More Body work and Paint

Goals for the night:

1. Finish sanding/repair of cab corner
2. Paint cab corner
3. Paint hood interior

Started the night by painting the hood underside. I had cleaned this at the car wash pretty good a couple weeks back. It cleaned up well and took most of the old paint off. Problem now was there was a small/thin layer of surface rust. I decided to use some of the Rustolleum Black glass I had, as the POR15 is all gone, and the Chassis coat paint is starting to clump up. Paint went on smooth but could use another coat.

Well as I was looking the truck over, there were several places where I had done some filler a little to thick. Being my first time using body filler, I am still learning. The truth with this stiff is getting the correct spreader. Before I was using a hard piece of plastic. This doesn't do a good job of leveling and making it thin, hence the thick spots. I have since switch to the bondo spreaders, and they work alot better. I am now able to put just skim coats on, paper thin for any weld spots etc.  Anyway, these spots were showing through the paint, so I stripped those areas and smoothed them out. I must say, single stage paint is awesome for repairs like this. Its so easy to repair things and make it disappear again. So far working with the Rustolleum paint has been pretty good. Not disappointed at all.

Ol'Nellie LIVES!

Here is a video I took of the motor running today. Let me know what ya think?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq0YmUOoDos

Lookin GOOD!!!

This past 2 weeks I have been working on painting the front fenders, hood and doors. I have about 4 coats of paint on currently and they look good. Painted these panels using the 50/50(Paint/Thinner) and it works much better. Imagine that... Follow the directions and it works! lol Sanding was much easier this time arround, and the shine is much better. Here is a picture of my son taking a picture of the door(Confusing, I know!):

I was pretty proud of a cheapo Rustoleum paint, that is not even finished or polished yet.Just goes to show you, that there are other possibilities out there. Granted, its not a show quality finish, but its good enough for me.

So now that the paint was mostly done, I decided to start mounting the doors and fenders back on. Doors were heavy and a pain to bolt up. Needed the help for this. Called out my lovely wife and son. They both helped me get these on and bolted up. I have to say, they were much easier removing than going on. When closing the passenger door, the rear upper part of the door is now rubbing. So it will need some adjustments. The drivers side door wouldn't even close. Turns out when I replaced part of the door pillar and cab corner due to rust, that I wielded in the replacements a bit off. Had to break/cut out the old wields and redo some of this work. As seen below, this is what it looked like after I had moved the pillar back and cleaned off the paint. I have since redone the welding and body filler, however don't have a picture at the moment. This is another reason I was waiting until the truck was assembled  to paint the finial 2 to 4 coats of paint. Something always goes wrong. :(

 Saturday was a very long day. Over 12 hours in the shop. Rebuilt the carbs, mounted the fenders, and redid some brake/fuel lines. The below pics are me and the boys taking the truck for a test drive down the drive way! Was FUN!

Didn't have any clean pics of the truck with doors and pictures, so today at lunch I went out, started the truck and backed it out to take some photos. Looking sharp! Remember the paint is only about half way done at this point.

Well pretty big update for just a couple weeks work. Its amazing that I have been able to get this much accomplished in such a short time(6months). Alot of people may look at this and say somethings haven't been done right, or short cuts were taken.. Very true, and I will admit to that. But my response is... I did it all myself, with just my tools and my budget, and I am very proud of that. Anything I haven't completely rebuilt, will be rebuilt in due time.

NEW BLOG UP TO DATE! No more transfering WOOT!

I have finished copying the blog over to its new home. This makes things so much easier than writing a web page in html code.

Late August/Early Sept, 2010

Been on a roll this past month. I was able to do alot more than I ever imagined. 


Paint: During the last few days of August, I was able to paint the cab using the Rustolleum paint. I changed the method a bit from what was posted on http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html I should of not cut corners though, as it shows. I did a 70% Paint to 30% Mix and did double coats trying to safe time. Due to this I have alot of runs and paint that is soft. I will not do this on the rest of the truck, and will likely redo the cab. Overall its a nice 20ft paint job, but up close its not so nice. One thing I must say though... This was a $20 learning lesson, verse a $200 one if I used real auto paint.

Electrical: I decided to build my own wiring harness. So far so good. The pictures look like a birds nest of wires, but trust me it is not. I have everything pulled down for testing and setup. Once I finish running all the circuits It will all be installed in a loom and cleaned up. Should turn out real nice.
Starting Engine: FINALLY! I was able to get the engine going again. Of course this required I install the gas tank, run new fuel lines, rework the carbs and test the ignition system. During these steps, alot of complications. First would be the fuel lines. The rubber lines and new fuel filter all went on without issue. The metal lines were the issue. I needed a 20 inch line for the last piece between the 60 inch line and tank hose. When I went to the store they only had a 30 inch. I figured I would just make it work. Well, during bending it crimped. I decided to leave it for now and replace it later as it wasn't leaking. For the carbs, I said rework rather than rebuild because I didn't have a rebuild kit, so I just reworked and cleaned the parts. Now I was able to get it running doing this, but barely. So carb rebuild kits are next on the list
Transmission cross member: Installing those proved to be a issue. The new Brake Master cylinder actually conflicted with the cross member. This was not mentioned when purchased at all. So modification was needed. I had to notch the cross member and box weld it back in and repaint it. After this it went right into place. However the brake lines had to be removed, and will need to be changed up when I run new lines again.
Whats Next?: Well not that things are really coming together and my budget has been shot for the rest of the year, I need to start working on what I have supplies for currently. So now its time to start working on the doors, front fenders and hood. Clean up. Stripping Paint, and repainting. Once that is done installing. During this time I will need to squeeze in the brake system rebuild and wheel bearings and seals. Running new brake lines and finishing the wires.
Lessons Learned: During this project so far, I have rushed alot of things. Because of this I have a redo list that is growing by the day. Some of this was do to the auto parts store not having the correct size lines. Some is because I ran out of supplies. Either way I was in a rush to be able to just drive the truck again. This has cost me time and money. I have to keep telling myself to slow down, but it is hard being so close, lol! Still having fun working on it, and that is what is important.

August, 2010

August has been a very productive month. Suprising though, as it has been so darn hot! I can always tell when 3pm arrives as it gets to hot to breathe in the shop, so I have to go swim or go inside for a break. So for the progress report:

Cab installed. Was very easy to line up and bolt up. I thought I was going to have more issues than I did, but the lift I made worked very well.

Engine installed: Pulled the engine out of the shop and degreased and washed it up good. Went down to Autozone and purchased some Engine paint(GM BLUE). Wrapped everything in foil for the prep and shot a few coats of paint on. Looks very nice. Still need to polish some chrome and replace the hoses and such. Will get to that later though. The engine was alot more work getting lined up. The first problem was just getting it into position as I never removed the front bumper, so I had to install it from the side. This created issues with the tire not letting me get in close enough(I pulled the engine with no tire on). I was finally able to get it in from the front, but had to jack the axel up as the lift wouldn't slide under the axle. Bolting it up once in place was a pain as well.

Transmission installed: WOW! What a nightmare! I tried everything under the sun. Followed the shop manual, online forum posts advise and all... No matter what I did this darn thing would always stop about 1/2 a inch before meeting the bell housing. I spent 2 nights getting the trasmission in alone. Probally close to 10 hours. I took it off and reinserted it 8 or so times, double checking everything. Decided to let the bolts work it in the rest of the way. Hate doing this though as it can destroy a trasmission if not careful. Worked each bolt slowly never forcing the bolt. Doing alittle on each bolt. Wiggled the transmission some with the floor jack and it went all the way in!!!! Thank god that is over!!!

Paint Prep: Before I started installing steering wheels and electric, I decided to get the paint on the cab going. There are alot of choices out there. I have done alot of research on this, trying to decide what will work best for me. I was pretty set on spraying the "Paint Shop" system by Dupli Color, as it was going to cost arround $200 - $300 for supplies. There was also another system called "Barret Jackson" by Planet Color I believe, costing about $300 - $400. All these paints were a pretty big investment for a first time painter, so I was very nervous. During my research I found alot of people that have been using "Rustoleum" paint from Home depot. It is a single stage Enamel, which when buffed looks very nice. Best part is the cost. About $75 total. That being said, I thought I would give it a try. So my nephew and I sanded down the cab, bondoed were needed, and cleaned it all up(Thanks Matt). Pulled it back into the shop and wiped it down with some Cleaner. I decided to Prime the cab first, even though some people say its not needed with this paint. Oh, did I mention this is all being put on with a roller and brush! First coat looked like CRAP! Second coat of prime looks alot better. I have to keep telling myself that sanding between layers will fix the imperfections, as there are alot of them. Next is paint, wish me luck!

July, 2010

Had a few days left before vacation so I installed the new master clinder I recieved. I decided to leave it Drum/Drum for the time being. I bent and installed all the brake lines myself, which was a fun learning experience. Did a pretty good job, but a few pieces I would like to redo. Getting the leaks all worked out is a pain, but should be able to reinstall the cab soon. Rest of July will be gone on vacation. Also learned something new: brake fluid eats paint! I seem to have misplaced the pics of the brake work, but I will continue to look for them.

June, 2010

June was a busy month for me. Garage is now wired for electic and now have a real compressor. ALOT of hours were spent in the garage. I have now learned..... Spead alot of time planning out each detail or a restore. Estimate how long you think it will take. The add alot of buffer time in. When you get to your final number you are positive on for time spent, times that by 10! I have been thinking about the details of this restoration for over 10 years. I thought I had a good idea of the time and effort needed, but I was off by a long shot.

I did however get alot done in June. I managed to get the frame and most of the cab prepped and painted with POR-15. Rushing myself to finish this before our July vacation, I didn't do things to the level I wanted, therefore I am not happy with a few areas underneath a cross member or the firewall of the cab(forgot a few holes to fill). Basically DON'T RUSH THIS! I got a chance to work with the welder and welded in a some new pillar pieces. Not perfect but good enough for me. At first I was really shooting for a close to show quality, but I soon realised I don't have the budget or skills for that yet. So I am going to do the best I can and learn as I go.

May 20th, 2010

Was able to get alot done tonight after work. Removed the Transmission & Cab. My POR15 chassis paint came in the mail today as well. Overall a very productive day. Next step is to remove the engine and start clean up on the frame. You can see one of the pictures below, that I soda blasted part of the frame. Looks very clean.

May 14th, 2010

Pretty big update. Have done alot over the past few days. My boys love helping me work on the truck. You can see a few pictures of them below. Dylan has started using the air tools. Its alot of fun having them out there with me. Its funny because I was just thinking about when I was 5yrs old. My dad and I brought this truck home from his Step-Dad's house and started working on it. I helped my dad when asked, like bleeding the brakes. Now history is repeating all over again with the next generation. Making new memories. I hope to one day take my boys fishing in this truck as well. Thanks Dad!

 Few days ago, I started removing the steering shaft. I found out that the gear box has to be unbolted from the frame and the steering shaft pulled into the engine bay. This of course requires you remove the pitman arm. Not having a 1 1/4 wrench, I had to purchase one for $10. I also needed a pitman arm puller, which I rented from Autozone for $13. I have a real problem returning the tools though lol. Once I aquire a tool, its so hard to let go. :-) I soon realized that after the gear box had been unbolted, the inner fender was in the way. Not a setback really as that was the next step in my plan. I removed the radiator, draining it first. Moved on to the grill, all but one bolt came out easy with a little WD40. The last bolt I had to use the cut off wheel. From the looks of it all these bolts will need to be replaced anyway. Once the grill was out I removed the rediator support bracket, then started on the fender bolts. The fenders came off rather easy. The WD40 I pre-soaked the bolts in helped alot. Only body parts remaining are the cab and running boards, and I will be tackling those soon.

I happen to find out that there is a local custom restore shop, right here in town. I stopped by and talked to the owner for a while. He was very knowledgeable in the series truck I have. He even had a few in the shop that he is working on. This could really come in handy, when I need to farm out some work or just bounce some questions off someone. He happen to mention a super pentration oil called "Kroil". I thought I give the stuff a shot and placed a order for some. I will let you know how the stuff turns out.