72 GMC 4x4 rebuild

[1985-GMC]

Originally Posted by Crumley

Thanks, It has been quiet pleasurable working on it. I have learned a lot. I found out I am pretty good at the rough body work (replacing panels), but still need improvement on getting the body panels smooth and flat.

Give me any car made before 1972, back when a person could actually work on and maintain them.

As far as I am concerned all of the new crap, computer controled expensive automobiles built today should be sent to the crushers not the old ones.

I am the same way, I hate any new vehicles. People should stop buying new cars and trucks and just start rebuilding old ones. New vehicles are just built so crappy these days, everything is made of plastic including bumpers which were meant to protect the body from damage. Computers, censors, emissions crap just mean more things to go wrong. Not to mention you CANT work on them without a $10K computer to see whats wrong with it first. My 85 is the newest I want to own due to the cats im supposed to have on it, but as far as im concerned it just needs to LOOK like it has them. Sorry I dont mean to thread jack. Your truck looks great though!!!

[sdailey]

Your truck looks great. Good job.

[msgross]

looks nice,


the back windows go in pretty easily, but the front windows aren't fun at all. Good choice to live it up to a pro, If they break their new window then you don't pay either.

[19gmc72]

This might have been in a post but whats the story on the grill, is that a new one or did you restore the original?

[72 Super]

Crumley, your truck is looking great!

[Crumley]

Thanks for the reply's. Again it has be alot of fun working on it.

The grill is stock from the factory..it had alot of rust issues on the backside. It took alot of wire bruching and cleaning to get it where I could POR 15 the back side. I took the big brow piece off of the stock grill by drilling out the rivits. I had to relocate the hood bumper pads. Then installed an erlier model hood.

Since I am replying, I will also update whats been done to the truck this weekend. The windshield and back glass where installed friday night. A big thanks goes out to GMC Pauls the windshield gasket fit like a champ. The window installers where quiet impressed that the windshield and chrome went in as easy as it did. Another big thanks goes out to Mikes bump and Grind, the back window and gasket went in flawlessly. Guy's it looks great.

On Saturday the bucket seats, dash pad, heater hoses, glove box and glove box door where installed. I want to drive it so bad now I can't stand it. This week it will be sent to the alignment shop. I will then be able to drive it. In a month or 2 the side body chrome will get installed after sanding and buffing the paint.

For the picture hounds out there here ya go:

[Crumley]

A couple of additional pictures:

[onlyifihadachevy]

It came out great. You keeping the steering wheel or changing it out for a stock one?

[Crumley]

I am not a fan of the stock steering wheel. The steering rim on the stock wheel is to narrow for my hands. The Grant wheel that is currently on it is missing some parts and if I can't find replacemant parts needed it will get changed.

[foosed]

WOW! That looks incredible! What do you mean by side chrome, do you mean stock trim or the aftermarket stick on stuff? Paint looks flawless and so does that interior!

[Crumley]

Foosed:

I will be installing the stock side body molding. New upper and lower side body molding is approx $500.00 so I am trying my hand at knocking out the dings on the OEM molding. Very tedious work. I will clean and repaint the molding. I will purchase a roll of the woodgrain tape for the bottom molding. Trying to save money.

Thanks on the paint and interior. It does look good in pictures and in person, but the pictures don't show all of my first timer's body working mistakes.

Thanks again.

[foosed]

Well i only hope when i go to paint my truck it turns out as good as yours.

[Crumley]

Update:

Well I got too happy with the wet sanding. I ended up sanding thru the paint down to the primer. Note to self: be extremley careful while sanding near or on leading edges. It doesn't take much and you have sanded thru the paint..so it is back to masking off the truck and back in the paint booth. Here are some pictures..

I will take the masking tape off tomorrow re-wet sand the repainted areas and buff.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Congrats she looks great....

[splehigh]

The truck is looking great! I noticed you said you had trouble with the primer drying before it hit the metal. I had that problem also. What do you mean by mixing the primer too hot? I was told I needed a different tip for primer. I'm not sure what size I have. It came with the gun.

Thanks

[Twisted78SS]

I just found this build thread, and really like the way it is turning out. It's looking really good, and makes me want to do the 71 I just picked up. I really need to keep on my Blazer project first, and just drive my 71 as is.. I will keep track to see the finished look.

[Crumley]

Thanks for the replys....mixing too hot means there is to much harder (catalist) when the primer and hardner where mixed...

The pictures didn't turn out to well, but I think you can see where the paint has been sanded tru to the primer.

Well I have run into a big goof up. All of the material and labor that was put into masking and repainting yesterday was wasted.

Any body and paint guy's out there that can shed some light on what I did wrong?

Yesterday, I masked off the areas to be resprayed due to wet sanding thru the paint.

I repainted the areas the where sanded thru. While the paint was still wet I also shot the painted areas with blending solvent, hoping this would blend the edges in.

When the masking was removed today I ended up with major ridges where the masking was....firgured I could wet sand the ridges out? Wrong... I got some of the ridges out but some areas I ended up sanding back thru the surface paint.

Heck I even end up buffing thru some of the paint also. So again I have a problem with some of the leading edges that the surface paint has been sanded thru. Help!!!!!!!

[Crumley]

I went ahead and buffed and polished the truck today.....other then the burning thru the paint in some areas (leading edges) it came out looking great. I also installed the windshield wiper and rear view mirrors.

Notice the wet area under the truck. I installed a chrome plated pan on the turbo 350 trans..its is looking like the gasket isn't sealing to the chrome pan. Can the chrome on the flange be scuffed in order to get a better seal between the gasket and the pan? If it continues to be a problem I will install a plug in the factory pan and reuse it..

Pictures:

[Crumley]

Speaking of rear view mirrors...the factory mirrors are stainless steel except the brackets that hold the mirrors to the tri-pod. These brackets are carbon steel. The studs on one of brackets had broke off and some one had dobb welded the studs on.

While at work the outer day I found a piece of 1/2"OD sch 40 stainless steel tubing....a 3/8" tap will thread right into this tubing.....so I took my 1/2" EMT conduit bender and bent the 1/2" SS tubing into 90 deg ells....ran a 3/8" tap into each end. Now I have some nice stainless steel brackets to hold my stainless mirrors on.

Here are some pictures:

[ffp00ch214]

Wow ,great job!

[silver7]

Dude,

Your build is awesome and gives me motivation to complete mine. I love the old GMCs. If I had my druthers I would have gone with a 71 GMC. One question if you don't mind. How did you strip your frame and sheet metal?

Here is my build thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=376295

Thanks and please keep those updates coming!

[NEVERENOUGH]

If you haven't already you need to hit the trans pan surface with a wire wheel. This will help get rid of your leaking. We always do this to chrome water necks to get them to seal. I love this truck everytime I see it I go away motivated to work on my daughters 69 thanks.

[Crumley]

Thanks for the accolades. It has been quiet a learning experance.

Silver 67: The frame was wire brushed with a side grinder...any undercoating that was too thick for the brush was heated with a tourch and scrapped off with a putty knife.. After heating and scrapping it was then back to the wire brush. Get ready to use approx 6 to 8 flat wire brushes and 1 cup brush. Where I couldn't reach with the big wire brush I used a small one on a die grinder or a hand brush.

The paint on the body was stripped using approx 6 stripping disc's from the local hardware store, along with a wire brush and a whole bunch of stick on 80 grit sanding disc's on a dual action sander. All of the above work is very time consumming

Neverenough: Thanks for the input on the chrome...I haven't brushed the flanged on the chrome pan yet... but will do. I went ahead and drilled a 1/2" hole in the the stock trans pan and welded in a 1/4" pipe thread, half coupling, just incase the wire brushing doesn't work.

No updated picture's due to lack of funds...I am saving my pennies for the side trim mounting hardware...

My girlfried did get me a side feed Iwata air brush for Christmas so I will be expermenting with it on scrap metal to see if I can repair my painting mistakes without having to repaint whole panels.

Good to know some of you guy's out there have enjoyed the build thread..

Thanks

[silver7]

Thanks for the help. Hopefully I'll start stripping mine this week.

Almost forgot - I dig the custom mirror bracket. Well done.

[Crumley]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while ...Well I save up enough money to buy some side molding clips sets. A word to the wise, never throw away anything that is taken off durning the disassembly process. The replacemant clips where ok but thank goodness I had some of the old clips. I got the upper and lower side molding installed. The truck looks awsome. Unfortunantly I haven't gotten it out the last 6- 7 weeks due to rain or snow. I am now saving my pennies to get a new chrome front bumper and tailgate. So anyway for the picture hounds out there, here ya go: