Budget Build 1985 K20

[JJH Jimmy]

I got the boat anchor out and the hump patched this weekend. I cut the patch for the hump from the parts truck. And just like that, with a little welding and grinding like it was never there!

Also, i didn't know that the metal in these trucks has some galvanizing to it? Crap sucks to weld.

[JJH Jimmy]

Ok. I have not been updating as i should. I have been working on this when time allows. I got the transmission in and the transfer case re sealed and took it for a drive. It runs and shifts great. But, there is a clunking noise in the transfer case when it is in 4wd or in 2wd with the hubs locked. So that narrows it down to the output shaft. I noticed before i took it apart that it seamed to "catch" when i was spinning the output shaft with my hand? Everything looked good inside it and after i put it back together it spun smooth. Long story short, it is going to have to come out again. my guess is one of the bearings is bad. No big deal the body is coming off and i have the parts truck transfer case sitting in the corner.

[JJH Jimmy]

I scored me some craigslist hub caps and sold the remnants of the parts truck (happy wife!) and the 4 speed crap! I have also decided that i like the looks with the 285 tires and stock wheels with the 4" lift. so that is the way it will stay.

[JJH Jimmy]

Now with the majority of the mechanical work done it is time to start on the body work. I knew that there were problems in the front upper corners of the bed and this is what i found? I think this thing had an auxiliary fuel tank in it at some point by the looks of some of the holes but i am not sure what happened to the corners? The good news......pretty rust free!

[JJH Jimmy]

I saved the rotisserie that i built for my jimmy and built new arms for it for the bed. I got it on it in a rain storm! A little sketchy. I also made time to get my Jimmy out for the summer!

[JJH Jimmy]

I visited the local junk yard and got most of the patch panels that i needed for $26.00 and got to work!

[JJH Jimmy]

Wow I cant believe that it has been more than 6 months since i last updated! I wish I could say that I got 6 months of work done to the truck! I have been working on it but my plans for it have changed. It is going to be way nicer than i had anticipated. I just cant justify to put this much work in something and not have it exactly like I wanted it in the end. So my goal to have it done in a year isn't going to happen!

I hope to have the whole body ready to put color and clear on it in the spring so i have been spending the winter welding and beating on metal spraying primer and sanding.

[JJH Jimmy]

I took the bed to a local shop that rents a blasting booth to do your own blasting. Its not fun but at least i know it is done right. When i brought it home i sprayed epoxy on it and put raptor liner on the underside. I got it straight and put it in 2K so in the spring i can pull it out and block sand it one more time and then it should be ready for sealer, color and clear

[JJH Jimmy]

Next, i moved on to the fenders which got the same treatment as the bed and tailgate. Metal work, blast, epoxy, filler, sand, epoxy, filler, sand, 2K, sand, 2k!

[JJH Jimmy]

More fender pictures,

[JJH Jimmy]

Once the fenders were ready for paint I put new pins and bushings in the hinges and put the doors on to get the them adjusted and gaps lined up. They are far from perfect but i dont think they came from the factory any better. The doors open and close very well.

[JJH Jimmy]

I next moved onto the hood. I ordered a repop hood since i think this truck had an engine fire at some point and was going to be a real pain to try to get it straight again. Surprisingly the repop hood fits really well. I did add additional polyurethane foam under the supports since it had very little. I then scuffed the inside and stripped the outside and it got 3 coats of epoxy.

[JJH Jimmy]

Epoxy, filler, sand, repeat, 2k, sand, repeat, block sand, 2k, wait for color and clear.

I was surprised how much filler a new hood requires!

[JJH Jimmy]

Before I removed the doors to begin the metal work I doweled them so they go back on in the same spot and hopefully it saves me time and lessens the chance of dinging them up when it is time to reassemble. I did this on my Jimmy and it worked well.

[JJH Jimmy]

Time to fix some speaker holes. I cut the patches from some junk doors at a junk yard and used silicon bronze filler wire to weld them in. After some metal shrinking and stretching they cam out ok. Nothing a little filler cant fix!

[Katrina/10]

I just did the same thing with a speaker hole and got lots of warpage. Had to cut it out and do it over.

[Greenlee]

Nice work!

[LT7A]

Wow, you really are taking the time to make it nice. Great work saving on that rig. Glad to see the progress.

[JJH Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Katrina/10

I just did the same thing with a speaker hole and got lots of warpage. Had to cut it out and do it over.

Silicon bronze filler wire helps but it is not fool proof. It still takes a fair amount of hammer, dolly and a shrinking disk to get them some what straight.

[JJH Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Greenlee

Nice work!

Originally Posted by LT7A

Wow, you really are taking the time to make it nice. Great work saving on that rig. Glad to see the progress.

Thanks guys!

[JJH Jimmy]

I built a cart for the cab and I made it so it will roll over my motorcycle lift to save my back! I also made removable arms for it so I can flip it on its back for all the work on the bottom side.

[JJH Jimmy]

I ordered some GMT400 cab lights and drilled some holes. I will be using rubber well nuts to hold them on.

[JJH Jimmy]

Patched a antenna hole in the roof and the clutch master cylinder hole in the firewall.

[MTCK]

Work to date looks amazing. You are really putting in the time. What does the media blasting coin-op charge? That’s a great idea. Wish we had something like that here.

[JJH Jimmy]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Work to date looks amazing. You are really putting in the time. What does the media blasting coin-op charge? That’s a great idea. Wish we had something like that here.

Thank you! The blasting booth rental costs $150.00 for the day and all the media is provided. They also supply a supplied air hood. When the pot runs out which is often you have to shovel it to fill the pot again. It has some serious power and it would be easy to ruin panels rather quickly if you don’t know what you are doing. On my bed I stripped the bedsides with a DA and just blasted the underside an inside the bed. I did my whole Jimmy tub there and I swore I would never do it again because it is a miserable day! Funny how a couple years makes you forget!

They also have some large blast cabinets that you can use that cost $15.00 an hour. They work really good. I stripped the skins of my doors with a DA and did the rest in the cabinet and it only took about an hour for the pair