My Truck has gone to be painted

[Tailgater]

My 47 ton pickup has gone to the body shop after 17 years of sitting in my barn, my shop and my basement. I can't tell you how many times I have grumbled about having to push it out of the way. Finally I coame across enough money (credit) and a good body man just happened to open up shop about 2 miles from my house. It has been a long time since it has been assembled so I need help with something simple.
With it gone I have decided to build it a room in the basement. As I started to layout the wall I realized that I don't know how long my truck is from bumper to bumper. Since a 1 tone has a 9 foot bed and a 1/2 ton has a 6 foot bed, I would think that, if one of you guys could tell me how long your truck is bumper to bumper I could just add 3 feet and be there. Then I can add a few inches to the room for good measure and when the truck comes home it will have its own private accomodations.
I figure that is the least I can do to protect it from the wife's wrought iron junk and the 12 year old son's bicycle and all his arrows and pellet guns, etc.
Sorry about the long note but I am setting the stage to show you photos when this thing comes home from the shop.
Thanks,
Bill

 

[Kens 50 PU]

Bill, sounds like you're getting close! I looked up the dimensions of a '50 1-ton in my restoration packets. i would imagine that they shouldn't be any different on your 47. Front bumper to end of truck with tailgate closed is 221 1/2 inches, or just shy of 18 1/2 ft. Add another 14 inches or so if the tailgate is down. The width at the widest part, rear fender to rear fender will be 74 1/2 inches, or close to 6 1/4 ft. Don't forget to add ample room for folks to walk around and drool over it and wide enough not to ding the doors.

 

[Tailgater]

Thanks! That ought to do it. It has been a long time since I dragged this truck out of a pot patch in 1989. Yeah, really. I went to look at it one day and noticed that I was watched carefully the whole time. The next day when I went to get it there were pot holes (literally) all around it. They had to harvest it while I was gone or I would have distroyed it when I pulled the truck out. I can't wait to drive it with a decent paint job. All my neighbors have seen so far is the cab and hood with bungee cords holding down the hood and me cruising like it was a limo or something.
Thanks again,
Bill

 

[Kens 50 PU]

Hey Bill, don't "bad mouth" bungee cords. I have officially added them to my list of "must haves". #1 is duct tape, #2 is bailing wire, #3 is WD-40 and #4 is bungee cord. This is what America is made of!

 

[Tailgater]

Amen to that. If it weren't for 200 mph duct tape I think the world would fall apart. The greatest thing that has happened to cars here in East Tennessee in years is chrome duct tape!

 

[vwnate1]

Bill Et al ;

Don't forget coat hangers ! ! sometimes known as : Yankee Exhaust hangers

Don't forget to go look in at your truck in the paint shop at LEAST once a week and never , ever tell a body shop " take your time " ! ~ this means
' it's a piece of crap I hope to never see again ' ~ seriously , I've seen -so- many vintage vehicles get ruined or junked by saying this bad phrase .

I hope you remembered to trim the edge of the windshield gasket back with a carpet knife ~ the shop won't and this will allow you to replace the rubber after you get it back and begin driving it and discover you like it so much you want to drive it all the time except it leaks like a rusty sieve....

Been there done that , no fun atall .

What color ? keep us posted and remember to post up PICTURES ! .

 

[Tailgater]

Nate,
I have bought all new window rubber. I had put new rubber in about 5 or 6 years ago and I took the truck to a jack leg body man who over sprayed everything and basically did more harm than good. I have checked this guy out and he is going to repalce the cab corners, take the windows out , prep and paint and put the windows back in. My windows have the stainless trim and the truck is a five window custom cab with a new chrome grille. I don't know how often they made 1 ton custom cabs but that is what I have.

This guy asked me about the seam between the bottom and top of the cab. He said that he would recommend letting him clean it then seal it with a black body seal before painting. He said that in his experience the seal would keep any rust that is way back in there from coming out. He said that it would come anyway in a few years depending on whether the truck was garaged or allowed to get wet. He said that, if we didn't seal it the rust would appear within a year or so. This made good since to me. What do you think?

 

[vwnate1]

Sounds good to me .

FWIW , the basic 5 window option was called " Nu-View " and GM pitched it more as a safety item , better rear view backing up and all that .

Many large AD trucks were spec'd out with this for use as yard goats etc. so you'll see (or at least you did years ago) base model strippers without heater nor any bright work , with these 5 window cabs .

Another old trick is to gently lift up the lip of the rubber grommets and stuff a 1/4" or so rope or electrical cable under there , then mask it off so the new paint feathers _underneath_ the old rubber , allowing it to be replaced at a later date without damaging the paint nor leaving unsightly rough edges .