Encasedmetal's 63' GMC stepside build

[encasedmetal]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

Yeah I know, If I had stuck to the plan I'd be driving it now....Good luck... LOL

thanks

[encasedmetal]

today I got alot done. got the seat out, got the gas tank out (apparently there was still alot of gas in it cause I dumped ****loads into the corner of the cab- which subsequently went onto the garage floor since I need new cab corners). I also drilled out all the riveted in sheet metal a past owner used to cover the floor rot. Also started wire wheeling the floors only to realize it will take forever so I made a trip to harbor freight to buy a bunch of flap wheels on the cheap. might have gotten a little more done but took a break to cut some grass only to get stung a lot by yellow jackets that have apparently made their home in my yard in the last 8 days. Also- I'm debating on removing the dash to ease the cleanup process- any thoughts?

[Joe Pass]

I had to repair my dash and I wish I had taken it out but I was not wanting to cut it out because of the extra work. I have seen them removed and didn't realize it wasn't all that bad to remove... Have you though of a cheap sandblaster to get in there .? Yeah they are a pain to use and do create a mess but what choices do we have. Even if you removed it, sand blasting it out of the truck would get a nice result. I bought a 99 dollar sand blaster at Tractor Supply and some of their abrasive made from coal slag (Black Diamond) $7 a bag. It was slow and wouldn't want to do anything larger than a part like the dash, but it worked well enough to clean the surface to be treated and primed. Just a thought......
It was also used to clean the inside areas of my door when I patched in the skins The black Diamond abrasive doen't have any silica in it so they claim its not as harmful...used properly

[encasedmetal]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

I had to repair my dash and I wish I had taken it out but I was not wanting to cut it out because of the extra work. I have seen them removed and didn't realize it wasn't all that bad to remove... Have you though of a cheap sandblaster to get in there .? Yeah they are a pain to use and do create a mess but what choices do we have. Even if you removed it, sand blasting it out of the truck would get a nice result. I bought a 99 dollar sand blaster at Tractor Supply and some of their abrasive made from coal slag (Black Diamond) $7 a bag. It was slow and wouldn't want to do anything larger than a part like the dash, but it worked well enough to clean the surface to be treated and primed. Just a thought......Attachment 1284585
It was also used to clean the inside areas of my door when I patched in the skins The black Diamond abrasive doen't have any silica in it so they claim its not as harmful...used properly

was it a siphon blaster or tank based? I don't want to use my pressure washer/blaster cause it'll put water everywhere

[Joe Pass]

It was a siphon.... The siphon worked as well as expected as long as I ran the sand through a screen to get the junk/pebbles out first. It work better than expected when I wanted to clean up a small section to weld/prime. It was all setup so I could put on hood and shield at a moments notice and clean up something

[encasedmetal]

Progess is going slow as I am working on it as I can and learning as I go. got most everything out from under the dash, removed the low hump panel which is toast. and lastly this weekend removed the in cab gas tank brackets- first spot welds I've ever drilled out and I didn't tear any or drill through so I'm especially pleased with that. Here's some pics of where I'm at on the cab- I've actually stripped more than it would appear since there's dirt/dust everywhere




areas over which the PO had put sheetmetal riveted in

[Joe Pass]

Once you get the cab cleaned up you have an idea what needs attention.....
Good job, hang in there.

[Bomp]

Looks like a great truck to start with.
Im in.

[encasedmetal]

got the inside of the cab, underside of the cab, the frame and hood hinges blasted. revealed all the trouble spots for sure.






upper windsheild area needs work

now I'm at a standstill though cause I don't have any funds to continue working on the truck (I need to buy a welder) until my cobra sells.

[Joe Pass]

Doesn't look to bad....Upper windshield is the hardest part....The first thing you should do when you acquire a welder is build a dolly for the cab. Design it to tip the cab on its back or firewall to make the repairs much easier...welcome to the rust repair club

[encasedmetal]

yeah I built a stand to roll it out to blast it, the sand got in the bearings for the wheels and now it doesn't roll at all. lol

[encasedmetal]

holidays UPDATE: not a whole getting done lately on the truck, but here's what I have been up to lately:
Built a better stand for the cab that will allow me to actually work on it, I can flip it backwards onto 4 tires stacked in twos and it works just fine


I also bought a welder (Eastwood MIG 135) and whole bunch of welding stuff including a large tank of CO2 25% Argon 75% and have been practicing every weekend for the last few weeks. learned some valuable lessons the hardway on scrap and myself and now feel confident enough to start working on the truck itself. I've never touched a welder before in my life so I'm pretty proud of myself being self taught with no help really besides youtube and it didn't help for squat. anyways- the one peice I have done on the truck is filling a hideous hole some PO cut for an antenna



But for now I'm just waiting on topbanana to deliver an unruly amount of sheetmetal for me to start surgery on this thing. So in the mean time I think I'll change the blower setup on my cobra for ****s and giggles...

[encasedmetal]

came home last night to a huge box by my upstairs garage- TopBanana got me my parts in less than a week. I think that's pretty impressive.

[Lokin4AReason]

its coming along .... keep up the good work

[encasedmetal]

been working pretty hard on the truck and other projects so it's coming along slowly. I have gotten the front lower A pillar, driver side kick panel done,

and started on the driver side floor repairs including the cab supports.



lots more gone than I initially saw. Let me remind you I'm not a bodyman and am learning for the first time. I promise any time I burn through I'm fixing it after the panel cools- just depends on when i take picks. so far it's going well I think and the floor is matching the angles of the passenger side that I haven't cut into yet. the biggest obstacle is going to be the driver side rear of the cab

[63swag]

Just got done replacing just about all the same panels, it's a bunch of work but pays off in the end. Your welding looks good and will continue to get better with every bead you weld. Keep up the good work!

[encasedmetal]

well my photobucket got full and I've been putting my pics into flikr and it's a slower process to upload. been awhile since I've updated here but I've gotten most of the cab done except for rockers and upper windshield area. I'll have lots of photos to add another time but here's a vid of me working on the driver side corner. I still have a long time to go until it's back on the road, or the frame for that matter as time is at a premium lately-so are funds. https://youtu.be/3bODIZta6bI