in your profile and have to tell you that when I first found this place I was drooling over that truck. Me thinks it looks great. And that grill work is top rate.
Your truck is one of the many trucks featured here that motivated me to start the work on mine. So its YOUR fault!

Yup, no indoor shop. Doing it all under a tarp in the driveway.
Kind of 'Red Necky' but Im from the south so I can get away with saying that.
Anyway, Im doing what I can with what I got. If I waited till I had everything I could want I would never get started.
Thanks for the praise and interest. Ill keep updating as Im able to.

[Tallboy]

Nicely done Sharkdance!!!!! Looking good.

[rjewkes]

360? Nice paint. What you think shipping on that if i have you do mine j/k.

[Joe Kriston]

Thanks,Shark....Glad to be of some help....Regarding 'rednecky',I make it a point to ensure that all of my vehicles with 10 or 15 year old registrations are backed in so the tags don't face the street and that they all have tires that hold air...Oh--and I close the hoods every night....

[Sharkdance]

When push comes to shove:

Friday mornin my wife loads me and my three kids up in her car and takes me to work, drops me off, goes back home and finishes getting them ready for school. Loads them up in the car again and then calls me at work. The car wont start! ****!
She then has to walk my 6 year old girl to school dragging my two boys along and then an hour later make sure they catch the bus so that they can get to school. She was stranded at home all day and had a bunch of errands to do. Which didn't get done. Then had to walk all the way back up to the school and get my daughter.
I caught a ride home from work and fixed the car but thats not the point.
I tell you all this because her car is the only vehicle we have running right now while my truck is down. And she has been taking me back and forth to work for more than 3-4 months now.
So, to keep peace on the homefront I really need to step up the pace on this project. I had ment to have it done over a month or two ago. It doesn't help that the wife thinks Im being too picky about the condition of every part that goes back on this truck. Or that I hadn't planned on stripping it to the frame just to do a simple cab swap. Even though she knows me well and wasn't suprised when I went that far.

Anyway, in the interest of getting my truck back on the road I guess I have to lower my standards just a bit and not worry so much about every little ding and imperfection in the body and just work it out the best I can with what I got.
Obviously, Im not building a show truck. I couldn't hold a candle to Keith or some others around here in that department so the realization is that Im putting together a truck that is what she always was. A daily driver, a workhorse, a decent and well loved truck that I am proud of.
Even with all of the imperfections of my truck my goal hasn't changed. A rust free cab and a running truck that I can work on as I drive her.
We've come a long way me and my old truck. The old cab was completely rusted thru at the drip rails and the wiring harness was un-servicable. Now the donor cab is bolted to a cleaned and painted frame and Im working on getting everything else ready to bolt on.

So the following is a few pix of some more work I did this weekend and the progress made twards getting her back on the road quickly.

[Sharkdance]

The following pix are all dark because I tried to beat the clock and shoot some paint on the cab before it got dark.
I have sanded and primed that cab 3 times and still find a spot or two (Or three) that Id like to spent more time on (Which is why the wife thinks Im being too picky) but I have to get this thing back on the road so while Im not crazy about shooting paint before it 100 percent ready I dont think it turned out all that bad. And best of all, NO RUST.

[Sharkdance]

Ended up with minor bits of trash in the paint and a ding or two left unfilled. Im not the best at body work so you might even be able to see outlines of the dings that I did fill if you knew they were there.

[dcbullet]

Looks like some good progress. Post some pictures in the daylight!

I'm sure it must be hard keeping stuff off the paint if you are painting outdoors. I have a hard time in my garage.

I know what you mean about settling for less than perfect. You either have to have all the time in the world or the ability to strech out the work for a long period of time. I can't have my truck taking up my garage for months at a time so I've settled for less than perfect as well.

[trukcrazy]

Hey Shark, that is looking good even for less than perfect. Can't wait to see it when it is finished.