Big Rat's 1979 C10 High School Hot Rod Restooo

[77ChevySharkBite]

Drinking beer and working on cars and trucks, or whatever its the American way

[Big Rat]

Well I figured I would check in. I've had a history of making progress on Saturdays but today I played trains with my little boys and played with the wife(I wish) so I didn't make any progress today, other than airing up a tire to test drive the 'unlicensed beater', and reading Low Elco's old yeller build thread. Awesome metal work over there and a perfect example on what you were talkin about with fixing my frame. You, Low Elco, will be a metal work plethora of knowledge for me. I'll probably be askin for tips and hints and cheats like a guy trying to beat the stupid 8th world of old skool 8 bit Mario that never took the time to memorize the castle as a kid!!! I might be asking for tips on that too. I'll be heading out tomorrow and getting that frame bare naked. Maybe hit some of the cleaner spots with a wire wheel to get a taste of what I'm in for. Hopefully get some of those smaller parts ready for blastin too! Looks like it's gettin to be time to be ordering McGaughy's c-notchesserses and some POR!

[rusty76]

So what parts from McGaughys will you be using? I'm looking forward to some more pics.

[Low Elco]

Thanks for the Props! If you haven't started yet, go get FIL's badass pressure washer and some oven cleaner and some CL. Lots less mess and hassle, and a better result, especially in the corners inside. I hope you're using McG spindles, all the mcG stuff Ive ever used is really nice.

[Low Elco]

Before you start on the body, go here-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=421690

Then you'll need this-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=1#post4646354

that oughta keep you busy!

[Slave1]

subscribed and lovin it, great build thread dude!!

Steve

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by rusty76

So what parts from McGaughys will you be using? I'm looking forward to some more pics.

I'll be using their c-notch. I've been comparing a few and from what I can find it is one of the better ones out there for quality and ease of install. I'm uploading a bucket load of pics as we speak through our respective keyboards brutha!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Thanks for the Props! If you haven't started yet, go get FIL's badass pressure washer and some oven cleaner and some CL. Lots less mess and hassle, and a better result, especially in the corners inside. I hope you're using McG spindles, all the mcG stuff Ive ever used is really nice.

You are welcome! You are a sorcerer of polishing paint! I polish al-U-minium on my big truck, so I'm hoping I can use some of that learnin towards workin paint. I'll check out those links tomorrow. I like me some good learnin! My spindles are JDM 3" drop spindles. I put them on when I did the shackles/hangers back in ike-skool. Just gonna clean them up with every thing else and throw them back on the truck. Gonna chat with the blaster dude tomorrow for getting the smaller parts done.(his shop is across the street from my work)

Originally Posted by Slave1

subscribed and lovin it, great build thread dude!!

Steve

Thanks man I appreciate it! I really do. You guys on this build thread really push me more than you know. I don't know if you guys feel the same way from your own threads, but this forum gets me so motivated, it surprises me! I'll do all I can to try to keep the entertainment level at a nominal tolerance!

[Big Rat]

So here we are, it's today, not yesterday, but that's okay, because today is before tomorrow and after yesterday so tomorrow it will be today which means today is yesterday but two days ago it was the day after tomorrow. You get it. Now that that is all cleared up, good hell sometimes I wonder if I was drop kicked as a infant! I made some progress today. Not a lot, but made it to a milestone I guess you'd say.

I grabbed my safety glasses and trusty tool and got to work!




Here is where we left off last time







Unbolted the first hanger and low and behold grade 8 hardware baby!!! Man I love my dad! Cuz I know it was him that told me to go get the good stuff!




Shackle removed! More Anti-Seize! Props once again to dad.





Belltech hardware, been excellent thus far!



lev·er·age
/ˈlev(ə)rij/
Noun
The exertion of force by means of a lever or an object used in the manner of a lever.
Verb
I'm going to leverage this mother till this bolt rethinks not breaking loose for my impact and is screaming for mercy! Seriously, have you ever heard a bolt scream?! If the answer is "NO", then you must exert entirely more leverage! Leverage your leverage.




*POOF!*



Question, may be silly but still, a question, this is an exhaust hanger, right? I honestly don't remember using it and I will remove and discard if I have no use for it.




and this is bendeded a little. Not sure how one would achieve such a miraculous feat, but I dare not underestimate a person and the power of their roughness and stupidity. No offense to the rough and stupid, unless you are the one that might have bent this on MY TRUCK!(myself not excluded)



Once again I must give props to this, I added the Teflon myself.




Okay, now for a break. Let's play a game, "Where's Wrench-o?" (No relation to Waldo)



There he is!!! Silly wrench. Weird how that wrench stands up on it's side almost as if it was place there just for this. But who has time for those kinds of shenanigans?!...



Any one else have just one nut welded on their shock studs? Hmm, those GM engineers must have been thinkin that the front right shock would receive excessively more vibration causing for premature loosenification therefore needing an additional weld to prevent warranty issues. Anyone else have this upgrade?






And there you go! She's nakeder than a (insert clever phrase here). Other that the shock mounts she is bare! I'm glad I gave the front yard the and went to the garage! My weeds are coming in nicely if I do say so myself!






My rear end patiently waiting for it's turn to be freshened up, er, um...



This is stamped into my frame by some guy named Dana Haynes. Now I know one of you truck scientists out there knows exactly what it translates to, so translate, because I don't sprechen sie number.




Now do you c-notch guys got any pointers/tips for the up coming c-notchery?



And for Low Elco or anyone else with knowledge with the frame repair, how close would you cut to that riveted section to weld in the new piece?





Oh and here is a real mystery, bought these tires the same day brand new, so why does the one on the rear end have so much less tread left?! Hmm...




Amazing! This little box holds about 90% of the bolts to put an entire truck together!



Floor cleaned up a bit, junk out of the way, a few more pics of her all bare. I'm stoked!






Then much to my surprise Optimus Prime showed up to share in my joy!




Now just some pics of my '69 and my Nova. Wish I could just work on them all right now. My '69 is going to be a job and a half! It's rough, but it's sentimental which makes it worth it. The Nova, well, it's a NOVA! Need I say more?!





Disc brakes and P/S!








Don't forget the top fuel slick waiting to go up on the wall! Don't be thinkin you guys can steal it either, I have a motion sensor light! You should've seen me stuff this stupid thing into the truck of my old Accord! It was awesome! Stupid Honda! They really didn't design that car with the top fuel enthusiast in mind!

[bluex]

Where can I get awesome saftey glasses like that??????????

Those brackets your asking about are the factory exhaust hangers. You can trash them if you want.

For your bolt baggies, might wanna write where everything goes on an index card and place it inside the bag. I did the same writing it on the bag when I tore down my engine many moons ago. When I was finally putting it back together 2 yrs later the writing had worn off/disappeared from the bags. I got to play the really fun game of "where does this bolt go" a few of them were extras. I still have not figured out how they got in the bags though.

I'm also betting that one shock stud hole is wollered (sp?) out, which is why its welded. They have a tendency to loosen and then they wear the hole out while banging around. I have no suggestions for the frame repair. I scrapped a frame last year and that section was good on it. To bad its probably a prius by now.

Oh and the numbers on your frame are the last part of the VIN.

[Low Elco]

LOVE the glasses! I'd get as close as I could to that xmember while being able to lay a bead on the inside. Cut out what you're gonna, then take the generously oversize piece you sawzalled out at picknpull and work your way down to the tightest fit possible. Then, lay your edges back at a 45 deg angle on both sides approx 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through. Pop that sucker up there and tack in your corners. Lay a good hot weld in 1-2 inches at a time, and let one cool to handleability before welding the next. Then Lay a 1x3 strip over your vertical seams on the inside and weld that in solid. Then get the big honkin gr.8 clamping washers and weld them over the inside bolt holes for reinforcement. Slap that dude back together.

I've also seen that repair on the shock hole. Get another big ass washer and weld them on the backside of the hole to reinforce that, as well. Or, do like Losh on Square Peg and shave them and use the towers, which allows longer shocks, which is always better. Look here, since you got it this far apart, good stuff!

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=419251

[Tx Firefighter]

Do y'all not have scorpions where you live ? If I piled rocks near my door like that I'd have scorpions everywhere in my house. Maybe we just have it worse in Texas. They are real bad here.
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[rusty76]

I happen to like the liberal use of duct tape on the firewall of the Nova. Will you be painting that to match or will you just leave it silver? lol.

[bohmankid]

Nice to see a fellow Utahn's build thread. I don't think we make up a very large percentage of truck enthusiasts.

Ambitious job, dude. Right on.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Getting work done I like! I enjoy having humor in this build its awesome!!, I really like the definition of Leverage classic!

[Big Rat]

Thanks for the info Blue and Low Elco! Those repairs will be happening soon. Gotta chop and fix the frame before making it perty!

Only scorps around my house are on my ipod, TX. It's the damn snakes that get into those stupid rocks that I have to worry about. They had a nest in them when they were out in the sun, so I moved them and now they don't warm up and hold heat. I need to get rid of them. Anyone want some 4-8" cobble?!

It's not duck tape, Rusty, it's wasp deterrent! Little buggers get into everything!
The color code on that tape is secret, so I guess I'll have to color match it to the piss yellow primer!

I was wondering how long it would be til I ran into another son of Brigham Young! It seems around here it is either a big lifted diesel or a little lowered Honda, anything outside of that, and we be a minority.

Thanks, Shark. I actually have a couple ads on a local classified website and I have stupid humor in the descriptions and people will text me just to tell me they enjoy reading the ads. I tell them thanks, NOW BUY IT!

Saw this on the freeway today. Not a fan of the retro-modernizationingification, but pretty cool regardless. Wish i would've caught a pic when it was coming up behind me.

[Low Elco]

Point and laugh, I don't care, ME LIKEY!
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[68Timber]

That's a $2700 offense there driver. What happened to the rest of your trailer?

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

That's a $2700 offense there driver. What happened to the rest of your trailer?

Ha ha! But I took it with my blue tooth officer! I don't care about my trailer, its not polished!
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[Big Rat]

Okay fellas, I need some input. I am thinkin come Saturday that I am goin to remove all the little things that are riveted to the frame besides the x-members. Core supports, cab supports, shackle cradle saddle support gizzies, and all the other little miscellaneous do dads and such. I guess what I am looking for here is tips, concerns, and so on. I don't want to undo something that is nice and snug where it sits only to have it not be snug enough later. I plan on grade 8 hardware throughout to replace said rivets. Thanks in advance!

[Low Elco]

You can, and bolting it back on with 7/16 hardware is no big deal, but if it's not excessively rotten or crusty or mangled, I'd leave it. Why add hassle?

[Big Rat]

I really don't look at it like a hassle I guess. I was thinkin more along the lines of it would make my attempt at wire wheeling the frame easier and i would know for certain that 99 percent of the rails would be so fresh and so clean. I had been toying with the idea of getting it blasted but my mind was made up for me when my wife told me she received her letter saying she was getting hit with this sequestration and going to be part of the furlough, or furlow, or ferlow, or phirloughow, however the hell you spell it. Not trying to start a political debate here, just saying that is why.
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[bohmankid]

I think pulling the rivets out is overkill. Either way you'll make it look good.

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Big Rat

I really don't look at it like a hassle I guess. I was thinkin more along the lines of it would make my attempt at wire wheeling the frame easier and i would know for certain that 99 percent of the rails would be so fresh and so clean. I had been toying with the idea of getting it blasted but my mind was made up for me when my wife told me she received her letter saying she was getting hit with this sequestration and going to be part of the furlough, or furlow, or ferlow, or phirloughow, however the hell you spell it. Not trying to start a political debate here, just saying that is why.
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Glad to see we're not the only ones. My Wife and my Mom/Boppa's Wife are FAA. Hope it passes Quick for ya!

Seriously, if you can get a badass pressure washer and some easy-off, soak that sucker a couple times, then blast hell out of it, then dry it with the leaf blower and prime it. Flip the cab up and do the bottom of it too. You'll be shocked by the clean, and you can get in a LOT tighter spots. I wished I'd have done it, my neighbor has a BIG BAD trailer mount unit for his business that will literally shave the top layer off broomed concrete!

[Big Rat]

Thanks bohman. I'm hoping it'll turn out nice and clean. Do you have some pics of your truck? I want a square body lwb 4x4 bad and it looks like that is what you are sportin perhaps?!

Thanks Chip, don't mind if I call ya Chip do ya? Hope it goes well for you and your family too. Maybe I'll try the easy off/pressure sprayer before the wire wheel/rivet cutting mayhem ensues. Either way I have to get this thing properly prepped for the POR. Know what I mean, Vern?!
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[Big Rat]

Never mind bohman, just realized you had a build thread. I was just too busy trying to zoom in on your beauty under your name to notice. Now you can just see my stupid face a half inch away from my phone trying to get a better look huh?! Oh and +1 on the cold winter and spring this year! I'll park the escalade on the curb and you can park your truck in my garage if you want. I'll take real nice care of her!
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