1954 Tonka Star Kist Tuna Truck Restoration Box Van Starkist 725 Refurbish Advertising Restore

I purchased this 1954 Tonka Star Kist Tuna Box Van Advertising Truck on eBay February of 2023 for $. This is a pretty rare truck and made in only one year. Outside of missing two rear hub caps and one rear door handle, the truck was surprisingly complete for being almost 70 Years old. The body while extremely rusted and corroded was in great shape, only having minor dents and dings, the front hood had a pretty good dent, the grille was bend inward as many of these trucks are from being rammed into another truck, the box van body had several pretty decent dents as well. After sandblasting the body and completing the minor dent repairs, I used JB weld to fill any leftover pitting after the high build powder coat primer was wet sanded, then sprayed one additional coat of primer to give the uniform base coat color. I was very happy with how the body came out. The original wooden bed had two screws pulled out of it while disassembling and I found it was extremely brittle, thus I decided to make an entirely new one on the Thunder CO2 Laser. This is the first project using the CO2 laser and I have to say, it’s extremely easy to use! I’ve been playing around with it a lot lately. After running the wood through a planer to get the correct thickness, I let the Thunder laser do all the hard work and simply stained the wood afterwards. My favorite part of this entire restoration was remanufacturing the hub caps. I CNC milled a stamping die out of 4140 tool steel, while I’m sure there are ways to speed up the process, I’m very conservative with speeds when using micro tooling sizes, so the entire milling process took over 22 hours! Then I used the Senfeng Fiber laser to cut 28-gauge mirror polished hub cap blanks to stamp. I used approx. 30 tons worth of force to stamp the hub caps which I absolutely love how they came out. Overall, this was a really fun restoration and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! Thank you everyone for your support and watching! Want to send Chip Channel something? Restorable toys, tools, etc.. Donations can be sent to: USPS Chip Channel Restorations PO Box 1178 Grand Island, NE 68802 Lathe details Precision Matthews PM-1440TL Check out their website at CNC Fiber Laser Details Senfeng SF1313G Check out their website at Thunder CO2 Laser Details 100 Watt Nova 51 CO2 Check out their website at Need Parts??? Check out Gasoline Alley Toys! Use this discount code for 15% OFF !!! Discount Code: CHIPCHANNEL15 Extra content on Instagram Check out my Facebook Page Watch my Previous Videos Here 1955 Tonka Green Giant Brand Semi Truck and Trailer 1960s Rusty Structo Emergency Rescue Van 1930s Marx Battery Operated ElectroMagnetic Crane 1961 Tonka State Hi Way Department Mobile Crane 1967 Tonka Gas Turbine Bottom Dump Semi 1962 Tonka Drag Line Mobile Crane 1954 Tonka Mobile Fire Department MFD Ladder Truck 1960s Buddy L Merry Go Round Carousel 1960 Tonka Sanitary System Garbage Truck 1930 Marx Powered Steam Shovel 1953 Tonka COE Livestock Semi Truck 1930s Wyandotte Folding Wing Airplane 1918 Structo Clockwork Army Tank Share this video with this link Thank you for watching and supporting my Channel! Please like and subscribe! Products that I use for ChipChannelRestorations Bondic UV instant cure glue Nylon Punch Nickel Plating Kit Ultrasonic Cleaner Blasting gun Blasting Media Wet Sand Paper Deburring bits Metal Polish Small Cut Off Wheels Lead Test Kit Camera Tripod Camera light soft boxes DSLR Camera Wireless Camera slider As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Buy parts from these sources below and ChipChannel can earn a commission as an eBay affiliate associate. Toy Decals eBay shop - Decals, parts, toys, vintage items Rivet Tool Link #Restoration #DIY #Vintage Filmed in 4K