Hurtlocker Truck - too shiny?

Very surreal watching the Hurtlocker Truck come together.

There's been so much time and effort 

into making the first 90% fit correctly,

the last 10% is painstakingly time consuming.

As shims and washers line up the gaps,

every millimeter of change effects an adjoining panel,

which changes the bolt on stuff like bumpers and grilles.

There is confidence that we've seen it damn near close to perfect 

before and during the paint process,

but tightening bolts,

new seals, compressed rubber and time 

move things that small amount.

Rolls of blue tape protect edges from chips and scratches.

Fortunately Ken has had found time to tackle many of the small details.

You should see the interior...

(Forgot pic!)

Now is it too shiny?

Is the chrome headlight ring too much?

He may go to a painted version.

TP

Lizard Skin

Sound and heat insulation on car panels is a learning process.

I've found out the hard way 

to not use the aluminized lint filled rolls,

like dynamat,

if your car has no windows and ya leave it in the rain.

No bueno.

Ken's been talking about this spray on insulation,

Lizard Skin,

for at least a year now.

I'm usually a little hesitant on nicknamed coatings.

What actually is the chemical your hiding?

In this case,

it's a latex based paint with micro-balloon filler,

sprayed on with an undercoat gun.

 Didn't sound too promising,

no wonder they use the catchy nickname.

Well I may be a convert.

This is basically a bedliner type material,

goes on thick and goopy.

The backside of certain panels weren't as pretty,

and this lizard skin camouflaged any cosmetic issues.

More importantly,

it muffled the sound from tapping on the sheetmetal.

Not only will the truck be quieter and cooler,

the undersides should be better protected, 

from small rocks that could cause dents 

in the now perfect fenders.

The original plan was to use this sparingly on select panels,

but with Ken as the taper/prepper,

I sprayed this chit on everything.

Now the pieces can be finally be assembled.

Time will tell how long the Lizard Skin will last.

I'll definitely use a variation of this in the future,

probably making my own concoction!

Amazing what Hau (painter) could do without a spray booth.

The reflection is so smooth,

and not even polished yet.

Yes the doors are finally mounted.

This wire hider made it a really fun project.

The Hurtlocker Truck is coming together!

TP

How to - stainless brake lines

Crossing over into the street rod world

usually involves stainless steel brake lines.

Whether or not you go with a double flare sae end,

or the 37 degree AN fitting route,

stainless tube bending is much more precise then a  traditional steel tube.

The sharper bends needed 

have no leeway for bad measurements.

The easiest way is to do it twice,

basically bending up a cheaper steel line,

and copying the angles to the SS line. 

That's after you straighten the coiled length of tubing.

What a pain in the but.

There may be special tools for this,

but the easiest way is slowly by hand.

Now for the flare.

It's important to knock it out the first time.

Cracking the surface or forgetting to slip the nut on,

will shorten the length by 1/4" or so,

making all that bend work look funky.

This time I used my Uncle Steve's Ridgid flare tool,

I think the 377 ratcheting model.

Fortunately it came with his detailed instructions,

on how to use this borderline inferior tool.

Maybe it's not the tools fault,

geared toward mild steel not stainless steel.

First off the cut must be square.

A normal tube cutter wears out quick on SS,

I uses a hack saw,

then filed the end flat.

A rotary file deburrs the inside,

lessening the chances of cracking.

Dab some light oil like wd-40 to smooth the compression spot.

The screw clamp is questionable,

the tube may push through.

Actually the ratchet will give way before the clamp fails,

so using a vice helps,

along with about 1.5 turns with a wrench.

The sealing surface is a very thin ring,

the flare is mainly to keep it from pulling out.

Yes I forgot to put a nut or sleeve on at least once.

Here's the mocked up cheap steel lines.

A sharpie definitely helps here.

I reused the same steel tube as much as possible,

straightening it back out for each section.

Without the mounting clamps it's a little rough,

but don't worry it'll look sharp when it's done.

TP

shaved

It's been almost a year since finishing up one of the more significant changes on the old Hurtlocker Truck.

From this shot it's impossible to see,

that's cause it just looks clean,

one of the best reasons to customize an old car.

It started as an accident.

After smoothing out the majority of the body,

at eye level was basically the ugliest part of the truck.

Not to say drip rails or rain gutters are bad,

these were not straight,

and a couple small rust holes made them look worse.

Hours could have been spent hammering and welding,

and in hindsight the results would have been futile.

The rails were lopped off,

and holey chit surprise...surprise...

as cutting the weld seam of the top and bottom pieces created a long slit.

No problem,

Weld weld grind grind.

Hopefully Ken wouldn't mind...

There was no going back.

Chevies have a rear wrap-around gutter,

and it was time to bite the bullet.

Within minutes the can if worms was open.

The gap here much wider,

In addition the gutter hid the unaligned seam.

A little strategic hammering and welding...

And yeah some magic bondo.

The inner panel limited access,

so hammer and dolly work was tricky.

In the end it was overly smooth,

but better then the eyesore it was.

Matched his helmet too!

Late 50's Ford f-100's have a front gutter,

But not the tri-five chevies,

the brow is already clean.

Fortunately Ken liked it!

Definitely the most bang for the buck.

TP

Hurtlocker Truck - part 239

While laying on my back,

I realized how close and how far 

the Hurtlocker is from road duty.

Little by little key pieces are taking shape.

Stainless brake lines are getting routed.

Patience is the key here.

It's like driving through traffic,

slow and steady,

rushing just causes accidents.

These brake parts are shipped like precious cargo.

Each fitting has it's own box and bag.

That's how they make a $2 part worth $12.

Thanks to tips and suggestions from

my Uncle Steve and Brandon,

no lines were done more than once!

We went through plenty of dish soap to get the windows in.

Success with the rope and soap method,

followed by the Sharpie bead install tool.

So glad this didn't crack.

The front windshield was a little easier.

Next up was covering all the metal work with insulation.

Trimmed glued and taped,

a lot of fitting for a precut kit.

These strips are sound dampeners,

absorbing the resonance on the sheetmetal.

Totally different then last year at this time.

I'll have to do a before and after post later on.

Can't believe I'm seeing carpet and upholstery swatches.

Ken's got some choices to make!

TP