85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

With the interior finally done it was time to move back under the hood. We located a spot for the washer/overflow tanks and measured for mounting holes.

I drilled and tapped the square stock to mount them on the Slosh Tubz filler panel. With this accomplished I reinstalled the panel and checked for clearance.

[N2TRUX]

Its been a busy week at work so my days start early and end late. Heres a little job I manged to squeeze in. The hood latch had never been painted and had a bit of surface rust on it. With the installation of the WAM Rods, the latch was right in my line of site so it needed some attention.

As usual I ran it through the blasting cabinet and wiped it down with brake cleaner. It got a few coats of VHT Cast Iron and a added polished stainless button heads for detail.

[rustytruck50]

Nice!!!

[st1]

Really NICE!!! I like those tanks. Quality work again.
Posted via Mobile Device

[j carter]

Hey n2trux I just bought an 87 Silverado it's bright red it needs repainting do you think doing that color scheme u have would hurt resell value in the future I really like that scheme

[UKNOWME]

Ken, I hope you and your family are doing ok during the hurricane.

[85/Silverado]

We know your in the area of the bad rain, we hope you and yours have left the area and are safe. I hope Scarlett weathers the storm also.
Good Luck,,,,,
If you need anything don't hesitate to ask.

[TKCR]

Ken, I see your very close to this Tropical Storm, if not in the middle of it. I hope you and your family are safe, that includes Scarlett. Give us an update as soon as you can, stay safe!!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Nice!!!

Originally Posted by st1

Really NICE!!! I like those tanks. Quality work again.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks guys. I tried to finish it but ran out of supplies. Everything is closed near me so it may be a while.

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Ken, I hope you and your family are doing ok during the hurricane.

Originally Posted by 85/Silverado

We know your in the area of the bad rain, we hope you and yours have left the area and are safe. I hope Scarlett weathers the storm also.
Good Luck,,,,, If you need anything don't hesitate to ask.

Originally Posted by TKCR

Ken, I see your very close to this Tropical Storm, if not in the middle of it. I hope you and your family are safe, that includes Scarlett. Give us an update as soon as you can, stay safe!!

I appreciate your kind words and prayers. I am blessed that our house sits high with and we stayed dry. The tornadoes you saw on the news were very close, but no damage here.
My biggest concern is the uncertainty of loss of equipment and revenue. I know we have some losses. I dont know how bad yet.

[N2TRUX]

Since the wussies at Auto Zone freaked out over a tornado siting and closed I couldn't get supplies to finish my tank project. Fortunately I did have materials to work on the Slosh Tubz. We ran out of time before LST so I did not finish the under side. Let me be clear that they do not require this process, its just someting I wanted to do.

I masked the top side to protect the paint taking care to cover any holes. The fiberglass is fairly smooth with just a few nibs sticking through the gel coat. I wanted to knock those down and sand the resin enough to get some bite. One of my mentors once said "shiny ain't sticky son". If you dont speak fluent farm boy, what he meant was a shiny surface doesn't promote good adhesion.

After masking the Mild Tubz I used an 80 grit disc to scuff the entire surface. I sanded at an angle from both sides to create a cross hatch , then blew them clean. I followed that with a wipe down of Scotch Brite and brake cleaner.

I loaded up my schutz gun with rubberized undercoating and adjusted the air pressure to get a nice splatter pattern. I coated each on twice followed by a light splatter coat for a nice finish. These were set to cure and will be installed later this week.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by j carter

Hey n2trux I just bought an 87 Silverado it's bright red it needs repainting do you think doing that color scheme u have would hurt resell value in the future I really like that scheme

The two tone combo on Scarlett was on option. Currently two tone truck are more popular than single color, but that could change. Since it is a factory option it shouldn't hurt resale value especially if you use correct colors. Scarlet has the correct red, but the secondary color is GM "warm nickle" which is not correct for this year but is a GM color.

[j carter]

Thanks and prayers for your family

[rustytruck50]

Be safe...hope all is good as possible

[LT7A]

If I read your post right you will be dealing with some storm losses with your business. I hope that all goes well as it can.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by j carter

Thanks and prayers for your family

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Be safe...hope all is good as possible

Originally Posted by LT7A

If I read your post right you will be dealing with some storm losses with your business. I hope that all goes well as it can.

I appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers.
We were blessed that all of our families came through the storm with no flooding in our houses. Its amazing how a near by neighborhood can be destroyed and yours go untouched.
We did have several of our accounts that were damaged or destroyed. Some will be closed for 4-6 weeks, others may not rebuild. The loss of revenue will take some time to recover from, but we will overcome this hurdle too.

Texas Strong

[N2TRUX]

I did manage to get much needed paint to move forward on my storage tank project. I test fit all the pieces and put a coat of VHT cast iron paint on them.

I decided I didnt like the bolts that held the tubing together, so I picked up a package of cap nuts to use instead. I had to open up the holes in the mounting tabs for them to fit. Unfortunately I managed to beat the paint up badly, so everything was sanded and repainted one more time.

With a fresh coat of paint things were ready for final assembly, but the paint wasnt dry yet. I will have to finish the process tonight. Maybe the washer pump will arrive today and I can wrap this up.

[smpoulin01]

Great work as always! Glad you and your family were safe through the storm, that is what is really important.

[N2TRUX]

I didnt realize when i started this overflow/washer bottle project I was creating a giant jigsaw puzzle. As hard as I try to measure and mark accurately, there were some variances in my drilled holes. What I discovered on reassembly is there are 9 wrong ways to put it back together, but only one right way.

I took everything apart to sand and paint before final assembly. When I put it back together the holes drilled in the panel didnt line up. I adjusted them to fit, and the exit hole for the washer line was off. Hmmm??? So I flipped it over and everything lines up just fine. Thank you Jesus. I was getting tired of playing that game.

I remounted the assembly once more and bolted it down. Now i need the washer pump to show up so I can get the project done.

[PunishedC10]

Those tanks look awesome!
The end result will be rewarding for sure. Glad to see you're still at it even through the madness down in your part Texas.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by PunishedC10

Those tanks look awesome!
The end result will be rewarding for sure. Glad to see you're still at it even through the madness down in your part Texas.

Thank for the kind thoughts. It been a rough couple of weeks as we are able to get in my accounts that had high water in them. I went to the worst one yesterday. It had over 5 feet of water in it that finally receded enough to allow access.

As sickened as I am, I still feel blessed compared to those that lost everything.

[N2TRUX]

While waiting for the pump motor to arrive, Chris and I started work on the squirters. I had cut the old hose that went to them since I planned to replace it. I had no idea that I was going to regret that decision.

When the truck was repainted, they had removed the cowl, wipers, and squirters. I didnt know that they were still attached to the hose that I had cut, but not bolted back to the firewall. The passenger side stayed in the cowl, but the drivers did not.

In my research for the parts I needed I discovered that Scarlett originally had the squirters in the wiper arms. The arms on the truck were not of the correct style so I found replacements at Oriellys. That put me one step closer.

[N2TRUX]

With the cowl cover removed I was able to take a closer look at the weather seals around the hood hinges. It appeared that one had been replaced but the other had not. I checked with Precision Replacement Parts and determined this was an item they carried.

With no time to order what I needed I looked for a local distributor instead. I found that Outback Truck Parts had what I needed. If you are in the Houston area and need classic truck parts fast, check them out. The new owners are great to work with.

[N2TRUX]

When I removed the old seals I discovered that the passenger side had some rust under it. Fortunately it was nothing serious, so I ground it down to clean metal and treated it with Rust-Mort. I get to prime and repaint the entire cowl now.

I reached out to my local C10 brothers with a Facebook request for the squirter that I needed. I got a reply from a guy not to far away that had what I needed. It was an hour drive, but still faster than having one shipped.
I bead blasted all the parts and mounting hardware then mocked them up to ensure they were correct.

[Zook75]

WOW is about all I can say Ken. Awesome job you and Chris are doing. I took the time to read this entire thread for the start. I just picked up a 1975 that besides being lowered is as stock as stock can be, going to make it dependable and drive her the way she is.
Again great job.

[gringoloco]

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