Back to a little body work now that winter has gone and I can do some more sand blasting and body work (MAN I hate sanding - seems like it never ends)
OK here we go... I have to blast the three sections of the grille, and the head board (well, I call the head board the front part of the bed) 
This pic shows the grilles are all blasted and primered.  Had to do some work on them  - so got a little body work to do now

 

Now I got a little issue here.  As you know we chopped the top, and lengthened the cab.  When we welded it all back together we took special care to make sure all the door gaps were perfect. (left pic)  Now we get to doing the body work, and I see the body lines don't match up
On the top pic; even though the door gaps look good, as you can see the body line is way off.  The top piece of tape shows the door body line, and the body shows the cab's body line.
Since I never did body work before, you know I never tried to create a new body line.  I got some putty and put it on.  Made me a pattern that fit the door, and then hand sanded the putty to match the pattern.  I was pleased with the way it came out, and you can see the lines now match.
Another problem I have is I'm just can't seem to make square edges when I do putty work.  this is the back of the truck bed.  As you know I'm going to put a lower panel here just like there is in the front of the fender.  SO I come up with a solution that will work.
It's hard to see, but the dark areas at the bottom of the bed are recessed and/or jagged.  Seemed to me it needed something for the bondo to 'lay on' to make a square crisp edge.
This is from UNDER the bed looking up at the edge - What I did was cut me a little 3/4 inch wide strip of metal, and then pop rivet it to the bottom giving me a small area to hold some putty.
As you can see, the red arrows mark where the edge is.. very sharp crisp edge now, and when I bend a piece to make the lower dress up panels they'll fit nice and clean together. 
Here is an old metal headboard I've had for years.  I needed some extra sheet metal so I figured this would fit the bill.  I'll use it to make the roll pan skirt across the rear of the bed in the future.
Above is the front fender skirt test fitted.  You can see the line where the final bend will be to match the running board height

At right is a full length view of the running board frames we crafted.  They'll be covered in oak wood, and I was able to find some Studebaker step plates for them also.
I been working on these extra windows I added for the extended cab.  Just hadn't got the finished look to suit me yet, so I set about something new.  Here you can see they need "something"....  
The windows originally had a lever that open and closed them.  It created a 45* slant at the rear.
  I just couldn't figure how that was ever going to cover and look nice.  So I decided to make me a frame to attached to the original window, and just square up the slanted part.  Here is what I did.  I made up a inner frame to attach to the interior of the window, and on the back of that I attached a flat piece to hide the angle.  Turned out pretty good I thought
Here you can see it installed in the original frame.  Kinda hard to see, but if you look around the part I added, and then at the area where the glass mounts, you can see it has the same shape and width all the way around.  I was pleased the way both sides came out.  Now if I can just figure out some way to make some nice trim to cover that.  If anyone has any ideas.. contact me.
Well everyone's been wanting to see pictures of how I built my home made gas tank.  Really not that hard, and I got the instructions from one of the street rod magazines.
First; I tried to build it so I would have as few welds as possible.  As you know the more seams it has, the more of a chance to leak.
So I had a friend bend the steel I supplied so the bottom and sides were all one piece.
Here you can see I took the ends and welded them in.  I welded both inside and outside to have a better chance of preventing leaks. .  I still had leaks.  Bummer...
NOW; you have to have baffles in a tank this big.  This is one of the baffles I made for the tank.  I put in two to help prevent sloshing.  Not sure if you can see it, but I put little 'legs' on them.
Here you can see the 'legs' a little better.  They are bent into an "L" shape.  I made a few welds to the upper part and attached them to the baffles.  I left about 3/4 of an inch for the gas to move freely across the bottom of the tank.
Now I also welded some little "L" tabs on the ends of the baffles.  This should help the tank keep it's shape and add support so it won't bulge out.  It also lets the gas drop at an even level all across the tank.
Here you can see one of the baffles positioned inside the tank. The wood is just a there to make the spacing from the bottom until welded.  Also note notched corners to allow fuel travel
This is a better view from the top.  You can see the bottom tabs welded on, as well as the ones welded to the sides.  These baffles will make the tank retain it's shape.
This is the tank with both baffles installed, and I am now starting to make a recessed area on top for the outlets to come out.  The tank will set close to the bottom of the bed; so I needed to create space for the outlets.
 Another view with baffles, and you can see where I am welding in the drop down area for the sending unit, fuel lines, etc
OK, I'll be the first to admit I'm not a great welder.  So to help prevent any leaks, or from blowing a hole in the sheet metal, I am welding an angle to the top sides of the tank.  This way when I do final welding I'll have some steel to back up against.
This picture shows a better view.  I run this angled piece all the way around the top since I won't be able to weld both inside and out like I did on all the other seams
This is where the tank will mount in the bed.  Like most that are modified;  it'll be in the rear of the bed next to the tail gate.  You can see from the marking where things will be placed.  I think I calculated it out to hold about 27 gallons.  The Blue circle will be where the fuel filler goes.
Now you can better see the top with the recess.  This will have a piece to fill in the hole that is showing.  When the holes for the lines are attached, then it'll be welded to the tank.  This opening will go forward and the furthest most point will sit close to the rear axle.
In the picture above;...the white things running top left to bottom right are the bed supports.  Between two of them you'll see the square opening highlighted in red.  Again, this is where the fuel lines, sending unit etc will come out.  The recess is to make more room and not crimp the lines.  You'll see a yellow dot near the back of the tank, that is where the vent line goes, and the blue dot is pretty close to where the fuel filler neck will be.  More pics upon final welding
This is pretty simple, and anyone can do it.  You just have to remember to weld the seams really well, and don't burn through anywhere.  Now I haven't pressure tested this yet because I stopped before I got the sending unit, etc all put in. But I don't anticipate any problems.  There is very little pressure in the tanks since you always have a vent tube to the outside.  That being said; even after all my pains; I DO expect it to leak somewhere.  So someone better than me will have to fix that.  LOL