Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I checked my order twice and specifically ordered the 74-84 pedal set, instead of the 1973 type, yet what did Rusty come with, the darn '73 gas pedal... will this bother The Greg?

Lesson Learned - Earlier model years used prior year parts, GM loved doing that.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Yes they do... always be wary of being close to a changeover year, it does happen every freakin time (ask me how I know ). My 2000 3500HD , order body parts and engine parts for a '96 diesel suburban , mechanical/ undercarriage parts for a '9x one ton, Bilstein made rear shocks but not front shocks, ...etc..

Re: Restoring Rusty - Meet Joe Good E. Nuff
 

alright guys, Greg had to step away for a minute talkin' about a wire wheel and some paint for this gas pedal bracket or something

so I decided to put them rubber pads on the pedals for him and mount the gas pedal real quick, for those of you who don't know me my name is Joe, but Greg's Ol' Lady calls me Joe Good E. Nuff (I have no idea why?)

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

with the forecast expecting 80* in sunny Kalifornia this weekend it was time to prep the replacement used fender for a coat of green

so I washed it, wire wheeled the rust off of it (as much as I could) and coated it with primer over the raw metal spots before tucking it in for the night

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Hey Greg sorry to interrupt the painting but is this the same z bar bushings that you got from summit, I found these at the autozone, they call them help/clutch linkage bushing

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

No sir, these are not it, do not buy this stuff. This is for transmission linkage for some other car. I bought this thinking that I can use one of them for the clutch pedal hole that accepts the push rod that goes down through the floor, but it did not work, I ended up smashing it with a mallet and it just shattered, its the thing in the top hole in this pic, the white looking thing

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Ok gotcha. when are you going to write a book of knowledge

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

lets git sum paint

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

since we have to paint both sides of this front fender (or at least the upper half of the inside, the part that shows above the wheel well) I hope 3 cans of paint plus a third semi flat will do

$70 bucks but this is a factory color match to spec (sort of crazy as our original paint had 40 years to fade and flatten out) but hey IT'S A TRUCK!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

after owning 3 Harbor Freight angle grinders, it was time to treat myself to one that works, I am no name brand jockey but this DeWalt is nice

the first of the Harbor Freight ones the Orange kind lasted me 3 years, the new redish style ones are terrible, the second one of the red ones broke on day one, that button you push in to remove or put on the wheel broke on the inside, these are junk (surprise)

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

fender with a coat of primer over the raw metal bits

Greg, aint you gonna fix / bondo those small dents... Dents? What dents? Those aren't dents, those are love bites, and we don't mask love bites!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I have been using a Makita 4 1/2 inch grinder for at least 10 years. It does not show any signs of giving it up any time soon.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

one last wipe with some Good Natured Alcohol and into the [organic] climate controlled [by mother nature] paint booth

naturally we are back lit, so the photos will be very NASA moon landingish [ahem] questionable

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Yup, my wife got me a Makita cordless drill over 20 years ago and I manage to have dropped it a couple times off of patio covers and second story balconies an stair cases on to concrete and she takes a lickin' and keeps on ... drillin'

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

$70 bucks but this is a factory color match to spec (sort of crazy as our original paint had 40 years to fade and flatten out) but hey IT'S A TRUCK

That is very cool, so the paint store mixed a rattle can of spray paint??

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

ok so feet shoulders width apart, relax your grip, make sure you don't get tangled in the air hose (joking) and here we go with Coat Numero Uno... for those of you joining us from Latin America

FYI: depending on the surface area, weather conditions, gravitational pull, etc... you may find that one coat = one can of material, which is what this is turning out to be

see you in 30 minutes...

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

As Cordless's goes I would not use anything but Makita. I had one that I used at work dropped it off hoists, cars, into drain pans totally soaking it in ATF etc. and it never gave up. The only reason I retired it was batteries were dying and replacements were hard to find and expensive.

Re: Restoring Rusty - Painting the Fender
 

OK, second verse, same as the first, but a whole lot greener, and a whole lot worse, hee hee

Re: Restoring Rusty - Painting the Fender
 

and then it was on to the third coat of the regular mixed paint (the last coat will be the semi flat finish)

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I have a Dewalt cordless I like a lot. The best part is that it has a battery conditioner -- not a charger -- where you can leave one battery in the conditioner 24x7 and it will maintain it. Most chargers you have to take the battery out once charged or it will drain, then it will drain on the shelf if you don't use it for a while. With the Dewalt, I always have one battery hot to go.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Nearly 20 years ago I bought a dewalt angle grinder, with the aluminum gear housing. It still works perfect, but looks like it has been through the war. I hate junky tools that don't last.

I have a bunch of Milwaukee stuff too that I really like.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Nice work Ski! Taking a break today, enjoying some skis... brewskis.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I hear that, pretty soon I am gonna have to go pick up a six pack too, big day today in the garage

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

fourth coat overall and first semi flat coat (front only)

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

fifth and final coat, this is the second semi flat finish coat to get the shine toned down a bit

I hope its flattening it out, took the pic while still wet so it should get even flatter

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

welcome back to the College of Truck Knowledge aka CTK

heard a bit of a valve lifter / rocker arm / valve chatter so decided to take a deeper dive ol' school style - always wanted to see the oiling action of the push rods in real time, so it was time to fabricate some custom cardboard splash shields, ... [10 seconds later] done

at first (using a long breaker bar against my ear) I thought it was one of the 8th cylinder valves but then I couldn't tell where it was coming from so decided to play doctor

Re: Restoring Rusty - Removing the Hood
 

next thing you know I got the hood off

so much nicer working on the truck with the hood off, you have light, you have access, if I ever invent anything it will be a break away hood, LOL

the wood is there to server as a windshield bumper in case my son and I decided to slide the hood through the windshield, but it went well

NOTE TO SELF: Hood removal not a one man job!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

***edited sent pm***

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Nice to see that my hood isn't the only one with "patina".

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

well shoot since we got the hood off might as well give it the good ol' rust treatment

Re: Restoring Rusty - Rusty Hood
 

ok, so here is the hood after the first rust treatment, looks like a missed a few spots, oh well that's expected on the first pass, this took about an hour, not bad at all

I think two more washes and we'll be able to eat off of it

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Wow ,that looks amazing ,what did you use and how much was it diluted ?

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

That's pretty amazing with the hood. Did you use CLR? It looks dang good.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I'm betting on mineral spirits

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Entertainment and motivation...

Thanks.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I tried CLR earlier in the thread and it did not work

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

LMAO you know 9 times out of 10 you would be right, but not this time.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Straight up Muriatic acid from Home Depot in their masonary department about $9 bucks a gallon and steel wool

use a respirator, eye protection, heavy rubber gloves and no skin showing

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Greg, the new fender looks great for a driver. The hood cleanup is amazing. Are you going to do some paint on it as well?

And I'd agree that the hood is a two man job.