85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

Baby steps last night since I got a late start. I picked up new gaskets for the fuel pump and installed it. I decided to replace the gasket behind the adapter plate while I was there. Of course the actuator Rod slid out while I was cleaning up.
It wasn't until after I bolted the adapter plate and new gasket on that I realized the rod would not go in through the hole in the plate. Time to blast the plate again and create a new gasket. With the rod lubed up and firmly in place I finally got the pump on.

[N2TRUX]

Earlier I made a trip to see my buddy johnnyc new shop. I dropped off some goodies for him to put his magic touch on. Let's see what he comes up with.

[aggie91]

Can't wait to see what he does to the air cleaner and the valve covers.

[N2TRUX]

Last night's project was the a/c compressor. I pulled all the brackets off of it and bead blasted them clean. They were scuffed and prepped, then painted cast iron too.
My buddy Jared dropped off the red paint for under the hood, so prep begins soon. Let's spice things up a bit.

[N2TRUX]

Are you running 22s on a static dropped #squarebody? Would you like to turn with out rubbing the fender liners? Do you even have fender liners? The new Mild Tubz from @slosh_tubz is what your looking for.
Designed for static or mild bag drops on #73_87 GM trucks to bolt in with minor changes.
Here's a comparison of stock tubs versus #mildtubz so much smoother, wider and of course taller!
Pre-order now if you want in on the first run of parts $689 shipped to a commercial address PayPal (loshmike@hotmail.com)
They can be delivered at Lonestar Throwdown if you order now

[rustytruck50]

Very slick looking piece.....wish those had been around when I was working on my '82.

[N2TRUX]

Chris and I worked on multiple projects today. I finally won my battle with the bugger welded headers. It took several tries fill the holes and smooth the welds.
I applied several light coatswitch of air dry Cerakote glacier silver. I'm pleased with the results but I think the color may be to bright.

[moregrip]

two thumbs up!

[UKNOWME]

Curious why you didn't just buy new headers?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by moregrip

two thumbs up!

Thanks

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Curious why you didn't just buy new headers?

Why? There's nothing wrong with the headers that would warrant replacing them. They are well made, just modified by the original installer to better clear components. The concept was good but the execution was poor. We corrected that by adding collectors. Unfortunately we could not access all of the poorly done welds with the headers in place, so we agreed to repair the welds once removed.
While repairing the old welds we encountered holes in the union. If my welder was working I could have repaired them as I ground the welds. Instead I had to make multiple trips to the muffler shop.
In hindsight I should have taken the time to find replacement parts for my welder.

[N2TRUX]

Chris and I worked on multiple projects yesterday. He masked and prepped the inner fenders and core support while I worked on the headers.

We cleaned and bead blasted, then sanded, prepped and painted more small parts and brackets. The parts are small but still consume time to prepare properly.

[N2TRUX]

After my dinner break I focused on the leaky power steering pump. I couldn't tell if my leak was from the pump, hoses, or steering box.

I inspected the pump and decided it was cheap insurance to replace it and eliminate one possible source. I bought a fresh unit and started the tear down process.

With a puller/press tool rented from Auto Zone the greasy pulley and brackets was stripped from the old pump. It took lots of scrubbing and blasting but the parts were eventually cleaned up. I verified that the old parts would fit the new pump then painted them all with cast iron.

[superdav]

Have you used the air dry Cerakote before? Durable?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by superdav

Have you used the air dry Cerakote before? Durable?

This is my first experience with Cerakote. I have read great reviews on their products or I thought I would try it. It lays on very nicely and takes minimal material to cover. Once cured it has a nice satin sheen that seems durable. I will know soon enough how will it works.

[superdav]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

This is my first experience with Cerakote. I have read great reviews on their products or I thought I would try it. It lays on very nicely and takes minimal material to cover. Once cured it has a nice satin sheen that seems durable. I will know soon enough how will it works.

Ill find out how the bake on is soon, I have a Glock i'm going to Cerakote pink

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by superdav

Ill find out how the bake on is soon, I have a Glock i'm going to Cerakote pink

The bake on is a fantastic product and has become the standard of the firearms industry. From what I know you will be very pleased.
In the past I have successfully used VHT ceramic exhaust paints. I used the last I had spraying the exhaust and it appears to be no longer available. I decided to research an alternative and discovered Cerakote air dry. The reviews were good enough to encourage me to try it out. It's not cheap, but the results so far make me feel it was a good decision.

[N2TRUX]

Sunday was productive on this project. I hit the shop early while Chris went to Church with the family. I put the power steering pump parts together so its a working unit now. When Chris arrived, he started cleaning up hard and soft lines. We decided to spray them with Dupli-color stainless steel rather than polishing.

I analyzed the condition of the plug wires to determine if they should be replaced. They are 8MM silicone wires and are actually in good condition. Besides being oily and having having ugly yellow lettering they were very usable. I cleaned the oil and removed the letters. The cap was new, so I gave it a coat of paint. Thats money in the bank right there.

[N2TRUX]

Last week my buddy Jared came over and was looking at the progress. We talked about the satin black under the hood and decided it needed to go. The decision was made to paint the inner fenders, back and top of core support body color.

Jared works at a body shop with his Dad and said he had some materials left over from a job that would be a match. To prepare we sprayed a good covering of epoxy primer to seal things up and let it cure. Chris scuffed everything down and prepped it for the top coat.

On Sunday Jared brought the materials needed to spray under the hood and we added some color. Note that my flash makes the color look too orange. This match is much closer than the pics show.

[moregrip]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Last week my buddy Jared came over and was looking at the progress. We talked about the satin black under the hood and decided it needed to go. The decision was made to paint the inner fenders, back and top of core support body color.

Jared works at a body shop with his Dad and said he had some materials left over from a job that would be a match. To prepare we sprayed a good covering of epoxy primer to seal things up and let it cure. Chris scuffed everything down and prepped it for the top coat.

On Sunday Jared brought the materials needed to spray under the hood and we added some color. Note that my flash makes the color look too orange. This match is much closer than the pics show.

I haven't seen that too often, interested to see how she comes together, nice choices!

[N2TRUX]

One more piece of the puzzle finished last night. The red paint I sprayed is taking forever to cure so I left it alone.
Instead, I worked on getting the radiator ready to go back in.

As I worked on stripping the old paint off the tanks and straightening the fins I made a discovery. As you can see this radiator is the real deal.

You don't find brass tanks and a copper core too often. Usually the tanks are plastic with aluminum cores. I was pleased to see old school technology at work.

[mcbassin]

Looks great Ken! All your hard work is paying off....

[aggie91]

Looking good.

Wonder why that paint is taking so long to cure. Did you use the correct hardener and reducer for the temps you are working in? If it’s a catalyzed paint, then is should cure in 24 hours I would think.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks great Ken! All your hard work is paying off....

Thank you sir.

Originally Posted by aggie91

Looking good.
Wonder why that paint is taking so long to cure. Did you use the correct hardener and reducer for the temps you are working in? If it’s a catalyzed paint, then is should cure in 24 hours I would think.

Long story, but the short version is this. I told that adding the clear coat hardner would give me a softer sheen by the painter at my buddies shop. I took it upon myself the double the reducer so I could apply multiple thin coats because of poor access to apply.
The more coats I added the more shine I got, so I started adding more catalyst. We aren't sure if it was too much reducer or catalyst that caused it.
The end result is a self inflicted shiny mess that we aren't sure what to do with. I can either top coat it or strip it. I'm going to wait one more day to decide.

[83GMCK2500]

Some more excellent progress and good looking work. Did one of the radiator tanks happen to have Harrison stamped in it? I've seen that on those older ones from time to time.

[daddyjeep]

It's kind of a shame you painted that radiator. A coat of clear would have showed off that brass.