Junkyard Jimmy Super Low Buck Build Thread

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Tynee

Score...

For sure. I tore it apart and sandblasted it this afternoon. Found a bent shear bolt, bent pins, otherwise in good shape. Those parts are in the fix it kit and they have those at a Mills Fleet Farm stores here. I want one of those bedrail mount kits with a lock for it in the Jimmy.

[NTR72GMC]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Nope, haven't worked on it. I wanted to share my good fortune though. I borrowed the trailer from the body shop last week to haul my 2wd blazer from the farm to my house so I could work on it. And when I was putting the trailer back I saw an old hi-lift jack laying in the dirt behind the trailer. I asked the guys about it, none knew who it belonged to, so they checked with their dad today (he still comes to the shop regularly to work on stuff) and he forgot he even had it. He had no use for it so gave it to me.


There are rebuild kits available...
http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/fix-it-kit.html

I'll tear it down, sandblast and paint it up. Should look good mounted to my bedside. And it was free (minus the rebuild).

Nice score! I thought you sold off your 2wd blazer?
Posted via Mobile Device

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by NTR72GMC

Nice score! I thought you sold off your 2wd blazer?
Posted via Mobile Device

Trying to sell it. I'm pulling everything out of the tub I can with value and scrapping it. I'll fix the problems with the frame and sell it separately. I've had some interest but when you tell people that there is rust, but I have the parts to repair it, they just loose interest. So I'll replace the rusty mounts myself, fix the rear frame horms, clean it up and paint it and it should sell then. The rest of the body panels I had are also for sale and on craigslist here...
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...084080263.html

[Tynee]

Bed rail mounting it won't get in the way of putting the top on, will it?

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Tynee

Bed rail mounting it won't get in the way of putting the top on, will it?

What top?

BTW, I had an extra single wall top that was kinda thrashed, so I cut the front off and will set it up as a half cab for the summer. Decided to use what I had rather than buy a bimini top.

I'll have to see how they mount. The pic here doesn't show it real well but I don't think it goes over the top of the rail.
http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/loc-rac.html

[hgs_notes]

Finally got my rear in gear and got some progress on the Jimmy. I was really sandbagging on this stage because quite frankly, I didn't want to do it. This part is probably the most tedious part of prepping any single area of these trucks for paint. It's all curves, bends, angles, slots, pinch welds, grooves, anything but large flat areas.

Enough whining, yesterday I got on it with the wirewheel, sandpaper and red 3M scuff pads. This morning I wiped everything down with wax and grease remover. This afternoon I got the epoxy primer sprayed. I'm going to try and put at least a coat or 2 of high build primer on it tomorrow morning. That will be easier because I don't need to do the floor boards or worry about the area under the cowl. I just need to do some filler work on my repaired windshield frame and in the door jambs, which should be minimal.






My new spray gun worked perfect. No complaints from me. It was easier to adjust, laid the primer down fairly smooth, easy to clean. It was well worth it over my old cheapo spray guns and this kit wasn't that expensive.

I also finished up rebuilding my new (to me) hi-lift jack. I didn't have red paint, but had almost a whole can of chevy orange. That stuff is durable, so why not. It works perfectly now and looks great compared to when I brought it home. The handle is black too, but the paint was still drying when I took the pics. Cost me $16 for the fix it kit and a can of spray paint.



If I don't get to work on it in the morning, it might be a while. Daughters softball tourny tomorrow and I'm taking my son to the Back to the 50's show and swap in St Paul on sunday.

[VA72C10]

looking great!

[99-LS1-SS]

Great progress. The jack looks like new.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

looking great!

Originally Posted by 99-LS1-SS

Great progress. The jack looks like new.

Thanks guys.

I was able to get some high build primer on this morning. So now it'll be ready for some filler and sanding when I get the ambition to do it.

It's important to note what the recoat window is for the products you use. In this case it was 36-72 hours, depending on temperature. After that you have to scuff everything before you put another coat on. Also pay attention to the minumum time between coats. My first coat of epoxy was a martin sr CP-400 I was finishing the last of the can. It has a 15 min flash time. The second coat was a different brand epoxy and it had a 60 min recoat time. I don't like that, but it was all I could get locally on short notice, so I probably won't use that one again after I finish the can.

No pics this morning. It's just more gray primer, can't hardly tell I did anything. It looks much better all gray now rather than patches of paint, surface flash rust, primer, bare metal, scratches, etc.

[ERASER5]

Ah! A man who knows Jack!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Ah! A man who knows Jack!

You bet, my sons middle name.

[hgs_notes]

With this oppresive heat and soaring dew points, working out in the garage becomes more of a chore than a break from the usual stressers of life. Already 80 with a 70F dew point. You can judge air quality by taste when it's like this. Going out early is the only reasonable option. So after getting a couple little jobs done on my C-10, this morning I started doing the small amount of body work around the windshield frame.

I mixed some filler (that hardened about 2 minutes after it was mixed) and got it on the top of the frame over my patch area. I roughed it in with a random orbital sander, then blocked it with a small flexible block and 80 grit. I need to mix enough filler to smooth out the sill area of the rockers still (I had enough but it hardened too fast in the heat).

After I rough the sills in, I'll sand the dash and other areas getting painted with some 180. Then spray another coat or 2 of primer and smooth it out with finer grit before paint. I'm not going to try too hard to make this part of the truck perfect. None of this is flat enough to need a perfect finish. It just needs to be smoothed so the scratches don't show in the paint.

It's not much, but it's progress...

[hgs_notes]

I got cooled off, so then headed back out to sweat some more on it. Instead of the regular filler I used glaze putty. It hardens about the same speed as filler in this heat and is a bit runnier and fills shallow imperfections better. On the rockers, thats all I needed. I just needed to fill in the machine stamping grooves and the weld areas where I ground the welds down.

So that part is done and next is to sand the dash and clean everything up for the next (and hopefully last) coats of primer.


Garage tennies...

[hgs_notes]

Last round of work for the day. Heat index hit 100 and I'm in no mood to push further. I prety much have most of the sanding done with 180 grit. I'll touch on a few more areas on the next round and then wipe down and primer and do it all again with 320 grit.

[hgs_notes]

I finished this round of sanding and was going to spray some primer, but found I was out of reducer and nobody is open today to get some. Oh well. Just ordered another gallon of paint and clear, and all the other additives. Hopefully enough to finish it. Also ordered a handle clip and isolator for my jack handle. Going to wait on jack mounts because they are a bit spendy (in my mind anyway at about $30). Maybe I'll fab something instead.

Anyway, supplies to be delivered next monday. I'll get some reducer locally to keep working as time allows until then.

[hgs_notes]

Primer sprayed again this morning.

[VA72C10]

Looks great!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Looks great!

Thanks VA.

Figured it was time to add more to the cost balance sheet. I was at $3751, then bought more primer locally $50, some reducer and seam sealer $35, and my order from summit for more paint, clear, activator, reducer, etc. for another $200. Bringing the total spent to $4036. I broke the 4k barrier, oh well. If it turns out as nice as I think it could it will be well worth it.

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 (may build my own bumpers for this)
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)


I really think that once I get the paint on this first part of the tub, the rest of the finish work will go quicker. Partly because a lot is already done, part because it is panels that are easier to work with. It's been a good day. I'm filled with optimism right now. I'll enjoy that until the next stumbling block comes along.

[Pife]

It looks great. I am always checking in to see what progress you have made. You helped me talk my wife into letting me get a blazer. Thank you and keep up the great work.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Pife

It looks great. I am always checking in to see what progress you have made. You helped me talk my wife into letting me get a blazer. Thank you and keep up the great work.

Happy to be your scapegoat dude. Good luck with that project.

NOt sure if I would call todays progress "great work" or even progress. I did learn some things though. And that has to count for something.

First, when spraying paint for the first time, pick a color that covers easily and sprays evenly. Second, don't spray too heavy with a somewhat thin paint. Third, start with a good even colored primer or use a sealer coat before the base. Fourth, make sure you have enough paint to complete the job before you start.

I love the color I have picked, as long as I don't have to spray it. Kind of a nitemare. It's almost a pearl or candy with a ton of metallic and a bit of tint. When I set the gun down between coats, there is so much metallic it clogged the gun from sitting for 15 minutes. I had to dump the paint into the mix cup and clean out the gun with reducer so it would spray again. I had a few spots where I used a dark red pinhole filler and the paint did not cover it well.

I used just 1-2 parts thinner to 4 parts paint and 1 part activator. It lays down smoother with the reducer, but it also makes it run if you get even a little heavy. And it's not even what I would call a heavy coat. I'm going to have to experiment more with the gun so I can reduce or eliminate the reducer and still get a nice spray.

I will have to use a sealer when I do the exterior to get as even as I can so it doesn't look blotchy and it covers evenly. And I ran out of paint today. Before I was able to get enough coats to get a good even coverage. Turns out that is not a huge problem because I did get a few runs I need to fix and I have more paint getting delivered tomorrow.

My biggest mistakes/problems was the uneven coverage, and I hit the gun into the paint in 2 spots, and I have some runs to sand and fix. Sure am glad the paint is cheap cause I think I'll be doing a lot of rework as I learn. I am disappointed with myself, but I'm learning and I knew going in that the curve was steep because of the paint color and type I chose. Not a disaster, it's fixable, I had just hoped for better results than what I got.

Pics of the days "progress"...
runs along the top edge of the firewall


Dark spots in the jamb that didn't cover evenly


more runs to the right of the radio and under the lighter hole


Yet more runs


Hey these turned out ok. I hope the color matches because this was painted over gray and the dash was painted over biege.

[fxdxharley]

You should always use a sealer coat before color. that way every thing will match regardless of whats underneath. color looks good and runs can be fixed.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by fxdxharley

You should always use a sealer coat before color. that way every thing will match regardless of whats underneath. color looks good and runs can be fixed.

I'll be using a sealer and respraying this. How do you fix runs? I just planned on sanding them out. I should probably investigate this a bit.

[fxdxharley]

you can shave them with a razor blade. just wrap some masking tape over each end and leave about half the blade expossed then shave them down with the blade perpendicular so you scrap it off not flat as to cut it off. once most of it is removed you can sand it down smooth.

[BurnoutNova]

Originally Posted by fxdxharley

you can shave them with a razor blade. just wrap some masking tape over each end and leave about half the blade expossed then shave them down with the blade perpendicular so you scrap it off not flat as to cut it off. once most of it is removed you can sand it down smooth.

This is the best way to do it... and then use some wet sand paper 600-1000ish to make it flat. I usually end up almost sanding them flat, and then get scarred to go all the way in fear of going through the clear, if thats what you have a run in that is.

[Pife]

Are you making any progress with the paint?