My Practice Restoration: 70 lwb

[Gobbles]

Good day all, I am a new poster to the forum though I have been scoping it out for quite some time, reading what I can. I enjoyed reading about all the different builds and thought it would be neat to make a restoration diary of my practice machine.

So the scoop with the truck. My girlfriends mother had this truck for a few years following her husbands passing and she decided it was time to go. The truck had a ton of sentimental value for my ladyfriend and I really liked it, so I picked it up as a daily driver. I drove it for a few months with no real changes to it, as it looks really good from a distance. I visited a few car shows this year and really looked at how sharp these trucks can look. I have always wanted to build up a first gen camaro but don't have the technical background so I figured this truck would be a good start.

So the pics I got up are just body shots mostly. The body has tons of bondo on it, all of which is starting to crack and look horrible, plus when the truck was restored the first time a lot of corners were cut and I am paying for it now. The chassis is pretty rotten, well basically every part that has seen water is pretty rotten and some paint was just thrown over top. The truck was in an accident about 3 years ago in which I got a new front end, thus it looks so great.

It has a 454 that I have cleaned up a ton in the time I have had it and am considering headers and cold air still. I wish I had a before and after pic, but ah well, it looks nice meow. So other than a bit of fiddeling around, the motor is about right and the tranny is solid (turbo 400).

I intend on this project getting some serious time over the next few months but due to a move, it will have to be put on hold around Christmas until next September but I will update here as often as possible!

Enjoy the build!

[Gobbles]

So the plan now is to continue grinding down my chassis so I can apply some POR 15 to help it last. Afterwards, I am going to fix any weak parts of it, there are a number of holes, then we-coat it again. I was going to do a whole powder coat setup but I don't have the space to pull the motor, trans and entire body. I do most of my work outdoors on sunny days so I need to capitalize whenever I get the chance.

Anywho, since painting and rust proofing the chassis is key, I am starting by pulling the box, at which point I will pull the exhaust so I can clean the chassis up quickly and effectively.

I intend on changing the exhaust, likely with headers and some cutouts, otherwise no major changes.

I have also picked up all the sheet metal I need to salvage the parts I have and get rid of the horrible bondo!

[Gobbles]

Alright and for my final post of the day, the dreaded door repair!

As anticipated, the backing plate for the hinge is much stronger than the thin 20 gauge sheet metal and it is beginning to show. I actually pulled it off once already and saw how mangled it really is. I am in the process of forming a nice patch panel for the door, after which I will insert new backing plates and get it on. I thought this would be fairly easy until I found the whole sunken portion is rotten and cracked.

So anywho, the whole piece needs replacing, making it top on the list, no driver side door is a pain.

[Gobbles]

So today I took off the tow package and prepped the box for removal. The pic shows the old hitch setup and the old and new box hardware. Tomorrow I plan on pulling the box and starting to sandblast, after which I will POR 15 everything.

The other pics show the interior and the battered passenger side quarter panel. You can see the bondo bubbling out and cracking near the front of the well.

[Gobbles]

So today/yesterday I made some decent headway. The box is removed and I wire wheeled until it died, at which point I started dealing with problem areas. The pictures show a before and after photo of the wire wheel cleaning. The box was placed on our little utility trailer, you can see the bad wheel well there, all bondo'd up and cracking.

Pretty much every chassis cross member had crazy rust. Each one will need to be patched up.

[Gobbles]

So now onto the fun stuff, I started cutting out the trouble areas and making patch panels. Turns out Rivets are my arch nemesis, they are a pain to remove.

So we got one patch panel in place and welded it in, but there was not quite the penetration that I expected, I'm only using 110V. I'm gonna run a bead underneath as well to help support it. Also, due to the sharp cuts, I am going to weld in an extra support to help fight the torsion.'
'
I got farther onto my exhaust cutouts, the forecast predicts rain on Tuesday, so I intend on pulling my exhaust off and working on it under cover until the rain stops.

[Gobbles]

So progress has been getting slower. Unfortunately I have no good pics right now, but I have recently cut out the coils and shocks. I busted one of the studs off the shock mount, so some creativity is in order to make sure the new Monroe's will stay on.

The differential is completely cleaned up, just needs the remainder of the coils ground off (they were welded on) and a quick sandblast then it will be ready for some POR15. I actually ran into some welder troubles, my Miller 211 is great but using 110V, it couldnt penetrate a 3/16 sheet well enough so I am in the process of getting a dryer attachment and a nice extension cable. The truck used to have a secondary gas tank and though the tank is gone, everything else was left. So i pulled the old mounts and gas lines running around the truck.

Also, I picked up a LOKAR Turbo 400 kickdown kit, basically an impulse buy because I was having a ***** of a time with the welder. I previously had no kickdown at all and it was really frustrating to drive, it was impossible to harness the 454 power without it.

[Gobbles]

I have been focusing on removing all the rot shown in previous pictures, plus I have some more rot in these upcoming ones. So far so good, I almost have the last of it out, at which point I can FINALLY start welding new pieces in.

Today I picked up some metal and cut some new triangular spacers for the rear. The picture shows the old one on the right, its toast, and the new on the left. Much better!

[Gobbles]

I got the shocks out and the shock mounts. There was mean rot at the mounts, refer to previous pics, so Ill be patching the frame soon and likely installing some Firestone AoL bags. Any feedback on that system would be appreciated.

Oh! And if anyone has some newish or new leaf bushings, Lordco Canada is on a 4-6 week back order! None to be found anywhere and I need to rebuild mine and dump down to 2 leaves if I do the AoL kit.

[Hottrucks]

sweet check out my bui;d I wish I had that good a truck to start with

[Gobbles]

Yeah it was deceiving too, I really didn't expect it to become such a project but there is 40 years of rot that was never taken care of plus the previous paint just covers a bunch of cracking bondo, it was shocking. It's a good starter, it's my first resto so I am learning a lot.

Your truck definitely is a larger project though haha, enjoy it!

[Gobbles]

So I have done a few more patches on my frame, and completely rebuilt the crossmember and mounts (no pics of the cross member this time). This was actually tougher than I had anticipated because all the parts were so rotten but I got it worked out, pics coming soon.

Anyways, today a friend and I installed my flip kit from DJM and I painted my leafs black using POR 15.

So this was my first application of POR 15 and I am hoping it turns out and doesn't flake. I used the metal prep and everything so I expect it will turn out fine. I am currently waiting on bushings so that I can completely install the leafs and see how much lower I got!

Next on the list is painting up all the components I removed and the rear half of the frame, also finishing the required patches.

Oh and a Ride Tech Air Over Leaf kit is coming in this week! Its gonna be great!

I threw in a picture of my mess too!

[No Regretz]

for not knowing what you are doing seems like you are doing a good job, i know not to much about the frame and body but my grandpa and dad taught me just about everything about the engine and some about eletrical

[Gobbles]

Thanks and thats great you know mechanical well, I feel like I know it well but haven't had an opportunity to built a motor from the ground up like I am doing with this frame. That means if I run into some issues expect a PM . But yes thanks! I can't really take any credit because I read as much as I can on here and call professionals before I make major decisions. I imagine Ride Tech hates seeing my number by now, it took 5 calls before I was comfortable enough to make an order.

[Gobbles]

More updates for today:

I painted up some nice wind chimes and they are just drying now. Also painted the drums.

Picked up a half dozen leaf spring bushings which will be installed later this week, I need to pick up a nice fat drill bit to rip the old ones out.

Edit: Picture issues!

[No Regretz]

lol pm anytime keep up the work

[Gobbles]

Well I figure I oughta update this again, I try to get out and do some work every day, but it just seems to amount to so little! Anyways, latest progress:

I am almost done fixing my frame, and yes I know I broke every rule in welding frames but I figured that breaking some key rules about straight cuts would still make my frame stronger considering there was no metal even there previously! Also, just today and yesterday I cleaned these up, I don;t have nice pics yet but I am getting there.

I have purchased a new leaf main, pic soon, and I have finished POR 15'ing almost all the parts I have removed, pics soon again. Maybe I have done more then I thought?

Finally, I have picked up some nice new grade 8 hardware to put the damn thing back together.

[Gobbles]

I thought I would go ahead and brag about some new equipment I got too. A new Miller Autodark welding mask, this is probably one of the best upgrades I have ever purchased.

Also I made a trip to the local Auction and picked up this brand new champion 6.5 hp motor for a cool $20 and I got these deep impact sockets for $10. Pretty good day! I have no use for the motor yet but at $20 I couldnt pass it up.

EDIT: Also, that mask looked a lot newer before I used it hah! It scratches like a... peach?

[Gobbles]

Ah hell, ill go snap some pics right meow! I dont feel like sleeping yet.

[Gobbles]

Alright so more pictures, I first have some of the final patches I put it, the pictures didnt come out amazing cause of the flash and I don't know how to turn it off.

Next we have the new main leafs, I kept the seconds. My spring guy told me that my old mains would last for a bit, but they were far from being in their prime so I sprang for new ones. The old ones did their time, 40 years!

Next, I actually started to paint my frame due to a POR15 cap malfunction I figured I better throw the extra paint on something and it is starting to look better but I feel like I am polishing a turd. The paint looks great but the metal is all damaged from the ravages of time, perhaps there is a nice way to smooth it out? Not sure, but I don't want to grind down, I might hunt for a filler for it, but meh, maybe not.

Last I have all the box mounts and spring hangers and shackles in a little box waiting to be installed. They are all painted with the exception of some small touch ups.

I think that is the most important stuff, hopefully some really good progress in the next week, I am expecting some serious suspension parts!

Cheers for now!

Edit: I actually finished my cross member fabrication as well. I welded reinforcing plates to the bottoms of the mounting flanges. The flanges were soo rotten but I didn't want to lose my alignment so I used a reinforcing plate and salvages as much of the porous rotten metal as I could. You can see it sitting there on the frame

[Sgt Hollywood]

Good call on the auto darkening helmet, and for not going with a cheapy. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with them, but for doing a lot of welding you'll be happier in the long run. One of the best tool investments I made a few years ago.

[Gobbles]

Yes I really like it, I am just trying not to ruin it with all the overhead welding >.< It has taken some damage already but it should make it

[Sgt Hollywood]

Yeah flat screens aren't too great for overhead, just buy plenty of protectors and try not to be directly under falling splatter !

[lycominghunter]

Lookin good man

[Deaol]

Keep up the good work, nice to see another BC truck getting cleaned up