LockDoc's "Low Budget", "Low Maintenance" Project Thread

[LockDoc]

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Well, my day didn't start out too good this morning. I have been having trouble with Raccoons around here so I trap them in the live trap and re-locate them a long ways away. I went out to check the trap early this morning and lo and behold, there to greet me is a Skunk..... I got on the internet and looked up information on how to deal with it. One seemingly knowledgeable guy said to hold an old blanket up in front of you, walk up to the trap and lay the blanket over the trap. That way he won't be able to see you and it will be dark in there and the Skunk will feel safe. Then you pick the blanket and trap up and place it in the back of your vehicle. Take it to where you want to release it and put the opening of the trap up against some weeds so when the skunk comes out he can go straight into the weeds. It was a little hairy trying to get the door of the trap open and hold the blanket in place. When I finally got the door open he didn't come out. I'm standing there in this uncomfortable position saying "Come out of there you little sucker". I finally see a black nose poking out and hoping it will go into the weeds and not around the side of the trap. I move the door a little bit and he scurried straight ahead into the weeds. I stood still until I could see the weeds moving further down the embankment. I put the trap back into the back of the Dually, wiped the sweat off of my brow, and headed back home.


After the excitement was over I dug out a good pair of hood hinges and started cleaning them up. I wasn't happy with the way it was going so I decided to remove the springs. Removing the springs is the only sure way to check the tightness of the pivot points, so I killed two birds with one stone. I think I am going to soak them in White Vinegar for a few hours and pressure wash them to remove the rust.

White Vinegar and pressure washing worked good. You have to make sure you pressure wash them really good. I then blow them dry with the air hose. I just need to touch them up with a small wire brush before primer and paint. They will flash rust almost immediately if you don't blow the water off of them. That isn't a big deal for me since I am using Rustoleum primer and paint.

Sorry about the long post....

LockDoc

[CG]

Hinges look great. Good job on the skunk relocation!

[artctp]

Hi Leon. Nice job on the hinges...and getting rid of the skunk. That is what I always worried about catching in a live trap.

I will have to get over to see your truck...nice posts on progress.

I have been working on 68.

Art

[LockDoc]

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Originally Posted by CG

Hinges look great. Good job on the skunk relocation!

Thanks Mark. I was a little concerned on the relocation but it worked out good... This time..

Originally Posted by artctp

Hi Leon. Nice job on the hinges...and getting rid of the skunk. That is what I always worried about catching in a live trap.

I will have to get over to see your truck...nice posts on progress.

I have been working on 68.

Art

Hi Art,

Thanks. I think I am making pretty good progress on it for as crappy as the weather has been. Good to see you posting on here again. I will be calling you in the next few days, I need some small stuff if you have it.

Also glad to see you are working on the '68.

LockDoc

[Ol Blue K20]

Hinges look great! What color is that?

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Hinges look great! What color is that?

Thanks Dale.

Paint is good old Rustoleum grey primer and Semi-Gloss Black. I buy it in the spray cans for the small stuff and quart cans for the gravity feed spray gun, for the big stuff....

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

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OK, it's time to put the springs back on the hood hinges. It's always a pain in the keester for me, so I'm trying to think of an easy way to do it. I finally came up with this.... I have a bare C20 frame sitting out in front of the shop, so I got to thinking, If I get a small ratchet strap and hook it to one of the holes in the front of the frame and hook one end of the spring in the hole across from it I should be able to stretch the spring enough to get the hinge in place and then release the ratchet strap. It worked great, there was plenty of room to slide the hinge in and release the ratchet. I had a couple of small places to touch up on the hooks of the springs but that was it. And no hospital trips...

LockDoc

[Getter-Done]

Great Job

You should have made a U tube Video.

I seen one a Guy slip the springs on

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Great Job

You should have made a U tube Video.

I seen one a Guy slip the springs on

Good idea! Problem is, I don't know how to make a video, let alone put it on YouTube....

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

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About the only thing I got accomplished today was to lightly sandblast a couple of pairs of front parking light housings. I started to spray the coating on the inside of them and the spray can quit working. I cleaned the nozzle out and it worked for a little while and quit again. I got tired of working on it so I called it a day. I will try it again tomorrow.

LockDoc
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[LockDoc]

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Got a few more things done on the truck. Hood hinges are installed & hood is on. Front park lights rebuilt and installed. Cowl vent is bolted in. Headlight assemblies refreshed and installed, along with trim rings, Grille hoops cleaned up and bolted in. I have some adjusting to do on the sheet metal but it's lookin' pretty good I think.

I had to put a different lower track on the bottom of one of the door glasses. The one that was on it was rusted pretty bad.

[LockDoc]

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Another picture with bumper and cowl vent on. The bumper bolts aren't tight. I need to pick up some stainless ones.

LockDoc
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[regan wilson]

That's looking good.

[kev2809]

gaps are looking good to me. you didnt have to use any spacers anywhere?

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

That's looking good.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by kev2809

gaps are looking good to me. you didn't have to use any spacers anywhere?

Thanks.

The hood needs to move over to the drivers side about an eighth of an inch. Yes, I had to use spacers on the passenger side fender at the cowl. I don't have anything bolted down tight yet, just snugged up.

LockDoc
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[kev2809]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

Thanks!



Thanks.

The hood needs to move over to the drivers side about an eighth of an inch. Yes, I had to use spacers on the passenger side fender at the cowl. I don't have anything bolted down tight yet, just snugged up.

LockDoc
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to push the cowl out..or the fender?

[Palf70Step]

Those are some healthy looking tires on the rear. She is ready to do some work! Looks real good.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by kev2809

to push the cowl out..or the fender?

I had to shim the fender out.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Those are some health looking tires on the rear. She is ready to do some work! Looks real good.

Good ol' Iowa mud & snow tires. I am going to put regular street type tires on it when I am ready to start driving it. I don't want to do it now. They might be dry rotted before I get it on the road....

Thanks,
LockDoc
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[Ol Blue K20]

I like it......a lot!

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I like it......a lot!

Thanks Dale. It's going to be different that's for sure.

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

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Still moving along on this. It continues to be really hot here so that is slowing me down some. I work on it early in the morning and in the evening.

I sand blasted a few more parts early this morning and installed the window regulators, windows and vent windows. All of the window channel felts, and glass seals and such are in. I need to install the door panels and arm rests next week.

We are having our family get together Sunday that was postponed from the 4 of July, so not much work on the truck this weekend.

Thanks to everyone that's following along with me on this. So far it has been a blast.

LockDoc
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[LockDoc]

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Well the family dinner went off Sunday without a hitch and it seems like everyone had a good time. I enjoy it, but glad it only happens once a year. It's a lot of work.
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Worked on the project yesterday and today. The weather is a lot nicer right now.

I drilled the heads off of some of the bolts on the rear wheel tubs to see how much I will have to widen them. (picture 1) I used a center punch to punch the center of the bolt heads and a 12" long drill bit to make it easier to clear the tub. (picture 2) Then I marked the cut line on the tub. (picture 3) and cut it. (picture 4). I have extra tubs so I won't have to put a piece in, I can just cut another inner section wider. The top line is 3 3/4 inches and the bottom line is 5 inches. The top line would be wide enough but it is on top of a rib and will make it a hassle to fit the lip of the tub to the floor. I think I will move out to the 5 inch line where it will be in a valley and make it much easier. I still may use the orange bed. It has a wood floor and would make this whole process much easier. The wood floor is bad but I have a new oak wood kit and new bed strips for it so that isn't a problem. I will have to give it some serious thought.....

LockDoc
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[LockDoc]

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I also installed the exterior heater box and blower motor. I installed new rope chalk around the perimeter of the box and installed the heater core. (I forgot to take pictures of the core install) I pressure washed the core and flushed it out good before I installed it.

I had an A/C blower motor that I lubed up and tested before installation.

Worked on the wiring a little more and got more of it sorted out and straightened up. The little stuff takes a lot of time.

LockDoc
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[cwcarpenter98]

Looks like you've spilled a plate of spaghetti on your fender, Leon! The truck is looking great! My choice would probably be for the wood bed just because I like having nice wood in the bed of an old truck

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Looks like you've spilled a plate of spaghetti on your fender, Leon! The truck is looking great! My choice would probably be for the wood bed just because I like having nice wood in the bed of an old truck

Yes, but it is the non edible spaghetti....

Thanks. I don't favor one style bed over the other but I am just looking for the easy way out....

LockDoc