Re: Frankentruck
 

I think I'm just going to end up replacing them. I didn't take the axle out to replace all the seals, so apparently the u bolts have been loosening up somehow since I took ownership of the truck

Re: Frankentruck
 

As usual, great work.
Do you remember what fan you used?

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks man! I believe it's a factory 5 blade fan from the 65 Impala, but I'm not sure exactly. MikeN pulled it off his 65 Impala when he put a 7 blade fan and heavier duty clutch on it. It does seem to cool better than the old fan that was too deep into the shroud

Re: Frankentruck
 

One of the driver's side brake shoes had a crack in it, so I was able to get that warrantied and replaced both sides today.

After that was done, I took the rattle gun and buzzed off the u bolt nuts. Looks like the u bolts came loose many years ago, were tightened back up, and they worked loose again. I'll be getting new u bolts in the morning

Re: Frankentruck
 

Got some new u bolts today. I don't have a torque wrench that goes up to 230 ft lbs, but my friend brought his that goes up to 250 ft lbs. I went to get it this evening and will be installing the new bolts in the morning.

After getting the u bolts, the AC compressor clutch went out on my Dakota. Not sure what I'm going to do there.

I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon cleaning up and painting some of the under hood parts that I had not painted when I took the front end apart. Had to use the shade tree paint booth to get it done :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

I love your paint booth!!!!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks John. Gotta do what you gotta do sometimes!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Ok, so I got the U bolts for the axle torqued down today. I think the axle was loose almost the entire time I've owned the truck :eek: There's a hole in our driveway, any there was always a metal-y noise going over it, but I thought it was the tailgate chains this entire time. I'm thinking now that it was actually the rear axle. At least I noticed it before the axle completely fell out!

Also, the parking brake works great now that the shoes are not getting covered in gear oil. The truck also seems to be stopping better as well. Should have done the seals a long time ago, but they are fixed now. I think I'm going to go for a nice cruise later this evening.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Went for a cruise last evening to return my friend's torque wrench. Had a big scare when I was going down hill with no throttle input and then heard a big metal-y crunch. The engine shut off as well, so I thought that something in the overdrive broke. I pulled over and the engine started up just fine, so I drove in lockout mode the rest of the evening. I heard another crunch sound on my way out of my friends apartment, but the engine didn't shut off, so I kept going.

This morning, I pulled the overdrive solenoid to make sure nothing was broken on that end, and then I noticed the missing bellhousing to transmission bolt. After that, I noticed the hole in the dust shield :eek: At least the overdrive is ok!

Now to go pull the dust shield and see what other damage lies beneath.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Looks like you dust shield isn't flush with the bell housing either.

Re: Frankentruck
 

The bolt coming out knocked that side loose. I guess I should replace the dust shield, but mainly, I'm glad it wasn't the overdrive.


Also, the bolt was in the dust shield!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Put the new bolt in and while I was at it, I checked the other 3 bolts. 2 of the other 3 were also loose. Oops! Tightened them back up, topped off the gear oil in the trans, and took the truck for a test drive. Everything seems to be ok. In the past couple weeks, I have removed a bunch of rattling and vibrations that I didn't realize were not supposed to be there. Definitely could have had worse outcomes!

After that, I decided to finish up removing the old seals from the extra set of vent windows I picked up a couple of months ago. That was a pain to do because the rubber was so dried up that it just broke apart. I basically had to dig out what was left with a screwdriver. Got it all out eventually and made a big mess :lol: I'll be taking the two sets that I have, pick out the best parts from the two, and put the new seals in. New seals should make the wind noise go down a bunch which means it will be nicer to drive :metal:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Got the side baffles painted and cleaned up and painted my extra set of vent window frames. Going to be putting the new seals and such in the door windows soon

Re: Frankentruck
 

Oops, I made a giant hole! Learning how to repair rusty doors for the rest of this week :metal:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Keep practicing , Im gonna have plenty for you to play with later on .

Re: Frankentruck
 

Sounds like fun! Hopefully I'll get it repaired before the c10 club meet this weekend

Re: Frankentruck
 

Well, it isn't pretty, but it definitely is less rusty! Fixed up the corners of the door skins, so tomorrow will be putting the inner bottom back on

Re: Frankentruck
 

Good work. I have saved the door bottoms of Sanity for the last rust repair I have left to do. I'll be starting on mine as soon as I get some cooler weather to work.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! We basically did the opposite :lol: Mine isn't real pretty, but it is functional and the door skin doesn't flap around like it did before

Re: Frankentruck
 

Made a ton of progress today, but the door isn't done just yet. First two pics are fitting up the inner bottom. Second two are tacking up the panel.

Re: Frankentruck
 

And here's after the first pass of welding. I did a bunch of tack welds to make it solid again. The last picture shows what's left of the metal work I need to do. The split that went up the door a good ways is a pain in the butt.

I'm not able to make it to the Georgia C10Club meet tomorrow, but I'd rather have the time to seal everything up on the door so I don't have to do this again. I might also throw a little bondo down where I put some weld to smooth it up and make it pretty

Re: Frankentruck
 

On a happier note, my recent Ebay purchase showed up today! I finally got some hubcaps!!!! :bann: :eek: :ennyd:

These are in great shape, only one major dent on the whole set, and there's no rust through spots that I can see.

I think I'm going to sand blast these, knock some of the dents out, and give them a nice paint job. Or, I could just run them as is but clean up the back sides really well so that they don't rust out from the back side

Re: Frankentruck
 

Hey glad to see you getting some rust repairs done it's all looking good

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks man! It's slow progress, but still progress. I'm doing rust repair on bits and pieces that I can easily get done without having to tear the truck down for several months

Re: Frankentruck
 

Over the rest of the weekend, I got the rust repair done on the door. It's not pretty, but it is functional and my door skin doesn't flop around anymore!

I painted the bare metal with some maroon primer, then some yellow and green to try to match what the rest of the door looks like as best as I could with rattle cans. The green I used was gloss paint, so I need to scuff it a little and knock down the glossiness.

Today, I made a round trip to Toccoa, so basically 4 hours of driving. Frankentruck did wonderful and was not tiring to drive since I put the steering gear on a couple months ago and actually have the rear axle bolted in tight. I definitely need some AC though :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Looks good...once you scuff up the gloss paint, you won't be able to tell. Where do I send my doors? :D

Re: Frankentruck
 

Looking good!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! I'll be scuffing it up tomorrow probably. I still have to do the passenger door eventually :eek: :lol:

Thanks!

Re: Frankentruck
 

With how that truck is right now. I would leave the exterior of those hubcaps how they are. I bet if you painted them They would look to out of place on the truck. For now that is ;)

Re: Frankentruck
 

I agree, and that's probably what I'm going to do if I put the steelies that I have on before I fully restore the truck. I just have to drive the rest of the tread off the current tires before I can put the new tires on the steelies. Guess I gotta drive the truck a bunch more now!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Did an oil change today on the truck. Had not done one since August of 2019, so it was definitely time :lol: Last time I did an oil change, I didn't have an odometer in the truck!
I'll be doing changes based on mileage rather than months now that I have a working odometer thanks to member TBONE1964

I've also been having an issue with the starter. I think the bendix doesn't always shoot out. The reman starter that failed on me still had a good solenoid, so I swapped solenoids. Seems like it got a little better, but I wouldn't be surprised if the starter ends up dying. I'm using the starter that was on the truck when I first bought the truck. I don't think the starter has been rebuilt, but if it has, it was done well before my time

Re: Frankentruck
 

Today's project consists of replacing knock sensors on my dad's truck. Got the intake out before taking a lunch break, so now it's time to get back to it

Re: Frankentruck
 

I broke the fuel pressure regulator vacuum line on my dad's truck on Wednesday. Got everything back together except for that part, so I had to track it down on Thursday. Got it done and back together though!

Yesterday morning, I hopped in Frankentruck and drove down to Milledgeville for the weekend. Several years ago, before the overdrive transmission and all the work that I've done related to the drivetrain, suspension, and steering this year, I was scared to drive the truck on the interstate. I got the overdrive in last year, and that made me less scared because I could actually go highway speeds, but I was always worn out whenever I got to my destination from sawing at the steering wheel the entire drive just to keep it in a lane. Finally replaced the steering gear, since that was the last steering component that needed my attention, and I didn't have to saw at the wheel as much to keep it going straight. It was a whole lot better, but the truck was still loose when I went over heavy bumps or potholes. As y'all read earlier this month, I had the u-bolts loosening on the rear axle this entire time, so now that the axle is actually bolted in solid, the truck drives super straight, doesn't wobble around, and actually goes the direction that I point the steering wheel at. I can now comfortably drive the truck on long trips without getting super tired, and I'm not longer scared of driving the interstate.

Long story short, the truck is not done yet, but it's at a point where I can really enjoy it and take some longer road trips without feeling exhausted about half way through the trip.

Also, my new front license plate showed up yesterday! Gotta rep my C10 Georgia club :metal:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Coming along more and more Christian.....Love It!!!!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Christian aint afraid to tackle anything on his trucks , love it , and his truck is just old school cool.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks John and John! I've still got plenty to do with it, but I've been driving and enjoying it this weekend

Re: Frankentruck
 

I got back home yesterday around noon, ate some lunch, then pulled the bed wood out of the truck. I used a stain and sealer combo thingy when I put new wood in 3 years ago. Well, unfortunately, that product was not up to the task, so I need to refinish it again. This time, I'm going to use the same stain/sealer as before, but also put an additional sealer on top. Hopefully that will work better.

I started working on sanding the wood today to remove the dirt, grime, and old stain. It will probably look a little different than when I first installed the wood 3 years ago, but that's ok.

I did find one rotted board. The driver's side rear corner piece that goes under the flange got soft right under the flange. I think I might have scratched off the stain by accident when I was installing it 3 years ago. Good thing I kept all the scrap pieces because I still have a piece to replace it with.

The board leaning up against my truck all the way to the left is the rotted out piece. The bottom side of all the boards lasted pretty well since they were not exposed to the sun. The board on the saw horses has not been sanded at all. The board on top of that one has been sanded

Re: Frankentruck
 

Christian...the issue is heat and water....the sun and the heat from your truck wreaks havoc on wood and unfortunately it will continue.
There are a couple of things you can do to slow down the process.
First option is to not use pine simce pine is a softer wood, but no matter what wood you use this will become a periodic thing.
Secondly use a penetrating oil...like tung oil, linseed oil etc....this will penetrate into the wood and help protect it.
Lastly you will need to seal the wood on every edge and flat surface.
Water gets on the wood and it soaks it up, then the heat dries it out causing damage each time.
Something like a Spar Urethane works pretty good.
This wood is no different than wood put on houses, fences, decks etc...
If you look at cross ties and telephone poles it lets you kinda see what different types of preservatives do. While I dont recommend either chemicals used on telephone poles or cross ties, it kinda gives you a reference point to go from....especially if your truck sits outside and is exposed to the elements day in and day out

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks John, that's some new knowledge to pack in the ol' noggin. What about using some sort of marine boat wood sealer?

Re: Frankentruck
 

I would use some type of penetrating oil suck as tung oil, boiled linseed etc....I would mix it 50/50 with thinner. This allows the wood to soak up the oil....I would do it a couple of times for sure...the thinner evaporates but allows the oil to get deep in the wood...once it dries then I would put a protective coating on it like Spar Urethane, etc....

The heat will pull the oil out of the wood over a period of time and you will need to reapply, but the oil should protect it from the elements..

On my wood I did 3 coats of tung/thinner mix and then applied many coats of spar urethane on mine...looks like glass now.

I have been tempted to put some epoxy on some wood just to see how it will fare outside...just hadn't had time lately.....Still steadily chasing bolts...lol