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70 Jimmy--Rusty Rebuild

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Been chipping away at getting the rest of the frame brackets/crossmemebers. I've got the main ones done that I need to join the two rails back together.

Ordered all the bushings I needed to rebuild the springs the other day too. So I'll get going on cleaning those up next. Hoping I don't find any broken leaves whe. I pull the packs apart. Along with the bushings, I also ordered spring perches and shock mounts to get the Sf14 under it.

Speaking of axles, I picked this up today for $50. Only bought it for the gears. Has a gov-loc in it, not sure if I'll use that or the open carrier I also have.

 
Have most of my frame parts cleaned and in primer. Down to about 4 or 5 of the spring hangers now. Should be able to get those knocked out Tues or Wed. I might be able to sneek out to the barn tomorrow to throw a coat of paint on what parts I do have ready.

Recieved my parts that I ordered a few weeks ago.

Took advantage of one of the sales Ruffstuff was having and picked up some spring perches, u-bolt plates and shock mounts for the rear axle. I could have used some stock u-bolt plates I had laying around, but I plan on moving the axle back a hair to center it up in the wheel well. These should make that easier. Plus the factory style plates for the Sf14 have the u-bolts pointing down.




Got a set of upper front spring hangers and 4.5" shackles from Diy4x. No one makes a bolt on set of hangers for the first gens, so I was going to either have to make something or modify aftermarket ones or my frame. Probably going to open the holes up in the frame (which I would have had to do anyway), and drill new holes to fit the second gen style hangers. I may be overlooking the obvious, but I can't see any reason why they would need to sit flat against the bottom of the frame rail. The second gen's only have the four bolts from the side holding them (although they do sit flat against the bottom rail :thinking:)





Last is the bushings and greasable bolts from ORD. I did start pressing out the stock rubber ones from the old rear shackles already. Going to wait on doing the spring ones until I pull the packs apart to make sure the leaves are worth using.

 
Only have had a few hours here/there to get out and work on this lately. I've managed to get the frame rails reassembled, minus one body mount bracket on the drivers side and the second to last two on both rails (those have to go on after the crossmember). The missing drivers side body mount bracket and one of the crossmembers needs a little bit of repair work before I can put it back on. I do plan on leaving the two rails separate until I've got the springs ready to go back on. I can still lift and move the two halves around, once I hook them together they'll be too heavy for me to lift by myself. Once the springs are on, axles should fall into place rather quickly (at least the front will).




I'm hoping to get out tomorrow and do the little welding that I need to do on the mount/crossmember. Then maybe get going on the rear axle.
 
It took entirely too long to get back to this point, but I got the frame rails back together. I've had them complete for a while now, just never the time to get out to work on it.

Having a second or third set of hands to get everything lined up would have been a huge help. Manged to clamp one rail solid to the sawhorses and use some punches to line up the holes in the other, Left everything loose until I had all crossmembers/bolts in. Then I went through and leveled/squared the two sides before tightening all the hardware. I really didn't take any measurements of the frame beforehand, so I went off of holes that were common on both rails.

Having all new hardware that fits tight into the holes really tightened up the frame. Going with the next size up bolt and drilling fresh holes was a good idea I think. It's still noodley, but not nearly as bad as before....and I don't have the engine or transmission crossmembers in yet.








i had planned on getting the springs sorted out before assembling the frame, but that didn't happen. That is next on the list of projects. I've got time set aside tomorrow to get going on that.
 
jekquistk5 said:
That oil based rusto looks real good on that frame
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It does look realy good. I think the key with that stuff is to put it on heavy/thick wet coats so it flows together. Of course you get some runs that way, but it's a frame....not a bedside or fender.

Everything bolted to the frame was done with rattle cans, also Rustoleum gloss black. The frame has a bit more gloss to it than the rest of the parts.

Overall I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Especially for only being into it for a quart of paint and some brushes. Good prep work/primer also goes a long way toward the end result too.
 
Finished up my front springs today and got them installed.

Used some graphite paint on them. I've used it before on farm equipment and it's done a good job on that. You paint it on then run a scotch brite pad over it once it dries. It leaves a really smooth/slippery finish. With the friction being so high in the leaf springs, I figured this wouldn't hurt.


In process shot. It comes in quarts/gallons or spray cans. I opt'd to go with the brush on method, less waste that way.




Installed on the frame:





Got into the rear springs too. Pulled them apart and removed the bushings. No broken or bent leaves, so I should be good to go with these once I clean them up.


Referance shot:





Most everyone knows to run a drill but down the rubber to get the metal sleeve out. A neat trick to get the outer sleeve out is to run a small bit between the sleeve and where the spring curls under itself. The spring being harder, it won't drill, just guide the bit down. This creates a weak spot that is easy to cave in with a punch. Usually only takes me about 5min for each bushing/sleeve doing it like this.

You can see where the bit actually started cutting through the side where it was getting thin.




After a few whacks with the punch, it's folding in and ready to drop out.

 
Didn't feel like doing anything with the springs today, so I cleaned up the barn a little bit and pulled the rear axle apart. Before I grind everything off the tubes I'll pull some measurements off the original axle and this one. Even though it'll be a crapshoot when setting the pinion angle, I'd at least like to get a few heavy tack welds on the perches before getting it under the frame. Shock mounts should be easy enough to get into the right place. I've got a few options for rear brakes. I could use the drums that were on it (they are massive for a "half ton" axle). I saved the rear disc's/calipers/brackets from a 99 Silverado I parted. Those bolt on, but need a spacer to get the caliper centered over the rotor. Third option is to piece together a setup with some weld on brackets and a metric GM caliper with either a 88+ front rotor or the rear rotors I already have. I'll cross that bridge after I get the axle cleaned up and the gears installed.

 
Cleaned up the springs Wednesday night (3hours with the grinder!) and got a coat of paint on them today. Tomorrow I'll flip them over and do the other sides.




My calipers/brackets/slider pins came in. Went with GM metric calipers (78-88 metric chassis) and weld on brackets from Speedway Motors. Rotors will be 88+ light duty half ton front rotors. They are the correct diameter for the brackets and the correct width for the calipers. Will try picking those up in the next few days. Need some pinion bearings and crush sleeve before I can fully assemble the axle.

 
I am just about the same place you are with my build, i like the attention to detail. how was the frame once it was all wire wheeled? any pitting?. i had a little around the body mounts but not enough to warrant replacing. Looking forward to the rest of your build!
 
Lieferson said:
I am just about the same place you are with my build, i like the attention to detail. how was the frame once it was all wire wheeled? any pitting?. i had a little around the body mounts but not enough to warrant replacing. Looking forward to the rest of your build!
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The frame had a few bad spots. Around where some of the brackets/crossmembers attached were thin. I think there were 5 spots on the frame I replaced and two on one of the crossmembers. Only one of the body mount brackets needed to be repaired, which a large washer welded in fixed.
 
You just single handedly made any apprehension of fixing the minimal amount of rust on my blazer has go away! Keep on rollin' good work!!
 
Put some paint on the bottom half of the springs, again did two coats. The second much heavier than the first. The new greasable bushings will go in once I assemble the packs.




Had a little bit of daylight left so I brought the rear axle outside and cut off the old shock mounts, spring perches and bumpstop pads. Will hit the housing with wire wheel and flap wheel to clean all the rust/old welds off when I get another nice day.





Rat_Crispy said:
You just single handedly made any apprehension of fixing the minimal amount of rust on my blazer has go away! Keep on rollin' good work!!
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It's definitely a project. I've found that if you stick to small tasks and don't move on until you complete each one, it's much easier to stay motivated. The sheet metal work isn't that bad, just time consuming.
 
Got half of the axle cleaned up before I ran out of daylight. Going to try finishing it up tomorrow. Put the rear springs together too. I would have put them on the frame, but I need help moving it back onto the sawhorses. Might be able round someone up in the next day or so for that.

New bushings, bolts, center pins and spacers for the leaf clamp.



 
Found some help today to get the frame moved and put the rear springs in. Getting the axles under it will probably be the next step.

 
I took a week off work about a month ago, with plans to work on this thing...well that didn't happen. Instead I remodeld the bathroom, which ate into some of the Jimmy budget. Then last weekend I had to do brake lines on my Duramax. Was finally able to get a little bit done on it today after cleaning the barn for an hour or so.

Finished cleaning up the axle tubes and gave the bottom of the diff a light shave. Pulled both wheel bearings out along with the races for the pinion bearings. Lastly shot it with a quick coat of paint to keep the flash rush off.

I've got everything to put it back together except the pinion seal, crush sleeve, pinion nut and one wheel bearing. That stuff should be in Tuesday. I will have to turn down the outter edge of the axle shafts as they are a hair to big to fit inside the rotors. I'll have to grind off some of the paint where I weld my perches/shock mounts and brake brackets.

Shot of the bare axle. The bumpy parts are from the old u-bolt plates holding dirt/moisture and rusting. They look worse in the picture than they really are.

 
Been making some progress here and there on this. Every time I think I'll get time to work on it, I end up having to move the frame over and open the bay up for another vehicle. So, even with it stuck in the middle of the two bays, I got the rear axle in. Need to install the shafts, weld shock mounts on and caliper brackets. But the gears are set up and the spring perches are welded on (at the correct width first try!). Put all new carrier/pinion bearings and wheel bearings in. I'm hoping that over the holiday I'll be able to get the frame back over in its bay where it belongs to finish (have an Explorer waiting on parts right now in it).

Will need to trim the U-bolts down eventually. I might have to put a shim in there still, so they are only "snug" until I'm happy with where the pinion is pointing. I really did think about doing a shackle flip to get away from the blocks...if I decided to go that route later it won't be hard to change as the hangers are only bolted on now vs. the factory rivets.





Took advantage of Diy4x's black Friday sale and picked up an engine crossmember. Not really a fan of the factory style engine mounts or with how flimsy the stock piece is. Not that I'm planing on big power, but the step up in strength will be worth I think. To help offset the difference in shifter locations between the 465 and 4500, I'm going to move the engine forward some. Most likely moving the rear hole up to the front spot and redrilling the new front holes. Works out to about 3.25". I've got an extra short block I'll bolt to the trans and will swing that in place to see how everything will fit.

 
Finished up most of the rear axle tonight after doing the Christmas thing with the family. Slid my shafts in (giggity) and worked on grinding the caliper brackets to fit the tube. Had to take off about 1/4" of the radius to get the calipers/pads down on the rotor all the way. Welded them on and shot some more paint on. I want to paint the calipers before I put them on for good, so no pictures of it completed just now. Only thing left on the rear axle will be the shock mounts, putting the cover on and filling with fluid. That should take too long next time I get out there. I've got some old shocks I can use to make sure I get the mounts inline correctly and I cleaned/painted the cover last night.




Moved my front axle out of the corner awhile back as well. Going to hit it with some degreaser before I wire wheel it. It's not terribly dirty but it isn't clean enough to just throw it in as it. The hubs need to be changed out to some 6 lug and I'm going to try tracking down some brackets to run H3 front calipers/rotors.
 
I may have missed it, are you moving the axle back to center it up in the wheel well?
 
CK5 said:
I may have missed it, are you moving the axle back to center it up in the wheel well?
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Yes, I moved the axle back 1" to get it centered up. If you look at the picture in post 58 you can see it offset to the rear more. I used Ruffstuff spring perches and spring plates.

Edit: Post 57 has a picture that shows both sides of the spring perch and how it's moved back further.

Edit again. I was going to cut off the extra perch sticking out the back, but decided to leave it in case I decide to move the axle again. Also thought it would be a good spot to secure the brake line running to the calipers.
 
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