Fixin Dixie - 66 Short Bed Fleetside- Diary

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Well thanks to Photobucket changing its business model from free to fee i am going to try and rebuild my rebuild thread. I really wanted in the end a record of what happened. So here goes...

04-06-2014

Finally kick started a long time coming repair on our truck Dixie. Bought her back in 1996 and for many years have had others make upgrades from time to time, front power disc brakes, power steering, electronic ignition, and most recently a 700r4 added. Now the plan is to learn as I go making repairs. I have bought and continue to buy tools and equipment to get this job done and have some fun as I go.

Here are some pics of what she looks like before I get going...

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04-06-2014

Here is a closer at what needs help

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more

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few more

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04-06-2014

Today I took the passenger fender and sanded it down around the trouble spot to see how much I will need to cut out and replace. Ive been watching others make these repairs from this forum and want to try myself with my new equipment. Ive taped off where I think I will make the first cut and weld in the patch panel and brace (as much as I might need from them).

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04-15-2014

Well after staring at it for a while I finally made a cut

Made my template for alignment afterwards and then made the cut.Then I had to stop after seeing all the rust in there. I dont have a blasting cabinet but I do have one of those HF guns and figure once it stops raining Ill bead blast it in the yard as best I can and paint some SPI epoxy primer that I ordered in there and move on to welding.

After looking at how the brace clogged up I am going to cut out a bigger spot at the base for the road grime to escape and not cause this again in the future.

As I go along I am putting together the list of parts I will need to replace and ran across this part that I can not find a replacement for. Is there someone who has reproduced these? Its the seal bracket at the top of the fender.

I did find the clips with the help of pimpston65 at Classic Parts

http://www.classicparts.com/1960-66-.../#.U00-yuZdVt8

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04-20-2014

Worked on the fender panel patch and bracket today, got most of it done still need to finish welding it up and bending the edge of the patch panel.

Went like this

Slowly cut a little at a time to get the fit right,then started tacking

Kept having some burn through in some of the more gapped spaces

Planished down the welds at the top so I could then work on the bracket behind it next

Then I measured and marked 3 locations from the existing bracket bolt mount at the base before cutting, picked this up from Boat in his fender patch video
along with the putty knife as a backer to keep me from cutting through the panel. Thanks a heap Boat for these tips and taking the time to make your videos.

Here is a link to his videos for those who havent seen them.
https://www.youtube.com/user/1gibson...view=0&sort=da

I had to break out the dremel tool to cut the that last bit if the old bracket, didnt think I could manage that area with the angle grinder with the cut off wheel.

Then I placed the completed bracket onto the fender and matched the 3 previous measured and marked spots to that bolt mount hole and scribed the location.

Then started tacking and double checking

Then kept at the tacking and planishing, still have more to do.
Hoping to finish it up soon and get some epoxy primer on it and move onto the next fender.

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04-25-2014

Worked last night getting more tacking and planishing as well as hanging the panel. First was a check for alignment so far so I tried hanging it and found that the fender was about a 1/4 inch too long.

Since I had already welded in the majority of the patch I decided to cut out a 1/4 inch pie wedge and bring up the edge side without messing with the rounded contour that curves over the wheel.

Then I bent the panel over to form the contour.Then I realized the wrap over effect and the gap it leaves if you dont account for it in the original cut..so I took the snips and gave it a wedgie.

Went and hung it up this morning and much better. Now back to it. Maybe that fender clogger mod?

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04-27-2014

Most of yesterday I spent working on barricading the road grime entry points on the fender based on McMurphy and Markb's blazed trail.

I'll grind down some welds and hit the rest with a seam sealer.
Then I spent the last part of the day getting the driver side fender off. Forgot just how much fun that bolt at the very front was to get at

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04-28-2014

I didnt get as far as I thought I would today, took off the trim and brackets attached to the fender and looks like both brackets are in decent shape. Dropped them in the vinegar tray and they should clean up fine.

Somebody did a sh*t job on the last go round. Just threw in body filler on rust and plugged it all up, gooped it all in the brace.

What shut me down tonight was my new compressor started trying to get above 75 psi and couldnt get further. Heavy use on the DA and Grinder seemed too much. It kept tripping the circuit breaker.Gotta call out the electrician who wired it all up for me and see what the issue is.

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05-04-2014

The electrician came out and double checked his work and ran the compressor and saw that it was getting a constant 240. So I then called Engersoll Rand and luckily had til May 23 of this year on the warranty cause they sent out a tech and found it blew a head gasket.

I was not too happy to know the usage I have given it the past 2 months caused that. Seems like typical stuff, DA sanding, Grinding mostly. I might call to see what the cost of an extended warranty is.

Then back to work on the driver fender.
Cut out the base of the bracket to make sure if anything does happen to wash in that it has a better chance of getting out. Then did the bracket gap filling (seam sealer coming soon) Then after much tacking, planishing, grinding, and hammer and dolly got the patch panel in place. Kept going back and forth mounting and checking, ended up having the same 1/4 inch drop issue even though I measured and checked many times but finally got it lined up.Next steps are to sand these more completely and learn how to use this paint gun I have to shoot some epoxy primer front and back.

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08-02-2014

After repairing the fenders, I had a busy summer and fall and as much as I wanted to really get on with Dixie I just couldnt get there. I tried repairing the dent in the passenger side bed and got close but had to give up considering the rust at the top at the seam and the oil caning I just couldnt get right. So a patch panel will be in my future there along with a bunch of others.

Heres a link to that venture. (bummer that the photo bucket pics are shut out)
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=635143

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01-31-2015

During the Christmas break I began the removal of part after part til I finally as of today got most of it broke down. Found that someone used the cab corner areas for some hi fi.

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02-23-2015

Saw that there was rust behind the front pillar driprails and started a thread on what to do about it. The pics in the thread are gone now but they showed where to drillout the spot welds and to use a putty knife to pry it off as you go.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=658353

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Pic

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02-28-2015

About this time of the build I was breaking down every part that could be unbolted. But the order and approach for sandblasting and prep had me wondering. So I posted a thread asking what the best approach was for someone without a trailer. Here is a link to that. It was good to see what others thought,sorry the pics expired but the info is still there if it helps anyone.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=661798

I ended up following this plan:

1. Remove all the cab parts
2. Remove the engine and transmission
3. Remove and break down the front and rear axles
4. Convert my single car garage into a paint booth
5. Take parts to be sandblasted in the trunk of my trusty 96 Accord
6. Paint each part with epoxy primer as I go and store it away
7. Build a cab lift rig to attach to the engine lift so I can lift the cab off the frame
8. Build a cab support so I can roll it around and work on it
9. Build a frame support so I can roll it around and work on it
10. Rent a moving truck and load up the cab, frame,front rear axels,stuff that wont fit in the trunk of my Accord
11. Hit some neighbors up for help lifting and loading the cab and frame onto the moving truck
12. Climate control my garage so the sandblasted parts wont rust while I work on them since I work slow
13. Cut out the nasty stuff and weld in patch panels
14. Paint each repaired panel with epoxy primer and store

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03-15-2015

Then came time to remove the engine and transmission. Years prior I had asked others what the best approach was and which equipment to get. After getting advice I had bought a 2 ton lift, leveler crank and an engine stand at harbor freight. Here is a link to that.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=634790

Now its time to hoist. After draining the trans and engine of fluid, I hooked things up and got it done. Nerve wracking 1st time,so afraid a chain or bolt would pop and cause a mess. But it went perfectly, minus the extra trans fluid that leaked out.But I had a pan in place.

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I covered the trans in plastic and rolled it off to a corner of the garage,then lifted the engine back up and mounted it onto the stand. After doing this I started a thread asking for advice on what to do with the 350 to get it in shape. I dont know enough about engines to get carried away.I did though run a compression test just before the breakdown and it came back pretty good.So I will revisit this once I get all the body work done.

Here is a link to the engine advice thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=669346

[MikeN]

Nice work! Whereabouts in GA are you?

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Hey Mike and thanks! Im in Newnan and its raining nonstop, got a leak in the ceiling now going on. Hope your dry up in Marietta.

[MikeN]

5 inches of rain here since Sunday. It's crazy.

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06-10-2015

Got some pvc pipes, plastic, duct tape, bungee cords, fans, filters to start the paint booth garage conversion. The air flow draws from a fan mounted on a ladder in the back corner and flows downward to the floor and out of a rigged up duct taped plenum about midway of the garage. Added some filters I replace as they get clogged up.

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About the same time as I was building the paint booth I had taken the first batch of parts to the company that will be doing the sandblasting. The blaster I decided to go with a company that came recommended from the PPG shop. Also called around to other garages I go to for help that do custom work and they have heard good things about their work. I got a local quote of $1200 to do the cab and bed if I had it removed from the frame. He said it would be the same price if I left the cab altogether or had it broken down more like removing doors, fenders etc. So I like the idea of a total part breakdown and have them blast. He also quoted me $250 for the frame.

He said he would use a media called starblast and take best care not to warp any of the panels that typically get ruined like hood and roof that are long and straight. He said there will be some spots Ill have to get my DA out to finish as to not risk warping.

So here was the first parts taken.In hindsight I shouldnt have taken the manifold and oil pan since there could be residual grit after blasting that try as I might to clean out will still stick around. Then the engine could get damaged.So I will be buying anew set of those. That manifold sure was caked up

[The Rocknrod]

Love the updates.
Makes me think you have worked on this for a long time and are now updating the pics online?

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Summer of 2013

Another detail I had to workout was how I was going to set up the garage so that I could learn to use a paint gun. I ended up buying an 80 gallon air compressor and piping with copper lines. To go even further over my head I read about how moisture gets in the lines and that additional to the drier (or two) to include in the line that adding some typeof line cooler would help even more. I saw in another members thread named "theastonaut", that he took a mini fridge and rigged up a 5 gallon bucket in it and coiled up some copper tubing and was able to cool the lines. I thought that was great and I wanted to add that to the setup. So this is what I came up with as a plan. I still had to decide on the driers to install on both sides of the wall.