[Chaparralman1974]

1/15/2023
Frame Day!
Today started with a goal of removing the powertrain from the chassis. I had the motor out in about 10 minutes and decided at that point, that if I ever have to remove an engine again, I will ALWAYS remove the cab and front clip! Over the years, I have pulled dozens of Chevy motors…..cursing and throwing stuff all over the shop as I would labor to climb over and under the truck to get to bolts and remove components. With the powertrain exposed, it is just too simple!
Pulling the motor showed that the clutch was actually in pretty good condition as was the flywheel. I will have the flywheel resurfaced and will be replacing the clutch and throwout bearing for good measure.
The transmission and transfercase came out as a unit, and I lifted them up onto my workbench for now to store them until I can tear into them. My hope is that they are good to go needing nothing but new gaskets and seals. I will tear into them at a later date.
Seeing as how the powertrain came out so easy, I decided to keep working to disassemble the frame today. I began by fully documenting the parking brake cable configuration and routing, brake and fuel lines, as well as all of the frame clip locations. The latter I marked with a “C” punch on the frame at each location. This should aid in installing new clips after I get the frame sandblasted and painted. I then began the removal of the brake lines from the axles. This is where I did encounter a snag. Both the front and rear flexible brake lines were essentially welded to the hard lines at the flared fittings. I did expect this as that is just the nature of old brake lines. As I intend to clean and reuse the fuel and brake lines, I used a tubing cutter and cut off the ends of the hard line. There is more than enough line there to add new flares when it goes back together. For obvious reasons, I will simply replace the rubber parts.
Starting with the rear axle, I marked the leaf springs (driver and passenger), unbolted everything and removed the axle. The same procedure was followed for the front axle after removing the steering gear box.
I now have the bare frame ready to go to the sandblaster. My plan is to paint the frame, axles, and leaf springs with Chassis Saver paint followed by a top coat of Rustoleum Matte Black.
The entire chassis tear down process took 34 man hours to complete. What is amazing, is that during the entire tear down, I only had to break one bolt that was seized on the grill and the two brake line fittings! Every other bolt came off neat and easy! Even the cab bolts came out looking new! I am convinced that this truck had to have been covered or in a barn for a good chunk of its life.