Re: Restoring Rusty
 

keep in mind this thing is ORANGE, it's not all covered up in rust, just some surface rust, so it's solid otherwise

I sure am glad that you mentioned that the bed was orange..I thought the Gregski had sniffed too much cleaning products.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I have some fairly straight wheel tubs, you could have... Already out and in my way.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

LOL :lol:

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Wuss! Grab some beers and get cracking.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Where did you get those tailpipes? They look great!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Not sure if you're serious or joking, but they are from LMC Truck, here's what the set looked like when I unboxed it and laid it out 9 months ago, went together very nicely

I think I walk through the install on page 1 of this long thread

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

well it was 96* in the shade today so it was time to get out there, no literally in the shade, I am now a certified Shade Tree Mechanic or is it Technician, LOL

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

so got those weld beeds ground off from the rear end of the bed floor where the sides were welded down to it

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

and the other side

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

then it was time to flip the bed floor over and work on the underside - you know the side that no one sees but The Greg must spend half a day on, grinding, washing, wire wheeling, scrapping, aciding, and cleaning some more

I got going then I decided I should take some pics, so in the first two pics you can see from left to right how I started cleaning it, and then the last 18 inches or so still were left to clean

apologies for some pics not turning out, the sun was relentless

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I took the sides of the bed out and laid them out on the lawn so they won't get even more scratched and beat up, both sides needed some hammering and straitening out a bit in the bottom rears right behind the wheels where those heavy duty diamond plate bumpers attach

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

it sort of turned into one of those days where I worked on a ton of stuff and busted my butt for a whole day non stop and really had nothing shinny or painted to show for it, you know what I mean

I worked on this piece a little bit, then I moved to another, I wire wheeled some rust off of this piece, then hammered on another, then brushed on some acid on another

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

so this is the rusty spot on the back of the cab, see I even wire wheeled this a little bit, I told you I was all over the place

again the sun made it tough to take decent pictures, and I wasn't going to move the truck just so I could, I was too busy being busy

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

even got started on the frame, I don't have a pressure washer and I am not a big fan of those (since the time it took the paint off the timing cover of my Harley when I washed it, lol)

so did one top frame rail, before I killed another wire wheel, time to get a new one... AGAIN

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Wow ,you have been busy ,looking good .

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

You are doing a great job! This whole restoration hobby is IMO 95% elbow grease and 5% money for stuff. We know how much the stuff adds up to - Gregski's thread shows how much that 95% elbow grease adds up to!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thank you, I'm trying.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thank you Rick, well said. This is the most enjoyable vehicle I have ever worked on, for those of you considering a project who don't own a truck yet and are just looking, I totally recommend a squarebody ie 1973-1980ish truck I prefer the round headlights so I stay with the first have of the 1973-87 third gen trucks. They are still cheap but are definitely becoming harder and harder to find. Aside from my '69 VW Bug I had in high school this is so simple yet so well built.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Yep...I would agree. The simplicity is there...and btw I had a 70 VW in high school.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

well it's graduation season, [ahem] promotion I should say, I guess that's the latest buzz word, our kids no longer graduate 8th grade some knucklehead decided they get promoted to high school, what ever

anywho between all the graduation ceremonies I stopped by Harbor Freight and picked up some disposable tools, more wire wheels and this cheap (one use I bet) rivet tool, I plan on using it to close off the hole in one of the wheel housings

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

alright so here we go, start out with a manila folder we stole from the wifes filing cabinet, we saw the pros do this on TV so monkey see monkey do

we cut out a template

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

then we transfer the shape to the donor metal ie the old bed side we kept just in case (it's wrecked on the other side so please no hate mail)

we did have to hammer a slight curve into it to fit nice and snug, you can sort of tell in the last pic where the piece already has 1/8th holes drilled in it

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Now epoxy a circular piece (JBWeld for example) into that hole and you won't even have a depression there once the liner goes on.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

If you have any seam sealer, I'd spread that around all the edges to try to keep moisture out of the overlapped metal before hitting it with the bed liner material.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

OK, I picked up one of them do it yourselfer $15 dollar torches from Home Depot and it did not work so well. It kept going out on me so I constantly had to re light it. I remembered why I returned one of these a few years back, I was so frustrated. It also wouldn't get hot enough even on a 100*F day.

I did my best to heat the indents one at a time then quenched it with a bucket of cold water, and nothing really happened, I must be doing something wrong, but it's not a big deal I really don't care about these small indents

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Man I could not find my JB Weld and I know I have some, and I hate buying what I already have, so I used some good ol' body filler and called it good

Re: Restoring Rusty - Herculined the Bed
 

finally it was time to apply the Herculiner, I couldn't wait to try this product

I decided to use a brush and it worked out really well, using this method the product goes a long way, I am never agian going to spray undercoating out of a spray can

this is a manly product, covers well, goes on thick, makes a lovely [controlled] mess where you want it

wear long sleeves though so you won't end up with freckles on your arms like me

we do the underside first

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

well I only had enough to do the underside of the bed floor and as you can see we ran out while trying to cover one of the wheel housings, no big deal I recon the under side of the bed has more surface area than the top since the top does not have the cross 2x4s etc

we shall buy another can of this HERCULINER and paint some more tomorrow morning, since morning is the best time to paint, that will allow the underside to dry completely so we can flip it over tomorrow and start a new

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

asked for another dance with the rust on the back of the cabin

this is after wire wheelin it and treating it with Metal Prep (ie phosphoric acid) once already, it will take a few rounds, but we'll get there

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

then went another round with the rusty dusty frame

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

of course suspension is outside of the scope of this project...

... but the leaf springs are so easy to clean, and so I did waste time on wire wheelin' them when I shouldn't have

and of course when we do the suspension we will replace the old dusty (possibly still OEM) shocks, so definitely no need to clean them, that would be a total waste of time, so of course I started cleaned one of them, LOL

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Yup. It always sounds quicker before we get into it.

Checking the bits that are more accessible with the bed off wouldn't hurt a thing. They take longer once that bed is in the way.
Things like...
Are the shock mount holes in the frame egg shaped?
Are the spring pivot bushings worn out?
How does the frame to axle brake hose look?
How does the axle vent and hose look.
Did the last 5 previous owners have U-Haul butcher the tail lamp harness?
Did one of them butcher the axle U bolts?
Are the E-brake cables in decent enough shape to keep on for the next 5 years?

The list goes on...

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

From your earlier post, I always use map gas (Yellow bottle) it burns much hotter. Easier to solder with too.

Brent....

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Great progress Greg. Alas, propane doesn't burn hot enough for the queching / shrinking trick. I'd change the axle lube and grease the u joints while you have such good access.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I second the map gas look for the yellow bottle next time

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thanks

The U Joints are brand new from when we dropped the transmission and painted the drive shaft.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Sounds like this aint your first Rodeo? LOL and yes seems like the U-Haul guy had his way with the tailight wiring harness, how did you know that?