1965 Chevy Pickup & Hemi Hydro combo

I hacked the fenders off of the original bed and got them cleaned up for re-installation on the modified bed.

The cleaned-up fenders and the unmolested bed in the background...it has no idea how badly it's gonna be tortured soon!


I still haven't figured out how I'm going to re-attach the fenders, but that's way down the line right now, I'll figure it out when the time comes!

I attacked the unmolested bed....it's no longer unmolested, that's for sure! I started by cutting the fenders off as close to the bed as I could get without actually messing up the bed sides...




Next, I cut the bed floor loose from the back edge of the bed very carefully. The plan is to leave the rear piece attached, let's see if I can pull it off! This was all done using the Trumpeter Panel Scriber...much better control and a smoother line!


The same was done at the front of the bed, but I finished this cut off with a PE Saw Blade...it was way thicker here!

Next up was starting the cuts on the sides of the bed to remove the floor so it can be replaced with some Basswood. I stopped before cutting them loose because I realized I was going to need the structure to have some strength while sanding on the outsides...for once, I actually thought ahead more than 5 minutes!





Since I'm also correcting the top of the bed sides, I decided to cut them off. But, in another example of thinking ahead for once, I decided to just cut them flush with the bed sides to make the "fix" for the horribly molded garbage easier to pull off! Like with the fenders, I left a bit attached to the bed. Yeah, it's gonna be tedious sanding it all smooth, but it's better than adding a bunch of unnecessary filler!

[img]http://images45.fotki.com/v1310/photos/1/879761/13318333/ToneysTributeTruck234-

I started the long process of sanding the side of the bed smooth. Here's where I the horribly bad "bulging" top rails on the bed weren't the only issue. The sides of the bed are just as bad as the tops! So once the sides are smoothed out, I'll remove the bed floor, and smooth out the insides too. This kit has some serious issues with the tooling for sure!


Round one completed. There's a nasty dip at the back edge where the fender goes...good thing the fender will be right up against it, so it won't even be noticeable once it's all back together!


Round two showed a bit more sanding was still needed at the top center area...


Round three, all is good on this side of the bed! I'll hit it with some 600, 800 and 1500 grit and see how it looks.


And a quick shot from above to show how the side looks so far! This took about two hours total

Back to the boat for a second, I discovered that the prop-shaft should have been glued in place when the two sides of the hull were glued together. I guess that piece of paper in the bottom of the box comes in handy sometimes, doesn't it? It worked out through, since the hole that it passed through was all kinds of messed up, I could get it corrected now! I snipped the prop-shaft in half at the point that it passes through the hull, so it'll work fine. I also got the hole tightened up, so now it doesn't look like the boat would sink if it actually hit the water!