Roadster pickup from leftovers.

[bob w]

I expect nothing less that darn near perfect from Don's Rod Shop. All the design and fab work on the bed meets or exceeds that.[cl

 

[Johnson]

Well, I got a bit behind on your build. Caught up now, and it looks great!

 

[Ezheimers]

What a great job and a whole lotta work... Keep it up and keep posting pictures. You are one great story bteller also... Maybe write a book?
Anyway - I'm digging what your doing! -EZ

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys, I haven't been ignoring you, I just haven't done a lick of work on the car for a while now. Kinda in one of those in between moods where I am recharging my batteries. I need to start back on the bed again, and I guess the next step should be to cut out the piece I need from that louvered panel and get it fitted to the bedsides.

Now that Turkey Run is over and the weather is nice and cool I will feel more like working on it.

Don

 

[donsrods]

After a couple of months of not doing anything on my rpu project I decided to start working on it again. I didn't do anything earthshaking but I built the supports that weld to the frame to hold the bed in place. What I did was take some pieces of 2 x 4 box tubing and I cut triangular shapes out of them and had Dan weld them to the frame for me.

Here is one of the rear supports:

And one of the front supports:

Then I bolted a length of 1 x 1 angle iron down each side of the bed and these will bolt to the new supports, keeping the bed rigid and straight. Here is how they lay on top of the supports:

I can now start making the bed floor and have pretty much decided to use the louvered panel to do that, rather than using it for a tonneau cover. I think it will look better inside the bed than on top of it.

Not major progress, but from this point on all the work will be little tasks that just need to get done .

Don

 

[Paul_J]

Trey and I know where you're at at this point. All of the big items are done and we are now faced with a long list of little things to do.

The RPU is looking great and the attention to detail is very nice.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks Paul. I always bog down when I get down to the little stuff. Things like installing the motor, hanging the suspension, and mounting the body seem to be more fun than making little brackets you never see.

It could also be that I am trying to delay the next step.......body work. I HATE body work.

Don

 

[taxpayer]

Yea bodywork sucks, but hats off to those who do it well. I'll never be one of them.

 

[donsrods]

I know. I used to work at a body shop (inside the office) and would see our body techs out there all day long, sanding and reshaping bent metal, and I don't know how they did it. It is the worst part of a build for me but I am too poor to farm that portion out.

Don

 

[bartender]

I just joined RRR, and took 2 days to read this thread. Holy cow this is awesome. I now want to start on my RPU. Cant wait to see it done. Thanks for the motivation.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, Bartender. Welcome to the forum. I'm finally getting my urge to work on it again, after taking a pretty long break.

I've been undecided whether to use the louvered panel I have as a floor or a tonneau cover for the bed, but regardless when I cut it out of the panel Dan gave me it will be the same size........40 5/8 wide and 35 long. So if I just cut it to that size I can use it in either place.

Today I decided to just bite the bullet and get the cutting over with. I have been dreading it because I am using that nibbler of mine that throws out about 10,000 of those little C shaped pieces of steel. I am still finding them in my shoes from the cutting I did months ago. Here is the panel we started with, the levels are defining the size I need to cut out for the bed I am using.

Once we had it cut out we laid it on top of the bed to see how it looked there, and I liked what I saw. It looks better than I thought, and I have decided it will be my tonneau cover.

This will mean I have to have a custom gas tank built, but I ran into a guy who fabricates custom aluminum tanks locally, so I will just give him my dimensions and have him build it. I can now finalize mounting the bed to the frame and building my stake pockets.

Don

 

[bob w]

That looks real good right there. Are you going to put a color on the roadster?

 

[Dirtyrat]

I like the look now that I see it on there!

 

[Old Iron]

I like it better as a tonneau than a floor.
You could hinge it like an old Buick hood, side to side.

 

[Snake Farm]

I've been undecided whether to use the louvered panel I have as a floor or a tonneau cover for the bed,......... It looks better than I thought, and I have decided it will be my tonneau cover.

Don

Like that was a hard decision

That looks freakin' awesome Don!

Nothing but inspiration every time I look at this build man!

[P[P[P

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it.

Bob, I would love to do it in the same satin black as my 27, but since I already have one that color (and so does Dan) I think I will go with something else. I don't think I am going to go with shiny-shiny paint, but something slightly satin or aged a bit. I have never had a red hot rod and that color is one I am considering right now, but not like Viper Red, more of a 50's car red. Color is always such a hard decision.

Old Iron, I considered making it flip up, but there will be nothing in the bed I need to access, so I think I am going to just make it screw down all around the perimeter with stainless button heads. Dan and I looked at putting the fuel cap in one rear corner last night and the cap off of his rpu looked pretty good there.

Don

 

[falconfranks]

very nice build hope to start mine soon 49 ford f 1 havn't decided on solid axle or mustang 2 set up, still gathering part's .

 

[Docsholiday]

Outstanding

Nice shop!!!!
I need one of those too.
Your build is almost too good!
Liking the photos
later

 

[janie's dirty 37]

I agree. [P[P[P

Janice

 

[Dirtyrat]

Any news on your build Don?