81 Texas Eddition Stepside

[Dayton601]

Hello every one, I have been reading the forums for quite awhile but have never posted, so here is what I have, I'm the 2nd owner to a 81 Stepside,
I have owned it since around 1988 drove the hell out of it, replaced the motor sometime around 1990, let everyone in the town just about drive it, parked it, its been stolen , impounded, impounded again, neglected, and then parked, and I haven't really messed with it, since about 2002 which is the last time registration shows on the window, its just about set too long, but the cab is in good shape, probably from all the oil leaks it had, but as for fenders, doors and bed, well they are shot, I have a couple of donor vehicles with good parts, one is a Suburban and the other is a 84 stepside, both are only good for the parts, not much else worth fixin on them, will try to post whats going on from time to to time, right now I have it torn apart, and have been cleaning up the frame and undercarriage, cleaning up the firewall, and making sure no rust goes any further,

John H

[Dayton601]

Front End and Bed removed,

[rusty76]

I'm in and Welcome to the board. Can't wait to see where this goes.

[1ATony]

Thanks for joining

Tony

[Dayton601]

Worked on the frame a little, getting all the old dirt and grime off, had to repair the notorious cracks to the frame, most likely caused running big tires, welded in a c10 frame repair kit, I got it from amazon, some 4x4 jeep place had it, welded up the cracks, bolted the piece on and then welded it as I went, sorry about the blurry picture, will try to do better

[Dayton601]

Out with the old in with the new, Body Bushing rusted and worn out, went back with similar factory style bushing from LMC

[Dayton601]

Here is what hitting a few manhole covers can do to A-arms,

I will be going back with CPP tubular A's -- my truck has 2 inch drop spindles, perhaps someone with this setup can comment about their ride and how its worked out, I'm the one who will be installing them, so maybe some tips / pointers that I will need to look out for,

[Dayton601]

Went out and got me a $99 dollar 10 x 20 canopy from Academy, the acorns are plentiful this year, dropping like little bombs, I'm sure my neighbors are going crazy, there's no deed restrictions, earlier one walked by and said when i come outside it makes me think a Funeral is going on, LOL, told her it was a resurrection tent,

[Dayton601]

I have been taking on the firewall area, it was covered in some kind of rubbery seam sealer, took a wire wheel to the areas I could reach, replaced it with some 3m seam sealer and just put a small strip at the big seam that runs all the way across, I thought it would have laid down a lot smoother than it did, ran tape first leaving about 1/4 inch space for the seam sealer, but just the thickness of the tape made it more noticeable than i cared for, it left a small ridge line, but then again I'm only trying to clean it up, not make it s show stopper, then I sprayed it with some 2k black primer sealer, after it set a day, I then sprayed it with some black 1k primer, the kind that fills scratches and sands easily, had a couple places that i welded up just below the windshield, the 1k worked pretty good, helped smooth out the area so I didn't have to use any body filler, that and the 1k sands really easy, there were a few scratches from the wire wheel, the discoloration is from wet sanding it a little, probably will hit it with a little more primer before putting on some single stage urethane 99k black (hardener added no clear coat) for a shine that's better than what was on there,

[Dayton601]

In the process of painting the door jambs, and taking the doors off a 88 burb, took the wiring harness for the windows and locks, hope to get it set up so its electric windows and locks,