I’ve been doing loads of little bits and bobs on the cab, and with the constant rain and damp I was concerned it was going to be rusty before I got any primer on there. I decided the time had come to clean it up and start putting filler on. Quite a good feeling to go from hammering and welding constantly to filling. That didn’t last long, as I remembered how much I disliked filling and sanding. All progress tho.

There was also a big chunk missing out of the floor, and I was starting to get concerned about how much it was flexing when I climbed in and out. Afer a bit of origami with some cardboard, I folded up a patch piece in metal to put it back together. Not exactly a work of art but it will be under the carpet so it doesn’t matter in the least. A bit of rattle can primer and it’s another little job done.

The passenger side firewall is full of holes for the heater and various other bits. I don’t have the original heater so it’ll end up with a different one in. I’d rather fill all the holes and re-drill for what I need than end up with spare holes like I did on the Bel Air.the panel was rippled where the heater hole was, so I taped it and cut it out before making a new one to go in it’s place. No real drama just lots of time later and it was done.I also filled in a few smaller round holes and I’ll grind it all down when I get on with the firewall.

It’s almost impossible to work on the firewall sensibly with the engine and box in place, even with the cab pushed back on the frame till it touches the rear tyres. With the Camaro out of the way, I got the engine and box on the hoist before taking the wheels off and dropping the frame down to allow me to lift it over the A arms easily. I split the 4L60E off the back, as it’s getting a 4L80E instead, and got the LQ4 onto the stand. A very quick clean up and re-sealed the holes before pulling off the water pump and some other bits to lighten it up a little.When I have some time I’ll clean it all up properly ready for stripping down. Think I’m going to have a go at building it myself. Eeek.

Now I could get at the passenger side, I could sort some of the bad bits of the chop out. It just doesn’t line up that well where it’s been stuck back together and although I could just bury it in filler, I’d like to get it as good as I can. There was a vertical strip welded in to fill a gap on the pillar that I just cut out and threw away, and slit the welds back open. After a little bit of hammer and dolly work, I was happy that it lined up properly.

A few tacks, and I was ready to cut out the replacement filler strip. Again working slowly I gradually filled in the gaps then set about it with a file, a flap disk and the sander. That showed up the inconsistencies in the shape of the cab pillar, so I worked my way through that as well till I was happier with the overall look of it. I also started working my way along the roof seam and filling that in too as it dissapears in the centre of the chop so I’d rather it was smooth. The door pillar was also not smooth at the join, so that got cut again, slide hammered out, and re-welded. A lot of work but all worth it I think.

I wanted to make a start on the passenger side of the cab, and as I couldn’t get to it decided to move the workbench and all the other junk to the right hand side so that the truck could go over there too. I moved the cab back into the right position and bolted it down temporarily before pushing it outside for the first time in a long while. The ’55 is away having the frame repaired after a minor accident, so the Camaro has been indoors in the dry.

The first job I tackled was a nice easy one to get out of the way. I don’t like the louvered vent on the passenger side, so after taping the shape, I cut it out and set about making a new flat one. The wrecked hood got cut up again to give a new panel, and after a bit of careful bending and shaping it was tacked in. After an hour or so of filling in the gaps and waiting for it to cool it was ready to sand down. The blue line at the top of the pic is where the cowl joins the pillar, you can’t see the join on the panel. Well happy with how it came out, and really beginning to enjoy it when it goes right for once.

 …a shrinker?. I cut out the cowl vent, and made a cardboard template for the new panel and transferred it onto a piece of the old hood. It curves in every direction, then is straight along the gutter and I struggled to make it even close to being right. I came to the conclusion it was time to buy a shrinker, and got a cheap one off ebay.I got some scrap metal and did a few test shapes and was amazed how easy it was to get awkward shapes made. I immediately thought of loads of other bits I could have used it on so I reckon it was well worth it.

I decided to start again on the front edge of the panel, so bent the gutter back out, shrunk it to match the shape properly, then folded the shape of the gutter back in. I was extremely happy with how close it seemed to be, and after a little trimming it dropped in like it had always been there. I carefully worked my way around tacking opposite sides then waiting for it to cool before joining up the tacks. Extremely happy with how it came out in the end, will grind it out and fill it next week with a bit of luck.

I had to do a few quick jobs on the Camaro first today, so with that out of the way I put on the new gas bottle and the spool of .6mm wire that I got in the week. After a few test welds I got the settings about right and started tacking the filler panel that I made last week in. I really struggled to get the wire speed right and kept getting the wire sticking to the tip as I finished a bead and jamming the feed. After doing it 3 or 4 times in a row, I swapped back to .8 to finish off.

After a load of dollying to get the original bits roughly straight, I joined up all the tacks and got the grinder out. With it all ground nearly flat I used the DA sander to get it smoother and show up any low or high spots. Another half hour with the hammer and dollys, plus a bit of help from a block and lump hammer and I was pretty happy that it was ready to fill. I plan to get the column drilled and any other bits and bobs done before I get the filler out tho, so a quick coat of rattle can primer will keep it rust free for now. Next up is the cowl vent, but it was getting a bit late to start that, so it;ll have to wait till next time.

I started out finish welding last weeks work slowly working from side to side and letting it all cool before doing any more.It was all going well, and I cut the edges of the old pedal hole so that I could bring it intol line with the new panel I’d made. After a few tacks, I bent the floor back in to meet the new edge and sliced up the edge into pieces to tack it at the right angle. With the cab loose, I couldn’t get enough pressure to get the floor back straight at the floor and firewall joint but its pretty much straight on the pedal cover. Just before I did the last inch of seam weld, I ran out of gas. With my welding done for the day I ground down the welds before getting the orbital sander to start getting it all nice and smooth, The sander showed up the high and low spots so I dollied it back into shape as best I could and carried on.

Hard to see in the pic but I’m pretty happy with how it’s come out. I cut out the battered piece the other side of the rib, and cut a new panel out of the old hood. It’s clamped in ready for when I get some more gas. I wanted to see where my ebay purchased pedal bracket would end up sitting, so after a bit of measuring I trimmed it to fit around the Camaro chassis leg and put it inb position. I’m a bit worried about getting the exhaust through right next to the brake master. Will have to get the proper trans in place and see how much space I really have. I’ll probably chop in a piece of thick wall tube to give the exhaust space to pass by. Will have a think about that for a while.

I pulled the cab off the frame, and lifted it up and back so that I could work on the firewall again. I decided to slice it all back out and start again as it overlapped instead of butted in places. After a lot of work it ended up a lot neater on the left hand side, and I started slicing up the bottom edge to try and bring it back in but keep the shape of the stamped ribs on the bottom edge. It ended up like a little shelf, and I don’t like the way it looks so I’ll do it again I think.

While I was looking at what i could do to the right hand side, I decided I hated the way it was hacked about for the brake booster and the column, so cut the booster mount out and trimmed a spare bit of ribbed firewall in its place to bring it back to how it should have looked. With that tacked in, I drew a square to cover the column hole and cut that out as well. After a lot of measuring and re-measuring, I cut a replacement piece, then shaped the curve at the bottom and the flange to match the edge of the pedal hole that was missing. Hard to see in the pic as the part on the left is bent down, but it’s not too bad at all. Once that’s all in I’ll chop out the other badly repaired bit on the other side of the rib and carry on with my patchwork quilt!