The task that made you question it all..

[Molberg]

I'm curious to hear others opinions here. We all love working on our trucks.. but what was that one job that made you really shake your head during your project? Mine was tearing out the rotten wood bed... 4" pieces at a time.. and cutting 400 seized bolts.

[downbytheriver]

Probably doing the frame. I was pretty pissed that I didn't just have it sandblasted instead of wire wheeling it all. Rust dust all over everything I was doing. It looked like the grapes of wrath in my garage for a week.

I have a feeling the cab repairs you're helping me with currently aren't going to be very fun either

[Molberg]

Originally Posted by downbytheriver

Probably doing the frame. I was pretty pissed that I didn't just have it sandblasted instead of wire wheeling it all. Rust dust all over everything I was doing. It looked like the grapes of wrath in my garage for a week.

I have a feeling the cab repairs you're helping me with currently aren't going to be very fun either

X2 on the frame thing... you might enjoy the panel repairs. I did.. and am by no stretch a pro.

[metalfab]

Raising the metal bed floor up 3 1/2" This was almost a deal breaker, but very happy after complete! Lot more work that ever envisioned!

[Molberg]

Originally Posted by metalfab

Raising the metal bed floor up 3 1/2" This was almost a deal breaker, but very happy after complete! Lot more work that ever envisioned!

Was that to clear C notch/bags?

[RenoKeene]

Mine was the electrical on 'Rose'.
My biggest fear was turning the key and watching the truck burn to the ground. I thought I was way over my head so I hired a very smart youngster to help me out. That was money well spent as he taught me a ton of stuff I didn't know. The main thing he taught me was that I COULD figure it all out and make it work. I'm good to go now.

[metalfab]

Originally Posted by Molberg

Was that to clear C notch/bags?

No, to clear Narrowed Dana 60 with 4 link & it was a must for me to be able to get my 3" exhaust to exit behind the rear tires! With raising the bed floor, I had plenty of room to design my tail pipes over the rear end & out where they are supposed to be.

[sKnNyPpY]

Doing the axle flip basically by myself and driving home on the bump stops BAM! had me thinking I ruined my truck. Replacing the leaf springs all by myself and leaving wheel stud imprints in my chest really had me shaking my head but was definitely worth it, especially after relocating the shock mounts. And spraying brake cleaner in my eye while dropping the front (also by myself) means I never forget the safety goggles now.

[BMERDOC]

I can't say any one task has made it a deal breaker but...I'm doing my truck in stages. Stage One was getting the truck roadworthy and sorting it out over the last couple of years. Now I'm on to Stage Two which is to really go over it from bumper to bumper and make major improvements. I have sanded off six layers of paint and done some exploratory surgery to see how big the trucks problems are. I couldn't find a body guy so I had to take on the issues. I'm mildly afraid that it'll get out of hand and I'll end up with a basket case. I need to get it in E-primer because its at work so when it rains it has to stay inside. Management has seen steady progress and vast improvements so they don't really mind. I'd just like to be able to keep it outside when it rains so I don't feel like I'm under a microscope.

After all that I still need so many parts like handles, seals, gaskets, suspension, brakes and other miscellaneous things. I figure I'll need another $4k in it before warm weather hits. I feel like I'm under a undoable deadline like one of those car shows. By the grace of God it'll happen and I won't have to stress anymore!

[Molberg]

Originally Posted by BMERDOC

I can't say any one task has made it a deal breaker but...I'm doing my truck in stages. Stage One was getting the truck roadworthy and sorting it out over the last couple of years. Now I'm on to Stage Two which is to really go over it from bumper to bumper and make major improvements. I have sanded off six layers of paint and done some exploratory surgery to see how big the trucks problems are. I couldn't find a body guy so I had to take on the issues. I'm mildly afraid that it'll get out of hand and I'll end up with a basket case. I need to get it in E-primer because its at work so when it rains it has to stay inside. Management has seen steady progress and vast improvements so they don't really mind. I'd just like to be able to keep it outside when it rains so I don't feel like I'm under a microscope.

After all that I still need so many parts like handles, seals, gaskets, suspension, brakes and other miscellaneous things. I figure I'll need another $4k in it before warm weather hits. I feel like I'm under a undoable deadline like one of those car shows. By the grace of God it'll happen and I won't have to stress anymore!

Amen! You'll get it

[67ChevyRedneck]

Paint. NOTHING is more disappointing than spending countless hours fitting, sanding, smoothing, priming, painting, only to have the final product come out a disappointment.

[NGN]

Oh Man , 67ChevyRedneck that also , I forgot that time will also come . And yeh , all the above. But it's all good.

[Lou Boffa]

new bedwood (simulated in my case) install w/o pulling the bed. Hours on my back, under the truck, hardware falling in my face. arghhhhh

[In The Ten Ring]

Fighting it out with those rear brakes and now I have to do it all over again.

But I'm not upset and not depressed. I knew this job was going to be long and hard. *Some people pay extra for that kind of action.

[steelhorse]

Getting all the wife's stuff out of the garage so I could get the truck in.

[magwakeenercew2jh]

I think my "question it all" moments had more to do with me and my bad head-space than how hard the task actually was....
...Over five years of building, basically solo, there was a lot of self inflicted brain pain.

It went pretty smoothly from the bare frame up. That is, until I hammered myself each time along the way.

The worst red-eyes I can remember have to do with first-time fluid pours.

Trans: Filled it before I hooked up the driveshaft....Duhhhh.

Brake fluid: First, I chased leaks in the front disk supplies for two months. Motor, front clip and everything were already in place.
So, lots of floor time. It's fixed. Don't know which fix fixed it. Then, I couldn't get the master cyl cap to "seat". Brake fluid on new
inner fender paint and header chrome. Not good.

The coolant was easy. That is, until I figured out that I'd made a rookie mistake by not changing out the freeze plugs while the motor
was on the stand. Right after we fired her up, one leaked. Then another. And another. They looked new on the stand. Had to pull the motor for that one.

Back to the TH350 trans. Red juice Oozing out of the speedo cable gear/boss. New seal. Oops! Must'a been something else. Pulled the tranny. Trans guy
fixed something that was leaking up front and inside the casting.... Installed it again. Oops! leaking from somewhere else. I'd already put in a new, fancy
trans fluid stick (Locar) and o-ring. I chucked those for stockers. New fittings for the oil cooler....Tranny still leaked. I think it was too full.

Drove her 400 miles.

Rt. rear wheel cyl blew up all over the new Boss 338. Fixed it. Now the shoes grab 'cause they got saturated.

After all this time, I've come to just figure that if it's broken I either have to fix it, or sit around and cry about it. I don't like the crying feeling.
I try keep that for weddings, dog's dying, that kind of stuff.

[DT1]

No deal breaker but the thing that bothers me the most is the first new engine run in. I don't know about the rest of you but I just can't stand it! Start the engine and immediately bring to 2,500 RPM for 20 minutes. So hard for me to do. I know it's not that fast but a SBC sounds like it's going to fly apart at that RPM. Add the smell of baking paint, looking for leaks, monitoring oil pressure and temperature, listening for anything that sounds even the least bit odd and eying the fire extinguisher is a bit overwhelming. To this day I still can't do it! I let it run for 5 minutes and shut her down to cool. (A much needed anxiety rest for me) Then I repeat the procedure three more times.

[Grumpy old man]

What made me shake my head ? After building toys for everyone else for 35+ years and deciding to build 1 more promod for myself finding a '67 roller in good shape and setting a short build (4 months) doing everything myself ground up ! Yeah that's when I shook my head !

[CG]

I think the fact that it was in body and paint for over three years really sucked the life out of my desire. Now its been home for over three years without it being assembled. My nephews are helping with another truck project right now and they are chomping at the bit for me to bring the panel home to work on next.

My desire level to work on anything auto related is still very low, but when they are over on Sundays after church and spend a couple of hours helping out its pretty fun again. Course two hours a week makes for a slow build lol.

[WH0DAMAN]

I always have something on the custom vehicles we work on that I wish I would have never suggested. The thing on my 70 Suburban was installing the 2005 Yukon XL rear floor. After drilling out what seemed to be 1000 welds from the donor vehicle we had to cut, trim, fit & install it in my truck. The phrase "why did we start this" came up quite a few times. Glad we did it but it sure sucked the life out of the project for awhile.

[BMERDOC]

Originally Posted by DT1

No deal breaker but the thing that bothers me the most is the first new engine run in. I don't know about the rest of you but I just can't stand it! Start the engine and immediately bring to 2,500 RPM for 20 minutes. So hard for me to do. I know it's not that fast but a SBC sounds like it's going to fly apart at that RPM. Add the smell of baking paint, looking for leaks, monitoring oil pressure and temperature, listening for anything that sounds even the least bit odd and eying the fire extinguisher is a bit overwhelming. To this day I still can't do it! I let it run for 5 minutes and shut her down to cool. (A much needed anxiety rest for me) Then I repeat the procedure three more times.

I feel your pain. I have worked for BMW for years and have replaced or pulled so many motors so far down that when I hit the key there is still a major pucker factor. You never get used to it. I am always waiting for the "Death Rattle" or something else catastrophic to happen. These days all I do is hit the key and shout "WOO HOO"!! Let the sparks fly I'll sort it out later.

[stomper]

Pounding out all the rivets in the frame. About 50 of them. Did this to install C-Notch, ECE crossmember, and generally clean it up to get ready to send to the sandblast / powdercoater. Every one I had to grind grind grind the head off and then pound pound with a punch and big hammer.

[bbcmudtruck]

So far the only thing I regret was pulling a perfectly good running motor, just to tear it down because I didn't build it. I ended up spending close to 900 bucks on replacing things that really didn't need to be replaced. Seals, gaskets, intake, carb etc etc.. All this time I'm trying get to finish my 496 so I can pull the small block for the last time. I know why I pulled the motor, but I still can't understand why I put it back in! That little small block just ran too dam good for what it is and I had to find out why. Other than that my project has been well thought out... only due to the lack of time. I can carefully plan my next move since they are usually weeks apart!

[Molberg]

... gettin some good laughs out of this thread. Couldnt imagine a paint job gone wrong after all the work. Not there yet.. fingers crossed. (initial engine run up as well... never liked that one) Laps around the vehicle, looking for leaks, listening for bad sounds.. trying to remember what I forgot to do. After its too late

[Lattimer]

Mine was when the 327 I just rebuilt started knocking after 50 miles. I was seriously ready for the for-sale sign. Replaced everything in that engine and did everything by the book, no clue what I missed. Its still on the stand and I didn't even drain the oil. Just yanked it and replaced with a crate. Still pissed about it.