Driver on a budget.

[TchncnDen]

As you can see in some of the pictures, the yards here are very small and there is only about ten feet between my neighbors house and mine. That and the fact that I have an attached garage means there will be no spraying of anything that can't be bought at Home Depot here! Well you can't get epoxy primer at Home Depot and that is what I'm using. Epoxy, body work, epoxy, surfacer, block, paint. I found a booth I can rent, but it's only in the budget to rent one time. A search online and it looks like there are many people rolling primer for spots, but they all say it can't be done for a whole vehicle. Well, common sense will tell you that if you can roll a spot you can roll the whole darn thing.

I remembered a paint rep coming in one day and he was in total amazement telling us he just left the boat yard. He said a guy just painted a 50' sailboat in Imron with a brush and a roller and it looks just as good as any sanded and buffed paint job he has ever seen. This is coming from a guy that has seen every paint shop in a 50 mile radius so he knows what he's looking at. I do a search for boat, paint, brush roller. It's called tip and roll, do a search for yourself, youtube too. Primer doesn't flow out anything like paint does, it dries too fast, but you get a not too hard to sand smooth surface. If I was going with a solid color I would be tempted to try and paint the truck with this method.

Just for the record, you CAN prime a vehicle with a brush and roller!!!!!!

[TchncnDen]

At some point I ripped out all of the rotten bed wood. I forgot to get a before picture but I'm sure you know what rotten wood looks like.

[70LonghornCST]

very nice work. Keep it up. Subscribed.

[67chevy1series]

looking good! and yeah if OSHA found out you would end up being in a O$HIT! moment!

[FrankieD]

Originally Posted by TchncnDen

I borrowed a spot weld dent puller from a friend. I didn't have the proper receptacle so I improvised. Don't try this at home, and whatever you do don't tell OSHA.

If you are going to do a lot of welding you can buy a receptacle for about $10 at HD it is basically the same as an elect dryer and be a lot safer.

I sprayed my whole frame and under body with POR 15 then over coated it with Rustolem Satin Black the biggest problem is that oil and brake fluid will I eat it up and with todays tree hugger laws the paint is getting worse they are doing away with oil base paint. If there is a old hardware store around you might be able to find some old stock. I found for around $100 you can get 1 gal Kirker Acrylic Urethane - Hot Rod Black Satin Finish & hardener which I will be using on the Core support and fender wells and re doing the frame and under body for a more durable finish.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/kirk...8-p-13771.aspx

[67cheby]

Nice work , looking great !

[TchncnDen]

With the epoxy on now it's time for a bondo party. Put it on and sand it off, repeat, repeat, repeat................................

[TchncnDen]

If you are going to do a lot of welding you can buy a receptacle for about $10 at HD it is basically the same as an elect dryer and be a lot safer.

I did use it that way but I was done in an hour and I was plenty careful around that thing. The extension I'm plugged into actually goes in the basement to my 30A dryer plug. For some unkown reason the spot welder has a 50A plug. I have a degree in electrical type things and I didn't even waste my time doing the math because there's no way a spot welder draws 50A. With that being said, I posted it as a joke and I hope no one takes me serious or even worse follows my lead. Be safe out there.

After the bondo comes more epoxy. There's a couple of minor imperfections to take care of before I put some surfacer on for blocking. It's going to stay in epoxy for a while though as I tackle some other parts of the project, such as getting it running.

[TchncnDen]

With this post we are current and up to date. I didn't get to this point nearly as methodical as the postings suggest. I usually have a couple of things going for various reasons, stip a panel, prime a panel, tinker with mechanicals, etc. Currently I'm working on prepping the interior for paint, painting the inside bed, painting the rear frame and getting the engine in.

To do an LSX swap a major hurdle is fuel delivery. There are several options

A) Buy a custom tank with electric pump for $1000+ NOPE
B) Buy a universal pump and hanger for $250 and modify it because it won't work with a 14" deep blazer tank. NOPE
3) Run an inline pump even though there are many problems of starvation because there is now way to mount the pump lower that the tank. NOPE
D) Buy a Walbro 255lph pump from craigslist and make your own hanger. WINNER!!

We have a ridiculously low budget here people. Regardless, I'm proud of how this one turned out.

[67cheby]

nice work on the pump !

[lynbarr]

That's my bro! He's awesome, ain't he? Subscribed.

[FrankieD]

It's got to be hard living in a neighborhood and trying to build something. You are doing a nice job. I like the Idea of doing it on a small budget I'll be taking notes. I get a lot of my stuff from craigslist and then sell parts there to reinvest.

[Meatman]

Fuel pump looks good, but what about the float and sender for your gauge?

[TchncnDen]

That's my bro! He's awesome, ain't he? Subscribed.

That really is my sister! It looks like she joined a classic truck forum.

Fuel pump looks good, but what about the float and sender for your gauge?

I don't have a sender yet because I don't know what gauge I'll be using. The factory sender hole is still available under the blue tape. The fuel pump is very close, but I should be able to orient the sender in a direction that won't interfere. Looking at the picture of the tank, the pump and sump sit to the left of the bolted on top plate. I did this so the sump would sit on a flat part of the tank and not on one of the strap seams. Everything from the midpoint of the top plate and to the right is wide open.

Also, I had to mount the pump on that side of the tank because I wanted to take advantage of the factory reliefs for the sending unit to run the fuel lines in. As it is, I may have to shim that side of the tank down 1/2" and/or route a pocket in the wood to keep the lines from hitting the bed wood. The fuel filler is too close to the frame on the other side to shim it any. I won't know the answer to that question until the bed is finished, but it's no big deal to shim.

[TchncnDen]

We had a cold rainy weekend so I had to stick to things I could do inside. First I shaved the gear indicator, painted and rebuilt the steering column. Then I welded and filled a patch for the rust in the header and filled some of the extra holes someone made in the dash.

[TchncnDen]

I had a little time left so I tackled something that wouldn't take to long. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but the side marker is hinged in preparation of a side fill tank.

[FrankieD]

Originally Posted by TchncnDen

I had a little time left so I tackled something that wouldn't take to long. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but the side marker is hinged in preparation of a side fill tank.

HOW THAT IS COOL!!! and I think a first

[TchncnDen]

HOW THAT IS COOL!!! and I think a first

I can't take credit for that one. I stumbled across one on here and researched how it was done. This is still going to be a truck used for hauling bikes, motorcycles and trips to Home Depot. I need to be able to fill up with a load in the back.

I like the Idea of doing it on a small budget

I'm doing my best to make sure small budget doesn't equal low budget!

[67c10rustbuket]

Looking good, I was doing steering column surgery at the exact same time, Isn't it fun. I like the tank filler mod too, I hacked the filler off my 97 parts truck thinking I may do that one also. but in the tail llight since I dont have side markers..

1Q- did the roll on prime give you that lumpy texture like painting a wall in the house or did it lay out smoother due to the thickness of the auto primer. And what type of roller did you use, the foamy one or the cheap fuzzy roller? thanks

[TchncnDen]

Looking good, I was doing steering column surgery at the exact same time, Isn't it fun.

Happy coincedence! In the late 80's I worked at a chevy dealer. You could start any GM product from that era almost as fast with a screwdriver as you could with a key. As a result we would get at least one theft recovery a week. Rebuilding the steering column paid 8 hours. The first one took 8 hours, the second about 4 and every one after that an hour and a half. There was only one other guy in the shop that would do mechanical so we loved em!

I like the tank filler mod too, I hacked the filler off my 97 parts truck thinking I may do that one also. but in the tail llight since I dont have side markers..

I thought about using the taillight too. There would be more room for a gas nozzle. I didn't go that route because the rear stake pocket is the only real support on the back of the bed and I didn't want to lose any stability as I will still be using this as a truck. I'm sure it could be braced up, or if you're not using to haul it shouldn't be needed, but the side marker was easier for me. I'm sure there will be plenty of room for gas. That's one big marker.

1Q- did the roll on prime give you that lumpy texture like painting a wall in the house or did it lay out smoother due to the thickness of the auto primer. And what type of roller did you use, the foamy one or the cheap fuzzy roller? thanks

Hey, that's two questions! I used the tip and roll method where you follow the roller with a brush. You can see streaks from the solvent in the marker pictures, but they're just that - solvent. It is a nearly smooth surface. As a test I left the window frame on the door as roller only and the tip and roll method much, much better. I started with a foam roller and switched to a regular 3/8" nap roller. I don't think it was any worse and it was a little easier. I was using a 4" roller and just cut down a full size roller cover to fit, that's 2fer1. Do a search on youtube for tip and roll painting, I think you'll be impressed. I did a lot of research on this and the boat guys rate the best paint jobs as tip and roll, then spray, then roller only. Yep, tip and roll rates higher than spray.

[TchncnDen]

I got a bit done this week. Painted the back of the frame the inside of the bed and the interior. I was starting to worry that I might be making this too nice to want to use as a daily driver when it's finished. At least the inside of the bed doesn't have that effect.

[gearys 5600]

Lookin good..

[FrankieD]

Did you use rustolem on it? Looks like it was sprayed on.

[VA72C10]

Looking very nice! Going to make a Very nice driver!

[Fatkid1983]

Damn I wished I had your body work skills, looking great!
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