Project Reno - 72 cheyenne rebuild

[cmabolt]

Mo-paint
Well, after some badgering, my paint guy finally finished up the cab. Got it back to the garage this morning.


I am awaiting lizard skin to do the inner floor/firewall before I install the cab.
I also flipped the bed up on it's edge so I can convert the surface rust. I decided I am going to do the raptor spray in bedliner underneath the bed instead of the more expensive line-x. It has received a lot of good reviews via various forums. I will do the line-x on the top side of the bed instead. I am waiting for materials, but will get that done and then the bed will go off for bodywork and paint.

Thankfully, I can get the cab on and start putting Reno back together. I am praying my budget will hold out. It's gonna be close.

[rgunlock]

Your cab looks great! That root beer color is really growing on me. What product do you plan to use to convert the surface rust on your bed floor? I may have missed a post, but are you planning to use seam sealer before applying the lizard skin?

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Your cab looks great! That root beer color is really growing on me. What product do you plan to use to convert the surface rust on your bed floor? I may have missed a post, but are you planning to use seam sealer before applying the lizard skin?

Hey Thanks Rick!
I am using Corroseal rust converter since you apply it, it converts then becomes a primer. One step process.
I then plan to paint the underneath of the bed with Sherwin Williams Corothane 1 as a binder for my spray-in bedliner.
You can use that stuff on bare metal and many of the Line-x dealers use it as a binder before spraying the line-x bedliners.
I hope it works as well on the raptor product, but t's a urethane product that has excellent adhesions properties to just about anything

As for the lizard skin, no seam sealer planned. Just a little scuff and spray. I'm doing insulation and sound deadened. Doesn't seem like a
lot of people have used this on trucks in this forum so I am going to cover my experience here well and try and get decent pics.

[CUSTOM/10]

Looking Good !!!

Your catching up to me so I'll have to pickup the pace a bit..... "LOL"

[rgunlock]

Thanks for the tip on the Corothane. I have the same plan for the underside of bed and cab, but was thinking of applying over epoxy primer. I'll have to look into this.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Thanks for the tip on the Corothane. I have the same plan for the underside of bed and cab, but was thinking of applying over epoxy primer. I'll have to look into this.

No problem. The only catch is that it isn't available at your local Sherwin Williams store. You will have to go to their local supplier and it's not cheap at $100 for a gallon. If it keeps that bedliner attached it is worth it for me. You spray the bedliner within the pot time for the Corothane so it is a chemical bond not mechanical. Here is a pic of the can for reference



Good luck Chris

[cmabolt]

A little more progress…
I completed the bell housing and clutch fork saga today with a boot. Checked off list

Lizard skin and raptor showed up.

Cab floor is prepped for lizard skin. I ordered a Devilbis drier/filter for my air systems so going to install before i start spraying anything.

As discussed here on the forums, used foam ear plugs for all the vital holes.

I also started modifying the location of the transfer case shift stick. it turned out to be way too close to the trans shifter so I am making a small bracket to position the shift knob back a couple inches. Should be done today.

More to come. Should be installing cab next week.

[swamp rat]

Reading intently! Nice work!

[cmabolt]

More progress.
Finished the bracket to locate the transfer case shifter a few inches back. Not my prettiest work, but it's solid.

First coat of lizard skin sound deadening is down. Looks pretty good, but It took a bit to get is to spray evenly.

I did a test spray and it was a little clumpy until I leaned out the nozzle.

This is the nozzle position I used for final coats that sprayed evenly. I ended up doing a light first coat, let it dry and then did a very heavy coat. 1 gallon did the cab floor, firewall and a small portion of the rear cab. If you want it thick 1 gallon will not do it. Tomorrow I will spray 2 coats of the ceramic insulation.

[cmabolt]

So wrapped up lizard skin application yesterday. I ended up doing 2 coats of sound deadener and 2 coats of ceramic insulation. The texture ended up being dimpled and rough to the touch. Here is the finished cab

The color looks grey on the pics, but it is more like dark charcoal.

As some others have reported the ceramic insulation goes a lot further than the sound deadener. It also dries very fast. By the time I got the first coat sprayed I began spraying the second coat. The sound deadener was a different story. It took much longer than the manufacturer said for it to dry and even after letting the last heavy coat sit overnite it was damp in the morning. All in all though seemed to go on easy and turned out as described.

I then turned my attention to rust converting the underneath of the bed.

there was not a ton of rust but bed has been sitting for almost a year in bare metal. I used my paint gun as the corroseal is almost thick like paint. Went on perfect. Here is before and after.


today i will spray the corothane on the underneath of the bed and then raptor the entire underneath of bed. So far so good.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by cmabolt

Hey Thanks Rick!
I am using Corroseal rust converter since you apply it, it converts then becomes a primer. One step process.
I then plan to paint the underneath of the bed with Sherwin Williams Corothane 1 as a binder for my spray-in bedliner.
You can use that stuff on bare metal and many of the Line-x dealers use it as a binder before spraying the line-x bedliners.
I hope it works as well on the raptor product, but t's a urethane product that has excellent adhesions properties to just about anything

As for the lizard skin, no seam sealer planned. Just a little scuff and spray. I'm doing insulation and sound deadened. Doesn't seem like a
lot of people have used this on trucks in this forum so I am going to cover my experience here well and try and get decent pics.

Got a question on the Corroseal rust converter, when sprayed does it pretty much stay where you spray it or is it thin enough to allow it to creep between the metal pieces? I was wondering about spraying it inside the bed and if it would saturate between where the pieces are bolted together?

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Got a question on the Corroseal rust converter, when sprayed does it pretty much stay where you spray it or is it thin enough to allow it to creep between the metal pieces? I was wondering about spraying it inside the bed and if it would saturate between where the pieces are bolted together?

Hey Rick. I used an HPLV sprayer at 30
Psi. It sprayed on very nice. It's almost the
Same consistency as paint. It's milky. It is definitely
Thin enough to run and fill in small areas. It started
Converting the rust immediately. By the time I went to
Refill my gun, the rust had turned black. Very nice product.

[rgunlock]

Cab floor looks great. Any science behind using ceramic insulation over the lizard skin? Just for extra deadener or does it add something more than just applying another coat of lizard skin? Definitely going to have to look into the Corroseal. The stuff I used on my cab did a good job of arresting surface rust, but was runny, collected dust and now I'll have to sand it all off before primer. A rust converter that acts as a primer sounds like a much better option.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Cab floor looks great. Any science behind using ceramic insulation over the lizard skin? Just for extra deadener or does it add something more than just applying another coat of lizard skin? Definitely going to have to look into the Corroseal. The stuff I used on my cab did a good job of arresting surface rust, but was runny, collected dust and now I'll have to sand it all off before primer. A rust converter that acts as a primer sounds like a much better option.

The ceramic insulation is also a lizard skin product. It uses little ceramic micro balloons mixed in paint that create a thermal barrier. You're supposed to spray on the sound deadener then the insulation. Supposed to cut temperatures by 30% I believe. Seemed like a less bulky solution then dynomat, then insulation then carpet. Less expensive then that route as well.

Here is the bottom of bed floor sprayed with Raptor liner.

CLOSEUP

After spraying the Corothane, I realized why line-x dealers must use it. A little dripped on the smooth concrete floor and my paper paint filter was laying in it. I literally had a hard time getting the paint filter off the floor and the Corothane wasn't even fully dry yet. Sticky stuff. I put it on heavy so it looked saturated. I let it tack to the touch and then immediately sprayed the raptor liner. I did two coats of the raptor liner which took me 1 complete kit or 4 bottles and one additional bottle. I sprayed at 60psi. It was a very consistent spray and very nice texture. If it's as tough as they say on the forums, I highly recommend this product just on ease of application, 2 part spray on system and resulting
finish. It looks just like Line-x. I'm gonna let it sit for 3 days and then the bed is off to paint.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by CUSTOM/10

Looking Good !!!

Your catching up to me so I'll have to pickup the pace a bit..... "LOL"

I doubt I'll be catching up to you any time soon. The bed still needs bodywork and paint and I won't have the cab on till this week sometime. But, I am mostly sure of that because I just got word from my back surgeon that I will need a revision surgery on my back. Apparently, without knowing, I re-herniated my L4/L5 disc. The funny thing is I am not in any pain. So, I am going to get as much buttoned up as I can before surgery. I hope to get the Cab and Bed back on the frame with assembly of as much of the wiring, brakes, steering etc as i can before i go under the knife again. Once I have surgery it will be a good 2 months before i can really get back in the garage and start doing stuff.

Sucks, but whatareyagonnado?

I look forward to seeing your truck complete. Nice comments about your mother as well.

[cmabolt]

Well another day of 2 steps forward and one step back. I was able to get the cab back on the frame for the first time in over a year. (2 steps forward)

The headers were hitting the floor of the cab. (1 step back) So with a deep sigh, after thinking I had gotten the doug thorly headers to fit, I had to remove them for good. I figured I would try the stock manifolds since I had them, but they will not fit either. So I am going to try the hooker ceramic manifolds or another mid-length header. I'll get it figured out eventually. Just bummed about dropping $600 on headers that won't work and i now have to try and sell and will no doubt take a big hit.

After installing the cab I can now see the mods that need to be made to the trans tunnel. So a little chopping and re-welding is in order. Not too bad really. Just need to relocate the trans shift hole a couple inches.


More to come.

[CUSTOM/10]

Looking good !!! Good progress !!!!

Sorry to hear about your back, that does suck......

I haven't done much on mine lately, trying to get caught back up on other stuff that took a back seat to the truck for a while. I have the next 5 days off, headed up to the mountains for a few then back home for the weekend. Maybe I'll squeeze in some truck time !

Gary

[rgunlock]

Looks great with the cab back on. Should be on for good now, right? Must feel great! Sorry to hear about the back and header issues.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Looks great with the cab back on. Should be on for good now, right? Must feel great! Sorry to hear about the back and header issues.

Hey Rick, it does feel good. The truck seems so small now that the cab is back on it. As for the back, I feel lucky that I can still function. This past January before my first surgery I couldn't even walk without crutches.

I ordered 1 set of manifolds and one set of headers. I ordered the Hooker cast manifolds with very good clearance in ceramic finish and the headman mid-length headers for our trucks in the 2wd version. I am pretty sure the hookers will work, but will be very happy if the headman headers work. I would much rather have the gains of a header as apposed to a manifold, especially on the ls motors where breathing is a must.

[cmabolt]

A little progress.
Got to work on my trans tunnel. I got the areas cut out that I needed to shift. I ran out of new sheet metal so have to go resupply and should have it done today.

Heres a look at the clearances for my headers on drivers side where it is tight.


Also, if anybody is interested, here are my Doug Thorley's for sale. I will list them on parts board as well.
$300 plus shipping.

This is the mod I made on the drivers side header. It's about a 1/4" indentation. Not terrible for a set of brand new headers that are usually $600

More coming as I start reassembly.

[esoxman308]

Nice build thread, not sure if they make a header for your application, but Sanderson makes a manifold looking header thats ceramic coated and is short enough for any application.

[swamp rat]

Bummer on the headers, I was wondering why until i realized you have something other than the 350.. I have Doug Thorley and they don't come close to hitting the cab.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by esoxman308

Nice build thread, not sure if they make a header for your application, but Sanderson makes a manifold looking header thats ceramic coated and is short enough for any application.

Thanks esoxman308! I ordered the hooker version of what your talking about so next week we'll see if that does the trick. thanks for the tip though and thanks for checkin out my build.

Chris

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Bummer on the headers, I was wondering why until i realized you have something other than the 350.. I have Doug Thorley and they don't come close to hitting the cab.

Hey Swamp rat! Your no stranger to problems either. Just part of building these things. Your gas tank filler neck work was very nice BTW. I moved the LS motor forward about 2 inches hoping that would solve most of my problems.
It did, but these headers that were never supposed to fit seemed like they might. So now plan b. I am sure one of the next two sets will fit and i can put this to bed. No big deal, just really liked those headers. i did manage to sell them and pay for my next pair though.

Chris

[CUSTOM/10]

I had header issue also. Installed a set of polished SS headers, speed pro I believe, bolted right up but I realized they were going to hit the cab on the passenger side because they came back too far before dropping down. Bought a set of Headmen SS Elite headers for our trucks, and still needed to clearance the DS frame rail for 1 tube. I believe it was due to my 700r4 and moving the engine forward, but their in there now.

So I feel your pain !

Gary