Shaving the Gas Tank Filler Hole

My latest mantra is “progress progress progress”. I am knocking out tasks one by one, getting better at welding, and doing it all faster. The goal is to get the truck done before Brooke graduates from high school – that gives me a little over one more year, it will be close.

The latest task is to cover over the gas tank filler hole in the cab. This 1954 Chevy Truck is going to be “shaved” - it will be one sleek ride with nothing but a smooth body line.

Okay, enough with the visceral explanation, the practical reason is that with the truck being converted to an electric vehicle it does not need gasoline for fuel therefore the gas tank filler is unnecessary and must be removed.

This task has gone about as good as it could go. I must have been possessed by the spirit of Carol Shelby because everything went exactly as it should.

The first step was easy; remove the gas tank filler unit and gasket from the cab body. As you can see we now have a perfect hole in the cab.

Step two was to fabricate a piece of sheet metal to cover the hole. This involved a little metal work since the replacement part must match the curve of the cab. I had to cut out a circular hole and then put a curve on it by rolling it over a pipe, my Hillbilly metal forming equipment.

  

After careful trimming and grinding, the replacement cover plate precisely fits the hole. It is clamped into place with special clamps before the welding begins. For those of you that have read 50 Shades of Gray you might recognize these babies from a different perspective.

  

Step three is to butt weld the cover plate to the cab. The proper technique is to place a series of tack welds around the seam to hold the cover plate in place. The other reason for doing it this way is to control the heat applied to the sheet metal. The extreme heat from the welds will warp the sheet metal so you have to weld slowly and let the heat dissipate before continuing.

 Slowly I added more spot welds, gradually filling in all the gaps. I also used the angle grinder to grind the welds flush with the cab, still being careful to go slow to let the heat dissipate to avoid warping.

 Voila, tu es magnifique! It is all welded in place and smoothed out. The new piece did not match exactly the body curve and I did get a little warp on one side as I am still learning patience and butt welding. However, everything can be fixed with a little body filler and elbow grease.

 This is the first layer of body filler. You basically put it on, sand it down, put more on, sand it down, put more on – you get the picture. Each layer gets you closer and closer to Nirvana, until finally you rub your hand over the cab and it feels perfect and I mean purr-fect.

  

With the body filler sanding finished, the last step is to spray on a coat of primer and baby does that look good. When they say “shaved” this is what I am talking about y’all.