Junkyard Jimmy Super Low Buck Build Thread

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

Hurry up and finish the pickup already. I want some more Blazer progress pictures!!

Lol, yeah it's been a while. I swear I'll get something done and posted soon. I have lots of excuses, the truck is just one of many.

[hgs_notes]

Heres a big thank you to motomadman132 for making the extra effort today to meet up with me so I could purchase the long sought after GMC tailgate.

I finally caught a break and found an ad for an affordable GMC tailgate that I wasn't too late on. It was a new reproduction part that he had painted, but then decided to part out his project. This is probably the only body part I ever bought that is a scuff and spray part.

Speaking of which...
Before:


After:


I just need to get the sides scuffed and I'll be able to try out my paint to see if I like it enough to keep it.

[VA72C10]

Nice! And that thing was a score with the hardware like that!!!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Nice! And that thing was a score with the hardware like that!!!

Yeah, it was a bargain. My patience paid off.

Today I tried spraying car paint for the first time. Let me just say this, not as easy as it looks. I think my technique is ok, no major runs or orange peel etc. I think the biggest problem was the harbor frieght spray gun. My first 2 coats were with just paint and activator, the can says reducer should not be needed, but can be used. It had a rough texture to it, really granular looking.

So I biked over to the body shop for advice, they said it's probably the gun, but try adding reducer. I did 2 more coats after adding about 1 part reducer. It smoothed out the finish real nice, but the color pigment was not staying put. The flake seems to be holding alright, but the tint is building up in low spots and corners, etc.

Bike back over to the body shop and he said I might not be waiting long enough between coats. It's a bit cool today and 5-10 minutes is probably not enough flash time. After 30 minutes it was still tacky and in the low spots where it got heavy it is just plain wet.

So my plan is to just let it dry good. Then re-scuff it and then try spraying with my other gun, without reducer. If it lays down nice and smooth and even with that, then we'll call it a day. If it's grainy again I'll add a little reducer and see if that helps. And if the temperature is similar to today I'll let it flash much longer between coats.

I know part of the problem is the paint itself. Yellows don't cover as well, this one has a ton of flake in it and it is somewhat like a candy or pearl also. All things that make spraying it harder from what I've been told. The body guy said that if I continue to have problems and it's all prepped, they would spray it for me, but I really want to learn how to do this myself and working through these issues will just help me out later.

Anywho, here is a pic of my first try at paint. Any tips and advice will be welcomed. If I can get this paint to even out and look good it's really going to pop out in the sun. I think the color is awesome. If I have more problems I might check on getting the paint shop to match it with a camera and mix up regular base coat, which may solve many problems, but cost significantly more.

[VA72C10]

Love the color! Yes sir...that will POP in the sun!

[hgs_notes]

Quick morning update. I got up early and went out to the garage. The paint had finally finished drying. I turned up the heat in the garage over night. I pulled out one of the other spray guns, mixed some paint and tested it on a white board. Icky. Splattery uneven mess. The gun would blow air without paint every couple seconds and I couldn't get good atomization when it did spray paint. So I got my primer gun out, which is the same gun with a bigger tip, switched out the tips and tried that. Much better. First gun went in the trash can, it wasn't the first time I had trouble with it.

Then I sprayed one coat without any reducer, kind of grainy and thin, but pretty even. I added a little reducer for the second coat, and turned up the air pressure to the gun, smoother, but still not as smooth as it should be. I have time for one last coat before I head out for work and I'm going to try a little less air and just a bit more reducer. The paint is actually nice and even now, it covered well and I'm just working to make it smoother. I might have to stop and buy a better gun today. If I can get the clear coat to lay down smooth I'll have it as good as I can do it with my beginner skill level. Wish me luck.

[hgs_notes]

The last coat of paint did not smooth out as I had hoped, but the color and metalic looked nice and even, it looked like a good base coat. So I let it dry through the day and then sprayed it with clear coat last night. (The summit paint has an 18 hour recoat window for those curious.) Pretty much had the same results with the finish of the clear on the first coat. The gun just doesn't move enough liquid for a good wet coat AND atomization. If I turn up the paint flow it just sprays droplets mixed in the mist and looks terrible. So what I did was just sprayed a very heavy coat by going over it several times. Then stopped and let it dry overnight. Here is what it looks like this morning...



The finish quality is not where it should be, but I can fix it.


So the plan going forward is that I'll wet sand it and buff it out, see how it looks and determine if I'll have to scuff and respray the clear, or all of it for that matter. The tailgate makes a great practice panel. I did order a new set of spray guns. I bought this StartingLine kit from Devilbiss, which I've heard good things about for a step up from the super cheapo guns. I got it a little cheaper through another site called automotive tools online ($131.58 shipped).
http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraygundep...mno=DEV+802343

I've learned some things though, do's and don'ts, etc. I'll get better at this with better tools and experience and guidance from the pros. I know I won't bother spraying the whole truck in my garage though. Just way too much junk floating in the air. I'll probably do the windshield frame, dash, insides of fenders and door jambs here, but all of the big areas will be done at the body shop.

[beonkey]

Man, I love the color" that is going to look great. I just started sanding on the Jimmy and going to try and do the paint myself as well, so any tips you post will be read by me for sure. Keep up the good work.
Posted via Mobile Device

[71swb4x4]

Looks good. Your attention to detail is impeccable, I am sure you will get the guns figured out and have a top notch paint job on the Jimmy.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by beonkey

Man, I love the color" that is going to look great. I just started sanding on the Jimmy and going to try and do the paint myself as well, so any tips you post will be read by me for sure. Keep up the good work.[/size]

Make sure you check out the forum here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...splay.php?f=16
Also ask questions of the right people if you're not sure about something. I'm a regular at a local body shop and even have them stop buy and look at what I'm doing for advice. The guys at the auto parts stores that deal with paint and the local body shops are also a good source for info. I've read books on painting cars, bought a dvd that teaches the process, followed along on dozens of peoples builds and I was even in the paint booth when some parts of my C-10 were being sprayed, as well as some other customer cars. Those guys at the shop have been an incredible source of info.

The worst that can happen is that you might have to sand everything off and start over, tons of work, no body wants that. Buying quality paint can be very expensive, plus the cost of activators, reducers, sealers, tape, plastic, sandpaper and the biggest cost by far is the time it takes. If something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't and you need to stop there otherwise you might just be wasting valuable materials and costing you more time to fix it.

I'm getting by cheap. This is basically a rustoleum paint job but using actual automotive paint. If I can make this look acceptable and spend less than $500 in tools and paint supplies, all the better.

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

Looks good. Your attention to detail is impeccable, I am sure you will get the guns figured out and have a top notch paint job on the Jimmy.

Thanks for the compliment, but your comment on my attention to detail made me laugh. I would have to say that is probably one of my weakest areas. I make up for it with pure bullheaded persistance. As for figuring out the guns, lets hope so. I'm not even shooting for top notch, more like a 10 footer.

[beonkey]

Thank you for the tips. I walked into the local auto paint supply store that is about 5 miles from me and my neighbor is behind the counter! Turns out he owns it and lives 7 houses up the street. He doesn't know it, but he is going to be my biggest resource. He said is is going to let me borrow his guns and will cut me a break on materials.
As always this forum is going to be a great help as well.
Thanks again.
Posted via Mobile Device

[jjzepplin]

Good luck! You have inspired me to keep my 72. I was gonna strip it and sell it but it is in much better shape than yours and you are fixing yours so I will fix mine. At least one day someone will be able to restore it. It was real cool to drive and got a lot of looks. It had 406ci-700r4-203/205combo-14bolt rear and dana60 front-4.10 gears and lockers. So go for it !

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by beonkey

Thank you for the tips. I walked into the local auto paint supply store that is about 5 miles from me and my neighbor is behind the counter! Turns out he owns it and lives 7 houses up the street. He doesn't know it, but he is going to be my biggest resource. He said is is going to let me borrow his guns and will cut me a break on materials.
As always this forum is going to be a great help as well.
Thanks again.[/size]

Good deal on the guns and materials, and good luck.

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

Good luck! You have inspired me to keep my 72. I was gonna strip it and sell it but it is in much better shape than yours and you are fixing yours so I will fix mine. At least one day someone will be able to restore it. It was real cool to drive and got a lot of looks. It had 406ci-700r4-203/205combo-14bolt rear and dana60 front-4.10 gears and lockers. So go for it !

Cool, have fun with it. Sounds like a platform for one badass rig. You may need to change your signature though to something like "close enough for government work" or "If you can't do it right, at least do it cheap!"

For those interested, a cost update, was at $3502, bought a new GMC tailgate for $200, but it replacing the one I paid $190 for, so a $10 bump. Plus the rocker and fan control, and the paint costs so far are another $112 or so for a total spent of $3624. Will need another rocker and more paint yet, plus the cost of the bed liner and whatever else comes up. Trying to work a trade for some other parts with someone, hopefully that works out.

Punch list (in no particular order, * for priority items):
*finish bedside body work
*Finish roll bar install
*fix dent on driver side fender
*finish body work on fenders
*body work on hood
*body work on doors
*tranny o-rings and kickdown cable
*change fluid in both differentials
*replace windshield
*finish and install gauge cluster (need bezel, paint job sux and its cracked)
*make sure wire for gas gauge is hooked up to sender
*lights, lights and more lights
*tranny cooler lines
*seat belts (have them)
seat covers (got 'em, not installed)
Al's liner inside of tub
mark/drill holes for single wall top in bed rails
sandblast and paint front bumper
electric fan install (got it, ordered controller)
heater install
wiper washer pump
manual throttle
glove box (need to buy)
hammer out dents in grill
door panels, dash pad, visors, etc. (have them, need paint, cleaning, etc.)
stereo (have most of it)
paint, started (mayan gold metallic)

[lyrikz]

HGS, where did you buy your alsliner? Its been 4 years or so since i bought some. lol. I cant remember where i got it. I have the gun, just want a reputable vendor.

Thanks, and the truck is looking awesome. I like that paint.

[hgs_notes]

I bought the als liner from their ebay store. $109 with free shipping. And if you buy other things from them that have a shipping charge, they refund it to you. Super deal.

[bigbadchev72]

looks good, one thing that my painter buddy told me was to make sure that I paint my body panels the way they are going to be installed on the vehicle.

We hung my tailgate from some eye bolts in the ceiling, he said the metallics will settle funny if you dont and it is very noticeable on doors and fenders if you paint them laying down.

I have bought almost 25 gallons of als liner from this guy,www.xtorm4wd.com he ships quick and is great on prices. Tell him Bigbadchev84 off of pirate 4x4 sent you and he may cut you a better deal.

[Low Elco]

Looks great! Keep it up!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Tynee]

Good progress since last time I got on line. I don't even like yellows, but that's a great color.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by bigbadchev72

looks good, one thing that my painter buddy told me was to make sure that I paint my body panels the way they are going to be installed on the vehicle.

We hung my tailgate from some eye bolts in the ceiling, he said the metallics will settle funny if you dont and it is very noticeable on doors and fenders if you paint them laying down.

I have bought almost 25 gallons of als liner from this guy,www.xtorm4wd.com he ships quick and is great on prices. Tell him Bigbadchev84 off of pirate 4x4 sent you and he may cut you a better deal.

I've heard that about the paint before too, but my C-10 tailgate was done the same and you can't see any difference. The rest of the body will be painted in it's normal position though. Good info on the Als Liner, thanks.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Looks great! Keep it up!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks, having limited time to work on it lately. I need a day off.

Originally Posted by Tynee

Good progress since last time I got on line. I don't even like yellows, but that's a great color.

Thanks, this paint has a ton of flake in it and it reflects out different colors. If I can get rid of the orange peel I should end up with a pretty good paint job on this thing. My new spray guns should be here today, but probably won't have the chance to use them for a while yet.

[hgs_notes]

Getting back on it. I took the day off yesterday, but still only got a few hours to work on it. I started by getting the front sheetmetal off and out of the way.

Off...


Out of the way...


When I was unbolting everything the hooks were hanging down from where I had removed the bikes. Just seemed like a good idea.

There were 2 more spot welds on the front of the rocker to the A pillar, then the spot welds along the bottom pinch weld and the old rocker was off.


The bottom of the A pillar is rusty, and there is a hole behind it into the cab support.


I was thinking about my options here and to do everything like a restoration would required removing a lot of good sheetmetal to fix a little bad sheetmetal. This area was a poor design from GM, the bottom fills up with all the crap from up that pillar and the windshield frame, and any moisture that gets in there runs down, and it rusts. No drainage provided. No way to clean it out.

As for the hole into the cab support, I haven't decided if I should patch it or not. What I'm thinking is that I'll cut off the bottom of the pillar where it tapers down, but not the flange where it bolts to the inner rocker panel. I'll just filet weld the new piece onto the flange, that way I don't have to work from inside the torque box. I'll get a better look at the hole through the inner rocker panel, clean the cab support out with a pressure washer, rust proof it as much as possible and maybe leave it as is. There is a small gap between the bottom of the cab support and inner rocker that allows for drainage. Not much room and it clogs with dirt, etc. I've always thought there should be a bigger hole at the bottom so debris can fall out. If there is a hole through the inner rocker then everything from the A pillar, including any moisture, can fall through and into the torque box, which I'm thinking could use a couple holes also.

I've had a few of these trucks, mostly rusted out parts rigs and seen where the problems are. I've seen all the build threads fixing the same stuff. Maybe because of my job and probably just my nature I've been trying to think of ways to prevent it from happening again. This is definitely one of those areas that needs a different approach. You might not agree and thats ok. Go ahead and speak up. Another perspective might result in a better idea and we'd be helping everyone out. But since this is my rig that I plan on doing some experimenting with, I'm going to give this approach a try and see how it looks a dozen years fom now. Worst case is that it doesn't help and I need to replace rockers, inners, a pillar, cab supports, etc. down the road, like everybody else.

Anyway, back to the work that was done. I cleaned up the inner rocker with a wire wheel, marked all the pin holes and cut out or drilled out the rusty bits. It really wasn't that bad. I drilled a 3/8" hole through about 4 pin holes, and cut a slot about 1/2" x 6" long through the biggest rust area. I used a piece of scrap to fill that slot and welded it in. Then just filled all the holes with weld metal. I also filled the spots where I drilled out spot welds and it went into the second layer a bit. Then I ground the welds down, fixed anything else that showed up and cleaned those up. Then covered everything in the rustoleum rust converter.


Not sure what I'll do today, but whatever it is will show up here eventually.

[hgs_notes]

Got back out in the garage for a bit tonight and got the driver side rocker off. Very little rust on the inner rocker, just a little up by the floor where the door seal goes. The bottom of the A pillar is toast. I drove it over to the body shop the other day for a second opinion on the holes through there. He thought my idea of cleaning, rust proofing and leaving holes for drainage made sense. So this weekend I'll clean it up and repair the rust on the inner rocker. Going to order the sheetmetal I need tonight so maybe next week/weekend I'll be able to weld this all back together.

I have pics to post up, but for some reason photobucket is not letting me upload anything right now. You'll just have to use your imagination. Close your eyes and picture the passanger side...wait. Read this first, then close your eyes and imagine the passenger side with a little less rust on the inner rocker and a little more rust on the A pillar bottom.

One more thing. I haven't run this in quite a while and it was kind of acting like it wasn't getting enough gas. The fuel filter by the carb had more air in it than fuel so I unclamped the hose and got most of the air out of the filter and hose. Started it back up and it ran like a top. The brakes feel great, the rear end is up a bit higher so it doesn't feel so nose up now, rode great. I can't wait to get this damn bodywork done so I can really beat around in it.

[fxdxharley]

i would agree that that piller area is a poor design. needs more drainage. i think i will add a hole in the piller near the fender mount for any water that gets in there and seem seal all the other area's to keep it out.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by fxdxharley

i would agree that that piller area is a poor design. needs more drainage. i think i will add a hole in the piller near the fender mount for any water that gets in there and seem seal all the other area's to keep it out.

Good idea.

I ordered new A pillar patches ($11 each) and the other rocker panel ($19), also a new passenger side inner fender ($85). Just can't find those things used that are not rusted out. Got them from top banana which is a site vendor here. Basically got free shipping since I was also ordering a new grill surround and bumper for my C-10. Freight charges are rediculous so why pay twice when its the same rate for all of it. Their prices are pretty good and you get a 5% dsicount if you type in "boards" in the discount code box. I went with them because they have a killer price on the chrome steel 71-72 Chevy grills at $269, which is the same price as the aluminum oem style grill.

[hgs_notes]

Found a work around for the photobucket site, pics of the rusty driver side...




For the next week or so I'll be doing the body work on the windshield frame I repaired, stripping some paint, fixing a little rust, and prepping the dash, firewall, door jambs, etc. for paint. I should do the back end where the tailgate fits too so I can install the new gate. That way I can paint the jambs, dash, firewall, tailgate jamb and windshield frame. After that I can spray the Als Liner in the tub, then I can put the interior back together.

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[VA72C10]

not too bad really....but still work