For me, the most frustrating work that I have ever done is body work. It’s frightening. In fact, it is the single reason why I have owned my 1964 Impala project car for half of my life and never driven it… legally. Replacing metal is very doable by nearly anybody with a welder, but making it look “right” takes real talent. That said, I absolutely LOVE watching people that know what the heck they are doing, replace major body panels. That is why I watch all of those shows on the Speed & Discovery Channel. It is just so refreshing to see rusty or damaged metal removed and repaired with proper methods, and finished to look like new.
In the video above, you get to see 9 straight days of body work in 9 minutes. They bring the damaged 2010 crew cab GMC truck into the shop, remove the interior, doors, fender, bed, and rocker panel. They then straighten everything out, and reassemble it to look like new again. Oh, and they recorded it for our enjoyment.
Somewhere in Massachusetts there is a double nosed truck that doesn’t know if it is coming or going. This is what it looks like. I wonder what it has under the hood..s….?
Recently we posted a picture of an awesome 1956 Chevy truck with some massive wheels tucked under the fenders. Today I have an interesting update on it. A nice guy named Tim sent me an email with some pictures of what the truck used to look like when he owned it back in the late 1990′s. As it turns out, this thing used to be a Massachusetts fire truck!
The story goes that Tim bought the fire truck around 1997 (Lucky guy! Who doesn’t want to own a fire truck!?). He then removed the fire truck parts, and turned it into a flat bed with some storage boxes on the side. He had it for a couple of years, and then sold it. The truck then seemed to lay low for several years. During that time, it apparently got a chopped top, shortened wheelbase, lowered stance, “normal” truck bed, and some seriously subtle custom touches here and there. Here is the evolution in front of your very eyes.
Special Thanks to Tim W. for sharing the pictures and the history with us!
If you have ever hung out in a garage before, you know that seating is usually limited to old wheels, plastic crates, and cold concrete. While this concept may seem crazy to some, the reasoning for this is quite valid. Floor space in garages is extremely valuable, and it should not be wasted with non-tools, parts, or vehicles.
GREAT NEWS THOUGH! There is a solution that is logical, comfortable, and down right decorative! I found this amazing idea posted by “Outcast99″ on Killbillet.com and was instantly filled with jealousy. You basically grab an old truck bed from your back yard, a nearby field, a scrap yard, or the woods, and start cutting. Once the bed is commandeered, you begin the project by cutting the sides and floor out of the bed. You then weld the front to the back with only a couple inches of space between the front of the bed and the tailgate. Next up, you add a metal base made from the scrap steel you have under your workbench. Before long, you have sweet folding seating for up to 2 adults or possibly 3 lovely ladies! When you need the extra space, you simply kick your friends out and fold the tailgate up. How cool is that? Jealous yet?
I’m not sure that this picture does justice for the ungodly size of the wheels and tires on this truck. In person, this truck is massive, and disturbingly awesome. The tire size was claiming 22.5 inch, and I’d agree. The rear differential must have weighed about 800 pounds, and the brake drums looked big enough to stop a large locomotive. I’m not sure who’s idea this was, but they deserve a high 5 and a free sandwich or something for pulling it off. Just gawk at the rear tire for a while and let me know what you think.
Recently a friend of mine was at a car show with his ’63 Thunderbird. It’s a really nice driving car, has a perfect interior, and has very few flaws in the paint. The chrome is beginning to show it’s age, but it’s far from rusty. That day at the car show, a guy came over to my friend and voiced his amazement at how a car that appears to be falling apart (while pointing to my friends T-bird), can actually still be driven. Needless to say, the conversation ended somewhat abruptly.
Fast forward several weeks, I’m at a different car show, and I see this Chevy panel truck-shaped beauty. From a distance I thought it was quite cool because you don’t see many of this body style out there in the wild. I walked up to it, and meandered around to the drivers side to find something truly spectacular. On the side of this truck, in some kind of chalk or wax pencil, it read:
“Hey thanks for telling me how nice this will look with paint and that it’d be a shame not too!”
I instantly began to wonder if the owner of this truck had met the same courteous individual that commented on my friends t-bird weeks earlier! They do say it’s a small world ya know…
In 1910, REO apparently self proclaimed itself as the “World’s Toughest Truck”. With a manly one cylinder asthmatic sounding engine and stomach churning 9 horsepower, how could it not be? Uhhh. I think when they said “tough”, they must have meant that driving it was tough. Seriously, you would need to be eating your Wheaties to tame the solid tires, chain drive, and the rear-only mechanical band brakes. Fill this animal with rocks or lumber and you’re guaranteed to be the first one at the scene of the accident.
Luckily for us, this extraordinary example somehow managed to survive over 100 years, and was on display at the Codman Estate Car Show this morning. It was absolutely beautiful from every angle, and really looked like a museum piece. The engine spun smoother than a well oiled sewing machine, and made me realize just how terrible my engines run. Well done REO, well done.
