I am going to start a new thread. I am trying to figure the direction I want to take and how to get there.
Body panels came in today. Very well packaged and all seem high quality, but its not like I buy sheet metal everyday. So I got cab corners, floor pans, trans cover and a left lower pillar piece. I think I can make the other little patches I need out of scrap I have. I also got their running board hardware kit and a cab mount kit, but the cab mounts are on back order. Unless the weather doesn't co-op I should start tomorrow, wish me luck!
You don't need luck, you've got the talent to put this together. Pieces look good, hope they fit up nice for you. Show us plenty of pics.....Jim
Thanks oldman, I hope you are right. Here is the first patch I did. I laid the cab corner up to the truck and marked out where it sits at its highest point, so that I didnt cut too much out, then I cut up high enough to get into good metal. The inner cab corner is so so, I will mess with it later. I then did the same with the lower pillar, but decided not to cut out the whole thing as only the bottom had a rust hole I cut out what I didnt want and laid the cut out piece inside the new panel and traced it out, cut it out on the bench and then tacked it it, finish welded and ground the hell out of it. Took me about 2 hrs total. Hopefully I can pick up the pace a little... I got the pass side floor out, what a pain in the ass. I first laid the new pan in and marked where it would go, then cut a little below the line to give me some room to work. I went through about 5 3" inch discs before I gave the 4" grinder a try with a cutting disc and man, what a difference. It has so much more torque then my air cutting tool. Anyway, I cut out what I could and then tackled a million spot welds. Instead of drilling them out, I went at them with the air chisel and it worked great. So the front body mount is rusted pretty bad, so I need to replace it, and the right rear inner cab corner is rusted out. I need to make another order for parts soon. I think I will cut out most of the mount, just leave enough to keep the cab from falling off my dolly, and get the floor in, then, after I get the pass side done, I will stand it on its backside and replace the mount, and tack it in from the bottom. Lots more work then I had planned, as usual. BTW, I was looking for the spot welds by hitting the floor pan with the wire wheel when I broke through the floor into the front body mount cavity, and I thought I saw something move....HUGE ANTS came barreling out of the hole, I mean HUGE. I didn't want to be responsible for bringing some sort of foreign ant to my area so I took them all out. There were some that were at least a half inch long with with wings, I wish I thought to take pics, but was freaked out that they have been camping out in my garage like that.
Oh, also got a Ingersol Rand dual stage 80 gal. compressor yesterday!! Got an $100 off coupon in an email from tractor supplly and had to jump on it. Now I got a huge wiring project ahead of me to hook up my welder and compressor. My current box is CHUCK full of half size breaks with no empty spots so it looks like I'll have to install a aux box for my power tools. I was just looking at this same exact compressor at my Tractor supply. If you don't mind me asking a dumb electrical question....Did you already have a 230 volt service in your garage. I had seen that this unit calls for a 230v service. My electrician said he would have to install a transformer ($500) in my garage to get 230v but also told me it would work fine off my current 220v (which is really 208v)service. I did not go ahead and buy the compressor for fear of damaging it with the under current. What particulars did you do to install this compressor?
220 is what I am using for both my 230 compressor and 230 welder. My understanding is 230 is its rated max input, but will work fine anywhere between the 208 and 230v range. In any event I have used the hell out of both of them and no problems at all.
HOW DARE YOU!!! J/k.. March pulleys, good stuff, although as my build goes on I kinda wish I had stay away from some of the shiny stuff. Oh well... I jumped on them cause they were a good price. On another note, I have actually done quite a bit as far as metal work, but am embarrassed to post pics just yet cause I have made a lot of mistakes, I think. I am going to get a little further along and try and clean things up a bit before I put up pics....
Please let us know about your mistakes. It will help us down the road . I have a 50 1/2 ton I am going to start soon so it is good to know what to look for and how you fixed it!
I look at it as we learn by our mistakes, and get better. If you post the pics you might get several members who will help guide you throught the fixes, just my 2 cents worth......Jim
Oh alright....so I cut the two rear cab corners out, the right inner is rusted through pretty bad and the left inner has a few rust through pin holes, so I am going to replace the inners while I am at it. Ordered them on Monday night, should be here next week then I can finish up the cab corners. I decided to start filling holes in the firewall. Man, what a job. Here is what I started with...some of them are hard to see in teh pic, but there is so many holes I lost count... Here is the pass side after most of the small ones are done. I have to make little patches for the bigger holes and have some grinding still to do, but coming along. So that leaves the driver side of the firewall. It had a huge hole where that hacks had a fire wall mounted booster, and half a dozen around it, so my plan was to cut out a big chunk and weld in a patch. Well some of the holes are in the firewall brace, and some are on the firewall strength beads so I still have some work to do, but I am really worried about warpage from all the million welds I had to make to get that piece in. I think it will look OK after I smooth out all the welding, but don't know how the finished product is going to look. One of the bigger screw ups is I cut the toe board up too high, there is about an inch gap when I sat the floor in. I will have to fill that in as well, grr. I still have a long way to go and it gets easier the more I do, but I keep fiddling with teh settings on the welder to get a good mix of heat for flat welds and wire speed so I dont have to hang in one spot long, and that is NOT easy, and seems to change from spot to spot. On the other front, I got my GM Performance fuel pump, and ordered an Edelbrock 1406 today, so I need to run the fuel lines and then I am going to try and fire it up!! I found a shop that I am going to call about building me a drive shaft, then need to install my battery box and park brake cables. Sheesh, still have so much to do. But it is coming along...
Don't think you will have much to worry about on the firewall, could hammer and dolly a little if you need to straight, then a little filler. Progress is slow sometimes, just keep at it.....Jim
Not a heck of a lot of stuff done, still hacking away at the cab, but I have some major changes to how I am going to finish it up. I am constantly finding things I don't like, mostly having to do with my welding skills. I cut out and replaced the rear inner cab corners, dr side looks horrible, pass side came out great, but there is rust in spots I didn't see before. The rear body mounts are questionable and I already replaced the rf mount and didn't do a very good job. I also cut the firewall too high as mentioned a few posts back. Lastly, the area under the seat is pitted badly and very thin, I think trying to patch it would look like shit and be a lot of work. So I have almost talked myself into buying the complete floor pan with seat riser which has all four body mounts, rockers, and complete floor all welded up already. Then I am also going to get the complete firewall with toe boards, the left and right inner to outer cowl panels and the right inner cowl panel. The firewall is just too rusty and thin in spots to even weld, and I cant get to the back side of the cowl panels to blast/sand/treat/undercoat so I feel like the only right way to do it is to cut it all apart. I am shitting my drawers at the thought of it, but am ready to get going. First step is to brace up the cab to keep it the same shape. After I get all the parts am come up with a plan I'll take a bunch of pics. It is going to cost an arm and a leg but I just dont have the metal working skills it seems to get it done where it looks nice. This may be just as hard if not harder but hopefully it all works out. Anyway, I got my carb in and installed. Basic edelbrock 1406, should do well and easy to manage I think. Question though, I have the vacuum advance hooked up to the right side vacuum outlet, says that spot is for non egr engines. But I hooked up my trans modulator to the left side. Do I need straight manifold vacuum or will it work there? Got my Fuel pump loosely installed. GM Performance fuel pump. I didnt want to bolt it up yet because I still need to run my fuel lines and the inlet/outlet are to close to the frame to install the lines with the fuel pump in place. Will need 90 degree fittings installed first then bolted up, then I can hook up fuel lines. Got the drivers side park brake cable installed. Went in preety easy, and didnt even need to cut the park cable as I ran it through the og bracket, through the old pb bar hole, along the inside of the frame and across the trans cross member so it should avoid the exhaust and drive shaft. So I will do the other one in the next few days, and try and get my battery box installed. Hopefully I can get my floor parts in the next couple weeks. If I end up going that route I will have the dr side front body mount and dr side floor panel up for sale.
Thats what I am going to end up doing. I thought that on the front one was for the dist and one for the trans, but the directions clarified that for me. Of course, I looked at the directions AFTER I installed it, as usual. Dont need no stinking directions...
So last weekend I finally broke out the sand blaster. Went through SIX 50 lb bags and did an ass load of little parts, and 1 door and after I took the bottom door seals off I found this mess. I dont see that being to hard to fix, of course they sell patch panels for the lower door area. Finished blasting one door, well mostly anyway. Gotta fix the rust then get after it with some sand paper, treat the inner door with rust spray of some sort. Had two giagantic boxes in my driveway when I got home!! Firewall Here is the complete floor, and I mean complete. It has all the body mounts, the seat riser, gas tank straps(which I will take off) and rockers with inner cab corners all ready to go. Fits like a glove!! The firewall is killer. In the pics it showed it with a bunch of holes, but when I got it it has one hole in high up just to the right of the recessed area and the steering column hole, and thats it. I thought I was going to have to fill a bunch even on the new one... Lastly, a customer of mine brought me this cool tool box. Said it was from the late fifties early sixties. Either way, I am going to clean it up and use it the the truck... So I know I am cheating a little. I have been messing around for a few weeks trying to make the firewall look good and I just dont think I have what it takes just yet and totally ran out of patience. I sure as hell hope I can put all these new parts together though. I bought some angle iron the other day and will frame up the inside of the truck, then start removing the old floor and firewall. Then I think I will try and clean up all that I can before reassembly since I will have the extra room without the floor in, then start reassembly. I'll get a bunch of pics and update later.
Looks like Santa was late with the Xmas stuff (ha ha). Got some nice panels and lots of work to install, keep us posted and good luck with the work.....Jim
I wonder if there is a sequence you should follow to help keep the squareness. Like (floor first firewall last or the other way around)??
Probably. I thought about leaving the firewall in for support and do the floor, but then I figured with the dash and cowl still in and all the angle iron I am going to put in I would be fine. I am really unsure about how its going to turn out, but then again I was unsure about everything else and it all worked out bad ass. In hindsight I wish I had kept the other frame around for a while, It would be cool to bolt up the floor and lower the cab back down onto it, and without anything else on the frame I would of had all kinds of room to work.
Man what a tough road full of trials and tribulation you went through, but look at where you are now, great to see you preserver, and look at how far you've come! Great work, keep on truckin'! Murch.
That actually sounded a little dramatic sorry, a lot of people may have given up and moved it along, but you didn't, so I guess it's warranted .
Just read your thread, great project!! Next time you have to install coil springs this will help you out ALOT!! you will need some 1/2 all thread and some scrap steel to make a washer. unblot the whole lower control arm use some all thread drop the all thread from the top down through the shock bolt hole with a nut on top, slide the spring up lift the lower control arm up and install the washer and nut, hit it with the impact. You want to do it with the control are unbolted from the rear as well then it is a srtaight up pull not angle pull on the spring. Install the nut on lower ball joint loose and then put the rear two bolts in and tighten things up. With this method it usually take about a 1/2 hour to assemble a whole front end control arm assembly both sides. Also GM makes a Tall and Short block plate (the plate that connects the engine mount to block) assembly one is for truck and one is for car, you need to make sure you have the correct block plate to engine mount for correct install height. Keep up the good work looks great!!
Thanks man, after looking through Lordz of Kustomz thread it has given me a lot more confidence in doing this floor. We'll see how it turns out... Thanks for the tip!!
So I finally thought of a way to get the floor out of the truck. I am sure someone will chime in with something that would of been easier, but this is what my brain came up with. I made them just a hair taller than my cab dolly, that way when I get the cab ready for the new floor I can put the new floor on the dolly and roll it back under, then lift it slightly and clamp it into place before welding. That way I wont be struggling with the 100 lbs of floor the whole damn time. I bolted them to the angle iron and slid the dolly out of the way. I was supposed to borrow and guys plasma cutter but couldn't get him on the horn so I went out a bought a Dewalt recip saw and started hacking away. Clangggggggg... Big ol rusty piece of shit fell out. Well, after drilling out bunches of spot welds. Need to clean up all the pillars and rear cab braces and put the new floor back in. I am not too worried about things staying square, my thought is the firewall can only go in one way and the pillars go in certain spots on the rockers and the floor is already squared up, so it should be fine. I guess I'll find out soon enough. So then I slid the dolly back under and took off the stands so I could roll it back in the garage. Should be able to get it all cleaned up tomorrow. I sand blasted all behind the dash and under the cowl, as well as the upper firewall area. Then sprayed it down good with this rust spray/metal prep I found at home depot, then painted with anti rust paint I never gave it much thought but since I was back there I started wondering why the back of the cab as rust red and not green like the rest of the cab. Turns out it has been worked on before and has some filler and rthen sprayed with red primer. No biggie, dont see any real damage on the inside so not sure whats going on, but wont be hard to redo when the time comes.
Well, have done quite a bit of work but not a whole lot of progress. Every time I plan on doing a certain repair, I think of 20 things that need to be done in preparation for the repair. Very frustrating and tedious. I'm just going to post a bunch of pics, hopefully you guys can make sense of them... Backside of dash cleaned up and primed, looks nice and much easier to do with now firewall in the way.. RH outer cowl is in good shape, drilled out a shit load of spot welds to get the rusted out inner to outer cowl panel out Sprayed it all down with the phosphoric acid spray Cleaned it up and primed, then taped off and undercoated. LH cowl had a bunch of bondo, decided to cut it out and start over. Tired of drilling out spot welds so I took it out in pieces. Found lead in the seam of the cowl panel, really f'd up the upper cowl getting the lower cowl out. Ended up cutting it off above the lead and will have to weld in a patch piece. What I figure happend was the door was over extended as the pliiar was bent inward once I got the cowl panel off... nice and straight now new bottom pillar welded in, bottom of outer, inner and pillar rusted through or very thin. Floor panel. Sand off the areas where the cab pillars bolt up and spray with a primer that I have been told works well as a weld through. I have done a few welds and it seems to hold up well. I planned on seam sealing the entire underneath of floor and then undercoating or roll on bed lining it, but cant find my damn caulk gun after I went out and bought some seam sealer. So I am test fitting some pieces and am kinda concerned. They don't really fit exactly right, but my thought is that is normal. I probably am given a little extra material to work with and once I get them in where they go I can just trim them up. But I really have no idea.... The other thing is the replacement inner kick panel piece is pretty much flat. The place where is needs to go is curved. I am guessing I just start tacking it in place and bend it to fit as I go. I have to get the whole kick panel area done because it fits in between the pillar piece and the rocker panel, but nothing lines up for squat. Seems I bit off a bit more than I can chew, but I am determined to figure this out. It can't be that hard to do dammit....
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