A view of our parts room - all this stuff is for reTruck #1
Since we're building a truck with that will last as long or longer than a new truck we will keep the body work to a minimum - the plan is to use new parts wherever possible.
In fact, the only original sheet metal we're keeping is the cab - everything else, box, fenders etc will be brand new.
The cab in our truck was straight, but had rust in the usual places: cab corners, rockers and a small spot on the driver's side floor.
Accordingly, we replaced the rockers, including new galvanized inner rocker panels, the cab corners and the floor on the driver's side. Though they weren't bad, we installed new outer cab supports, just to ensure longevity.
Here is the underside of the cab after the first primer coat, mounted on our cab rotisserie:
Here are the steps we used to prepare the cab to this point:
Here's one place where we mention a brand name - POR-15 (the gray primer in the picture above). This is a tough, rust inhibiting primer that is especially suitable for sandblasted surfaces.
After the gray primer, the underside was coated with a rubberized acrylic coating. This is an elastomeric coating that protects the already tough primer from rock chip damage. A black enamel coating was applied to seal the elastomeric coating.
Next: assembling the frame and chassis
