69 Custom 30 wrecker restoration

[bobs409]

Another update.

I got the engine completely stripped down and the block, heads, crank and intake are at the machine shop for a hot tanking.

All looks good but will be magnafluxed to check for cracks before going any further. Engine in my opinion appears to have 149K on it matching the speedometer. I will most likely have the cylinders bored about .10 over just to freshen and true it all up. The plan is to stay completely stock with the exception of installing hardened exhaust valve seats and stainless valves. I'll be assembling the engine myself as soon all the machining is done.

Other than that, I've been plugging away on the cab which is the big ticket item.I recently cut the old rotted front cowl section off and the donor cowl installed. I was originally only going to use the kick panels and firewall from the donor cowl however that would have been WAY too much work. Much easier to just swap the whole chunk over so that's what I did.

Now that the cowl is in place and welded at the pillars, I have welded in some braces to keep the door openings set. I also remove the top cowl panel and will be prepping that area for the new panel. Just waiting on spring Carlisle, Pa show so I can pick up the new cowl and full floor as well as rockers & cab corners. This job seems to be going faster than I thought it would. I can easily see a fully restored cab in my very near future!

[bobs409]

In the first 2 pics you can see why I replaced this part. They are are rotted all the way to the top. Probably the worst I've seen.

There was one other job that needed to be done to the new cowl. The donor section came from a 1967 and they use a different emergency brake set up so I cut that area out of my old firewall and installed it into the new one. (last 2 pics) I am also swapping the dash panels as a 67 had some differences. (plus I wanted to keep my original anyway) Other than those, the rest of the cab is the same 67-72.

To fill in the time between these big jobs, I've been cleaning, sand blasting and priming all the little items, and boy there are many! I have a little process going in my garage. Brackets, pulleys, clips, bolts, etc are bagged and tagged as they are removed, then they take a trip through the solvent tank, dry over night and then head to the sand blast cabinet. After that, they go outside and get cleaned with brake cleaner and a coat of etch prime is applied.

After they dry, these parts all go into what I like to call, "the done box". No finish paint is applied so I don't have to worry about scratching these pieces while in storage. All parts will be painted shortly before being reinstalled.

It's a huge undertaking, my very first "body off" resto but I am having a 1 ton of fun! (pun intended)

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Good to hear the motor looks good and keep pluggin away at that cab it will be done soon..

[RCbowtie69]

Looking good,you're making some headway,keep pictures coming

[GmtGmt]

updates?

[bobs409]

Yeh, it's been a while on the updates. I've been keeping track of the progress and taking pics so here's an update in the order they happened:


Now that the firewall section is in, it was time to remove the old floor or what was left of it. I just put down a few layers of cardboard on the ground and tipped the cab onto it's back, then uprighted it onto the door frame opening.

In this position, I was able to drill out the spot welds at the back of the cab, one cut at the rear of each rocker and the floor was out. Now I'm just waiting on the new floor to come in.

One of the great mysteries about this truck is the "Wreck-Master" wrecker set up. I still haven't found any info on this company so finding replacement stickers for the boom wasn't an option. Luckily, I found some black and some brushed aluminum vinyl decal sheet and made new ones myself! They turned out great too. I simply traced the original decals onto paper and placed that over a sheet of black vinyl and traced out with an exacto blade. Once done, the black was stuck on top of the brushed aluminum sheet and trimmed to size.

Little details like this will make this truck stand out.

[bobs409]

While I'm waiting on the new floor, this is a good time to get the box removed. What a job that was! Looks simple enough but it's alot more clumbsy than it appears. LOL Plus trying to work on 3/4 inch stone is murder! This will be the last part I'll finish so the box gets set aside for now.

My main goal is to get the cab and the frame done this year but things are moving along nicely so I will probably get alot further. One other thing I've been doing is collecting all the new parts. My garage is getting full of those nice cardboard boxes stuffed with shiny new parts! More to come...

[bobs409]

Now that the box is off and out of the way, this is a good time to strip the frame of all removable pieces. There were a few "thin" areas on the frame rails (behind the leaf spring brackets) from rust flaking so I cut the old metal out and welded in some new. Once all done, you'll never know it was repaired.

I was originally going to attempt to sandblast the frame and parts but after looking into POR15 products, I am going that route instead. I've never used it before but have heard good things about it. This will work great on the underside of the box too.

I'm in the process of prepping the frame now. The plan is to thoroughly clean, wire wheel and clean again, then treat with their metal ready, then rinse. Once dry, this will recieve 2 coats of POR 15.

Some areas have pock marks so for that I bought their body filler which will be applied while the last coat is still tacky.

Once all that is done, it will get sprayed with Chassis coat which should be the correct sheen of black.

[bobs409]

Got alot done on the frame but it's a long dirty process! And boring! I did get some parts like the rear springs and some brackets completely done and coated with POR but I have a long way to go.

The new floor board finally came in and it's a beauty! This is the right way to fix an old truck floor. No patch work here and NO hidden rust left behind. I've been waiting for this piece so now the frame work will be put on hold while I get back to the cab.

My first test fit went very well. Only 2 small areas to trim and it set right in place. Today I began welding it all in. A few more welds tomorrow and I can upright it and begin installing the lower pillar panels, outer rockers and cab corners.

Feels good to actually be putting parts on instead of just taking things off!

[no moa]

Excellent work!!! Who did you get the floor from?
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[bobs409]

Originally Posted by no moa

Excellent work!!! Who did you get the floor from?
Posted via Mobile Device

I bought it from a vendor within driving distance to save on shipping. It's made by Dynacorn International and it's absolutely perfect! I wouldn't change a thing.

In fact, I've purchased many things made by Dynacorn like full quarters and trunk parts for my 63 Impala and they were all beautiful and went right on without a problem. They are really on the ball!

[no moa]

Originally Posted by bobs409

I bought it from a vendor within driving distance to save on shipping. It's made by Dynacorn International and it's absolutely perfect! I wouldn't change a thing.

In fact, I've purchased many things made by Dynacorn like full quarters and trunk parts for my 63 Impala and they were all beautiful and went right on without a problem. They are really on the ball!

I will check them out. Thanks. Excellent job!
Posted via Mobile Device

[dougminton]

good progress. Ill follow along.
Posted via Mobile Device

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Wow you are really making some headway..

[RCbowtie69]

Wow you made some progress,it's looking great & keep the pictures of the progress coming,it's going to be one nice wrecker when it's done,Keep on truckin''

[heeroyue2002]

looken good

[bollybib]

You're an ambitious guy (I was gonna say crazy but nevermind that ). I spent some time this morning reading through your thread. I like your approach. The way you write about it and your enthusiasm comes through loud and clear, I'm loling when you lol, LOL !

You're lucky to have a lot of original documentation. The work you've done on that cab is amazing. Looks like you replaced more than half of it. The wrecker stickers came out cool, too. I hope that you will find something on Wreck Master, I'll keep an eye out, too. I've solved a few mysteries on my truck as I've gone through it, quite satisfying I think.

Regards

Jim

[bobs409]

Thank you Jim and everyone. I appreciate the kind words. I'm still plugging away at it. I get 4-6 hours work everyday in on it. When I'm not outside working on it, I'm inside ordering parts.

This is the first time I've ever documented a resto and it's really the way to go. Take lots of pics and write down things as they happen.

More updates to come...

Originally Posted by bollybib

You're an ambitious guy (I was gonna say crazy but nevermind that ). I spent some time this morning reading through your thread. I like your approach. The way you write about it and your enthusiasm comes through loud and clear, I'm loling when you lol, LOL !

You're lucky to have a lot of original documentation. The work you've done on that cab is amazing. Looks like you replaced more than half of it. The wrecker stickers came out cool, too. I hope that you will find something on Wreck Master, I'll keep an eye out, too. I've solved a few mysteries on my truck as I've gone through it, quite satisfying I think.

Regards

Jim

[67chevyc10719]

love the wrecker! great find.. i love wreckers.. i wn two of them.. i will never sale.! there both chevy.. dude i cant wait t see see it done..

[tow guys]

Looking great Bob. Jim and I just got back into ours after a bit of a break.
I have a question for ya. Any idea where to get new (or used) drums for the rear? We have an Eaton HO72 (I think...it may be an HO 52) rear and may need to replace the rear drums. Having a heck of a time locating any new or used for that matter. Any idea what crosses over? Does yours have the same set up as ours?

[bobs409]

Yep, mine has the same rear and drums. I don't think you can get the back ones new anywhere from what I heard. Going to be a junkyard part at best. I'm thankful mine are still good.

[texastruckjunky]

Nice work. Can't wait to see this one done.

[bobs409]

A long overdue update to this build thread:

Got the rear back in and the refurbished brake drums back on. The rear part of frame is done and just in primer for now. Note the bolt heads are gold. I bought all new Grade 8 bolts to replace the factory rivets I cut out so these will be painted black with the frame later. I'll wait until the whole frame and front suspension is done before spraying it with Chassis coat or SEM. (see pic's #1 & #2 below)

Right now, I'm in the process of removing the front coil springs and all suspension/steering components so I can clean and detail everything. (see pic #3 below)

The block and all parts just came back from the machine shop. Block needed to be bored .30 over and I upgraded to hardened valve seats & stainless valves but otherwise, the engine will remain stock. Nothing custom or modified on this one. I have all the new parts stock piled up so I'll be putting it together very soon. (see pic #4 below)

Transmission is all cleaned up now. I have to make a plate to fix the hole on the bottom made by the junkyard loader forks and a nice coat of red oxide primer is all this will need to finish. (see pic #5 below)

[bobs409]

I scored a set of (6) newer non split wheels with very good tires at a local junkyard recently. The 4 back ones are like new and all match each other. The 2 fronts are very similar to the rears and in good condition. They are all Firestone truck radials. Sure beats paying for new tires! I'm giving the wheels the POR treatment and after that, will be shining up the tires and they'll be sharp looking! I'll have all of these rebalanced for good measure. Here's a before and after shot.

Looked like hell when I got them but second pic shows one cleaned up with 2 coats of POR 15. At $25 a piece, I wasn't complaining.

One thing I'd like to mention is the thing I found most irritating about this build. It's actually getting all the parts! Between comparison shopping to get the best deals, back orders, high shipping costs and some parts just being difficult to locate, it has to be the worst part of this build. I'm still trying to get a new inner cowl panel.

I've searched all over and found this item ranges from $195 to $315! Add UPS oversize III or truck shipping on to that and it's a real expensive PITA! Why some vendors can ship UPS and others insist on truck shipping is a mystery to me. And why is there such a price difference? The word GOUGE comes to mind. ?? I've even been to a big local car show in hopes of finding one but none of the vendors had any.

Luckily, that piece isn't really needed right now so I have time. I believe I have about 99.8% of all the parts needed now. The only thing I can think of that I still need yet will be some 1/8 inch sheetmetal for some box repair, a new windshield and a gallon of 514 red paint! (actually it's red/orange IMO)

Still haven't found anyone local that can fix my bent driveshaft. Just another one of those troublesome items. Trying to find one is a junkyard is impossible! When you are lucky enough to find a 1 ton, they already picked it up with the loader which bends driveshafts immediately (which is why I need one in the first place!)

Staying positive, focused and continuing forward bit by bit. I've learned very quickly that doing a full restoration is alot like eating an elephant, you have to take it one bite at a time.

[no moa]

wow, what an amazing restore. Can't wait to see the finished product. Excellent job.