Not a lot of posts in the 2^nd half of 2016 but I did get a lot of work done during the summer. Garage time tends to curtail once football season starts but this is just a hobby for now so that is to be expected. I decided to start on the body work of the truck. It may not be the correct item to work on next but it is the part of the process I am the most interested in right now. I thought I was starting small by picking the fenders to work first. I quickly realized I was probably wrong. There was a lot of damage hidden under the paint on these fenders as you will see in the pictures. One had at least a quarter inch of body filler to poorly fix a previous wreck.

I used the same process as detailed in my post where I painted the hood on my son’s car. The only real difference is that I took the fenders all the way to bare metal while the e-coating on the hood was mostly left intact. This required an additional step for protecting the metal using a self-etching primer. And since this is for my treasured truck project I spent a lot more time on the metal work to make sure I get the best results possible.

I spent over forty hours on each fender and they are not in final color yet. Not really much else to say so I will just post a bunch of pictures as proof that I am actually working on this thing.

 

This doesn’t look too bad, just some old ugly brown paint.

 

The only visible damage. Nothing a little welding can’t fix. This metal is thin so flux mig welding will not work. A great excuse to upgrade to a gas mig welder.

 

That’s a lot of body filler.

 

What have I gotten my self into. Hours of dolly and hammer ahead.

 

One tear repaired.

 

Body work complete. A lot less body filler required this time around.

 

3 coats of Self Etching Primer applied.

 

3 coats of primer. Sand with 180 grit. 3 more coats of primer. Sand with 240 grit.

 

3 more coats of primer. Sand with 400 grit.

 

Wet sand with 600 grit. Hard to tell from the picture but the wet part gives you a good idea how smooth the final coat could be.

 

The second fender after wet sanding. I tried to sand without water but I found the water sped up the process quite a bit. It prevented the sandpaper from clogging.

 

I have since corrected a few spots and have the parts ready for color. I decided to wait and paint all the parts all at once. I need to decide which part to prep next. Maybe something more flat like the hood or front fenders but that will have to wait until the spring when temperatures are constantly warming. Maybe I will tear down the engine and get it ready for the machine shop this winter. I cant promise that I will post more next year but I will keep working on it.

 

Happy New Year!

I don’t like resolutions but this post’s timing is too coincidental to not be influenced by the ritual. So here is hoping I don’t quit posting before I quit the gym…

I completed the tear down of the truck a few months ago and as I reviewed all I had done I only had one thought. “Oh my god, what have I done.” Then the doubt spread. Did I need to take it all apart, really every single nut and bolt? Will I be able to put it back together, I will never be able to put it back together! Then I started to breath again and got my heart rate under control and the panic attack subsided.

So now I literally have 4000 lbs of rusty, greasy and dirty parts all over the place. They exist in the garage, attic, shed and backyard. So lets start putting things back together! But wait, they need to be cleaned and re-finished before they can be put back on. I threw a wide range of cleaning techniques and a variety of products with just  as wide a range of results. I will try to list them all here as I remember them.

Mechanical:

• Pressure washer – great for removing loose grime and rust from larger parts like frame and suspension.
• Wire brush, good for the smaller parts and removing deep crusted grime in combination with de-greasing agents (see Chemicals section below)
• Angle grinder, its versatility is only limited by the variety of disks you can use with it.
  • Wire wheel, these can take off rust, grime, paint and… well, everything. There is a size and shape for just about every need.
  • Grinding wheel, good for knocking down un-wanted welds and metal damage.
  • Cut-off wheel, great for removing parts that did not come from the factory and bolts that have forgotten the “lefty loosy” part of their design.
  • Stripping disc, strips things, like rust and stuff.
• Sand Blaster, I used a light duty one for parts that I want to take back to a nice clean finish or just to have fun.
• Sand paper, its sand paper, it sands things and comes in a billion different grits.
• Scotch Brite pads, good for wet and dry scrubbing and prepping painted surfaces for additional coating.
• Rock tumbler, cleans nuts and bolts as good as it cleans and smooths rocks.

Chemical

• Simple Green, this stuff at full strength is potent. I used it to soak deeply grimed pieces and as part of a slurry with the rock tumbler with nice results.
• Gunk Engine Cleaner, specifically the gel variety. Takes care of the greasy, oily stuff.
• Soap and water, a good environmentally friendly detergent for light cleaning.
• Alcohol, for prepping before painting.
• KBS Coatings, Rust Seal system. Found this as an affordable alternative to sand blasting and powder coating. A detailed review is coming soon.

So the shelves in the garage are a little more crowded with cleaning tools and chemicals but more importantly there are parts ready to put back together! Thanks for reading, I will leave you with pictures…

 

Bare, naked, very clean frame.

Before and after a little wire wheel cleaning. The safety equipment viewed here is essential. That wheel has tasted blood and it thirsts for more.

 

 

A little farm style modification. Angle iron to help support the bumper for a little more towing power. These non-oem parts will not be seen again.

The last parts to come off. The entire front suspension. Some will be cleaned and reused, some will be replaced with new parts. Stamped steel parts are cheaper than I expected.

Sorry Number 5, this truck has already been disassembled. I am just now getting around to talking about the tear down process. I will not bore you with all the details of taking a vehicle completely apart. Most people will never try, most are not stupid enough to consider it. Maybe I will drop a post with a lot of pictures of the tear down.

The process is rather simple.

1. Take pictures
2. Lefty loosy
3. Put it in a bag
4. Label it
5. Take more pictures
6. Find a place to store it
7. Find a place to store it that does not piss off the wife

As a drive way mechanic growing up I could not always afford new parts. Junk yards aren’t that scary just make sure you are up on your shots. Could not always afford special tools. Did not always have the patience to adhere to safe practices. I managed to grow up and get a good job so I can afford all those things I could not before. Patience, not so much.

I apologize and recommend you do not do what I am about to show you. I am embarrassed to even share these but maybe someone will learn from my mistakes, even if I do not. Keep in mind these pictures are about 5 years old (2009) so I can safely say I would never attempt this ever again.

Setup

Tear down had finally reached the point to where the cab needed to be removed. I don’t have a lift, crane or fork lift capable of lifting the cab off of the frame. What I did have was a jack, landscape timbers, a butt load of loose paver stones and a bunch of people willing to help (or witness a new level of fail).

Results

Yes, i did that and surprisingly we all survived.

Cheated death again! All the spectators were truly disappointed there was no blood. Landscape timbers have so many uses, but not for fence posts, just stop Pulte!

My sister expresses her approval of a job well done.

I hope you have all learned a lesson, I sure have, maybe.

So here is the truck. It is a 1984 Dodge D-150 step-side short-bed.

These trucks were designed for work. Most of them ended up seeing a lot of hard times but you would be amazed at how durable these trucks truly are. This particular truck was not a farm truck or a trailer hauler. No, its destiny was even more challenging… A teenagers first car, not once, but twice. A good friend of mine and his younger brother both drove this as their first car all through high school. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. Once the boys were done with it, it sat for quite a while. Then I decided I had to have it. They sold it to me cheap and I actually drove it for awhile. It was a good driving truck, just not a good daily driving truck due to the fact it was a little mpg challenged.

So what do I do with this thing. It’s not going to be a commuter and I don’t live on a farm but everyone can use a truck. I decided to tear it down and see what makes it tick. I grew up taking apart just about everything else mechanical I have ever owned so why not this thing. If I can’t put it back together I’m not out any real money and maybe finally I would learn the lesson I never did growing up.

I want to keep each of these posts short and since I actually started tearing the truck apart over five years ago I will not be in a rush trying to get the documentation caught up all at once. Needless to say, the truck is completely apart. It was a great learning experience. Writing about it here will be another form of learning. Next time I will tell you what the plan is on putting it back together. In future posts I hope to talk about the tools, products and skill used to do all the work.