My 1967 Chevy K20 Build Thread

[Chaparralman1974]

More....

[Chaparralman1974]

More still...

[Chaparralman1974]

Passenger side floor and rocker repair.

[Chaparralman1974]

More passenger side rocker repair.

[Shifty One]

Gettin' after it!

[Chaparralman1974]

I just finished putting epoxy primer on the bottom of the cab. I will try to get some more pictures posted shortly.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here are some pictures of the cab paint stripping process.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here are some more pictures of the cab paint stripping process.

[Chaparralman1974]

More cab stripping pictures...

[Chaparralman1974]

Cab is getting there.....

[Chaparralman1974]

Just about done stripping it. I still have some final touches to take care of, but I have most of the paint stripped off of the cab.

You can also see the driver side cab corner replacement as well as the patch that I made for the receptacle plug that was on the passenger side. Not my best work metal-wise, but it will be covered up with filler soon enough. :-)

[Chaparralman1974]

Taping and preparation for the rust encapsulation process on the underside of the cab. I initially was only going to get the hard to reach areas and small areas where there was rust pits, but it was easier to just spray the entire bottom of the cab. It took an entire can of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here is the application of seam sealer across the welds that were done. Ok, here is where I was not too happy with my work. I have discovered that applying seam sealer is an art form. This stuff looks like Mr. Potato Head did it blind folded.....

Oh well, it is on the bottom of the cab anyway and it should ensure that the welds are protected from any moisture that may make itself present in Phoenix, AZ.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here is the bottom of the cab after applying Epoxy Primer over the rust encapsulator and the seam sealer. I applied 2 wet coats after waiting for 30 minutes after the wet coat. Next up is Raptor Liner!

[cj847]

Man, that is a lot of work with a DA. I'm tired just looking at pics. How did you do the interior overhead? Thru the windshield/door, or did you stand it on its head?

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by cj847

Man, that is a lot of work with a DA. I'm tired just looking at pics. How did you do the interior overhead? Thru the windshield/door, or did you stand it on its head?

It was a hell of a lot of work! I did just that…I flipped the cab on its back and went to town with the DA and the stripper wheel. I was going to just paint over it but figured that since I had the opportunity I would just take it to bare metal.


Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

12/2/2023
Cab Undercoating
I have finally finished the underside of the cab. Today I was able to get the Raptor Liner sprayed on the bottom of the cab. For the most part, this was pretty easy to do. The cleanup and prep work is 95% of things. I taped off all of the larger openings and used foam ear plugs to fill all of the bolt holes in the floor. This worked better than I could have hoped. All of the captive nuts on the floor are clean as a whistle. I will now have to let the cab sit for a week before doing anything else. But that is ok….I have plenty of Christmas stuff to get setup! 🙂

[nicklear36]

What was your tool of choice to strip the cab by hand?

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by nicklear36

What was your tool of choice to strip the cab by hand?

Hands down, the tool I used for about 80% of the stripping was the SCT from Harbor Freight:

https://www.harborfreight.com/9-amp-...gg_q=bauer+sct

This is the same thing that Eastwood offers, but cheaper.

For the other nooks and crannies, these stripper wheels for my 4" angle grinder worked really well:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Beyond that, I used my DA with 80 grit paper to give a good tooth to the rest of the metal. I did use my pressure pot sand blaster for the door jambs and the firewall where it was hard to get around all of the protrusions.

[nicklear36]

Originally Posted by Chaparralman1974

Hands down, the tool I used for about 80% of the stripping was the SCT from Harbor Freight:

https://www.harborfreight.com/9-amp-...gg_q=bauer+sct

This is the same thing that Eastwood offers, but cheaper.

For the other nooks and crannies, these stripper wheels for my 4" angle grinder worked really well:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Beyond that, I used my DA with 80 grit paper to give a good tooth to the rest of the metal. I did use my pressure pot sand blaster for the door jambs and the firewall where it was hard to get around all of the protrusions.

Thanks for these links. I just can't justify the cost of a local soda blaster so I'm gonna do my cab by hand like this!

[clay68c10]

I also used the HF stripper tool. It works well and strips paint pretty quickly.

Nice work on your patch panels. I have a body man friend that told me "those patches are a nice starting point, but you always have to do some fitting and shaping"
Have you done any door inner bottom repair? Those really need work to make right.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by clay68c10

I also used the HF stripper tool. It works well and strips paint pretty quickly.

Nice work on your patch panels. I have a body man friend that told me "those patches are a nice starting point, but you always have to do some fitting and shaping"
Have you done any door inner bottom repair? Those really need work to make right.

Yeah, every single patch panel has required some level of reworking in order to get them to fit up.

No, I haven't done the doors yet. I am going to have those chemically dipped as I think that would be the easiest way to get the insides cleaned out.


Clay

[dagnabbitt]

Great pictures, and you are doing a great job: I am working on cab repair for my project 68. I too am perhaps putting more thought into it than I should and am really just taking it as a learning experience. Your cuts and welds are nicer nonetheless.

I've been thinking, if I were to do it all over again - because I will, I have a few more trucks - would I just replace the entire floor pan? I think to be honest that I might. It would be much easier, and and only marginally more expensive than all the patch panels I got going. My most hated part of my project is the cab supports, man I understand why people go with the slip ons. A new floor with those already integrated is really tempting. What about you?

I will follow your project with great interest!

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

Great pictures, and you are doing a great job: interestingly I am in the exact same stage of my project 68. I too am perhaps putting more thought into it than I should and am really just taking it as a learning experience. Your cuts and welds are nicer nonetheless.

I've been thinking, if I were to do it all over again - because I will, I have a few more trucks - would I just replace the entire floor pan? I think to be honest that I might. It would be much easier, and and only marginally more expensive than all the patch panels I got going.

My most hated part of my project is the cab supports, man I understand why people go with the slip ons. A new floor with those already integrated is really tempting.

I will follow your project with great interest!

Hi Dave!
I hear what you are saying! My thought process was to keep as much GM metal as possible. Fortunately for me, my floor was in pristine condition except for the inner/outer rockers. My cab supports were solid as the day they rolled off the Fremont assembly line. :-)

I can definitely see why doing a full floor replacement would be the best way to go in many cases.

I have almost 175 man hours in the cab now.....many of those hours were redoing stuff that didn't reall matter. I spent way too much time on stuff that will be covered by dynamat and carpet. But, like my daddy always said....anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time. However, I don't think he factored in my severe OCD....LOL!



Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by nicklear36

Thanks for these links. I just can't justify the cost of a local soda blaster so I'm gonna do my cab by hand like this!

I was in the same boat! I had quotes from $800-$2000 to get it stripped down. It took a little while to do it over several weeks, but it is doable to do it at home. The SCT was phenomenal! that thing will eat through the paint in no time flat.


Clay