My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble

[rgunlock]

But all's well that ends well. Really, a few clarifications in the instructions could have saved me literally hours but in the end everything actually fit and looked just fine. I didn't bother with hoses (no AC hose crimper yet), electrical (no wiring in truck yet) or duct work (would all have had to come back out anyway and not anticipating cutting/drilling for those).

Pulled the evaporator back out from under the dash and packed up all the left over parts for final install. Next up, I've got to redo some bodywork on the firewall where welding those evaporator mounting bolts to the inside of the firewall caused filler/primer bubbling and I've got to redo the filler on the door edges where I "fine tuned" them a few weeks ago. Ordered some 2K Urethane primer/surface from Eastwood for the block sanding stage coming up. I'm actually kind of excited about that. Not the spraying and block sanding part, but knowing that after that I should be ready to paint

[y5mgisi]

What a hassle! Thanks again for sharing so that others might not share the same headaches! And congrats on getting so close to paint!

[Greenlee]

Looks good! I did the same thing you did and hung the brackets on evaporator/core support upside down on the first try.

I didn't have near as much drama with the brackets, but I used the serpentine belt setup. I did have a little trouble finding a belt that fit. I think the one I ended up using was listed for a Crown Victoria.

You have one more hole to drill in the firewall if you haven't done it already since your last pic. There is a drain tube for condensation from the unit under the dash. I used a level across the bottom of the unit and made a mark on the firewall. Then I went down about a 1/4 inch to give the drain a little fall and drilled a hole.

[rgunlock]

Hi, I have actually drilled for the drain tube. On mine, I drilled right at the top of the floor just before it joins the firewall. The firewall actually has about a 1" overhang there so you'll barely see the drain line from the engine compartment. This may provide more slope than necessary, but I believe it was only about an inch drop and keeps it mostly out of sight.

I've still got to find belts for both the alternator and the compressor. The VA instructions do provide suggested lengths and since my engine and accessories are otherwise stock I'm hoping this won't be an issue.

[Greenlee]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Hi, I have actually drilled for the drain tube. On mine, I drilled right at the top of the floor just before it joins the firewall. The firewall actually has about a 1" overhang there so you'll barely see the drain line from the engine compartment. This may provide more slope than necessary, but I believe it was only about an inch drop and keeps it mostly out of sight.

Ah, good idea.

[rgunlock]

Been a while since I've updated. Just noticed its almost a month. Made little progress in most of that time, but made up for it this weekend. I had redone the bodywork on the firewall (from AC test fit) and the door edges and got the truck shell reassembled again. This weekend started by getting the trim molding fit and drilled the holes in the aftermarket front fenders. Glad I did this before paint as I ended up filling a couple of the new holes when I wasn't happy with the fit.

Yesterday I scuffed the whole truck since the epoxy was well past the 72 hour window, cleaned with wax and grease remover and shot 2 more coats of epoxy. Then 3 coats of 2K primer. She's finally wearing a new color!

The 2K was setting in the cup almost faster than I could get it sprayed, and I was using a reducer. I literally had to mix enough for the gun, spray, clean the gun and repeat like 12 times. Took a LOT longer than I'd expected but its done.

[Greenlee]

Looking good!

Have you decided on paint color yet?

[rgunlock]

Thanks Greenlee! I'm still thinking dark camel which actually looks like a bright medium brown and was a color GM used in the late 70's. Got to admit though that flat black doesn't look half bad

Funny thing is (in kind of a weird way) while I was in the shop yesterday making this truck look nice, my 2002 Tahoe (current DD) was out in the drive just getting pounded by golf ball and larger size hail. Dinged the heck out of the hood and likely the roof.

[mjensen]

Rick, that is looking so good! I bet it feels good to be making some forward progress!

[y5mgisi]

Nice work! When do you think you will actually put "real" color on it? I think when (if) i get to that point on my 78, i just might faint from pleasure.

[rgunlock]

Thanks Mike. Actually, after I finally got done Sunday I felt more like I'd been beaten with a bat, but now that I can stand straight again I am feeling pretty pleased with myself

Y5mgisi - thanks, I am hoping to be ready to start doing real color in a few weeks. I still have to block sand the whole thing. I am hoping that I'll be satisfied with 1 pass of 2K/block sand, but since this is my first project I guess that is a little unlikely. I foresee a battle to convince myself I'll be ok with a 10-footer and get on with paint.

[y5mgisi]

Sweet! I want to try two things when i do mine. First is to use a product similar to feather fill. From what i gather its just an uber fill primer. The other thing is a random orbital long board. From my research, those to items combine to make the fastest work of the straightest body work.

[rgunlock]

I've got a Hutchins 3800 Orbital Action Long Board Air Sander (shown post #131). It does work pretty well for fairly large, mostly flat areas. It's a bit of a trick to control though. Not so bad on a horizontal surface, tougher on vertical surfaces.

[swamp rat]

For some reason i was under the assumption you could mix and refill a paint gun in the middle of a job without cleaning it, figured if the paint stayed wet in the gun you would be ok.. guess i was wrong huh... Nice work!

[rgunlock]

With epoxy primer, I was able to do just that SwampRat. But this 2K primer was setting up fast enough that it would clog the gun. I do have to admit that after the first couple times I decided to sacrifice the paint cup and lid and just clean the gun body and tip. From what I understand, paint won't have the same quick flash times as 2k primer.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

With epoxy primer, I was able to do just that SwampRat. But this 2K primer was setting up fast enough that it would clog the gun. I do have to admit that after the first couple times I decided to sacrifice the paint cup and lid and just clean the gun body and tip. From what I understand, paint won't have the same quick flash times as 2k primer.

I understand that Harbor freight sells disposable cups for ( at least some of )their paint guns, in case you could use the info..

[cmabolt]

Can't wait to see some color....

Chris

[rgunlock]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I understand that Harbor freight sells disposable cups..

Thanks for the tip swamp rat. I found them, and they are the same brand as the gun I was using so pretty likely to have the adapter that would work. $6.99 for 5 of them looks like a good investment. Sure beats cleaning the cup a dozen times in a day! Good luck on your door repair.

Originally Posted by cmabolt

Can't wait to see some color....

Chris

You and me both Chris! Can't wait to see yours completed, and for the big reveal when we get to see the whole truck in one picture!

[rusty76]

I've got to finishing reading this one but cool build!

[rgunlock]

Thanks for checking it out!

[mjensen]

Hey Rick! Are you done yet?

[rgunlock]

I wish! Nah, haven't posted much lately because I'm just doing a lot (well... maybe not a lot) of block sanding. That's a tough part of this for me to get real motivated for. Haven't seen an update from you in a while Mike - you getting out to the garage lately?

[mjensen]

No, I've had to take a break. It's just too overwhelming right now :-). In the meantime, I've been out playing with the RZR. Oh, and HAD to upgrade my new truck to a duramax lol. I will get back to old blue shortly.

[rgunlock]

Hey, congrats on the new ride Mike! But where's the picture? And with a ride that nice how is it going to motivate you to work on Ol' Blue? I'm deliberately driving my wife's hand-me-down 2002 Tahoe (freshly beat to hell by hail) with 200K+ miles on it to motivate me to get my truck done Plus, she won't let me buy an upgrade just to keep me on track

[mjensen]

Thanks Rick. Well, that is a good point I am planning on getting out in the garage today and at least do a little cleaning around the truck so that I can at least see it again I'll upload a pic in my build. I guess that will show people why I've been slacking LOL