1983 K5 RUST floor pan, kick panel, bed

[yakmastermax]

I bought this blazer for 1000$ dollars and was planning on doing a NV4500 swap (lucky me the truck came with an SM465 and clutch stock!) As I was taking the carpeting off to access the tranny, I was shocked and dismayed to find a lot of rust. I let the project die and kinda just moped for a while but now I'm commited to fixing this rust to the best of my ability, and at least getting this thing running (transmission is out) so I can sell it or keep it around (depends on how good my body work turns out to be ).

Anyway, I am going to pick up a grinder with some wire wheels as well as a a cut out tool. I've already got a tig/stick welder and a little welding experience (exhaust). The next step seems to be getting panels. I was wondering what panels are needed and if sherman body panels are any good. Rockauto has floor panels and bed panels from sherman and they are real cheap: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2376058 18 dollars!

LMC also has body stuff but it seems a bit more expensive http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/csb/full.aspx?Page=40

From the LMC cab floor diagram it seems I need the panels marked, 1,3,4,8 and 7 and for the bed panels marked 3&2 ?

do those panels seem right and are there any other tools that people can recommend?

Should i replace the rockers also?

Thanks!

pics:

 

[yakmastermax]

Also once the new metal is in it is my understanding that the bare should be sprayed witch a zinc chromate primer? This is correct?

 

[ryoken]

zinc chromate is an excellent choice for an initial coating on bare steel...

 

[yakmastermax]

Okay that's good to confirm. I don't know if you can see but I'm not sure how I am supposed to weld the floor to the rocker panel with that THIN lip right there. That lip is for the door weatherstripping but I am afraid of blasting through it while welding the floor to the rocker. Should I just replace the rocker panel all together? Any tips or advice?

 

[ryoken]

my 2 bit's of advice.. if you want to do the truck any justice, buy/rent/befriend/steal a sandblaster..... it's BY FAR, the most important thing you can do to stop/prevent/kill rust..

and buy as many quality sheetmetal parts as you can...

sheetmetal, especially rocker stuff, floors, etc are pretty darn cheap, money-wise.. that being said, expect many panels to not be right, or crappy.. floor panels are notorious for it.... all the aftermarket panels look the same to me, and the floor sections are pretty poor..

and yeah, sometimes when dealing with body work/rust stuff, your welding some dainty areas... turn down the burn a bit...

 

[wazzabie]

How is the rockers, inner rockers and front floor support?

Tabco makes some body parts in usa. I have the front floor supports and some floor pieces. Some of the sheet metal seams to be not as thick.

 

[wazzabie]

zinc chromate is an excellent choice for an initial coating on bare steel...

After the zinc chromate what should go under the floors? should it be undercoated?

 

[yakmastermax]

Hmmm, I looked into renting a sandblaster and was quoted one thousand dollars

any other ways cheap ways to get sandblasting going? I'm not also considering blasting the body and repainting myself while I'm at it.

 

[ryoken]

go buy a $60 blaster from harbor freight and rent a tag-a-long compressor for the day... that should be 100 to 200 for the day i would guess, but it has been awhile since i rented one...

or you could have a mobil blaster come in...

 

[Deuling]

If you check my build thread in my sig below, around post 450 is where i started my floor project. You can see how i made all my own 16 gauge panels and saved alot of cash from buying the tin can metal patch panels from lmc and such. In the rear i suggest u buy panels because the ribs would be hard to match.

 

[yakmastermax]

Thanks! great info in that thread. I'm def going bought panels for the bed but after seeing your thread I can definitely remove a few things from the shopping cart.

 

[Deuling]

Glad to hear it man, thats why i took lots of pics. 2.5" exhaust tubing is the perfect radius for that bend on the ledge

 

[78 Bonanza]

Blasting is definitely the way to go. Just be careful that you do not use too course of media and cause yourself more problems down the line. You can buy a blaster from Eastwood for as much as it will cost you to rent one. When I was still well and running my restoration shop I tried one of their two stage blasters and it worked really well for the price. They sell a variety of them and some of them I believe will run off a small compressor. Just go to their website and check them out. They also sell the media for the blasters and give a chart for what to use and all that. I have been restoring cars for over 20 years and can tell you that a blaster beats the hell out of any sander, stripping compounds, wire wheels, etc. It is more efficient and saves alot of back breaking work. And if you are going to blast the body make sure you use soda media! It will cut the paint and does not cause the heat warpage and dig marks that other medias do. Just make sure you neutralize it before you do any body work or primer the body. You will get alot better quality paint job from a bare metal blast job and if you prep correctly and shot the primer and paint right you will be the envy of your friends and may even pickup a few extra bucks doing work for them! I spent alot on my industrial blaster and gave myself heartburn for weeks worrying that I had made the wrong decision and was letting my lazy side make the decisions. But within a week I saved so much time and effort and headaches that the machine paid for itself in no time. And once people heard I had a blaster I got tons of requests for blasting jobs. So that is another thing to think about when you are thinking about buying a blaster! Hope this helps and good luck with your project! Post pics of your work and let us see her being built! If you have any questions and feel that you would like to ask me just holler and I will gladly help you out. I've restored more of these trucks than I can remember so I do know a little. Not being an arrogant ass I just can't build anymore and if I can help you it is the next best thing to doing the work myself and I love seeing a nice looking Blazer running down the road! If you haven't bought your body pieces yet get them from Classic Industries. They have been the best to work with I have found so far and I have bought alot of parts from all of them. I avoid LMC like the plague! Their stuff doesn't fit right, is paper thin and their interior parts are junk. But as always this is just my opinion and you can take it as you like.

 

[Kstanbach]

Blasting is definitely the way to go. Just be careful that you do not use too course of media and cause yourself more problems down the line. You can buy a blaster from Eastwood for as much as it will cost you to rent one. When I was still well and running my restoration shop I tried one of their two stage blasters and it worked really well for the price. They sell a variety of them and some of them I believe will run off a small compressor. Just go to their website and check them out. They also sell the media for the blasters and give a chart for what to use and all that. I have been restoring cars for over 20 years and can tell you that a blaster beats the hell out of any sander, stripping compounds, wire wheels, etc. It is more efficient and saves alot of back breaking work. And if you are going to blast the body make sure you use soda media! It will cut the paint and does not cause the heat warpage and dig marks that other medias do. Just make sure you neutralize it before you do any body work or primer the body. You will get alot better quality paint job from a bare metal blast job and if you prep correctly and shot the primer and paint right you will be the envy of your friends and may even pickup a few extra bucks doing work for them! I spent alot on my industrial blaster and gave myself heartburn for weeks worrying that I had made the wrong decision and was letting my lazy side make the decisions. But within a week I saved so much time and effort and headaches that the machine paid for itself in no time. And once people heard I had a blaster I got tons of requests for blasting jobs. So that is another thing to think about when you are thinking about buying a blaster! Hope this helps and good luck with your project! Post pics of your work and let us see her being built! If you have any questions and feel that you would like to ask me just holler and I will gladly help you out. I've restored more of these trucks than I can remember so I do know a little. Not being an arrogant ass I just can't build anymore and if I can help you it is the next best thing to doing the work myself and I love seeing a nice looking Blazer running down the road! If you haven't bought your body pieces yet get them from Classic Industries. They have been the best to work with I have found so far and I have bought alot of parts from all of them. I avoid LMC like the plague! Their stuff doesn't fit right, is paper thin and their interior parts are junk. But as always this is just my opinion and you can take it as you like.

I've had good luck with Northern Tool's blast media. They have two types, one is a dark "black betty" type, and the other resembles regular sand; I use the the regular sand type in my Harbor Freight blaster... It goes for about 5 dollars for a 50lb bag.

 

[Kstanbach]

I bought this blazer for 1000$ dollars and was planning on doing a NV4500 swap (lucky me the truck came with an SM465 and clutch stock!) As I was taking the carpeting off to access the tranny, I was shocked and dismayed to find a lot of rust. I let the project die and kinda just moped for a while but now I'm commited to fixing this rust to the best of my ability, and at least getting this thing running (transmission is out) so I can sell it or keep it around (depends on how good my body work turns out to be ).

Anyway, I am going to pick up a grinder with some wire wheels as well as a a cut out tool. I've already got a tig/stick welder and a little welding experience (exhaust). The next step seems to be getting panels. I was wondering what panels are needed and if sherman body panels are any good. Rockauto has floor panels and bed panels from sherman and they are real cheap: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2376058 18 dollars!

LMC also has body stuff but it seems a bit more expensive http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/csb/full.aspx?Page=40

From the LMC cab floor diagram it seems I need the panels marked, 1,3,4,8 and 7 and for the bed panels marked 3&2 ?

do those panels seem right and are there any other tools that people can recommend?

Should i replace the rockers also?

Thanks!

pics:

Replace everything, the rockers, the kick panel, the inner rockers, and the floorboard.