67 C20 Long Step: "Slow Silver"

[Shaky]

OK. Back in the saddle - to some extent. The weather changed and my hopes of having the cab painted and back on the frame have been rearranged by reality. The POR15-type paint I want to use on the frame and underside of the cab requires temperatures above 50 F so it's time to change gears. No heat in the barn...

We had a few 40+ degree days so it was time to do some paint stripping. Gonna try and get the bed parts painted over the winter.

It helps if you pre-heat them in the living room first. What's that? No I'm not married. Why do you ask?

[Shaky]

Spent some time with the DA, torch, wire wheel, and scraper. There are reasons why not everyone does these restorations, and this type of work is one of them. The friggin' barn is a disaster area. I can't wait to get the cab back on.

[VA72C10]

Glad to see you're making progress! Keep at it. I'm just about ready to put the cab back on my soon to be rolling chassis....can't wait to cross that step in the project.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Glad to see you're making progress! Keep at it. I'm just about ready to put the cab back on my soon to be rolling chassis....can't wait to cross that step in the project.

I remember when I was happy just to have a garage. Now the next step is one with heat. It's 15 degrees with gusts to 50 mph today. Good book reading weather...

[capev86]

maybe dog hair was easier to come by than horse (aka horse hair plaster).

thankfully your truck had the 4.10 rear and not the 4.57 like in my 72 burb 3/4 ton. especially with no overdrive, i almost never get it up past 60 for more than a short jaunt. the 4.10 is a good ratio for a 3/4 ton with stock tall tires, especially if you have an overdrive. i have a 4.10 third member for my truck (it truly weighs 100 pounds) and i hope to some day get the overdrive unit for the saginaw 3 on the tree that i am also keeping. my burb has a 307 but it will be going in favor of a 406sbc so better gearing is a must so i can drive it and not have to stop at EVERY gas station.

as for the poly bushings.....classic performance products carries the poly ones for 3/4 ton trucks. i already installed a set but have yet to get my trailing arm bushings swapped out for poly. i like to keep it looking stock, but will go with the best materials possible when i gotta spend the money anyways. i still need to get my CPP rear sway bar in too. i also got the brakes up to snuff with stainless braided brake hoses and synthetic dot 4 fluid 'cause i don't want any troubles when i'm hauling 6,000 pounds of camper this summer to the classic chevy/gmc and vintage trailer meet in mass. found out about the club and camping get together at the vintage truck show in barrington NH last fall.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by capev86

maybe dog hair was easier to come by than horse (aka horse hair plaster).

I dunno - but the stuff's darn near bulletproof.

Originally Posted by capev86

thankfully your truck had the 4.10 rear and not the 4.57 like in my 72 burb 3/4 ton. especially with no overdrive, i almost never get it up past 60 for more than a short jaunt. the 4.10 is a good ratio for a 3/4 ton with stock tall tires, especially if you have an overdrive. i have a 4.10 third member for my truck (it truly weighs 100 pounds) and i hope to some day get the overdrive unit for the saginaw 3 on the tree that i am also keeping. my burb has a 307 but it will be going in favor of a 406sbc so better gearing is a must so i can drive it and not have to stop at EVERY gas station.

I'm the one who's been bothering you for your 4.57 pumpkin! With the Gear Vendors the 4.57s shouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately someone hammered on my 4.10s.

Originally Posted by capev86

as for the poly bushings.....classic performance products carries the poly ones for 3/4 ton trucks. i already installed a set but have yet to get my trailing arm bushings swapped out for poly. i like to keep it looking stock, but will go with the best materials possible when i gotta spend the money anyways. i still need to get my CPP rear sway bar in too. i also got the brakes up to snuff with stainless braided brake hoses and synthetic dot 4 fluid 'cause i don't want any troubles when i'm hauling 6,000 pounds of camper this summer to the classic chevy/gmc and vintage trailer meet in mass. found out about the club and camping get together at the vintage truck show in barrington NH last fall.

I got some poly body mounts from P-S-T. They look good except for the ones for the radiator support. I'm gonna have to open up the holes in the frame a little bit to accommodate them.

[67vetteal]

Years back I had access to a Steam Jenny. It would have been perfect for your cleaning of the undercarriage. Anyone still have one? Al W.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by 67vetteal

Years back I had access to a Steam Jenny. It would have been perfect for your cleaning of the undercarriage. Anyone still have one? Al W.

Yeah - that would probably be the ticket. I'm just about there doin' it the hard way...

[Shaky]

Wow! I can't believe I haven't updated this since February! Working on the '66 and other life-stuff put the '67 on the back burner, although I did strip some bed components and get them over to Rick's.

Here's the rear fenders. They're pretty good, but there were some pin holes where the rust went through. I couldn't find anyone who makes patch panels for them so Rick got the welder out.


Rick's been working on his Model A on the weekends and it's getting close.

[Shaky]

OK. I did a lot of work this week prepping the frame for paint. There was an unbelievable amount of grime on that thing, but I finally worked through it. Doing this with the drivetrain in certainly complicates things.

I had to open up the bushing holes for the radiator support. The P-S-T polyurethane bushings were to big for the hole. Maybe later years have larger holes?

Anyway - tomorrow should be paint day. I'm using SEM Rust-Shield. I have no idea how well it works. Rick uses it and it looks like POR-15 when it sets up.

[Shaky]

I got the frame painted today. This is a turning point for the project - for the first time parts will start going together instead of continually coming apart.

This pic is after the 2nd of three coats. This stuff is tough to work with when using a brush. It's more like glue than paint. Oh well, the instructions said the thicker the better, so I laid it on good for the third coat.

[67chevy1series]

looks really good

[Pop's C-10]

nice

[Shaky]

Put the front sway bar on today (ECE kit). It felt real good to have something go on the frame instead of off. I know - the powder coated sway bar makes the front suspension look bad. Oh well, the suspension is still tight so it stays the way it is for now. When it needs replacement I'll pull the cross member and all and make it match the rest of the frame.

I had to mock up the bedsides and fenders to put some holes in where Rick welded new sections in. I'm hoping to head to the sand blaster with some parts this week if all goes well.

[Shaky]

I got a bunch of stuff back from the sand blaster. Time for some epoxy primer and urethane top coat. Painting fast since the temperatures are dropping and there's only so many outdoor paint days left around here.

The neighbors hang their laundry - I hang my parts.

[Shaky]

And then "speed-bake" in the special drying chamber.

[Shaky]

A foot or more of snow every week is NOT helping with the resto.

[67chevy1series]

hahah great progress!

[Shaky]

I knew somebody from the southwest would be along to rub it in! Can't talk now - off to shovel the rest of the roof.

[Shaky]

Well, here's what happens when you have a lot of time to reconsider what color you want your truck to be. "Slow Silver" is now...um..."Bodacious Black" or somethin'.

I love that PPG black. It's blaaaaaack.

Here's my first piece with color. The rest of the bed is in primer except for one bedside and the tailgate, which are at the sandblaster's.

I was originally going to repaint the original bed wood, but the paint looks too good and Mar-K had free shipping on pre-drilled oak, so new wood is on the way...

[thirdstreettito]

OMFG. Hot.

[spike38]

The black looks great!
I'm subscribing
I'm also a Model "A" fan as well

Spike

[67chevy1series]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

OMFG. Hot.

what he said! ^

[Shaky]

Well, I didn't believe that Mar-K would give 10% off and honor the free shipping on 8-foot long oak planks, but they did. Thanks Mar-K!

I also didn't think they'd make it here by UPS without damage, but they did.

The counter-bores were in for the big bolts and I drilled the holes for the narrow pieces along the sides.

Then it was 3 coats of spar varnish on the bottom and 4 coats on the top. Phew!

[Shaky]

One of my bedsides is welded, sandblasted, primered, and ready for paint.

The other bedside and the tailgate are blasted and in the process of getting straightened, although neither one needs that much.

Here's a shot of Rick's Model A. I'll have to get a shot of it out in the sun. He's got the black fenders on it now and it looks silky...