Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

then it was time to flip the bed floor over and work on the underside - you know the side that no one sees but The Greg must spend half a day on, grinding, washing, wire wheeling, scrapping, aciding, and cleaning some more

I got going then I decided I should take some pics, so in the first two pics you can see from left to right how I started cleaning it, and then the last 18 inches or so still were left to clean

apologies for some pics not turning out, the sun was relentless

[Gregski]

I took the sides of the bed out and laid them out on the lawn so they won't get even more scratched and beat up, both sides needed some hammering and straitening out a bit in the bottom rears right behind the wheels where those heavy duty diamond plate bumpers attach

[Gregski]

it sort of turned into one of those days where I worked on a ton of stuff and busted my butt for a whole day non stop and really had nothing shinny or painted to show for it, you know what I mean

I worked on this piece a little bit, then I moved to another, I wire wheeled some rust off of this piece, then hammered on another, then brushed on some acid on another

[Gregski]

so this is the rusty spot on the back of the cab, see I even wire wheeled this a little bit, I told you I was all over the place

again the sun made it tough to take decent pictures, and I wasn't going to move the truck just so I could, I was too busy being busy

[Gregski]

even got started on the frame, I don't have a pressure washer and I am not a big fan of those (since the time it took the paint off the timing cover of my Harley when I washed it, lol)

so did one top frame rail, before I killed another wire wheel, time to get a new one... AGAIN

[flashed]

Wow ,you have been busy ,looking good .

[rgunlock]

You are doing a great job! This whole restoration hobby is IMO 95% elbow grease and 5% money for stuff. We know how much the stuff adds up to - Gregski's thread shows how much that 95% elbow grease adds up to!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

You are doing a great job! This whole restoration hobby is IMO 95% elbow grease and 5% money for stuff. We know how much the stuff adds up to - Gregski's thread shows how much that 95% elbow grease adds up to!

Thank you Rick, well said. This is the most enjoyable vehicle I have ever worked on, for those of you considering a project who don't own a truck yet and are just looking, I totally recommend a squarebody ie 1973-1980ish truck I prefer the round headlights so I stay with the first have of the 1973-87 third gen trucks. They are still cheap but are definitely becoming harder and harder to find. Aside from my '69 VW Bug I had in high school this is so simple yet so well built.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by flashed

Wow ,you have been busy ,looking good .

Thank you, I'm trying.

[Chaplain]

Yep...I would agree. The simplicity is there...and btw I had a 70 VW in high school.

[Gregski]

well it's graduation season, [ahem] promotion I should say, I guess that's the latest buzz word, our kids no longer graduate 8th grade some knucklehead decided they get promoted to high school, what ever

anywho between all the graduation ceremonies I stopped by Harbor Freight and picked up some disposable tools, more wire wheels and this cheap (one use I bet) rivet tool, I plan on using it to close off the hole in one of the wheel housings

[Gregski]

alright so here we go, start out with a manila folder we stole from the wifes filing cabinet, we saw the pros do this on TV so monkey see monkey do

we cut out a template

[Gregski]

then we transfer the shape to the donor metal ie the old bed side we kept just in case (it's wrecked on the other side so please no hate mail)

we did have to hammer a slight curve into it to fit nice and snug, you can sort of tell in the last pic where the piece already has 1/8th holes drilled in it

[Gregski]

then it was time to rivet it in place, I have never rivitted before, but I learned that you just keep clamping on the handle till the rivet stud breaks off, even a cave man could do it

not bad, considerin' this will be all covered with some Herculiner

IT'S A TRUCK !!!

[rich weyand]

Now epoxy a circular piece (JBWeld for example) into that hole and you won't even have a depression there once the liner goes on.

[rgunlock]

If you have any seam sealer, I'd spread that around all the edges to try to keep moisture out of the overlapped metal before hitting it with the bed liner material.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rich weyand

Now epoxy a circular piece (JBWeld for example) into that hole and you won't even have a depression there once the liner goes on.

Man I could not find my JB Weld and I know I have some, and I hate buying what I already have, so I used some good ol' body filler and called it good

[Gregski]

finally it was time to apply the Herculiner, I couldn't wait to try this product

I decided to use a brush and it worked out really well, using this method the product goes a long way, I am never agian going to spray undercoating out of a spray can

this is a manly product, covers well, goes on thick, makes a lovely [controlled] mess where you want it

wear long sleeves though so you won't end up with freckles on your arms like me

we do the underside first

[Gregski]

well I only had enough to do the underside of the bed floor and as you can see we ran out while trying to cover one of the wheel housings, no big deal I recon the under side of the bed has more surface area than the top since the top does not have the cross 2x4s etc

we shall buy another can of this HERCULINER and paint some more tomorrow morning, since morning is the best time to paint, that will allow the underside to dry completely so we can flip it over tomorrow and start a new

[Gregski]

asked for another dance with the rust on the back of the cabin

this is after wire wheelin it and treating it with Metal Prep (ie phosphoric acid) once already, it will take a few rounds, but we'll get there

[Gregski]

then went another round with the rusty dusty frame

[Gregski]

of course suspension is outside of the scope of this project...

... but the leaf springs are so easy to clean, and so I did waste time on wire wheelin' them when I shouldn't have

and of course when we do the suspension we will replace the old dusty (possibly still OEM) shocks, so definitely no need to clean them, that would be a total waste of time, so of course I started cleaned one of them, LOL

[Gregski]

I want to share something with you. As I am doing this simple bed floor replacement I am thinking, man this is a beast of a job. Was this really only supposed to take me a weekend? Lets be realistic and outline all that has to be done in said "Bed Floor Replacement Job"

1. Take apart bed and remove rusty old bed floor

2. Straighten and wire wheel clean the replacement bed floor, de rust

3. Remove old rusted out wheel wells replace with used ones

4. De rust, straighten and patch replacement wheel housings

5. Back of cab rust removal, primer and touch up paint

6. Back of bed rust removal, primer and touch up paint

7. Bed sides rust removal, straighten, primer and touch up paint

8. Wire wheel, rust removal frame

9. POR15 truck frame

10. Herculiner the entire inside of the bed

[hatzie]

Yup. It always sounds quicker before we get into it.

Checking the bits that are more accessible with the bed off wouldn't hurt a thing. They take longer once that bed is in the way.
Things like...
Are the shock mount holes in the frame egg shaped?
Are the spring pivot bushings worn out?
How does the frame to axle brake hose look?
How does the axle vent and hose look.
Did the last 5 previous owners have U-Haul butcher the tail lamp harness?
Did one of them butcher the axle U bolts?
Are the E-brake cables in decent enough shape to keep on for the next 5 years?

The list goes on...

[Brent7654]

From your earlier post, I always use map gas (Yellow bottle) it burns much hotter. Easier to solder with too.

Brent....