Goodbye Sweet 55

[Fitzgerald]

Well, I talked my wife (who's feeling a bit under the weather) into letting me play in the garage a bit today.

Been on the fence about which way I wanted to take the 55. Due to an overwhelming amount of rust, stock or even slightly modified is really out of the question (at least with my skills).

So today, I jumped off the fence...

 

[Fitzgerald]

My garage helper likes it!

.

 

[Fitzgerald]

The plan:

 

[Man Jerk]

Like like like!

 

[black95]

Amazing concept.

 

[Fitzgerald]

Thank you gentlemen!

Now let's see if I can bring it to fruition.

More cutting tomorrow...and more pics.

 

[Fitzgerald]

Did some more cutting today. My pooch looks a little sad about me chopping up her roommate.

 

[Fitzgerald]

A few pics of the rust I'm dealing with. A bit more than a patch panel needed here.

 

[Fitzgerald]

Here's an 80 with about the same idea I'm going after. Sorta like the toolbox in back, maybe keep the tailgate and slide a drawer or two under the toolbox???

 

[CO_Hunter]

That is certainly an intriguing concept but I think you have a lot of work ahead of you.

 

[3jvj]

Awesome. I'm planning a similar build on mine, but i have a spare roof to work with.
My plan is to make a two piece hard top that bolts back on.

Good luck with your fab.

Sent from my Pandora box, ya peckerwoods.

 

[Fitzgerald]

That is certainly an intriguing concept but I think you have a lot of work ahead of you.

Do I sense a bit of doubt in this statement?

Awesome. I'm planning a similar build on mine, but i have a spare roof to work with.
My plan is to make a two piece hard top that bolts back on.

Good luck with your fab.

Sent from my Pandora box, ya peckerwoods.

Cool! If you're going to do a build thread, PM me the link when you get started, I'd like to see the progress.

 

[88chevota]

That is going to look so good!!! I am going to take out the 60 axles pretty soon. Are you ready for em yet.

 

[Fitzgerald]

That is going to look so good!!! I am going to take out the 60 axles pretty soon. Are you ready for em yet.

Possibly!!!

But after watching Chuck and Mike have all the fun on Metberry, it's got me thinking I need some 40's under that 55...

or at least 37's.

 

[Fitzgerald]

Hoping to make some progress on the 55.

My grandfather just sold his farm and gave my a bunch of his old goodies (oxy/acetylene tanks, air compressor, drill press, bench sander, etc.)

The air compressor had some rust holes and gushed oil, so I patched up the holes, replaced some gaskets and made it a bit prettier.

 

[CO_Hunter]

So let me understand this correctly, the air tank itself had rust holes in it and you welded them closed?

 

[Fitzgerald]

Yes and no.

The tank had a few rust holes (Gramps must not have drained it often enough).

Instead of welding it, I made patches that overlapped the holes by about an inch all around and gooped on a ton of JB Weld.

It's been holding air so far - no leaking... we'll see it it holds up.

 

[black95]

Nice work. Probably just getting some in the holes themselves would have held. JB weld is good stuff. I really like the yellow, that would be a good color for the 55

 

[CO_Hunter]

It is not a matter of leaking air. You have indication of a structural compromise but how bad is it in the tank. Think of it as rusty frame. How rusty, how many holes until it fails but here you have a pressure vessel. Looks nice but sorry, I wouldn't be anywhere near that thing when charged. Stay safe...

 

[Fitzgerald]

Hey, it's not fair that Mods can change what they say without an "edited" note.

What's the worst that can happen? It's not going to blow up. It's just a couple of pinholes cover with a bunch of epoxy?



No worries though, I wear an IED suit anytime I'm working in the garage.



SAFETY FIRST!!!