71 K20 Idaho Edition

[landarts]

OK here are a few pictures of progress on the bed rotisserie/bed cart. I am using some of the scrap tubing I have laying around and making implements or configurations to use two identical motor stands for a rotisserie/bed cart. Both of the motor stands will be connected with removable tubing through the bottom forward pointing out rigger. At some point I will create a second set of implements so that I could possibly rotate it some so I can do bed floor repair. for now I am just making it into a sturdy breakdown bed cart that is higher than usual do to the lower back issue I have.

When completed it will also have a bolt on set of outrigger legs for safety and rigidity. So I bought both of the engine stands from Jegs at $59 a piece. With those and probably around $100 dollars of scrap tubing and a few extra pairs of casters i have I should be into for around $225 - 250. For me to have a tool that will allow me to move a bed around in the shop, work standing up and not have to bend over to work on lower areas, is just perfect. Also will be able to break it down and store under the workbench when not in use.

Her are a few pictures snapped from this morning. The picture that has a few pieces of metal clamped to it and a caster will not have the piece on top, just did that for mockup reasons. Will probably just remove the lower tubing that came with the stand and put a new heavy wall piece there so I can weld a caster plate and have a breakable caster, also allows me to bolt on original when using for a motor.

[Richard]

Great work on everything!

[landarts]

Going back to the picture in thread post #21 where the forward lower section of the drivers side bed metal was torn just aft of the inner fender brace. When I looked under the bed brace was missing. That section of the bed is prone to buckling and oil canning without that brace especially if there is a dent or buckle. I started to get the tear cleaned up so it could be welded back together. Once I got so far with it I could tell that I would need to get a brace on it in order for the repair to work.

Went out to the side yard will I store extra parts for these trucks. Over the last two years I have purchased a few truck beds, so I removed one off a drivers side that had a pretty good whamo up front, so no big deal since this bed was strictly for parts anyways. So in the shop I noticed it had a few waves in it so I straighten it the best I could and noticed the end that bolts to the fender is missing. So I cleaned up the metal to get it ready to weld. I found a good thick sturdy washer and welded it to the brace then used the bench grinder to clean it up and get it to look something like it should.

After getting it on the truck and bolted to the fender it made the area very ridged and was able to finish up with the hammer and dolly to get the metal closer to where it needed to be to finish the welding. After that I worked the area for several minutes to get metal moving in the right direction so it could be ready for filler. A few more minutes with an air grinder and 60 grit hard disc on it reveals a boat load of high and lows.

The bottom section that turns in toward the frame at the bottom was very wavy in both directions. I tackled this area with a 24" piece if scrap 2x4 and a rubber mallet to get it closer to where it should be. Then worked there area with a hammer and dolly, mostly dolly on hammering. All of this work on the lower section is about 2 hours or so worth of work at this point. I will try laying in some filler and see if this repair will past the test or will need to cut out the lower section and replace with a repair panel that is showing up this week sometime from my order. If it past the test I will have an extra repair panel for another truck in the future.

[landarts]

After working on the bed for a few hours on and off all day Sunday I need a change direction to keep me in the shop. So I decided the new goal for the day was to finish getting the rest of the lower drivers side cab corner tack welded in which was already about 60% there a few days ago. Then to get it ground down and in at least one coat of filler.

Things went pretty smooth tacking in the metal and grinding down with a 4.5" cut off wheel used for cutting metal. When I was done I went to a DA sander with 60 grit pad to remove all existing paint and remove whatever the covering was on the repair cab corner part.

Was able to get the items checked off and also had worked a few of the upper areas of the bedside. Real happy with how straight the top rail is coming.

I get PM's from time to time asking questions about products used so here is a list of what I am using right now for the filler work:

-Upol Liteweight Gold filler UP0745
-Duragold 6" round sandpaper stick and peel in (60, 80, 120 grit right now)
-Durablocks in several lengths and shapes using the same grits above
-Aluminum straight edge to check areas for highs and lows
-Mirka dry guide coat black powder with foam applicator
-Harbor freight stud gun with different studs purchased from Amazon
-Steck lever for pulling studs
-Various body hammers, rubber mallet, slapping spoons and dollies

I just want to put this out there, I am not a professional at all. I do this as a hobby and only want to share what works for me. There are various ways to to get this work done and several different levels of products that can be used. I try different products from time to time and when I find something that gives me good results and is affordable I stick with it.

[Low Elco]

Great Work! Can't wait to see where it goes!

[landarts]

Was flipping through Facebook Marketplace like I do a few times a day to check to see if any good deals develop. Someone posted a sliding rear window that would fit the truck so I thought why not for $50. Went over to pick it up and he had a few more things that were worth taking a look at that he was wanting to get rid of. Before I left his house he said you can just take it all. So I was able to get a sliding rear window, a set of custom mirrors, stainless windshield trim, a used hood that was in really good shape, a brand new repop hood that had a dent in the front. He said it arrived in shipping that way and LMC sent him a new hood and did not want the dented hood back. So I really did well so I gave him a $100 bill for all the parts.

The guy was really nice and thanked me for helping him with a few suggestions on how to fix his doors and remedy a few body alignment issues. When I got home later in the evening he texted me again and said thanks again and appreciated the suggestions. Sometimes things just go right and again another reason I love this hobby.

Here is a picture of the sliding window, mirrors and trim for windshield. Have to run back over this afternoon to pickup the two hoods with my son.

[landarts]

Here is another issue that I just noticed over the weekend inside the drivers side stake pocket. The bottom portion that attaches to the side panel has pulled away from the metal. From the top or sighting down the bed rail it does does not look bent or tweaked upward. Maybe someone put something in the stake pocket and popped the spot weld lose by accident.

Anyways I thought I would give it a shot at using a 2x4 and bottle jack to see if it would snug up to the panel and it did. So next will be to release the pressure off of the bottle jack and prep the metal area for welding. I think I might drill a few holes so that I can spot weld in the holes and have it attach to the side panel. After that is done I will eventually get some of the areas in the bottom of the bed cleaned up for Raptor liner.

[mongocanfly]

Really admirable job you doing there landarts..!!

[landarts]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Really admirable job you doing there landarts..!!

Thanks Mongocanfly!

So was able to get the bottom of the stake pocket reattached to the bedside where it pulled away. I drilled a few holes in the bottom mount and cleaned the metal on both sides to make a good spot weld. First attempt was a fail because I forgot to turn on the gas to the welder. After cleanup of that mess and gas turned on this time it was a success. Will need to go back and cleanup the spot welds before I Raptor line the bed.

Right on top of the rail next to the stake pocket I was repairing was a spot where the P.O. drilled hole for whatever reason. So I decided to cleanup the metal around and fill it in with spot welds. When that was done i knocked down the spot welds with 4.5 grinder and cutoff wheel, then followed with 80 grit sandpaper on the air D.A. sander. Might get away without any filler on this one.

[landarts]

Over the weekend did a few items on the truck that are not really picture worthy. Sanding, sanding and more sanding. Then on Sunday I drove the truck out of the shop like I do at least once a week so I can do a real good cleanup in the shop and knock out any small items that I need in the shop space. I am at the point where I need to take the bed off and put on the stand or cart so I can finish up the back of the cab and get it painted. Over the years I have always used a make shift bed remover that I made out of a few 2x4's and a metal brace on top. It is used with my engine hoist that I remove the original metal arm on it and bolt on an extended arm to help reach to center of truck bed. Last time I used the bed remover it broke. So I thought this would be a good time to go to the scrap pile and see what can be used to make a strong one out of metal.

Spent about an hour cutting and grinding metal to get it ready for welding. then spent about another 30 to 45 minutes welding and putting it together. Need to wrap up drilling 4 holes and welding in the nuts for the bolts that secure the extendable arms. I have some really good rubber pads that I will attach to the tops of the little arms that will touch underneath the bed rails. When not in use I will break it down and hang in the shed outside.

The other pictures is a pile of cut of pieces from the truck I have replaced and pieces left over from the repop parts. Cut off pieces from the truck are from the two cab corners and the passenger bed side lower rear panel below body line so far.

[landarts]

No progress on the truck in the last 3 days but there are a few items that will help move the ball forward.

I purchased a set of Yankee 77 that are on there way to the house to be installed for the project. Was also able to secure 5- 3/4 ton hubcaps from someone that was clearing out a bunch of caps. Will need to do the center cutout for the front ones and sandblast and repaint to look good.

Been working on the Rotisserie/bed cart a little and almost have it wrapped up for phase one for the cart function. Will need to build another set of slip on end pieces to bolt to the inside tailgate locations and the 3 bolt locations on front bed panel. Then it can be used as a rotisserie after finding the center line.

Yesterday morning I received a text message from someone I reached out to first part of March about buying a few parts he had listed on Facebook Marketplace. He had a set of 72 doors that I possibly could use on an upcoming crew cab build and a front and back bumper that I could use for another project I have. At the time in March our state had just did a mandatory stay home order so we agreed to take a look at the parts once it cleared. Honestly after a few weeks I forgot all about the parts.

Anyways I texted back and asked him to refresh my memory on what he had for sale and to possibly send over a few pictures. He sent over a few good photos and I immediately remembered the items. So we set a time to meet later that evening at his storage unit. When I got there and looked at the items they were everything the pictures revealed and were worth the $200 for the following items.

2- 72 doors with all the hardware complete and working, no rust
1 - 67/68 front bumper that was not dented or twisted or rusted, best used one I have seen in a while
1 - Silver painted step farm bumper, again not dented or twisted or rusted
1 - front cowl off of a 72, not dented or tweaked but had a lot of pits to fix

So I told him I would take the items and paid him the $200 and began to load all the items in the truck. Before I left he asked if I would be interested in any other items that were in the storage unit pertaining to these years of trucks. I said it depends what the items are since I actually did not see anything in plane sight. He stated that at the back of the storage unit there were a few more items. I stated that I really did not bring any other money and was not really looking for anything in particular. He then said that I could have anything that was in there otherwise he would probably be hauling to the scrap yard or dump since he needed to empty the unit and did not intend to build another truck. It was a nice score of miscellaneous items. See pictures for the details.

[landarts]

Spent the afternoon Thursday cleaning up garage and moving items around to make room for final push on body work and paint. Pulled in the old wooden cart for now to get the bed off of the truck with my newly built scrap metal adjustable bed remover. Early this morning I cut a few pieces of 3/4" thick rubber mat I had saved a while back and secured it to the tops of the metal outriggers that will be touching the bed for removal.

Now that all the boxes were checked and items out of the way I thought I would try placing the forward most outrigger about 18" forward of the middle stake pocket to see if that would be the center line for removal. I raised it up about an inch off the 4x4 post it was setting on and it seemed to have a little bit of a tail heavy position so I lowered it down and moved everything back about an inch or so and that was the money shot. All balanced and ready to remove. About four or five cranks on the lift and it was ready for the truck to be driven out from under it and the wooden cart place under. Dropped it down on the cart and moved it over into the middle of the shop and moved truck back in to get ready for some work.

At this point truck is still drivable but will need to setup a few temporary lights on the back if I need to drive out of the neighborhood. Don't really feel the need to do that since I have 2009 Silverado and my 72 Cheyenne that I can drive. Anyways will probably at some point power wash and scrub down the rear frame and get a coat of paint or 3M undercoat on it while the bed is off. Take care of mounting the new shocks and fixing the bent up spare tire crossbar.

[best view]

U have more fun then anyone I know with these trucks

[landarts]

Originally Posted by best view

U have more fun then anyone I know with these trucks

It is a hobby for me, if it was not fun I would not be doing it. Some of the items that seem to drag on or get monotonous I try to break up with little side projects for the truck or hobby. When I start to feel a little burned out I step back and take a breather and do something else. I enjoy the hunt for new truck projects, hunting for parts, building the trucks and the research to learn everything it takes to build them myself.

Are we having fun yet!

[landarts]

After getting the bed off the truck and freeing up some more space in the garage I was able to get back to the drivers door project. Back in thread number 7 and 8 I removed the door from the truck to repair the speaker hole and few other items on the door. The door is in really good shape except it had about 4 coats of paint so i decided I would strip the door down to bare metal to make sure there are no surprises and get the level of the paint back to the rest of the truck. If this is not done this door's body lines and detail will not match with the rest of the truck. As long of a process it is to strip a door it is the right thing do do in this case.

I removed the door handle and lock from the outside and then pulled the wind wing and glass to make it more manageable and I also did not want to nick the wind wing metal in the striping process.

Yesterday afternoon I received the Yankee 77 cab clearance lights I bought on the forum here. Threw them up on top to see how they will look. Guess it is time to dig into the forum to see what the actual spacing is supposed to be. I found an image but it is really hard to see what the actual measurement are.

[landarts]

Had purchased a few 3/4 ton hubcaps that were rough and had surface rust. I decided to remove the rust before I begin the restoration process on the hubcaps. Back in one of the other builds "68 Second Chance" I tried the process using a Home Depot storage tub and Oxalic acid to remove rust from a set of seat tracks and a few other items. The process is inexpensive and simple solution.

How I learned about the process is I was reading an article about a gentleman that restores old bicycles. Somewhere in the middle of the build he proceeded to strip the bicycle down to the frame. He then put some Oxalic acid and water in a large tub and threw the bicycle frame in for a few days. Later in the week he pulled the frame out of the tub and all of the rust was removed from the frame and it exposed the frames red paint and all decals still present. Prior to putting it into the tub it the frame had no hint of what color it was.

Oaxlic acid is used for items like bleaching wood so it is available at home improvement stores, I purchased mine from Amazon for about $13 for a few pounds. When using it I just sprinkle a few caps full and add water. When pulling the part out of the solution I wear latex gloves, then proceed to was or power wash the part to rid it of any remains of the solution.

Pic 1 - 5 3/4 ton hubcaps
Pic 2 - shows the rusted backside and the bottle of Oaxlic acid
Pic 3 - shows the 26 gal tub with a little bit of Oaxlic acid sprinkled in
Pic 4 - hubcaps inserted into solution
Pic 5 - putting the lid on and allow the solution to go to work

[landarts]

This morning I went out to the garage to pull the lid off of the tub with the hubcaps soaking in the Oaxlic solution. Below is a picture of when I inserted them into the tub and another photo taken this morning about 24 hours later.
The solution is working and my best guess is that the hubcaps will probably be free of rust by the weekend. As I go through this process I will take photos everyday until the rust is gone.

After I get them out of the solution and cleaned off I will go through the process of working the metal to get any of the dents and dings worked out the best I can. Then I will probably do a chemical strip of the paint with a citrus stripping solution I buy from Home depot. Then I will attempt to cut out the centers of two of the hubcaps and roll the edge over to make it look right. After all of that if all is good I will finally move onto the paint process.

If anyone knows of a good link to show the process doing the center portion cut out to turn them into a 4x4 hubcap.

[landarts]

Did not work on the K20 this weekend. Did some planning and parts collecting. Going to be pushing to paint the back of the cab and back of the bed front panel so I can install the truck bed back onto the truck while I am finishing the body work and getting ready for paint. Going to try and paint the back of the cab to the top roof separation line and to the rear door jambs. Then shoot the front of the bed panel portion that faces the cab. After it is back on it should be easy to tape of those areas so I can paint the rest in small chunks. Doors and hood painted off the truck, fenders painted on the truck. Shoot the rest of cab while I have those off. Then shoot the bed outside and Raptor line interior bed to wrap up.

This is not the best way to do a paint job but it works for me in my small make shift spray both. Also I am using a single stage paint so color sanding and buffing paint will really make this a nice paint job.

Here is an updated photo four days into the Oaxlic acid soak with the hubcaps. I would think maybe a couple more days and all of the rust will be gone. Notice the color of the mix has changed to an yellow tint. I also moved the tub outside the back of the garage since it was getting in the way where it was.

[fun in dirt]

Nice metal work! Crazy how much of the rust is coming off hubcaps.

[landarts]

Had a set back on the truck this weekend, found pinholes in the roof. Trying to figure out the best way to tackle this repair. I have posted the picture on the standard forum here to see if I can get a few suggestions since I have never had to do this type of repair before. Anyways here are pictures of the area to repair, stay tuned i will be back with a plan shortly.

[best view]

Never seen that before I would think cutting a used cab roof off another beat up cab would be quicker and cheaper but iam no expert

[landarts]

Finally got around to cutting out the pin holed area a day or so ago. After removing the piece it took a bit to get all of the tar paper off and as much of the tar that was stuck to the bottom layer of metal. What I saw did not leave in a very good mood thinking that the roof might be shot or that I would at least need to cut the whole top skin off and order a repop skin and replace.

Went back inside and started doing research on buying that part and what was the best way to tackle the project. After a day or so of reading a few articles and forum post I remembered that someone was taking about they thought their roof was toast also when they opened it up. Then when they got further into the cleanup stage found that the lower layer of metal that looked rusted was actually the tar with surface rust from upper layer stuck to it. So I went out in to the garage and sprayed a large section Rustoleum rust dissolver on the left side and let it sit over night. When I came back out the next morning it did nothing to the area, so I grabbed an old chisel that I use to scrap old gaskets and such and started to scrape the area and found that after the tar was taken off the metal underneath was as good as new.

Well that made me happy so I will proceed with repairing the area and treating the metal top and bottom best I can.

[landarts]

Over the weekend I jumped on Facebook Marketplace and found someone close by selling a couple of complete chopped off roofs. I never see these for sale and thought it might be worth the while to go take a look and possibly use one for this build. If not at least I can drill out all the spot welds and have the skins for future repairs.

Went over and decided to take the better of the two roof that the guy was selling. Before I could pay him said that he really did not need the other roof and I can have both for the same price. So we loaded up both of them. Got to talking trucks and he mentioned that he had a few more items and wondered if I would be interested in looking. We went back into the back shed on the property and he had several items that were very usable so I made and offer for the following parts and the deal was done.

So for $140 dollars I got these parts:
-2 Complete chopped off roof sections
-1 Behind the seat gas tank that has nothing wrong with it, he put a new one under frame
-2 Sets of visors
-1 Pushbutton AM radio and broken speaker
-2 Rear view mirrors
-1 Emergency brake handle and a few steering column brackets
-1 Complete heater control that was not broken
-2 Cab courtesy lights
-1 box of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, lighter, etc

[landarts]

So I decided to salvage what was good from the two cab tops I purchased last week. The one had a really clean and dent free skin so I thought I would attempt to remove the skin from the cab and save it for future use if needed. The repop skins are about $250 plus another $100 or so for freight. It took a while to drill out all of the spot welds and get it freed from the cab. After I removed it I knocked down any sharp edges then wrapped the edges in masking tape to avoid any sharp edges.

Then I brought the other cab top in the shop which was not as good as the first but the top skin portion I needed was not rusted up or dented so I marked out the same location as the cut out portion from the 71 K20. Cut it out with a 4.5 grinder and a metal cutting bit. Once it was cut out I did a little touch up grinding on the sides to get the fit ready for welding in. After that I flipped it over and cleaned of any debris that was there with a wire brush and gave it a good coat of Ospho to convert the surface rust with phosphoric acid.

Then I moved back up to the top of the truck to finish scrapping the tar solution off the metal and give it a full coat of Ospho and lay down some insulation that I use on the floors before installing carpet. Got the welder hooked up and did a few tacks and ran out of gas on the welder. To be continued after gas bottle is changed out.

Pict 1 - cab top number 1 skin removed and saving for future use
Pict 2 - under side of roof skin from cab top number 1
Pict 3 - Cab top number 2, cutting out replacement piece for 71K20
Pict 4 - Under side of replacement piece before Ospho treatment
Pict 5 - After treatment

[landarts]

Well welding in the patch section to the top of the roof was an epic fail. Had a few places where I must have got it to hot and caused some severe shrinking of the metal so it created a few rolls in the panel.

Now is time to will move forward with plan B and use the entire skin that I removed from one of the cabs tops I bought last week. I am going to take my time and try to remove the upper skin in the rain gutter areas without drilling through. I will probably cut the back of just before the seem about 1/2" away from factory seem where it is ridgid and less prone to shrinkage. Hopefully all goes well and I can get back on track for painting back of cab and front of bed so I can re-install. I do always plan a few setbacks on every build but this is one I did not see coming.