Junkyard Jimmy Super Low Buck Build Thread

[hgs_notes]

Good news/bad news. First the good, I think I found the passenger side fender. I actually found a pair of fenders and a hood, rust free AZ parts. I'll be going to look at them tomorrow, but I'm almost certain I'll be bringing it home. And the bad news, I got the bushings from Summit I was waiting for today, but it was just the 2 top shackle bushings, so I had to order another set for the springs themselves. Let's just say the information and image on their site was not even close to an accurate representation of what they were selling. At least they were in stock and should be here in a few days.

Now I have pretty much all the major parts to put the jimmy back together. Frame patches, bushings for the rear leafs, brackets for shackle swap, new e brake cables, new bushings for transfer case, chassis paint, gas tank, and body mounts/bushings. The body tub is just sitting and waiting to be cleaned up and primered. I have all of the interior parts I need for now, Should have everything for the front clip except the passenger side inner fender, I think I have 2 good doors (might have to cut truck doors, but I have them) tailgate should be here friday, I have 2 good tops to pic from and at least one solid hatch right now. I guess the only things I'm still looking for are the vortec heads and intake for my rebuilt short block and some lifted front leaf springs.

Next week will be a bit busy I think.

[hgs_notes]

I got a pair of fenders today from a 69 GMC. Found them on craigslist, month old ad, $50 for the pair. Driver side has one dent, not bad, passenger side has a couple dents, but I think I can hammer most of them out. They came with full trim and front eyebrows too. He also has a perfect hood that I'll have to go back for, it wouldn't fit in my car. Another good deal there. It basically needs a scuff and paint.

driver side dent...

pass side dents...


And the new tailgate was delivered. That was $190 total, but I think it was worth more. A couple dents on the inside, almost perfect outside (other than the hideous rattle can paint) and perfectly straight. Only problem is it doesn't say GMC. I can live with that for a while. I'm a fan of T korinek on parts. This was probably my 3rd or 4th buy from him.



So, now I just need the inner fender and some better engine parts. And let's not forget all the little miscelanious things that come up, but the bulk of the stuff is on hand or can be delievered in a few days. This is going to be a pretty nice ride.

[VA72C10]

great parts scores...shocked those fenders were so cheap and on for so long...

[hgs_notes]

Oh and here is the garage art I got at the swap meet. The wall is starting to fill up...

[VA72C10]

very nice! I'm doing the same thing in my garage....

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

very nice! I'm doing the same thing in my garage....

Nice, I can almost see the wall back there .

Here is a "How to" that I don't think I've seen before, maybe for good reason. How to rebuild 72 blazer/jimmy rear frame horns.

I've had 3 72 blazer frames, everyone was rusted at the rear body bushing mount. Kind of a hard part to come across, but I found out that suburbans all had a similar style. Not the same, but close, and they are somewhat plentiful because it's not tied to just one year.

So I started here.


First I cut off the horn section that was not rusted through. I cut right where the frame starts the downward bend.



Did a little sandblasting to get the rust off for easier welding.


Then using the bushing mount hole as a reference, I cut the burb frame section behind the hole. It was about 3/4" from the edge of the hole.


I beveled one of the frame sections to get a good root pass on the weld. I started by welding the inside of it at the top and bottom. This helps keep the frame section straight. Then I gring the outside of the weld joint down to the weld I just did. This is called back gouging, and ensures 100% penetration.




Then I marked the frame to cut off the rusted mount section. And then cut the new piece to match it.

[hgs_notes]

So the new driver side frame horn is made, but I did not weld it on yet.


Instead, I fabbed a new piece for the pass side, which was in real bad shape.


This one took more work. I made a pattern based off the shape it is supposed to be.



Since I really couldn't use any of the original horn, I used 3 sections of the burb one to make a very close replica of it. I cut the end of the burb horn off, wiich is much shorter than the jimmy one from the bend back. Then I cut the bushing mount area of the burb one. I placed those 2 sections on the pattern, and used a piece of the burb horn that was excess and cut it to fit between the two.



I think it turned out pretty good. It cost me $30 for the burb frame pieces, and a couple hours of my time. Even if I just used some truck frame sections, which I had, I still would have had to section and weld it in, and get the bushing mount holes cut in, and then find inner bumper brackets because this never had them.

[hgs_notes]

I figured I was overdue on my accounting, so I just added it up. I was at $1003, and have since bought bushings for the rear leafs and shackles and t-case, e-brake cables, new exhaust system, the frame pieces, a fender and tailgate, a gas tank and the chassis paint, which all together cost me $614. I sold the old jimmy dash and some side moulding for $60, scrapped the old body for $50 bringing the balance to $1507.

Is that good or bad? It'll have new brakes, exhaust, reconditioned frame, new bushings and mounts, gas tank, and a bunch of original rust free body parts. The downside is that it's not running, will need some significant body work, and more hours than I care to think about right now.

[1956cameo]

It's coming along nicely; and the amount invested looks good to me. My project is nowhere near as far along and my budget is way higher right now.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

It's coming along nicely; and the amount invested looks good to me. My project is nowhere near as far along and my budget is way higher right now.

I could have done it cheaper, but but not by much. When a fifth of the total build cost is headers and exhaust, I guess I'm doing ok. Some things just can't be avoided, like the brake cables and other brake rebuild parts, all bought new. The project has just evolved over the years.

[hgs_notes]

Got the new frame horns welded on, and the rear crossmember replaced.



Then I took a few minutes with a hammer and wood block and pounded out most of the dent on the driver side fender.


I brought the pass side fender to my neighbor. He's a body guy and should be able to hammer out the dents a lot better than me. I think for now I'm going to let the rear shackles stay as they are. The tires I have a line on right now are just 32" and a lift isn't needed. Most say you can run 33" tires without a lift on these. If I feel the need later, I'll have the parts to do it.

So the plan for the week:
Pull engine/tranny/t-case Done
Finish sandblasting Done
Paint frame Done
Replace engine with my rebuilt shortblock
Re-install engine/tranny/t-case
Install exhaust
Install gas tank
Primer underside of tub
Install tub

We'll see if I can get that far before I make my list of what's next.

[onetoncrewcab]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

...bringing the balance to $1507.

Is that good or bad? I'll have new brakes, exhaust, reconditioned frame, new bushings and mounts, gas tank, and a bunch of original rust free body parts. The downside is that it's not running, will need some significant body work, and more hours than I care to think about right now.

It's all good. The hours will be well spent. What would you be doing if you did not have this project to keep you amused? Sitting on a couch with a remote and 'tato chips? Sitting at a bar getting wasted? I've been getting a machine shop put together in my basement. The way *I* see it is when I am downstairs working on a project, my wife definately knows where I am at and what I am doing.

Oh....I was also going to mention....did you put any plastic down to catch the sand? You can possibly reuse the sand at least once if you could come up with a way to strain some of the larger chunks out.

Your project looks great.

Mike

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by onetoncrewcab

It's all good. The hours will be well spent. What would you be doing if you did not have this project to keep you amused?

Working on my other truck project...:

Oh....I was also going to mention....did you put any plastic down to catch the sand? You can possibly reuse the sand at least once if you could come up with a way to strain some of the larger chunks out.

I didn't use plastic, but I did vacuum it up and put it through a screen. I used it up today, see below.

Your project looks great.
Thanks
Mike

Ok, got the engine pulled...


Then started blasting. I got some way cheaper sand at the lumber yard here in town. Like $10 for a 100 lb bag.



The other side bottom...



And there she sits, waiting for a little more cleaning and a coat of sticky black goo.

[VA72C10]

Nice progress and good work on the frame horns.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Nice progress and good work on the frame horns.

Thanks. I was kinda surprised how well it cleaned up. Considering the rust in the frame I had to fix, it could have been much worse after blasting, but I didn't really find any other trouble spots.

Going to try and paint the chassis tomorrow.

[hgs_notes]

I ended up doing a little more sandblasting, found some areas I missed. Then finished cleaning it up. The biggest challenge was the rear axle. I have no idea how that thing was so grimy. I scraped it, wire brushed it, sprayed it with brake cleaner, sand blasted, not necessarily in that order. I removed some narly exhaust hangers, and checked it over and decided it was good enough. So I painted it. The summit chassis paint mixed up good and sprayed real good. The only obstacles I had were my cheap spray gun that failed half way through the first batch of spraying ( I used my other gun for the first time), the wind, some stuff blowing out of the tree by the driveway, and working around all the crap mounted up front yet. The hardest thing about spraying the frame is getting around the spring hangers and where the crossmembers meet the frame rails and around the front suspension.

[VA72C10]

Looks great!!! Nice work...I think a painted frame is a very rewarding thing (it is for me at least) gives you a real sense of accomplishment and means you're going to start working with clean parts now.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Looks great!!! Nice work...I think a painted frame is a very rewarding thing (it is for me at least) gives you a real sense of accomplishment and means you're going to start working with clean parts now.

To me, it means it's time for stuff to start going back together. Tomorrow I think I'll try and get the driveline back in it.

[71swb4x4]

It's really moving along Mike. At this rate you should be going topless by summer.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

It's really moving along Mike. At this rate you should be going topless by summer.

Not quite, well maybe, but you are formally invited to come over this weekend and help me throw the pile back together. I'll provide the food and beverages.

[scooterskoolkustoms]

I love what your doing,This is how true hot rodding started out.Not openning your wallet but looking and making what you found work.Keep it up.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by scooterskoolkustoms

I love what your doing,This is how true hot rodding started out.Not openning your wallet but looking and making what you found work.Keep it up.

Thanks, but my wallet hasn't been ignored.

Todays progress was not quite as much as I had hoped. I did a lot of work, but the drivetrain is not in yet. I stripped the engine down and pulled it from the tranny.



I started installing some of the parts onto the new shortblock. I went to the local junkyard and found some heads to use. Not the vortecs I was planning on, but an old set of 283 heads with 60 cc chambers. They are soaking in the parts washer tonight. I think the rockers and rocker balls are shot, too much rust. I'll pull the ones from the old engine along with the push rods. I should be able to use the recycled intake also. Good thing I had almost a complete set of gaskets laying on the shelf. I should be able to get the engine back together tomorrow and if it gets bolted to the tranny, I'll set it in place.

I did manage to clean up the tranny/t-case and spray some rattle cans at it. I'll still have to fix the leaks, but at least they'll be cleaner parts to work with.

[VA72C10]

Amazing what a little rattle can can do, huh? Looks like you put in a bunch of work today....keep at it! You'll have a driver in no time!

[hgs_notes]

Took a day off from the project yesterday, and today I worked on getting the drive train back in. The biggest issue here was getting the new bushings in for the t-case mount to the frame. After a couple tries, I figured it out though.


Finished the day by hooking up the drive shafts.


No major obstacles, but found out the heads I picked won't work out. No accessory holes for mounting the alternator. Also, some of the exhaust seats were fried probably because they were not hardened. So I'm going to return them and keep looking.

I put one on the engine just to have something to mount a header onto. Before tear down I did some mock up on the exhaust kit I got. The pipe from the pass side header didn't seem to fit right, so I played around a bit today with the routing and think I have it figured out. Worst case is that I''ll pull the heads off the old engine, put in some new valve seals and swap them later when I have the vortecs or equivalent I want. I would like to be able to mount the exhaust before the body goes on. I'll work on that tomorrow and get the new gas tank mounted. Depending on time I'll see if I can get the new tub in the driveway.

[67chevy1series]

nice job looks good