The English are coming! Or..another C10 in the Motherland.

[The Rocknrod]

Nice work.

[Paul Y]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Nice work.

Thanks.

That is half the problem. If I could just “slap it back together” old Woody would have been done quite a while ago.

Determined not to get too carried away like my last project - just make a nice, reliable, drivable truck*

P.

*famous last words....

[SkinnyG]

I have pretty much the same blaster as you.

I blast over my concrete paver driveway, then sweep it all up and sift it into a pail, then sift it again as I pour from the pail back into the blaster. I've run the abrasive through upwards of five times or so before it's mostly powder.

I run the largest tip, which seems to clog less.

I've also built my compressed air system to reduce the build up of moisture, and I try to run another water separator as well as the one that comes on the machine. Dry air is good. I also likely have a much drier climate where I am than where you are, which helps.

When it all works in harmony, blasting is very therapeutic for me; I see progress, and the finish is nice.

And yeah - the more I work on my truck, the less interested I am in "shows." It's a freakin' driver.

[Paul Y]

You are absolutely spot on with the nozzle size.

I got my blaster second hand with a number of very good upgrades already done - Including a water separator - but only one nozzle. Trying to find the correct tips for the gun has proved a bit of a challenge so I have ordered a new gun which uses a more readily available nozzle, plus it comes with a pack of 5 so should be good for a while.

Hoping that, along with fresh media, will speed the rest of the process along.

More progress next week, life permitting.

P.

[Paul Y]

Had hoped to move good old Woody on a little more this weekend but had my jab on Friday afternoon, a very slick operation but left me with a headache and feeling a bit lethargic so the last thing I fancied doing was spending the weekend in a cold garage.

However, by Sunday afternoon I was bored so decided that a little forward progress was better than none at all.

So I went out into the shed and started sorting through my scrap pile.

[IMG][/IMG]

Not ideal but a good start.

I knew I had some rollers from when I made a set of draws for my daughters wardrobe.

[IMG][/IMG]

And so I spent the next hour making a straightener for brake and fuel lines.

Mark, mark.

[IMG][/IMG]

Drill, drill.



End result was this little contraption.

[IMG][/IMG]

Which actually works on both brake line and a bit of scrap fuel line so next week will actually be making up these very parts so...quite useful...

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Nothing too exciting but progress is progress!

Until next time.

P.

[Grizz1963]

That’s really very clever


I had my vaccine but no side effects

[Paul Y]

Still not feeling the full ticket after being injected with Chinese Bat flu so went and had another look at the Heath Robinson straightener.

Two things will need immediate remedy.

1. It needs to be longer (Narf Narf)



As the bent or curled tubing is passed through the rollers it has a habit of jumping off and then getting itself all mangled - the exact opposite of what I am trying to achieve.

2. Springs.

A little light pressure from a pair of springs will also help in making sure that the tubing is held in place without undue downward force from the wing nuts, challenge is going to be finding a pair of said springs so might just resort to enlarging the hole on the top bar to make it move up and down a little more freely.

Also got confirmation that another 6 cans of Steel-It are on route so will have more than enough to finish it all off and have a few cans spare.

Onwards!

P.

[Paul Y]

Today was a bit of a big day.

I actually started putting new stuff back on to Woody rather than taking old stuff off - a rather nice feeling.

First job was to mount the new fuel tank at the back of the bed rather than keeping me company in the cab. 2 main reasons - as already stated - didn't really want to share the same space as 15 gallons of fuel and needed a tank capable of taking an electric fuel pump for the LS.

There are a few options when it comes to tanks but I ended up going with a Jeep tank and a Blazer fuel sender, pump basket. Main reason is that it was what I could get but lets just pretend that it is for some other really good reason...



Wanted to mount the tank as high as possible so that it didn't hang down below the bumper and become too obvious but not so high that the fuel lines interfered with the bed wood.



That will do fine then.

Next job was to decide how to mount it. The great thing about C10's is that a lot of people have done a lot of things to them so you can usually find a few options when it comes to deciding how to do something.

Problem was with the rear tank is that a lot of these options seemed to dictate the use of angle iron and I was looking for something a little more...OEM...

So with that in mind purchase 4metres of 30 x 3 flat bar and started to come up with a plan using a trusty bit of cardboard.



I don't own a sheet metal brake so tried to bend the flat bar in the vice but couldn't get the sharp, crisp bends I was after plus, I needed to replicate the shapes at least twice so decided to see if I could make something quick and dirty utilising my press.

First thing was to cut up a bit of the dreaded angle iron.



Then a bit of old exhaust pipe was cut to size and welded to one of the bits of angle.

And... Voila!



Pretty crude but it did the job and made bending the bar quick, easy and repeatable. V2 will be incoming shortly after using it as there are a number of short comings but overall count me pleased.



Anyway.. Bend, Bend. Oh plums....



Never mind quick session with the hammer and we have 3 upper braces .



Next is to make the bottom cradle. Measure measure



Cut, Cut. Bend Bend



And a quick test fit.



Actually used my new Rivnut tool today but soon discovered that the chassis steel is a little too thick for it. Never mind, just used some long M8 bolts, will trim down later but for now just needed the adjustability.


Pretty pleased with that so next stage was to box up the end that I will be using to put tension on the cradle as I snug it up agains the top braces.



And there we go, tank mounted.





Now I have it in place will move one of the top braces closer to the centre of the tank as decided to route the fuel lines along the passenger side rail rather than the driver side.

So with the tank in place I can start to plan and build the fuel lines. I must admit that I took 5 minutes with a cup of tea at this stage and felt genuinely happy that after what has been an incredibly stressful 5 years I am now starting to build Woody to the vision I had right at the beginning of the journey.

Nice.

I had been collecting fuel fitting for the past few years and keeping them in a couple of tin biscuit boxes so it was rather pleasant to take them out of the packaging and put them to use.



First thing was to make up a mount for the bulkhead fittings to take the braided line from the tank to the chassis and hard lines.



Fittings out of the box and...



Loosely put together.



That is as far as I got but really got my Mojo back and will try and sneak some time this week to get the lines ran before I take the tank etc out for the last time to finish painting the chassis and tank braces etc.

Been a good weekend.

P.

[Grizz1963]

.


Excellent work as always Paul.



Not long now.

[Paul Y]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

.


Excellent work as always Paul.



Not long now.

Need to find a money tree to buy a T56 Rian - pretty sure I have everything to finish Woody apart from that, well major items.

ONWARDS!!!

P.

[88Stanger]

My Friend, great work! I am impressed with what you did for the bed mount! Keep up the great work

[Paul Y]

Originally Posted by 88Stanger

My Friend, great work! I am impressed with what you did for the bed mount! Keep up the great work

Thanks!

A long way behind you but trying to do a little every weekend.

One I have mocked up the lines and repainted the chassis - well put another coat on it - I will be fitting the brace, from there it is all down hill... Yeah Right!

P.

[Paul Y]

So... Remember this biscuit tin full of rather expensive hose fittings?



Yeah well they are not compatible with teflon hose which is what is needed with todays ethanol fuels.

So that is about £150 I will have to find then and there was me being all Mr Smarty Pants having got friends to bring back bits and pieces over the past 18 months on their travels back from teh USA... BumHats.

Anyway, let's continue shall we....

Need to run the fuel and return lines down the chassis through one of the crossmembers and to the front of Woody's chassis. A small problem to overcome was this.



No way of fitting a power tool in there to make the required space so 30 minute with a number of files provided the needed space. Problem was that I was really not happy with where the previously made bracket for the bulkhead fittings sat. It had to be far enough through the crossmember to allow the lines to be disconnected if I ever need to to do so but not protrude through so far that the flex lines from the tank could not be attached and removed if I needed to drop the tank.

Spent an hour moving it, looking at it, measuring it before I finally just said to myself that I was being an idiot, and tacked it in place. Its not ideal but nobody will ever see it and it means I can move on.

NEXT!



Now. can get to use my pipe straightener in anger!



Pleased to report it worked very well for being made up from some old scrap I had.

Used my rivenut tool again to make use of some nicely positioned holes already in the chassis to attach the P clams and hold the fuel feed in place.



Rinse and repeat with the return line.



And the fuel lines are run.



Really quite pleased with that.

Now. How to get them from inside the frame rails to above the rail without getting it close to the exhaust and future China WhirlyBoiz.



Yup that will work.

Or actually no it won't...

Can you see the problem?



As I said previously...mistakes were made. I hadn't seated the return line hose end fully home when I drilled the hole for the bulkhead fitting - end result is that when I tightened it up it came off. Plums, as the Fox Picture now dictates I say.

This now gave me two problems.

1. The hole was in the wrong place.

2. I didn't have any more olives.

Luckily I had just enough -6 pipe left to remake the return so problem 1 went away. Problem 2 can be fixed but not until Tuesday so was feeling a little miffed as I had planned to get Woody back on his feet by the end of the long weekend.

Well I would have if the paint I had ordered had actually turned up on Thursday...

I had one can of paint left in the cupboard so painted the inside of the chassis rails and prepped the brace brackets for paint so at least I could get that done.



Whilst I waited for that to dry, read the instructions that came with the brace and discovered that I need to take out 4 more rivets on the forward body mounts in order to get the front brace plates fitted.



A quick go over with a flap disk and a few minutes with the drill and they were out.



Brace plates in place.



And time to honk the jungle gym into place.



Only problem was it wasn't going to fit.

So, loosened off the front crossmember pulled out the ratchet straps and my big mallet and.....



Its in - even if it is temporary because I needed a little Mojo Boost after the previous mistakes.



The quality of this kit is really quite good, well actually very good...

And on that BombShell I retired for the evening as I have gone as far as I can until the paint arrives and the shops open to get the olives to rectify my previous mistake.



So until next time...

Onwards!

P.

[67C10GS]

Looking good, can’t wait to install my brace but things need to move around in my shop so I can pull it in. Darn you spring cleaning and organizing lol

[Paul Y]

Originally Posted by 67C10GS

Looking good, can’t wait to install my brace but things need to move around in my shop so I can pull it in. Darn you spring cleaning and organizing lol

How you could fit the brace with the body in place is beyond me. It was a struggle with the chassis basically down to nothing!

Will look forward to seeing your progress, think that makes 3 of us now that have gone the summit brace route.

P.

[67C10GS]

Originally Posted by Paul Y

How you could fit the brace with the body in place is beyond me. It was a struggle with the chassis basically down to nothing!

Will look forward to seeing your progress, think that makes 3 of us now that have gone the summit brace route.

P.

They say it can be done, I'm still gonna take the cab and bed off to get to everything else while I'm at it.

[88Stanger]

Originally Posted by 67C10GS

They say it can be done, I'm still gonna take the cab and bed off to get to everything else while I'm at it.

I really like the brace so far honestly. Fit was good, looks great, hope it works as good as it looks. I say this as if i will know if it is working or not.. .lol not sure i will BUt i know it is there and looks good.

[Paul Y]

Progress is progress. Right?

Slowly, and I mean slowly, inching forward with my new target of getting Woody back as a roller by the end of May.

So what did I achieve in my allotted garage time this weekend? Well lets have a look at the pictures on my phone and go on a voyage of discovery together shall we....

Remember the non stop challenge I was having with my blaster? Solved that for the grand total of £19 by buying a new gun. The difference is night and day and meant that I could take the frame brace from this.



To this



In no time at all. In fact it is working so well now that I redid the crossmember as was never very happy with the finish.

Ta Da!!



Paint turned up mid week




Which meant I could finally get the last coat on the chassis and get everything in one colour - well apart from the rear axle, upper and lower control arms etc -

Despite the sun was actually quite cold yesterday so had to fire up the trusty space heater and use the imitation Sawzall to get the paint usable.



Paint, Paint. Spray Spray.





felt quite pleased with the results, the Steel-It paint is really worth the money as it covers beautifully and is as hard as nails. Can't remember who was asking about it earlier but the only distributor in the UK is a great bunch at Off Road Armour.

Couldn't get any olives for the fuel return line - they turn up on Thursday- and mistakenly ordered the incorrect size P clams for the brake line so had to mock it up so I could at least get the Rivnuts in place. Plan is that #3 son will help me install the brace during the week so I can get Woody off the big stands, levelled up on the floor and everything tight.

According to the pictures on the phone that was all I managed to achieve so, until next week.

ONWARDS!!!

P.

[88Stanger]

love the progress!!! great job.

[Paul Y]

Thanks Jeff.

Just want to continue to make a little progress every weekend - I know that Matt Happell goes on about 30 minutes per day means that a project gets finished - and he is right!

I allow myself 4 hours over the weekend to progress Woody on his way - just want to get to the next fun part. Driving!

P.

[Paul Y]

Went to that there London today, for the first time in a long time and when I returned this was waiting for me.




Whats in the box then? Glad you asked a nice new shiny set of engine mounts.



Ordered on Friday from Rock Auto, arrived today. Pretty good service and the price was fantastic. Equivalent parts in the UK were £60 each +VAT - Total from Rock, including shipping and duty was $95 so about £70... Bargain.

Also picked up the new fuel lines from Mark at Hydrahose - cant recommend him enough if you are in Essex and want hoses and fittings etc - so looks like I will be pressing on over the weekend.



Well provided I can find an hour one evening to finish painting the brace and using the zinc spray on the bolts.

Going to spend a little time working out what bits I still need to get Woody back to an operating vehicle again rather than an ornament in my garage. Don't think it is that much, things like a fuel pump, remanufactured steering box, prop shaft etc are all doable. Its the gearbox issue that is holding everything up!

The list will help my get my head around what budget I need to..well...budget for... and how many weeks/months I am going to force my family to eat Raman noodles for.

Sure they will understand that it is for the greater good....

Onwards!

P.

[Paul Y]

Well with 6 weeks left until the end of May, and my target of having Woody back on his feet with the chassis DONE, I am trying to make progress each weekend with a few hours in the garage in-between house, family and garden chores.

So... what did you achieve this week then Big Boi?

Glad you asked! problem is nowhere near as much as I would have liked...

Spent a couple of hours cleaning nuts, bolts and washers and giving them the once over with a can of Zinc spray I have pretty much all of the hardware done, now when it comes time to bolting the front and rear suspension on, I am good to go.



Not a very pleasant job and managed to to destroy my fingers in the process. Good job I don't gave a desk job... oh...hold on....

Wanted to get the brace loosely bolted place so I could get the chassis down off the tall stands and true it all up. After struggling for nearly an hour #3 son came to the rescue and in the space of 30 minutes we had the brace in place.







Pretty sure that there would have been no way I could do this by myself so he has earned his board and lodgings for another week...

Chassis is very heavy now but way more rigid even with everything being only loosely bolted in place. Seems logical really... Got everything held together with ratchet straps and got it down off the tall stands so that was one of the goals for the weekend achieved!



Next step is to bolt the front crossmember back in place, level everything up and then start tightening the brace up.

Actually got a real feeling of 'at last' as there is now proper forward motion on the project.

So, what's next?

Everyone like a list so lets get the virtual piece of cardboard out so I can start to tick items off

• Run fuel return line
  Clean and paint front control arms, shock mounts and rear axle
  Reassemble front suspension and sort out ride height
  Reassemble rear suspension and sort out ride height
  Plumb in brakes once axles in place
  ]Fit fuel tank
  Fit engine mounts
  Fit engine
  Build exhaust system
  Rebuild steering - more of this below
  Build battery box
  Fit front and rear bumpers

About the steering... My current steering box is a bit worn so decided to splash out and buy a reman box from RedHead who have received rave reviews from everybody that has used them. Problem is that they don't stock steering box's for C10's so you have to send them in a box to be rebuilt. Not a problem if you are in teh States but when in the UK that becomes a bit of a mission.

Tried to buy steering box's from eBay and Craigslist in the States and get that shipped to SF (where RedHead are based) but either nobody wanted to ship or the mark up for sorting out shipment was prohibitive.

Enter my knight in shining armour!

Mr Riverstory of this very Parish not only has a box BUT is willing to ship it for me. Huzzah!

Really appreciate this so hopefully will be able to achieve my end of May target date.

Until the next time...

Onwards!

P.

[67C10GS]

How many cans of steel-it did you use? I assume you started with a full box of 12.

[Paul Y]

Originally Posted by 67C10GS

How many cans of steel-it did you use? I assume you started with a full box of 12.

I purchased 10 cans, and still have about 2/3rds of one left, to do everything you have seen painted black - so far! The chassis, front crossmember, chassis brace, engine mounts and fuel tank straps.

I think I have about 4 or 5 coats on the top of the rails and 6 or 7 on the bottom, it actually covers really well.

Still have the upper and lower front control arms to do, steering, the trailing arms, rear axle and I am going to blast and paint the bed crossmembers, regret not buying 15/16 cans at the outset but it is quite expensive.

Really recommend it, goes on easily and self levels so there are no runs. Make sure you wear a good quality mask when spraying it, prepare the surface as per the instructions and shake the can as well as heating it up.

P.

[67C10GS]

For the umteenth time since I joined this forum I’m really glad someone is doing what I think of before I do so I know how it should look and how it’ll turn out