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'72 K5 - Where do I go from here?

Surprised you don't have one of these yet. All the cool kids use them...

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:D :whistle:

Would that not cause torsional issues with the structure of the body? I'm picturing it twisting out of shape. :dunno:
 
If there is major rot it would need major bracing obviously...likely even be best to keep it mounted to the frame while the majority of rust is repaired.

A rig like this 72 I wouldn't hesitate.
 
I thought that was rot at the seams. Putting one of these bodies on a rotisserie would scare the shit out of me. Something with a full roof, no worries, other than that, I would be paranoid.

Definitely a good point. Once on the rotisserie I would cross brace the inside of the truck. Keep in mind I did my rockers and rocker boxes and cab supports. So the integrity will be there for me. Bedsides and floor will be new too. So. I'm not as concerned. But I see your point.
 
Forgot you did all of that, you will be fine - I'm just paranoid about that stuff.
Did a supply run since everywhere will be closed tomorrow. Sandpaper for frame, rubber undercoating for bottom of floor pan - when I get it clean (I know won't do whole thing, but just to test it), acetone and rigid scrapers to continue current task.
I only have about an hour until the festivities begin. Got a huge supply of Silver Bullet icing down, buddy is starting the bonfire at 6. Gonna be a great party - as New Years always is now that I'm not friggin deployed anymore!

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Ok, I'm a pragmatist above all else. I'm all about 'Perfect is the enemy of good enough', and 'The 80% solution'. I now logged 3.5 hours of solid scraping. Extroplating, I say - nope. I'm not going to bare steel on the bottom of the floor pan. I'm gonna clean it up well, hit with that rubberized coating, and carry on smartly. I'm not building a show truck, and it will never be exposed to the elements.

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I'm always a time vs result type of guy. If it's gonna take 20 minutes more for it to be say 10% better probably gonna do it. If it's gonna take 20 minutes to make it 1% better, well that just ain't happening. Unless the 1% is super cool.

Good call on the floor
 
Yeah, the more I think about - waste of time for where I am going. Engine, wiring, gages, brakes, suspension, steering - things like that, 100% - no question. Bottom of floor, nah. Actually, if I had not touched it yet, I would not. I will wrap up that floor and that frame this weekend. Frame cured very nicely sitting in the sun all day 95% of the runs dried out.
 
Ok, if I soak an area with brake cleaner first, I can scrape very gently and still get it clean.

I found a nice surprise. Leave it for the body shop to fix when they do bodywork/paint? It's the only visible rot I have found.

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Congratulations on finding your first rust spot.... It will be easier for you emotionally when you find the next one, and the next one, and the next one after that.... :)

There's no such thing as a rust free 1st Gen.... Most are just cleverly disguised as "rust free" with prodigious amounts of rubberized undercoating, bad patch panel work or pounds of plastic body filler.

Skip the '74 seats.... My vote is a hen's teeth set of original seats that you can have restored, or at least a set of low-back suspension seats if you want a more comfortable modern setup. I've never liked the look of high back, modern seats in a 1st Gen....especially the God-awful ones with the shoulderbelts built-in to the seat. YUCK! :yikes:

-G
 
Agree on the seats. Rust finding is good, it made me stop and reevaluate what I was building. I thought about this all night while hanging out with friends. This build, really my first given how many decades it's been since I've done anything like this, will not be nearly perfect or pristine. Given that, and market realities, I don't want to put $50K into something that might be worth $15K when I am done.

My budget is $20K for the entire build, and if I send that body off to be blasted/fix every spot of rust (which I considered when I first found that), I will go way past the budget. Therefore - floors are done. Inside floors are rhino-lined (PO), so it is way cost/time prohibitive to go all the way. Time to strap on the respirator and get some rattle cans flowing into the frame. I have many competing priorities this weekend, so I have to be very efficient with my time.

Happy New Year everyone!
 
Wife took care of the horse stuff for me today, so I budgeted today to a quick undercarriage 'improvement.' Hit it all with wire brushes, wiped it all down with acetone. Fixin to don the respirator and coat it with rattle can paint. Won't be perfect, won't last forever, but neither will I.

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Not being able to access this site on a computer limits my search patience. Anyone seen a clean way to (non-permanently) cover the A/C & Heater holes in the firewall? I'm going to lower the lift and clean up the firewall so I can paint it. Makes sense to cover those holes at the same time.
 
the big holes once removed? just mask newspaper or pages from a magazine to the inside.... for hoses and odd things, aluminum foil works great...
 
Sorry, I should have explained better. I am not putting A/C or heat back in. Don't need it here, and I hate that huge doghouse in there. However, i don't want to weld something on, just in case I ever decide to go back to The Great State of Texas (I bought land when stationed there) and add the A/C back in.
 
Sorry, I should have explained better. I am not putting A/C or heat back in. Don't need it here, and I hate that huge doghouse in there. However, i don't want to weld something on, just in case I ever decide to go back to The Great State of Texas (I bought land when stationed there) and add the A/C back in.

Weld it up!

Odds are good that if you ever add A/C in the future you would go with a more modern setup like Vintage Air which works a lot better and takes up far less room. It doesn't even require a hole in the firewall since the entire unit is located under the dash near the glovebox...

-G
 
Weld it up!

Odds are good that if you ever add A/C in the future you would go with a more modern setup like Vintage Air which works a lot better and takes up far less room. It doesn't even require a hole in the firewall since the entire unit is located under the dash near the glovebox...

-G
Don't they still use an A/C compressor on the engine? I know everything else fits under the dash, but I thought they still needed a compressor.
 
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