1981 K20 Project - The Blue Ox

[coveboy]

Just read through your whole build, you've done a great job so far! Truck looks super sharp, and gave me some inspiration on my new budget k10 for sure. I might have missed it, but what paint and primer are you using? With how little you have spent on paint to look that good it's worth it to throw some color on and make my rig look slightly less crummy. My bed is so dented, rusted, and dinged it may not be worth saving, so I was also considering a flat bed if one pops up on craigslist for a good price. Did you loose tire clearance when switching from a fleetside to flatbed?

[Smniekamp]

Originally Posted by coveboy

Just read through your whole build, you've done a great job so far! Truck looks super sharp, and gave me some inspiration on my new budget k10 for sure. I might have missed it, but what paint and primer are you using? With how little you have spent on paint to look that good it's worth it to throw some color on and make my rig look slightly less crummy. My bed is so dented, rusted, and dinged it may not be worth saving, so I was also considering a flat bed if one pops up on craigslist for a good price. Did you loose tire clearance when switching from a fleetside to flatbed?

Thanks man! I used Rustoleum primer and paint out of a spray can from Lowes, it turned out better than I expected. I made sure that I cleaned and sanded the surface pretty well before spraying. Lots of thin coats...lol.

I don't think I lost much clearance with the flatbed. The bed I bought was built on top of two pieces of channel tubing, so it sits a little higher than if it was just on the frame of the truck. Do you have a thread going of your truck? I'd love to see it!

[Smniekamp]

So my flatbed was previously welded onto a truck before I bought it. The owner I bought it from cut the spacers off with a plasma cutter, leaving them damaged beyond use. The spacers were just pieces of square tubing that laid sideways across the bottom of the bed. I decided to cut the spacer off and use the center portion for my new spacers, which I welded in lengthwise with the frame. In the end, it does the same job and takes up a little less room. I'm happy with the results, especially since it was my second time welding haha.

Jacking the bed up with camper jacks to work on....little sketchy...the bed is a heavy sucker...


The center section of the old spacer I cut out.


The remainder of the old spacer.


My new spacer welded in where the old one was located.

[Smniekamp]

Today I was able to wire in my trailer lights. I bought a pair of tail lights at Car Quest and a used harness at a salvage yard. I decided to upgrade my old harness plug to the newer style that was on the late 80s Chevys. Plus, the one I bought from the salvage yard had a trailer hook up already wired in. I like how it turned out, still not in love with the flatbed, but the utility of it is going to be nice.

One half of the harness plug I bought from the salvage yard.


My messy work space, trying to sort through which wires go where.


Lights mounted and working! Now to bolt the bed down...

[coveboy]

Originally Posted by Smniekamp

Thanks man! I used Rustoleum primer and paint out of a spray can from Lowes, it turned out better than I expected. I made sure that I cleaned and sanded the surface pretty well before spraying. Lots of thin coats...lol.

I don't think I lost much clearance with the flatbed. The bed I bought was built on top of two pieces of channel tubing, so it sits a little higher than if it was just on the frame of the truck. Do you have a thread going of your truck? I'd love to see it!

Not bad for rattle can, that's for sure.

And dope, the bed on my truck is pretty rough. Bedsides are badly dented, and there are quite a few rust holes in the floor, so after I get through all my mechanical work I'm going to address the body and likely tear it off. I like how that flatbed looks on yours and is so functional.

I haven't done anything to my chevy since I picked her up besides clean it, but here's my thread. I have a radiator, new brakes, lift components, and a few other misc parts all on order so hopefully will have some updates in the next month!
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...28#post8207828

[Smniekamp]

An old car guy once told me that the key to working on a project vehicle is to do something with it every day. Even if the only thing you do is remove a single screw, it helps keep the project moving along. So, as much as I didn't want to today after work, I went out and gave The Ox some love.

My plan for mounting the bed is to weld some flat bar to the frame of the bed, and bolt it to the frame of the truck. That way it can be removed from the truck later on if I change beds. Today I wire wheeled the rust off the mounting points on the bed frame, measured my truck frame holes, and drilled my flat bar mounts.

The bed frame sections cleaned.


Drilling holes in the flat bar with my drill press.


Cleaning the bed surface up, one square foot down, 55 to go....

[Smniekamp]

Sunny Sunday meant time spent on The Ox. I started off by welding a spacer on my mounting plate. The truck frame is a 1/4" wider than the bed frame. The rear end is all installed and welded on, however I still need to finish the front two mounts. I cleaned up and painted the spare tire bracket and spare tire rim black...which means the its back on the front of the truck. Some people aren't into that look, but I like it with the flatbed. I also replaced my old grill with one that has a clean Chevy badge, its in much better shape, almost a shame to put the tire on the front haha.

Tacking the spacer onto my mounting plate.


Welded up, feel like I'm getting a little better at it!


Mounted on, I welded all around on the bed frame after this picture.


Fresh grill!


The Ox as of today.

[Smniekamp]

Bed is completely mounted! Finally.... Took The Ox to work this morning and she ran great, fun to be back on the road with everything together. Next project is to clean up the bed for paint. I grabbed some big mud flaps for the back over the weekend as well. I feel like they help the look of the flatbed.

[Smniekamp]

Tried my hand at some rust repair today. The fender itself isn't in that great of shape, but it needs some paint to match the rest of the truck and I couldn't bring myself to paint over a rust hole. So, I gave it a shot, and tried replacing some sheet metal for the second time. I burnt through plenty of times, but got the hang of it after a bit. Next time it will turn out a lot cleaner haha.

Here is the hole i decided to work on today...


Used a dremel with a cutting wheel to remove the crusty part of the fender, it actually worked pretty good!


After some welding and plenty of grinding...


Waiting for my body filler to dry.