OFFICIAL NC FOOD TRUCK BUILD W/PICS

well, i pretty much got the passenger side finished....lol, there was beer drinking involved, and the sun went down...... so we will see in the morning just how much actually got done, lol
..............hopefully i didnt create more work, lol
 
aahhh, it was a good night, great weather, good company, and actually got more done to the truck...well, we will see in the morning, lol

and a bon fire....dont forget the fire, lol

Haha did you take it all the way down to bare metal? FYI just in case you didn't know you have to use etch primer on bare metal.

uuhhhggggg..........
why the hell am i up so early??? 
oohh yea, alodine(metal prep) will be the next step in the process...
havent gone outside to look yet, will take a pic or two when the fog clears, lol

sorry followers.... the "fog" never cleared today, i must be gettin old.....
 
will have some good pics tomorrow for ya though... some nice and shiny bare assed aluminum 

Looking forward to that, and building my post count too, so I can post some pics.

ok, im having problems with my phone, i think i lost all the stripping pics(ggrrrr) all it saved to photobucket was the carb....... lol, but its nice and shiny !
i will get some more pics tomorrow of the van .....

looks out of place on that dirty ol' engine, lol......
and yes.... thats an edelbrock air filter housing on my new holly carb...... just over look that, its a work truck, lol

found pics !! sent to wrong email address, lol, stupid phone.....
 
passenger side.... im at 98% so this side is ready for the pressure washer and scrub brushes !!!!

 
driver side, i would say about 90%, so pressure washer and brushes it is !

 
the rear still needs a teeny tiny bit of chemical assistance, but is probably 80% ready for the scrubbing bubbles....

 
over all the front end is about 85% ready, lots of small nooks and crannies up this way....

 
heres a close up of the grill area..... this was the 4th application of stripper, i swear that paint is a foot think in some spots!

 
 

heres a shot of the ceiling after pulling the aluminum sheeting and insulation down.... going to scrub and pressure wash in here and get her as clean as possible before we start the welding..... weather has got wet again for next day or two.....
the high temps are around 70 for next couple of days, lows in the 40's next couple of nights, a nice break from the heat :)
 
 
lol, and heres some pretty just to brighten the thread up a bit....
17 years old and still a pavement stomping beauty queen!! :)

heres a shot of the dash/drivers area..... looks rough right now, but i just about have everything i need to start buttoning up and putting this area back together....picture it white and yellow, with black floor and maybe some speaker carpet on the dash area....
oohh, and that seat is getting replaced with a big truck seat if i can find one...

I see you smoke Newports..i quit smoking those years ago because they are horribly harsh. I now smoke Marb. 72 menthol milds.. much better. Also.. there is a time frame you have to paint after laying down the etch primer on bare metal just in case you didn't know :). How much did the carb run you? On the seat. I just ripped off the old leather and re-did it with some linen from the local store, new foam seat pads, and a staple gun.  Yea we basically have the same truck.. except i have a dually. Looking good!

Looks like your making great progress, keep up the good work.
 
I should be pretty much done the inside today, It poured yesterday with rain and sleet for today. Makes for slow building, and drying (paint and mastic).

that ole man winter hates to give up dont he........

RiceWorks
I see you smoke Newports..i quit smoking those years ago because they are horribly harsh. I now smoke Marb. 72 menthol milds.. much better. Also.. there is a time frame you have to paint after laying down the etch primer on bare metal just in case you didn't know :). How much did the carb run you? On the seat. I just ripped off the old leather and re-did it with some linen from the local store, new foam seat pads, and a staple gun.  Yea we basically have the same truck.. except i have a dually. Looking good!

 
lol, yea, over the years i have worked my way up to the newports, start with marlboro reds, went to camel filters, made the switch to menthol and never looked back, lol, i'll be smokin rabbit tobacco next if they hike the prices again.....
and yea, after the acid wash(white vinegar) (and scrub brushes) i will be doing an application of alodine(aluminum prep).... then she will have a nice "pearlescent golden" sheen that will make her ready for primer..... im still tossing around the idea of buffing her out to an airstream shine... depends on how the cast corners will look and the holes when welded up...... we will see...
believe it or not, the carb ran me 264,new, for a new holly 600 with elect choke and vacuum secondaries.... the air filter was 30 bucks i think, i couldnt find a generic chrome one without the edelbrock on it, and the holly stamped ones were 60 bucks, so edelbrock it was, lol...... i opted for an adapter plate(17 bucks) to mount the carb(square bore) on my stock intake(spread bore) because the cheapest quadrajet replacement i could find was 140 bucks more for a reman unit.....so thats why the nice shiny out of place looking holly, lol......
my parents repaired/replaced upholstery as part of their semi retirement..... so ive got that covered(pardon the pun, lol), and in all honesty when the time comes i wont be spending too much time in that seat, but thats an uncomfortable sun of a gun....... i would really like arm rests and a little more "cushyness", and not such a strait up and down back rest, that all falls under creature comforts, so i'll have to see how the money holds out towards the end...
sounds like you have a 1 ton, mines a 3/4 ton.... is yours 10' from behind the seat to rear wall, or is it longer ? 
 
 

Lost Nation
Looks like your making great progress, keep up the good work.
 I should be pretty much done the inside today, It poured yesterday with rain and sleet for today. Makes for slow building, and drying (paint and mastic).

 
sleet ??????  its into may !!?? holy crap, one more reason i love it down south, lol.....
of course, in a month i will be dieing a slow death in the miserable oppressive heat down here

lets see, i was just sitting here looking over receipts......
new starter, new alternator, new fuel pump, new carb, new carrier bearing, new brake master cylinder,  that about does it except for water pump and timing chain..... i might just go ahead and do those so all the engine "expendables" will be taken care of.....
 
brakes all specked and adjusted, have front and rear bearings scheduled to do next week, as well as a rear end tear down to adjust/replace ring and pinion.... its a 513 rear gear right now.... i think im going to go up to a 411..... i need to sit down with an "expert" and make sure the added driveability is going to be worth the added stress on the motor during take offs, adding in over drive will be at least 1000 bucks so thats out of the question right now.....
 
once the "expendables" are all replaced, i will be hot and heavy into the actual food truck aspect of the build..... this old girl is a bit of a money pit right now, but i really think the payoff is going to be worth it in the long run....

What your doing now will pay you back ten fold years from now. I hate breakdowns.Not much you can do about flats but engine trouble is the pain I can do without. Your covering all posable mechanical aspect. If you look on the web you can find the wiring diegram for a 3 wire Turn,Stop,tail light. In stead of 4 wire and real easy to wire your blinkers in one system. And for your wiring you can get a trailer light wiring kit from harbour freight for $10.00 and it's compete and should be long enough.  Just a thought backalley. Mike, Got a system also for a high/low beam headlight too

thanks for the words of encouragement Mike....
that was my main motivating factor in all the upgrades, not knowing any real history on the truck i figured it would be prudent to take preventative measures early in the game....
and yea, last thing i want to do is break down half way between here and there!
the only things ive really had problems with is the alt and carb, everything else seems to have been pretty decently taken care of, and the maintenance seems to have been kept up on it...
my worst case nightmare scenario would be to break down first in line at a busy intersection during rush hour, lol, so i like having new pieces parts under my butt! 

someone please come down here and hit me in the head with a bat, lol
cause im seriously entertaining the idea of putting an airstream polish on the old girl.....

BackAlleyBurger


someone please come down here and hit me in the head with a bat, lol
cause im seriously entertaining the idea of putting an airstream polish on the old girl.....

Do you want me to bring down an aluminum bat ?????

hahahahhahahaaaa.....ass

"Babs" that ole truck is okay but....................it's still a ford!
this ole girl brings home the bacon and that little rig behind it sell it!

I think the polish would be cool but a lot of work to pull off. Only other thing is that the reflection can sometimes blind your customers and others on the road next to you.
 
I also fully agree that taking care of the drive train now before the build out will save you lots of headaches later. Nothing like having your rig in the shop instead of making money. A day in the shop may piss of your regular customers.

i will have a pic in hour or so.....lol, i took the plunge and started polishing today...lol, i think im gonna need some sun glasses!
 
maybe two hours, just got a big bowl of chicken n rice and some cheddar biscuits set down in front of me

lol, i can eat and type at the same time......
doesnt look like much in this pic, but trust me, theres a shine forming thats gonna look awesome i think.....
 
hey Mark, ya still got that aluminum bat ?? lol
 

In he year 2525 if man is sill alive.... looks sharp BAB.

the TTTT not working must put a hammer to it Mr.Scott I,I captain. Full warp speed Mr,Spock. I can't fix it captain, you have to shutter down your she will blow. GIVE ME THE HAMMER Mr.Scott.

here is a little shot of some light reflecting off it after a little more polishing.....
 
im gonna need a bigger boat....
 

that was the better part of six hours...... not busting my ass, and stopping for dinner, but fairly hard working at it.....
that 6 hours wasnt just polishing.... it was a little spot stripping here and there, picking paint from under edge of hood latch, and a little contemplation....