Our new Apache

[Divine 59]

There is a patch panel to fix the radio area, so you won't have to remove the entire dash. I would check it out thoroughly and make sure there are no other problems with the dash. Being a 59 owner look at the typical problems.

Rust at the front fender supports.
Rust at inner and outer cab corners
Check the hinge pockets on the cab and the door
Floorboards and supports
Cab mounts
Rear fenders

Mine was pretty rust free, but the cab corners, drivers floor and fender support rust along with the rear fenders were my "spots".

Be careful if you select sand blasting. Someone that does not know what they are doing could warp your panels.

Might look at soda blasting. It is safe on the glass and the rubber. That way you don't have to disassemble everything.

Buy some seam sealer too. You will need it after blasting, especially sand.

[lynx5653]

Thanks for the reply, we were looking into soda or plastic for the blast media. So far as dash goes it is the radio hole that was cut, but there appears to be paint pealing or bubbling around most of dash knobs is this normal or does it indicate a rust problem?

outer cab corners were replaced according to po ,havent been able to really look for other problem areas as truck still wont fit into garage.
My left rear fender does have some rust problems that are obvious and bed panel above steps has diamond plate covering bad spots from what I was told. appears to be some rust on inner step right side inside door.

will know more soon and hope damage is limited, we are new to all this but willing to try and repair what we can.

[_Ogre]

i had my cab sand blasted, the metal is thick enough to sand blast it, i had every piece on truk blasted.
sand blasting will remove multiple layers of paint, old body work and any rust under it very fast.
media blasting in my opinion should be saved for light duty blasting, fiberglass bodies or unlimited budgets.

[lynx5653]

Thanks for reply Ogre, will ask about sand blasting also.

[Divine 59]

Yes, my truck was sand blasted. Just be aware it removes EVERYTHING. Be prepared to seam seal, and study every detail. Your truck will need to be smoothed out with a skim coat of filler (in my opinion it should be used very sparsely). Other option to filler would be some of the lead replacement fillers. I considered them, but went with a good filler to smooth out the inevitable ripples.

[lynx5653]

Started to dismantle truck,front fenders inner and outer,rear fenders hood,front bumper,tailgate, doors all removed. Front fenders were welded to cab,lower door hinge welded to door, lots of rot in floor and cab pillar both sides, floor,firewall etc.

was going to just rebuild on blazer frame but front frame is broken on passenger side, body was lifted 4" to get it to sit on frame however it didnt work to well firewall is sitting on valve covers,distributer is pinned into firewall.

Am going go look at an original frame in morning hope it is good shape. Plan is to put blazer running gear under original frame. Found a local source for used body parts all primed any ready to install,minus rear fenders all I need to do is fix the mess in the cab if that is possible.

pictures in build thread under The build Begins