70 Jimmy--Rusty Rebuild

[toomany]

The majority of my brake fittings showed up today. Still waiting on a box from WFO with my soft lines and some tabs.

Adjustable prop valve to dial the rear brakes out some. Not sure where I'm going to mount it just yet. Probably somewhere on the frame. Also, will have a line-loc going in the front brake line as a short term "parking brake". Rest of brake system will be 3/16" hard line to -3 braided lines.




Edit: Picked up my missing fitting for the fuel system too.

 

[toomany]

My soft lines from WFO showed up earlier this week. Got all of those on and just need to run the hardline to each drop.

Before I run hardlines on the frame, I figured it would be a good idea to get the steering box back on the frame so I don't shoot myself in the foot by running lines around it/the bolts. I plan to make a steering brace and wanted to steer (ha!) clear of that too. Surpisingly, my frame was in great shape behind the box. It has the extra plate on it from the factory already, but more support can't hurt.

Steering box leaked (or something up there leaked steering fluid), so a re-seal was in order. Parts for that came in Thursday. Did the input seals, sector shaft seals and top cover gasket. Cleaned it and shot a coat of paint on it before putting it on the frame.

Plan to mount the prop valve inside the frame rail just behind the sterring box. Should be easy to run lines in/out and get to when I need to adjust it.

 

[toomany]

Mounted the prop valve and plumbed the rear brakes today.

Stuck the valve inside the frame rail just behind the engine crossmember. Out of the way, but still able to get to it when I go to adjust it.

Built a tubing straightener from a couple of rollers to straighten my coil of 3/16 line. Doesn't get it 100%, but gets all the waves out and close enough for me.

Ran the line down the rail and attached it with the fuel line clamps. Might add one more where it comes around the upper shock mount.

Should be able to run the two front lines in the next day or so then I can start getting the body ready to go back on.

 

[toomany]

Finished running the brake lines this afternoon. No pics because it was kind of hard to get a decent shot of everything with the block sitting in the frame.

Going to pull the block/trans/t-case/driveshafts, hose the dust and metal shavings off the frame then it can go back under the body. That won't be for a week or so as I've got a job that requires one of the bays in the barn to be open.

 

[toomany]

Picked up a set of rollers that popped up on Facebook this morning. I've been keeping an eye out for a somewhat decent set of tires for a while now. Found a few sets but they were either too far away or someone already got to them. I'd like to stay around a 33x12.5 as that is what was on the truck when I got it. Have conisdered 35's but don't really want to lift higher or trim sheetmetal.

What I ended up with is a set of 305/70R17 Nitto Terra Grappler AT's. Basically the metric equivalant of a 33x12.5. Having the H3 brakes up front, I needed atleast a 17" wheel. I have the wheels picked out but haven't ordered them yet. I'll probably buy 1 just to make sure they'll clear everything before I commit to all four.

Picked them up for $40 and about an hour of driving.




When payday hits this week (either Thursday or Friday) I plan on ordering parts to start replacing the floor in the cab. Figure I'll get them on their way while I'm busy with the other job I've got.

 

[toomany]

This happened tonight. Been waiting a week or so to get the body off the cart and over the frame.

Hung a chainfall from the trusses and used that for the front. Used two jacks and some wood to "stair step" it up the blocks.



I needed the wide spacing between the two stacks so I would have room to swing the frame in. When I pulled it out I only had a few inches between the bricks and the tires, had to go straight back.

Sort of hard to see, but the bottom of the bed floor is fairly rust free (considering the rest of the truck). I'm up in the air about replacing it when I do the rear quarters, but that adds another $1000 to the list. Can also see how bad what's left of the drivers rocker/floor is. The passenger side has been replced with a section of truck cab.





Slid the frame underneith and lowered the body down some. I need to dig out my body mounts before I take it all the way down.



About how I left it for the night. Set some stands under the front to take the presure off the chain. Despite how mangled the drivers rocker/a-pillar is, it still holds the weight of the truck. That will be one of the first areas I deal with.




Two weeks ago I ordered the front floor section. That is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Originally I was going to buy the low hump version and modify it for the removable floor. Sometime between then and now they came out with a high hump version, great....I'll get that one instead and save myself some work. Well, every place I checked has it on backorder and can't give me any idea on when it'll be back in stock. So I bought the low hump like I had planned.

 

[toomany]

This was waiting for me when I got home from work today.


Was well packaged and on a pallet. Idealy I would have been home to inspect it before accepting delivery. But I figured it's only a floor pan. As long as it wasn't folded in half or had a fork stuck through it....I'd be alright.

Metal feels like its of good thickness. Has all the correct bracing (for a pickup) and holes for body mounts. Even has the inner rockers on.

I don't think it will just "drop in" without some trimming. From just glancing at it, looks like I'll need to trim the back end down.

 

[Truckman4life]

Man, that driver side is swiss cheese.

 

[toomany]

Man, that driver side is swiss cheese.

The passenger side was actually worse...as in not even there when I got the truck. The green floor in there now I put in mainly for the a-pillar, but also for support so I could lift the body.




The drivers side floor is still somewhat there. The rocker parts and a-pillar are the worst of it. Not like any of it is getting saved though.

 

[toomany]

Had another one of those "so this happened" nights.

Set the body onto the frame (for the most part), and took the top off. Not really in that order though.




Wasn't really planning on pulling the top just yet but I had a problem when lowering the body. One of the boards kicked out and it fell off the frame. Luckily I still had it attatched to the chainfall up front.

Not really too concerend that it fell. It actually fell when I originally took it off the frame last year....don't think I put pics of that up.

The top was still on when it fell, I just didn't think to take a pic before I pulled it. Figured now was the best time to take it off since it was close to the ground.




Made the decision to order the new bed floor and step up pannel. So pulling the top was going to happen sooner or later anyway. My thought process on that is to put the new floor/bedsides on, the do the new front floor. Waiting on a shipping quote before I order that stuff

 

[Truckman4life]

Oops!

 

[toomany]

Oops!

It happens. Like a mentioned before...it's not the first time the body has been on the ground.

 

[toomany]

Removed the seat and spare tire carrier. Both will be listed for sale soon.

Got my shipping quote for some of the sheetmetal today too. The step up panel is backordered so I'll have to find another source for that. Bed floor will probably get ordered tomorrow.

 

[toomany]

Ordered the bed floor and step up panel Tuesday. Both should he here sometime next week. Also ordered a 1" body lift from ORD today. I don't really want to run a body lift (and if I don't need it, won't), but the filler neck for the gas tank is almost into the floor/crossmember. Even with the new body mounts. Right now I've got a piece of 2x4 on top of each mount to keep the tub off the tank. Maybe I'll get lucky and the new floor not sagging will give me some more clearance.

Trying to go through the process of how I want to replace each part. Thinking bedfloor, step up panel, cab floor then bedsides. Once the bedsides are on, rehang the doors to see if they still fit and adjust the firewall as needed. Before removing the bedsides/floor I'm going to put the core support and fenders back on. Idea will be to help keep the firewall somewhat in position. Old cab floor will also be bolted down to its mount as well.

One thing I can get out of the way while waiting for parts, is fix the a-pillar on the drivers side. Knowing the quality of some of the replacement parts, I sourced a solid OE piece of truck cab for this. Picked it up a few months ago from someone over at 67-72.




For referance, this is what I started with.




After removing what was left of the rocker.




Thought I had a pic of it once I cut out my a-pillar but I guess not. Here it is tacked on after it was cut to size. Note the pile of rocker panel/torsen box.






Welded and flapped out. Ran into a thin spot when I was cleaning up the metal (can see it in the above pic). Cut another patch and put that in. Will have to cut a thin strip just forward of the new piece. Inside still needs finished (along with the same area on passenger side). Once the new cab floor goes in I'll have a better idea of how I'm going to patch it.




Measurements match the passenger side (which is still an OE chunck from a-pillar to b-pillar), so hopefully things fall into place fairly easily. If anything, I may need to push the lower a-pillar in some. Won't know till floor goes in and I hang a fender.

 

[toomany]

Picked up a set of second gen K5 seats today. Popped up on Facebook for $10. Couldn't say no at that price. The foam is in good shape, just need a set of covers for them. Not sure if I'll even use them, might just use the mounts/frames since I also have a pair of Jeep TJ seats for this as well. Don't think I'll ever pay what people are asking for a set of good condition first gen K5 buckets.

 

[bp71k5]

Not sure how I missed this build. Admire your effort on the rust issues. If you're accepting advice, I might take care of the two rockers and A pillars before I messed with the bedsides or floor. That way you keep what's reasonably solid in place to make sure the rockers line up well. The front clip plays a huge part in keeping the firewall from moving around so you'll probably need fenders installed when checking the doors.

 

[toomany]

Not sure how I missed this build. Admire your effort on the rust issues. If you're accepting advice, I might take care of the two rockers and A pillars before I messed with the bedsides or floor. That way you keep what's reasonably solid in place to make sure the rockers line up well. The front clip plays a huge part in keeping the firewall from moving around so you'll probably need fenders installed when checking the doors.

Thanks!

I've thought about going that route with it, but the rockers attatch back around the b-pillar and I currently have nothing there on the drivers side. The new cab floor gets welded to the step up panel on the lower side, rather not try welding to what is in there now.

My reasoning is that the b-pillar is a fixed point. Even after I get all the metal replaced there is no adjustment there (other than shimming the door striker). I do plan on hanging the front end before cutting things out as well, just waiting on some parts to show up. The front fenders/core support will also help locate the firewall too. Currently, my door openings match what they were before I took the body off originally and the doors fit/closed decent then. When I got the truck, the PO included some repair panels. The new rockers were part of that lot. The drivers side seems to fit well except for the fact the metal it would attatch to is missing. The outers are just cosmetic from what I understand, get it up there looking right and spot weld it in.

Maybe do the rear sheet metal. Get the front floor tacked into place and then trial fitting a door before locking it down. Would have to re-do the door braces so they'd fit back in their openings.

Either way I go about it, I'm probably going to be left with the front half of the truck floating on it's own. I don't really think either option is bad, just at somepoint I may run into alignment issues. And to fix those problems...the adjustments would be in the same area (firewall/a-pillar). So building up to that point, rather than from it makes more sense to me.

Might have another update tonight as I was on my way to the barn to start putting fenders on in preperation of taking more parts off.

 

[toomany]

Started out tonight by pulling the motor/trans/t-case out. Don't want the trans to be in the way while working on the floor. Stuck the front clip on after that. Few days ago decided it would be a good idea to rehang the front sheet metal. It's on there and bolted down for the most part. The passenger side lined up fairly well. The drivers side I had to lift the front of the fender to get it started in the core support. The drivers side floor body mount is all but collapsed, so that corner of the body is down from the rest of it. With the exception of the coresupport mounts, none of the other body bushings are tight and are a combination of body mount and 2x4 until my box from ORD arrives.


Must have gotten something right. This is the lower A-pillar where the fender bolts. Holes line up real well.




The passenger side has a weird stud/nut/spacer going on. Will pull that out and do it the correct way when I actually fit the doors/fenders.




Couple shots looking down the truck. Notice how the lower passenger fender is pushed out because of that spacer thing.






Body line looks to be going straight.




With the rocker clamped up in there.




And just for fun. Sort of a see through shot. This will hopefully be about ride height. Front will come down some with the weight of the motor/trans.

 

[bp71k5]

Pay really close attention to those reproduction rocker panels. They nearly always don't line up with the bottom of the door very well. Lots of people have to slice them open and add extra material to make them line up. Maybe just hang the door and make sure it lines up or temporarily spot weld it in. It stinks having to remove and fix it.

 

[toomany]

^^^ I'm aware of how bad some aftermarket pieces for these trucks fit. Plan was to get doors/fenders on, adjust gaps then go to the outer rockers.



Step up panel came in yesterday. Seems like a nice piece. No damage from shipping. Classic Industries was the only place I could find that had it in stock. Their "oversize shipping" was $19.99 I think. So far, without any checking of fitment...I'm pleased with the cost/product ratio.





Got a call from FedEx yesterday that my bedfloor would be ready for pickup today (Friday), so I went and got that after work. Had it held at the dock so I could inspect before accepting delivery. Easier to do it that way than to work around my schedual for home delivery. The cab floor I signed for and left the paper for them and they left it while I was at work. GMC Pauls had the best price on the part. Shipping was quite a bit ($249), but have to figure that into the cost of the part I guess. They packed it very well, for the price....they should have. I asked if I could do local pickup as their facility is only a few hours away and would be cheaper for me to drive than them to ship. But, they don't do local pickup anymore. It was drop shipped from somewhere else anyway.

Came in this giant ass crate standing on end. Packed with a bunch of big cardboard boxes and shrink wrap. Was very secure for the most part. Still, it managed to get a small bed in one spot near the edge. Should straighten out real easily so I'm not too worried.




Can see the slight bend in the top left of it here. Would be the area right behind the driver.




The thought of patching my floor ran through my head for a little while. All the pieces are out there, floor sections/crossmembers. But after doing all that work it'd equal out about the same. The rear most crossmember on mine is practically missing and had some weird sqaure spacer body mounts going on. Hopefully the new one will get rid of that problem.




Holding the step up panel next to the bedfloor, all the holes line up. Both are made by the same company (odds are almost all the repop parts come from 1 or 2 places). I actually prefer it this way...inspires some confidence that things might fit well.




Body lift showed up from ORD today as well. I didn't want to use one but it's looking like I might have to. We'll once I get the new floor on how much clearance the gas tank filler has.





Having all these new parts here makes me want to tear into it but I'll have to wait. Have another motor swap I'm starting tomorrow. Need to get the barn cleaned up and all the Jimmy parts pushed to the side.