71 K20 Idaho Edition

[jimbosprint]

I could be wrong, but I thought the engine badges were under the marker lights on 71-72?

[landarts]

Originally Posted by jimbosprint

I could be wrong, but I thought the engine badges were under the marker lights on 71-72?

You might be right. I guess I might need to dig a little deeper. When I bought the truck the front clip came from another truck I believe was a 69.
So badging hole would be different. Again thanks for heads up and I will need to dig a little deeper.

[landarts]

Well the first search I did confirmed that jimbosprint was right. The front end on my truck came from a 69 truck, thus the two sets of holes, one for "Custom/20" and other for motor size.

I think even though it is not correct because the truck is a 71 I will still fill the bottom holes with new designed emblem.

Here is a picture I found on a thread to confirm that the 69 trucks had them on location closer to door.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by landarts

Well the first search I did confirmed that jimbosprint was right. The front end on my truck came from a 69 truck, thus the two sets of holes, one for "Custom/20" and other for motor size.

I think even though it is not correct because the truck is a 71 I will still fill the bottom holes with new designed emblem.

Here is a picture I found on a thread to confirm that the 69 trucks had them on location closer to door.

Cusrom badges=custom location. After all it is an Idaho Edition.....

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Cusrom badges=custom location. After all it is an Idaho Edition.....

I agree and that just means 4 more holes that I do not have to weld shut and metal work. Getting there one step at a time.

[Dieselwrencher]

They also could have been Deluxe emblem mounting holes on a late produced 71 or 72 Flint built truck. Probably a 69/70 fender though.

Very nice work on it. I'd love to get my beater K20 painted before winter but I'll be glad to just get it drivable.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

They also could have been Deluxe emblem mounting holes on a late produced 71 or 72 Flint built truck. Probably a 69/70 fender though.

Very nice work on it. I'd love to get my beater K20 painted before winter but I'll be glad to just get it drivable.

Yes I believe it to be a 69/70 front clip. Here is a picture of the truck when I got it and the hood had the emblem mounted on front which I believe is a 69/70 hood.
The 71/72 hood mounted in the center of egg crate grill.

Here is picture of truck when I first got it.

[Dieselwrencher]

It was the special dual bow tie edition.

[landarts]

Saturday I spent doing a few more wet sanding passes on the filler primer and seam sealed the lower fender cups and few other places that I thought would make it a better paint job.

Sunday when I got up an out into the garage I had a few hours to waste before I could move the fenders outside to spray at the right temps and still be in the shade. So I removed the front radiator support, inner fenders and a few other small pieces so I can get them scrubbed down and cleaned up for a couple of coats of satin black while the fenders are curing up. All of the above items need no metal work since there is no rust at all. Actually I think this is the first passenger inner fender I ever had that was not rusted at all, usually there is some sort of rust from the battery acid. The sheet metal will get a good scrubbing with soap and water, power washed and then another good scrubbing with a green Scotch Brite. A couple of coats of epoxy primer then a couple coats or satin black.

Shooting the fenders went well except for a couple of nats that I will have to remove after the paint cures up nicely. I expected to get something in the paint when you shoot it outside, goes with the choice. Once the fenders are cures up for a couple of days I will tape off and shoot the inner backsides that get covered with the inner fenders with the 3M under coating that come in a light green spray can.

While the front support and inner fenders are off I will get the truck ready to paint the firewall, possibly the engine, frame forward area and install the new 2.5 EZ Ride lift kit. Makes the most sense when all of the sheet metal is out of the way. Firewall is in great shape with no signs anywhere of rust, the only issue I saw was that the two bolt hole locations that hold the parking brake mount have small hairline cracks or rips in the metal. Will make the metal repairs there and reinforce the area so it does not happen again.

[Greg58]

Looking good!
Keep the updates coming.

[landarts]

After letting the fenders cook in the sun for about 48 hours on the side of the garage, I pulled them to the inside of the garage to address the extremely small nats that got captured in the paint.

I approached the nats in the paint the same way I would address a run in the paint. I use a straight razor blade that has both corner edges sanded to a round corner so that it does not catch an edge. Also I sand the blade with a 2000 grit piece of wet n dry paper on a plate glass to get a little bit of a hook effect to the edge of the blade. Then I proceed to go over the nats that are in the paint with a 45 degree scrapping motion. A few passes and that usually knocks it down to a flat surface. After that I go over each area and color it up with a graphite pencil to get it ready for wet sanding with 1500, 2000 and then 3M Trizact 3000 grit foam pad. Last step will be to go over the fender with a few different different grits of compounds and polishes to bring the shine back up on the single stage paint.

Pictures show after I have already gone over the fenders with the blade and then a once over on each areas with a graphite pencil to mark the locations for wet sanding.

Next up today will be doing some of the wet sanding and getting the other sheet metal (radiator core support, inner fenders, hood/grill post, and other smalls) ready for satin black.

[Dieselwrencher]

That's looking really nice. That radiator support looks seriously nice! I've removed some out of California trucks that weren't that nice. The paint on the fenders is looking great!

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good, it's coming along...

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That's looking really nice. That radiator support looks seriously nice! I've removed some out of California trucks that weren't that nice. The paint on the fenders is looking great!

I was a little surprised that there was no rust at all on the radiator support or on the inner fenders. This might be the second truck in over twenty years with that happening. Not really sure on the true backstory on this truck why the front sheet metal was from a 69 truck and if that was a complete front clip install. Anyways I am glad that it is in the shape it is and did not have rust to deal with.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks good, it's coming along...

Thanks for the mention, I appreciate it!
------------------------------------------------------------

Was able to get out in the and get the sheet metal power washed that needs some black satin paint to go with the newly painted fenders. After that I moved over to wet sanding the areas that were scraped off with a straight razor blade. Using 2000 grit wet dray and a small modified block, then 2500 grit and final pass over with the 3M Trizact 3000 grit foam backed wet n dry.

It will need a few passes with the buffer with compound then to finish it up with a round of polish. Basically the same process I did on the cab when I had a few runs to fix. Hopefully this will let me move on to the door painting and the hood to wrap up the outer sheet metal painting.

[landarts]

Started looking over the fenders in a little better light and noticed some orange peel in a few places on both fenders and over 18 nats on the drivers fender. So with that discovery I decide to color sand them with 1000 grit paper to get them a little more flatter and allow for a great buff out.

Started with the drivers fender and a Sharpie and began by marking out all nats and one small area on the fender rim that had a little run to flatten out. I knocked down those areas with a Dura-block and 1000 grit wet n dry paper. After that was finished I went over the whole fender to flatten out the paint. Anywhere there was body lines or ridge I stayed away from until the end. I finished those areas with a soft Dura-block and a worn piece of 1000 grit which really seamed to not be so hard on the edges.

Worked and on a few other items getting the other sheet metal ready for paint and contemplating the work path to get the firewall prepped and painted. Since on the 4x4 trucks the motor sits so far back against the firewall I don't see any other way to get the firewall prepped and painted without removing the motor. The only other way would be to disconnect and jack up the cab and move it back a bit on the frame. Again not sure on the path yet.

Pict 1 - drivers fender marked out with Sharpie and ready for sanding
Pict 2,3 - drivers fender after sanding
Pict 4- passenger fender almost done

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by landarts

Started looking over the fenders in a little better light and noticed some orange peel in a few places on both fenders and over 18 nats on the drivers fender. So with that discovery I decide to color sand them with 1000 grit paper to get them a little more flatter and allow for a great buff out.

Started with the drivers fender and a Sharpie and began by marking out all nats and one small area on the fender rim that had a little run to flatten out. I knocked down those areas with a Dura-block and 1000 grit wet n dry paper. After that was finished I went over the whole fender to flatten out the paint. Anywhere there was body lines or ridge I stayed away from until the end. I finished those areas with a soft Dura-block and a worn piece of 1000 grit which really seamed to not be so hard on the edges.

Worked and on a few other items getting the other sheet metal ready for paint and contemplating the work path to get the firewall prepped and painted. Since on the 4x4 trucks the motor sits so far back against the firewall I don't see any other way to get the firewall prepped and painted without removing the motor. The only other way would be to disconnect and jack up the cab and move it back a bit on the frame. Again not sure on the path yet.

Pict 1 - drivers fender marked out with Sharpie and ready for sanding
Pict 2,3 - drivers fender after sanding
Pict 4- passenger fender almost done

Nice job, it looks great to me. I've done show work but if it's going to be driven it looks great! I plow mine through brush to get to mining claims, so nothing fancy on my truck. It still works for a living....lol

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Nice job, it looks great to me. I've done show work but if it's going to be driven it looks great! I plow mine through brush to get to mining claims, so nothing fancy on my truck. It still works for a living....lol

This will not be a show truck, just a nice driver. When it is finished I will be driving as a daily driver for a few months then I will probably turn it lose for someone else to enjoy.

[best view]

Time for a update

[landarts]

Got the fenders ready to go back on and started looking at the attention the firewall needed so I allowed good old project creep to step in. Pulled the motor and found several wiring issues, bad spark plug wires, cracked exhaust manifolds, and a few more minor issues with the motor. While it is out I will freshen it up and add a few new items and paint to the motor.

I inspected the firewall and found no rust spots to repair which is always a good thing. On the driver's side where the emergency brake is bolted to the firewall, the metal was torn/ripped from the stress of the emergency brake being used. I cleaned up the metal real good then laid down a few spot welds and some hammer work to get it straightened up again. After that, I added a washer to each hole and spot welded those over the top of the repair. Then added some spot putty to clean it up. Then laid down some plastic on the garage floor and began spraying the firewall down with some Oil Eater Degreaser. Let that sit for about ten minutes and then go over the whole thing with a green Scotch-Brite and flush with some hot water and a sponge. Tomorrow I will get it scuffed up, cleaned and ready for paint on Monday.

While the paint cures for a couple of days on the firewall I will be getting the motor stripped down, cleaned, and prepped for paint. By then a few of the items I ordered for the motor should be in the shop to install.

[landarts]

Wrapped up the firewall sanding and the final repairs to the torn-out emergency brake area. Went a couple of rounds with DA sander, Scotchbrite, and 220 wet dry paper. Then I removed the wiper assembly and the brake booster from the firewall so I could prep those areas. Only found a few spots where there were some factory runs mostly in the tunnel area. Flattened those out with the DA and 120 grit.

I will go over once more on Monday then clean really good and get it ready for some primer then paint. While that is curing up I will start working on getting the motor cleaned up. So by the latter end of the week, I can start working on getting the front portion of the frame cleaned up and painted along with the inner fenders and core support.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by landarts

Wrapped up the firewall sanding and the final repairs to the torn-out emergency brake area. Went a couple of rounds with DA sander, Scotchbrite, and 220 wet dry paper. Then I removed the wiper assembly and the brake booster from the firewall so I could prep those areas. Only found a few spots where there were some factory runs mostly in the tunnel area. Flattened those out with the DA and 120 grit.

I will go over once more on Monday then clean really good and get it ready for some primer then paint. While that is curing up I will start working on getting the motor cleaned up. So by the latter end of the week, I can start working on getting the front portion of the frame cleaned up and painted along with the inner fenders and core support.

It's getting nicer and nicer. It's looking good!

[landarts]

Items purchased to freshen up the motor are starting to show up. Looks like it will be another to days before I have everything I need so I better get on to the cleaning process. This should really complete the freshening up under the hood after all the painting is done. Also a few of the items below in the list will allow the motor to run a little better and have a little more get up and go.

Here are items that are ordered:
Pertronics Flamethrower distributor small Cap HEI
Flamethrower coil
Taylor plug wires
Wire loom
AcDelco R45ts plugs
Edelbrock 1406 auto choke carburetor
Edelbrock Performer intake manifold
Edelbrock valve covers and air cleaner dress uo kit
FelPro gaskets
Ram horn exhaust manifolds
Flywheel
Clutch Kit
New engine wiring harness
Battery cables
New ground straps
VHT ceramic engine paint

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice repairs on the e brake mounting holes. That is always good to find no rust on your cowl/firewall. I'm currently digging out an old cab I didn't want to fix 10 plus years ago so I can fix it for a K20 I have. Cabs are hard to find in decent shape and at a good price. Nice parts list for the 350!

[Ol Blue K20]

It's gonna look great and have little get up and go too.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice repairs on the e brake mounting holes. That is always good to find no rust on your cowl/firewall. I'm currently digging out an old cab I didn't want to fix 10 plus years ago so I can fix it for a K20 I have. Cabs are hard to find in decent shape and at a good price. Nice parts list for the 350!

Thanks for tuning in!

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

It's gonna look great and have little get up and go too.

I hope it makes a difference when it is all said and done. Thanks!
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Was finally able to get things taped off and etching primer over the areas where I had wet sanded through to metal. Pulled off the wiper mechanism and was able to get everything cleaned up in there so that I can attempt to get a little color in those areas in the cowl. It is a really hard area to paint it right but it does need some paint so I will turn down the nozzle and see if I get it done without too many runs.

The firewall took some time to get it really clean after all the sanding, scrubbing with hot soap and water, degreasing, and then rinse and repeat. Can't wait to get this part done then move on to get the front portion of the frame cleaned up and painted so this can go back together and be mobile again.

Below are a few pictures after the first coat of etching primer is on. Also a picture of all the items that have shown up for the motor.