Call me a Cab... your a Cab
Well Hi all, I usually only sit down and write this lot up when I am so pee'd off being in the garage or I have got depressed with the build and need some time away from it, hence I am usually writing stuff a bit negative or so it feels to me.. But this time I feel on a roll I am quite buzzing actually with excitement and wanting to keep cracking on to get this sucker on the road, I dream constantly about driving it. Sure some of what I am about to write I will be a bit down in the dumps about or lets say not 100% happy with how certain jobs have gone but now I am this side of it I am pretty happy ;o) hey look a smiley face ha ha.. right then what have I been doing.
As you can see I have been concentrating on the cab prep, I want it in paint before the bad weather comes Ha Ha .. yeah we have been having good weather haven't we... well ya know what I mean before the cold damp crap comes along. After I had fit the harnes's brackets I noticed the rear of the cab had oil canned... maybe the heat from the welding maybe was there already who knows, but it was there.
I had watched a video on youtube and also been talking with my mate Nige from Blackpool and so as they say a little knowledge is very dangerous and I am very dangerous. With my trusty oxy torch and a bucket of water and rag, I got into it. Tightened the cab rear up a treat but fuk did it make a mess... but as red calls it a coat of body man in a can and some hours flatting the cab is very close, very close indeed.
The trick is ha ha listen to me the expert all of a sudden, but yeah I am learning, rub flat till you reach steel as in the photo above, and tap the offending high spot with the pointy end of your body hammer and then fill and have another go. Once the whole panel is rubbed flat with no high spots you have achieved your goal a nice flat panel to prime then start all over again.
Feels like a porcelain bath now, we will see if it looks it once in paint eh! Also the dark colour is a coating of phosphoric acid to neutralise any rust.
I had only one small section of rot to sort at the cab rear nearside corner a patch panel and some weld later and that's another job done.
A skim of body man in a can and viola!!
The bottom front wing mount was boogered so I had some nuts with large washers attached I just drilled out the old one and welded in a new one.. easy peasy! Would of been a nightmare if I hadnt found this out until the wings and cab were painted.. "phew"
I just had to redo that hash up I did previously on the bulkhead and now more like an expectable shape I can get on with prepping for paint. So not much more now for the cab to be ready for prep. Just the bulkhead and we are off.
The method I had used to join the F100 handbrake
cable to the Jag one I didn't really like or have confidence in so I came up with this. Its a solid bit of steel bar (square) I rounded the edges for for a cleaner look? And drilled halfway through and threaded for the F100 cable end to screw into and then did the same the other side for the jag, they now both screw well into the block and should be a real strong and safe joining method another job I am happy with that needed redoing.
I have welded an earth bracket on the cab floor better than just a bolt eh. Well that was me progressing at a fair rate with the cab. That was until I looked at the bed over a cup of coffee and thought, that is going to be a problem what I need to solve this problem is a whole new pickup bed?? So it continues see next page for what I did next.
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