64 C10 Stepside "Jaybird"

[Jeff La]

Love the cutlass, olds were mostly all we ever had in our family. I had two cutlass' when we first got married.

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by Mikes66ChevyC10

Love the Cutlass! I also have a 72!

Would love to see a pic.

Originally Posted by siggyfreud

Looking great! Frame and suspension parts are coming out looking really good.

Thank you.

I haven't worked on the truck since Saturday but I did a small project here at home in the woodshop. I drilled the rivets on the back of the heater control panel to get the little lens out to see if I could save it. It was very cloudy and some kind of crust on it.





I washed it with soap and then buffed it with some 3M microfinish. It came pretty dam clear. Even the plastic they made back then was of high quality.

The rivets are studs that are molded to frame and there is enough meat left I am just going to JB weld it back together.







I was a little worried about this piece as I couldn't find any replacements in any of the catalogs. No need to now was able to save it.

Bret

[socaljess]

looking good keep up the good work

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by socaljess

looking good keep up the good work

Thank You,

Been getting little things done here and there. I have soaked the headers in three different positions in my vat of rust eating vinegar. It is doing a great job. Only problem I am having is the flash rust immediately after I rinse them in water. I figured out if I air dry them completely with compressed air it helps tremendously. My plan is to lightly sand blast them and then get some paint on them.

First round of soaking. Forgot to take pics of them all finished. DOH



The driver header had some damage at one point and was repaired with some brazing. As long as it don't leak it will be fine.


I also soaked the front springs and engine pulleys. The springs came out with a black coating on them. Not sure what it is but it kept them from flash rusting.

I got these crazy formations from the springs





Today I tore down the rearend so I could start stripping it and get it ready for some black paint and put it back under the frame. It gave me hell from the start. The bolt that holds the pinion shaft twisted off. By shear luck I finally got it out. Then the springs from the drum brakes took a chunk out of one of my fingers and finally I bruised my palm taking off one of the backing plates. BUT I WON IN THE END!

Also I have been reading that the 64 rearends have a 17 spline but my axles were 30 so I guess it was switched out at one point.

Couple of pics of current garage status. I need to make a couple of parts orders before I can put the front suspension back together. Mainly bolts and all the bump stops. For now going to put the original drum brakes back on as Disc brakes is not in the budget right now.

Forgot to take a picture of the rearend all tor down.

[bj383ss]

Haven't updated in awhile. I have been busy though.

Rearend all done and buttoned up.









Rear suspension ready to go with new poly bushings.




I have almost gone through a whole gallon of paint on just the frame and suspension.

[aggie91]

Parts are looking good!

[TJ's Chevy]

Nice job bud! Bout time an update came! Now you know I'm only saying that cause I'm liking the build! LOL!

[Ta2Don]

Great Work & Progress!!!

[1963c-10]

Great progress.....glad to see the vinegar is doing the trick on the rust. I have used it many times very successfully. Nice job!!!

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Parts are looking good!

Thank You

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Nice job bud! Bout time an update came! Now you know I'm only saying that cause I'm liking the build! LOL!

Thank you T.J. I have been lazy. To tell you the truth my web hosting site for my pictures has been giving me hell and not letting me batch upload so uploading one picture at a time is very consuming. Something is wrong with the JAVA installed on my computer and after a couple of hours messing with it I gave up.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Great Work & Progress!!!

Thank Don

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Great progress.....glad to see the vinegar is doing the trick on the rust. I have used it many times very successfully. Nice job!!!

I have to say I am amazed at how awesome Vinegar is. It saved me a bunch of work after I got a system down. Let everything soak for a couple of days. Rinse it off dry it with compressed air and then a quick blast to stop the flash rust. Everything comes out factory fresh.

I have a ton more pictures just didn't have time to upload them this morning.

I am replacing a lot of the bolts with Grade 8 but if they are specialized I am just blasting them or wire brushing them priming them, 2 coats of aluminum high heat engine paint followed by 3 coats of clear to help with the paint coming off the corners when they are tightened. So far it has worked well on the diff cover bolts and backing plates for the axle.


I painted all the brake parts with the Aluminum just to give a color break.



Also cutout all the rust on my inner fenders, welded in some patches and then some bondo over that to get them ready for some black. Still needs some more feathering.


















I painted the core support, battery tray, radiator covers got some more paint, and the cover that goes over the steering shaft and bolts to inner fender.










Also someone on a thread I made suggested this part if you have broken the crosspin bolt. Picked it up at my local O'riellys. ITs just a hair shorter but it worked perfect.



The motor mount perches all pretty and bolted in with new Grade 8 hardware.

[bj383ss]

Today was a very motivational day for me. There may be light at the end of the tunnel. I mocked up the rear suspension with the old springs just to see how all of it would look.

Pictures came out dark on the Nikon but my cell had better light but not as clear.












http://images108.fotki.com/v1629/photos/4/1710564/11093382/photo-vi.jpg[/img]





I also reshot the A-arms as they had some thin spots and the gear box so I can put the steering together.







I can't wait to get my lowering springs and the parts I need to finish the front suspension.

Bret
[img]

[TJ's Chevy]

Dude!!!! Yer making some killer awesome progress!!!!! Looking seriously awesome!

[DLW]

I agree, looks fantastic! Wish I had that much garage space.

[Ta2Don]

Man O Man O Man!!!

[Grizz1963]

The more I read your build, the more embarassed I get.

I can only dream of getting my truck looking that good.

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Dude!!!! Yer making some killer awesome progress!!!!! Looking seriously awesome!

Thank You T.J. I am very excited to put something back together instead of tearing down.

Originally Posted by DLW

I agree, looks fantastic! Wish I had that much garage space.

Thank you I really enjoy the big garage and I feel very fortunate to have it. I read a lot of guys on here building theres outside. I don't know how they do it.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Man O Man O Man!!!

Thank you Don.

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

The more I read your build, the more embarassed I get.

I can only dream of getting my truck looking that good.

Rian no reason to get embarrassed. Your truck is still a driver and has a ton of patina and coolness factor. I had planned to just get mine running and driving reliable and safe, but the more I dug into the more things that were just too far gone.

I have a Cousin that restores Muscle cars in Fort Worth, TX. I have drove several of them and there is something amazing about driving an older vehicle that is all brand new with no rattles or squeaks. So I decided to do it even though the truck will be off the road for several years. It drives me crazy right now but in the end I will be grinning from ear to ear when I am driving it.

[pdxhall]

Great progress, man. The chassis looks great. It's a great feeling to be able to start bolting things together.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

It's a great feeling to be able to start bolting things together.

That is truck builder gospel right there !!

[Bomp]

Slick work on that frame. Looking top notch!

[Ronw435]

Your doing a great job dj383ss. What an awesome build. You really are an inspiration to all us first timers. I will be cutting the rocker panels off when I get the cab back on the truck. I don't believe I have as extensive rust as you had but like you said I really wont know until I get it off. Thanks for the information on the Top Banana site. Good to know that the fitment is better than LMC. It saves on the pocket book, as I have recently retired and am now on a fixed income.......or at least that is what the wife says.......lol. Looking forward to more pics. I am going to try and get more pics on my build.

Was wondering what kind of spray gun are you using. I had a fellow who paints for a living tell me I should try a LVLP paint gun. He said they are easier to work with and don't waste as much paint as the HVLP guns. (less overspray) I have a 3 hp 8.6cfm compressor so it would fit my budget better as a new compressor is not in the budget. What does everyone think?

[aggie91]

Your truck is looking good!

Ronw435 - Paint Guns:
When I switched from Conventional to HVLP, I was amazed at the amount of paint I was saving.
I don't know much about the LVLP guns so I looked it up here:
http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/LVLP.htm

Seems they have an even better transfer efficency then the HVLP. I might have to look into it later once I have my shop in order...

[1963c-10]

Frame looks awesome....pulling together nicely!!!!

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

Great progress, man. The chassis looks great. It's a great feeling to be able to start bolting things together.

Yes sir you got that right. I'm trying to catch up with you but not quite there yet

Originally Posted by McMurphy

That is truck builder gospel right there !!

It is very motivation to say the least. I am tired of rust!

Originally Posted by Bomp

Slick work on that frame. Looking top notch!

Thanks Bomp feel humble to have a master fabricator watching my build.

Originally Posted by Ronw435

Your doing a great job dj383ss. What an awesome build. You really are an inspiration to all us first timers. I will be cutting the rocker panels off when I get the cab back on the truck. I don't believe I have as extensive rust as you had but like you said I really wont know until I get it off. Thanks for the information on the Top Banana site. Good to know that the fitment is better than LMC. It saves on the pocket book, as I have recently retired and am now on a fixed income.......or at least that is what the wife says.......lol. Looking forward to more pics. I am going to try and get more pics on my build.


Was wondering what kind of spray gun are you using. I had a fellow who paints for a living tell me I should try a LVLP paint gun. He said they are easier to work with and don't waste as much paint as the HVLP guns. (less overspray) I have a 3 hp 8.6cfm compressor so it would fit my budget better as a new compressor is not in the budget. What does everyone think?

Thank You Ron. This forum is a great place with a lot of great people. Very motivational for me to read the builds and be inspired so if I can do the same I am glad too. When you order from Top Banana in my experience it has taken about two weeks for parts to arrive at my doorstep from the time I ordered them. I did have the driver A-pillar backorderd and it took a month to arrive. I didn't know it was backordered until I received my order.

I am using an HVLP gun my dad bought back in 2000 when we painted my Caprice. He did all the painting I just helped with the prep work. This is my first time using a spray gun. I also have an old siphon style gun that is easier to use but the HVLP yields better results an less overspray. May I suggest watching these videos on Youtube it helped me a lot. He shares a lot of good information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_9WQmicyJU

I do have a big compressor and it usually kicks on about the 3/4 of the way through a full cup in the gun. I found that 43 psi works best for me. I was using about 35 psi and getting a lot of runs with the HOT ROD FLATZ I'm using.

Originally Posted by aggie91

Your truck is looking good!

Ronw435 - Paint Guns:
When I switched from Conventional to HVLP, I was amazed at the amount of paint I was saving.
I don't know much about the LVLP guns so I looked it up here:
http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/LVLP.htm

Seems they have an even better transfer efficency then the HVLP. I might have to look into it later once I have my shop in order...

Thank You. And thanks for the link.

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Frame looks awesome....pulling together nicely!!!!

Thank You. Slowly but surely getting there. I hope to have the front done in the next couple of weeks, and then I will turn my attention to the engine and trans. Going to strip the engine and paint it Detroit Diesel Alpine Green with finned aluminum valve covers, oil pan, and air cleaner. Found some in my budget on ebay. About $150 for all three. Still trying to decide if I am going to paint the Edelbrock intake green or not.

Bret

[Grizz1963]

I have downloaded a few pics of your chassis and diff onto my phone and now know I have even more work to look forward to Brett........ thank you

[bj383ss]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

I have downloaded a few pics of your chassis and diff onto my phone and now know I have even more work to look forward to Brett........ thank you

Your welcome. Kinda cool you have pics of my truck on your phone.

Well I was off work today got a few things done.

Put the last coat of black on the a-arms, steering box, battery tray, and core support.



I then decided to see how clean I could get the trans with my cheap oven cleaner. After about 4 soaks and scraping it is ready for some paint. Love that oven cleaner.












Started on the engine getting it ready for paint. Hit a snag that kinda bummed me out. The intake manifold is cracked on both ends near the bolt holes due to someone over tightening. Not a big deal but the nail in the coffin was the thermostat housing bolt that stripped off. I tried welding a nut on it several times and let it soak in PB blaster but never could get it to break loose. So tried drilling it out and didn't get it completely centered and messed up the heli coil. I realize I could get this fixed but will probably just buy a new one or steal the one off of the Caprice.

Can't wait to get rid of the Orange. Haven't painted an Engine Chevy orange since my first one in 95'







Plan to get some primer and paint on them on Saturday.

Bret