Building a custom classic cruck can be an overwhelming activity, particularly when lots of bodywork is required. But one of the tricks to making a truck project manageable is to look at individual parts instead of the entire thing. That’s what Jake Brazille did with this ’64 Ford.
Jake Brazille, of Jake’s Place...
Jake Brazille, of Jake’s Place in Florence, Oregon, decided it was time to make some repairs to his Dad’s once pristine pickup. The first step was assessing what had to be done. It was decided to start with the hood.
Built by his father in 1996, the pickup’s cab was extended 14 inches and then all the early sheetmetal was dropped onto an ’87 chassis. Since completion, the truck has seen plenty of use and the rigors of a truck being used like a truck has left some scars. As Jake is in the body shop biz, none of the needed repairs presented problems, the only difficulty has been finding the time to make them. So, rather than blow the truck apart, Jake sneaks in a few hours here and there and is fixing the Ford a piece at a time. As that’s not unlike the way most of us work on our trucks, we decided to follow along as he made some typical repairs, fixing dents and eliminating rust, to show how they are done. Removing a simple dent is a matter of knocking down the high spots with the hammer and supporting the low areas with a dolly; and while that sounds easy enough the learning curve is steep. But the best teacher is experience and you only get that one way.
If there is one lesson to be learned when repairing dents it’s to never hammer on one side of a panel without backing up the other side with a dolly. The hammer should have some crown, or a high spot in the center so the hammer blows can be concentrated on the dent, not the surrounding metal. That’s why you don’t use any old hammer other than one designed for bodywork. (For a rundown on body tools, check out the August, 2011 issue of CCT.) Dollies come in a variety of shapes so finding one that is the proper contour for the panel isn’t normally a problem.
Although there are a variety of methods to repair rust, the best way is to cut it out and weld in new metal. Thanks to wire feed welders this particular task is considerably easier than it once was, but caution is still required to keep from warping the metal with too much heat. Lots of tack welds work better than one continuous bead.
Follow along as Jake makes some basic repairs that many trucks will need, maybe yours is one of them. Start in one area, take your time and stick around for more tips on bodywork that you can do at home. CCT
Typical of old repairs that...
Typical of old repairs that have gone bad, there were several areas on the hood where filler had broken loose. This was on the left side.
In almost the same spot on...
In almost the same spot on the opposite side there was more cracked filler.
To make life easier (and to...
To make life easier (and to stay warmer on an Oregon coast day) the hood was removed and put on stands inside the shop. Before repairs began the emblem was removed, which lead to the discovery of more damage.
When the old filler was ground...
When the old filler was ground away Jake found a series of dents that could have been repaired requiring less filler.
We hauled out a selection...
We hauled out a selection of our vintage body tools help make the metal straight. The low crown hammer and dolly were used to raise and straighten most of the damage. The picks, or pointed ends of the hammers were used to pinpoint the hammer blows in much smaller areas.
The time-honored method of...
The time-honored method of dent removal is hammering on the high spot while using a dolly to support the surrounding metal.
In some cases hammering off...
In some cases hammering off the dolly is useful, in this case it would also tend to move some of the metal to the right. This can be a useful technique if the panel next to the dent is distorted.
Occasionally double panels,...
Occasionally double panels, or other obstacles, restrict access to the damage. In such a case applying upward pressure with a spoon, while hammering around the edge of the dent, will raise the low spot.
When time is short its not...
When time is short its not uncommon to fill a dent rather than remove it. In some cases the pick end of a hammer is used to make indentations for the filler to stick to. Jake elected to straighten the area so far less filler will be required.