55.2-59 progress today and questions for the pros

[dsraven]

now that you have the frame sitting out on stands with nothing else on it, before you do anything else, clean it and then check it for square, straightness and sag.
-if you have access to a water hose in the area it is good to degrease the frame and then wash it off with water, as it dries look for any wet lines that don't dry like the area around them. this can point to a crack. the crack will usually allow water to get inside and sit in the crack and that area dries slower so it shows up. it shows even better with hot water but thats a big luxury for most of us
then
-measure and mark each cross member at it's center point with a piece of tape and a fine line pen or pencil
-run a string from the rear cross member mark to the front cross member mark and check to ensure the string crosses over each center mark you made
-do a cross check from corner to corner and compare, this can be out about 1/8" but is also hard to do by yourself. a clamp works well to hold the end of the tape if working alone. remember to get the end of the tape placed in the same place on each side so the dimension is accurate and the same
-run the string along the top or bottom of each frame rail and check for sag. a couple of short pieces of 2x4 or other spacer material work well to get the string up off the frame high enough to clear the bump
-if is it all good then start looking for loose rivets and small cracks . loose rivets can be replaced with grade 8 bolts but clean the surfaces down to bare smooth steel so the fasteners have a flat surface to bear down on
-sandblasting would be great if you have that in your budget but a wire wheel on a angle grinder also works to get rid of the lumps. a scraper works to get rid of the scale sometimes but be careful not to mark the frame with the sharp edges or corners of the scraper. I use a wood chisel that has the corners rounded off, it's stronger than a regular scraper
-now you're ready to coat it with whatever. there are urethane paints that work pretty well as a top coat and will take some abuse from rock chips etc. I have used endura for frames before. eastwood makes a chassis paint and if you talk to a steel worker they will say to use a mastic epoxy primer which has waaay more solids in it. more solids equals a tougher surface and possibly a single coat. i have used por15 and found it to be a bit on the brittle side.
for the springs if you disassemble them you might consider flipping them upside down on a couple pieces of wood or right on the dirt, then give them a couple of good whacks in the middle with a sledge hammer. take a good look at the leafs after that and see if there are any cracks. better to find out early that you have a weak spring or a fatigued leaf than after you have the whole truck apart and a week later you find a broken leaf has come out and wrecked a tire. an old spring tech told me this is what he does before doing any re-arch or rebush etc. then when installing the slipper parts you will need new center bolts. ensure you have the right diameter and length before you start. new u bolts are also advised. for paint, same thing goes, high solids epoxy. there is also an elastomer additive if you really want to get serious.
or, just regular old rust paint. depends on the budget and the tools you have on hand, like everything else. we do what we can with what we have and can afford. show trucks even get body filler on the frame before paint. I hope nobody looks under mine, lol.

[dsraven]

oh yeah, one other thing, I have seen those concrete blocks used for jack stands many times before but understand that they are brittle and tend to crumble under spot loading. I have seen them fail multiple times in my line of work (firefighter) and had to rescue the injured/crushed worker from under the rubble. please fab up some good strong stands or blocking or spend a couple of bucks on a good set of jack stands. check the local ads or the local pawn shop for a used set. trust me, you will use them over and over in your build. personally I have 3 sets of the large 6 ton stands and a couple of shorter 3 ton stands. I have run out of stands before due to multiple things in multiple places. you will use them if you have them and you can always sell them when you're done if you find they are in your way and you don't need them anymore. check harbour freight for some inexpensive units if the cash is tight but please, never crawl under anything that is blocked up with cinder blocks.

[Phungki]

Originally Posted by dsraven

oh yeah, one other thing, I have seen those concrete blocks used for jack stands many times before but understand that they are brittle and tend to crumble under spot loading. I have seen them fail multiple times in my line of work (firefighter) and had to rescue the injured/crushed worker from under the rubble. please fab up some good strong stands or blocking or spend a couple of bucks on a good set of jack stands. check the local ads or the local pawn shop for a used set. trust me, you will use them over and over in your build. personally I have 3 sets of the large 6 ton stands and a couple of shorter 3 ton stands. I have run out of stands before due to multiple things in multiple places. you will use them if you have them and you can always sell them when you're done if you find they are in your way and you don't need them anymore. check harbour freight for some inexpensive units if the cash is tight but please, never crawl under anything that is blocked up with cinder blocks.

You are right. I have jack stands at home. I didn’t expect to get as much accomplished that day as I did so I just grabbed the blocks as opposed to just laying it on the ground. That’s why the back blocks are so close to the middle. I just blocked it up so I could remove the jack and pull out the rear suspension. I’m trying not to mangle myself up too bad. Smacking myself with the 3lb hammer when I was driving out some rivets was enough.
Thanks for looking out tho

[Phungki]

Originally Posted by dsraven

now that you have the frame sitting out on stands with nothing else on it, before you do anything else, clean it and then check it for square, straightness and sag.
-if you have access to a water hose in the area it is good to degrease the frame and then wash it off with water, as it dries look for any wet lines that don't dry like the area around them. this can point to a crack. the crack will usually allow water to get inside and sit in the crack and that area dries slower so it shows up. it shows even better with hot water but thats a big luxury for most of us
then
-measure and mark each cross member at it's center point with a piece of tape and a fine line pen or pencil
-run a string from the rear cross member mark to the front cross member mark and check to ensure the string crosses over each center mark you made
-do a cross check from corner to corner and compare, this can be out about 1/8" but is also hard to do by yourself. a clamp works well to hold the end of the tape if working alone. remember to get the end of the tape placed in the same place on each side so the dimension is accurate and the same
-run the string along the top or bottom of each frame rail and check for sag. a couple of short pieces of 2x4 or other spacer material work well to get the string up off the frame high enough to clear the bump
-if is it all good then start looking for loose rivets and small cracks . loose rivets can be replaced with grade 8 bolts but clean the surfaces down to bare smooth steel so the fasteners have a flat surface to bear down on
-sandblasting would be great if you have that in your budget but a wire wheel on a angle grinder also works to get rid of the lumps. a scraper works to get rid of the scale sometimes but be careful not to mark the frame with the sharp edges or corners of the scraper. I use a wood chisel that has the corners rounded off, it's stronger than a regular scraper
-now you're ready to coat it with whatever. there are urethane paints that work pretty well as a top coat and will take some abuse from rock chips etc. I have used endura for frames before. eastwood makes a chassis paint and if you talk to a steel worker they will say to use a mastic epoxy primer which has waaay more solids in it. more solids equals a tougher surface and possibly a single coat. i have used por15 and found it to be a bit on the brittle side.
for the springs if you disassemble them you might consider flipping them upside down on a couple pieces of wood or right on the dirt, then give them a couple of good whacks in the middle with a sledge hammer. take a good look at the leafs after that and see if there are any cracks. better to find out early that you have a weak spring or a fatigued leaf than after you have the whole truck apart and a week later you find a broken leaf has come out and wrecked a tire. an old spring tech told me this is what he does before doing any re-arch or rebush etc. then when installing the slipper parts you will need new center bolts. ensure you have the right diameter and length before you start. new u bolts are also advised. for paint, same thing goes, high solids epoxy. there is also an elastomer additive if you really want to get serious.
or, just regular old rust paint. depends on the budget and the tools you have on hand, like everything else. we do what we can with what we have and can afford. show trucks even get body filler on the frame before paint. I hope nobody looks under mine, lol.

Thank you for commenting. I had totally forgot about checking for square and sag. Knew about it while I’ve been researching but in my head I had already moved onto stripping and sealing.
I’m just going to use a wire wheel or whatever I need to clean up the leaf springs. I was hoping I could find something similar to what POR15 does but remain flexible. Just in case I don’t get every speck of rust off.