For Gramps (1970 C20 RestoMod)

[mjensen]

Do you have an air hammer? Cut the head, hammer it with that. That's what I would do anyway

I have one if you need to borrow it.

[mcbassin]

Nice to see you back at it on this project. It looks like you made some real good progress on the cab and chassis too. On that broken bolt, I would just drill it out with like 1/4"-3/8" drill.
This will relive some pressure on the sides, you can then use an air hammer like Mike said and just pop it out.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by mjensen

Do you have an air hammer? Cut the head, hammer it with that. That's what I would do anyway

I have one if you need to borrow it.

That makes a lot of sense. I should have access to one.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Nice to see you back at it on this project. It looks like you made some real good progress on the cab and chassis too. On that broken bolt, I would just drill it out with like 1/4"-3/8" drill.
This will relive some pressure on the sides, you can then use an air hammer like Mike said and just pop it out.

Thanks, I was thinking about that too.

And second thanks, its great to be back. That hiatus was killer haha. Every time I would walk by the chassis, it made me sad lol.

But this week it will be sandblasted and hopefully painted. Still trying to work out some plans for the rear end and the transmission xmember. I plan on putting in a 700r4, which I know pushes that crossmember back 2" or so.

I dont want to move it now, without having the transmission in place and move it to the wrong location. If that makes sense.

[mjensen]

Luckily, moving that trans cross member isn't too big of deal...ask me how I know.... :Lol:

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by mjensen

Luckily, moving that trans cross member isn't too big of deal...ask me how I know.... :Lol:

HAHA! Theres no way Id attempt your 4-6" move of the trans xmember.

But, yours looks awesome! Your truck looked awesome the other day.

[Jahloha]

Its funny how seemingly simple things can make you super excited when working on these trucks!

Yesterday I complete tear down and got the frame loaded up and delivered today for sandblasting. This was a huge milestone for me and the sight of my rearend and frame on the trailer made me SO happy! They are charging me $225 to blast frame, rear end, trailing arms, a arms, and a few other random pieces. I am happy with that.

Quick "Im an idiot" story. Last night at 11PM and after about 1.5 hours of trying to load the rear end on my own onto the trailer using leverage, floor jack, pulleys and everything...I sat on the asphalt to think about my next strategy when I looked under the trailer and realized the trailer is meant for towing cars and of course there were ramps underneath haha! Pulled them, rolled the rear end on in less than 10 minutes. IM AN IDIOT!

Here some pics from dropping the stuff off. Looking forward to picking the stuff up later today!

[swamp rat]

Like me you can laugh at your mistakes, they usually happen when your tired and pushing hard to get something done, cant say how many times i started to struggle with something only to get frustrated and walk away from it, then accomplish the task withing 15 minutes the next day..its all good.

[Jahloha]

Brief Update:

Got the items back from sandblasting and started final prep for paint. I have decided to remove two crossmember, one because of damage and another because it is still greasy because sandblasting could not get behind the it well enough.

I wanted to keep as many xmembers in contact on the frame, but can't get myself to skip a corner and paint over the unclean member, especially since Im this far along.

Here are some pics:

For anyone considering paying to get their frame sandblasted, simply look at these two pics! I was able to do my frame, rearend, trailing arms, control arms, front xmember and other pieces for $230.




Here is the frame up on the stands for last prep for paint

[Jahloha]

After blasting the frame and rearend I found a lot of stampings throughout and took pictures, wanting to document them. Ill be searching the forum to figure out what they all mean, if you know, please chime in.

Thanks!

REAREND STAMPINGS

Back Case of Rearend "3934635"

[mjensen]

Oh yeah! You'll have paint on that puppy in no time! Are you going to separate the trailing arms and such?

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by mjensen

Oh yeah! You'll have paint on that puppy in no time! Are you going to separate the trailing arms and such?

Oh yeah, for sure!

I am still trying to get the freaking bottom bolts out of the coils! I already bought my bushings for reassembly but need those bolts out haha.

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by Jahloha

Oh yeah, for sure!

I am still trying to get the freaking bottom bolts out of the coils! I already bought my bushings for reassembly but need those bolts out haha.

Do you need me to bring some tools and help get those suckers out of there?

[garmar]

Cool build and great story about your "gramps". I sure miss mine. He had an old yellow AMC Gremlin and I've been searching for one to build in his memory. Good luck with your build.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by garmar

Cool build and great story about your "gramps". I sure miss mine. He had an old yellow AMC Gremlin and I've been searching for one to build in his memory. Good luck with your build.

Thanks All support helps!

[Jahloha]

May seem small, but for anyone who has removed rivets from their frame know what a tedious task it can be!

Today I removed around 25 rivets for three crossmembers and the spare tire mounts.

Here is a pic of the rear xmember out. I removed these to either facilitate the bed tank, conduct final cleaning, or for the 700r4 swap. Either way, closer and closer to painting!

[Orangetonicclicc]

That's awesome man!

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress on the frame. I remember knocking out many of those cross member rivets. ouch....they can be a real pain for sure. Glad to see you are fully motivated again.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by Orangetonicclicc

That's awesome man!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice progress on the frame. I remember knocking out many of those cross member rivets. ouch....they can be a real pain for sure. Glad to see you are fully motivated again.

Thanks! The brief hiatus was definitely killing me, but we all know family comes first. And tell me about it, essentially got out a torch for plumbing and heated the metal to help expansion on a few of them.

[Jahloha]

Last night I finalized prep of the frame and started painting. I used Marine Clean from Por15 for last degrease and washed down the frame. After heating the garage and ensuring all was dry, I through down a first coat on about half the frame.

As a reminder, I am using MasterSeries primer and topcoat. These rust inhibitor paints scare the heck out of me, knowing what could happen if you enhale too much. So I was kind of happy I ended up brushing it on, even though I still wore my mask.

This stuff went on smoothly and will be able to most likely do two coats of the primer with just over one quart of paint. Also, this stuff has got to be toxic, some spilled down the side and I wiped it up within 5 seconds, check out the bleching it caused!



Midway through painting the rearend. Should have two coats of primer finished tomorrow night.

[TheRegulator]

dang, I am busy and just skimmed some pages but nice work, I am envious! Im looking forward to the day I can actually get mine torn down, I will most likely need all new parts though, mine is so rusted its scary.

but for you and those that have already done restos, I was thinking instead of rivets, would it be an idea to use a nut and bolt combo in case anything needed removed for any reason?

[MAC71]

Where in did you get the sand blasting done? I am close to that point on my truck and live in Salt Lake City.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by TheRegulator

dang, I am busy and just skimmed some pages but nice work, I am envious! Im looking forward to the day I can actually get mine torn down, I will most likely need all new parts though, mine is so rusted its scary.

but for you and those that have already done restos, I was thinking instead of rivets, would it be an idea to use a nut and bolt combo in case anything needed removed for any reason?

Most of us on here feel that removing a cross member or two is OK in a restoration, but there are some who have replaced every crossmember with bolts.

In my opinion, I only removed the rear crossmember because it was cut through for my Gramps' hitch and the rear sus xmember because it wasn't clean enough in all the nooks for me to feel comfortable to paint.

And do the frame off resto! Develop an accurate savings plan and build plan, then get to it!

Originally Posted by MAC71

Where in did you get the sand blasting done? I am close to that point on my truck and live in Salt Lake City.

Mac, glad to meet another Utah member! I live in WVC and the place I used was Wasatch Abrasive, roughly California Ave and 32nd west. Here is their web address:

http://www.wasatchabrasiveblasting.com

The frame, control arms, steer components, rear end, and a few odds and ends (maybe 3 pieces) came to about $230. I was able to pick up the parts the same day (I dropped them off at 8AM, right when they opened).

Owner's name is JR and the forklift operator who helps get your gear out and gets you on the schedule is Antonio, both are really good guys.

[Jahloha]

Found these H2 wheels on KSL (Utah's version of Craigslist) and got them for $320! I was pumped.

Another cool factoid was that the seller works for TeraFlex (http://www.teraflex.biz), one of the biggest Jeep axle and build companies. We talked for about an hour and became good friends, he is one of their chief engineers and is going to help me with my 14-bolt build up.

Either way, its always nice to meet good people and have fair exchanges on the open market.

[mjensen]

Great score on the wheels, and meeting an axle guru

Now, git'r'dun

[Jahloha]

I finished painting my frame! After looking back at how long it took me to decide how and what I would use to paint my frame, I finally decided that ITS JUST A FRAME!

I cared so much about how it looked and stressed over it, but I finally realized that all I cared about was having the right combination of paints to ensure rust wouldn't creep onto the truck after everything was put back to together. Once I realized this, it made painting the frame less stressful and was able to pound it out.

MasterSeries Review:

I decided to go with MasterSeries paints (http://www.masterseriesct.com/home.html). I used their silver and AG111 products. I did two coats of silver primer and used just over 1.5 quarts and did one coat of the AG111 topcoat, which I stretched one quart to do the job.

The topcoat went on very smoothly and flowed nicely for a really slick finish. I went with a stain finish, it looks high gloss now and am hoping it looses some sheen as it cures.

What Ive learned looking back:

- Just get your frame sandblasted, it SO worth it
- Decided on a paint and just paint it, no one will ever see (of course if you are building a show car the standards are different. Mine will be a weekend warrior type of deal)
- Dont forget to have fun! Every decision on these trucks for a new build can be so stressful, dont fall into the trap haha.

Here are some pics of the final painting of my frame