Dare I say it...Another 72 K5 build! The Bubba build - getting back into it

[Greg72]

Looks like the part that goes underneath the floor area where it transitions from the front to the higher rear area.....

That same company makes a really nice reproduction part for the lower rear quarter panel support in that same area (curved to support quarter panel as it curls under near door opening). Around $150 each IIRC... I bought the PS one and was impressed with it.

 

[NorCal69]

Here are a couple of pics of the piece that you ordered. It is in the back of the both pics. It is installed at the very last portion of the semi flat area before it raises to the bed. When I replaced the inside rocker, I had to pop the top spot welds and re-weld them into the new rocker.

Hope it helps. If you need better pics, let me know. I'm sure there are more hanging around.

 

[Z71paramedic]

Ahah!!! Now we're talking. Thank you gents. There was some ugly patching/rust in those spots on mine, so nothing left like that. Greg, I actually bought all the blazer patches for that area that Wes sells, very pleased so far. Tonight some of them go in!

 

[Z71paramedic]

Update, finally

So I've been getting dirty instead of web wheeling lately, and finally starting to make some good progress. I left off having cut out the passenger side floor and was waiting on new parts (story of my life). So I got some of them in and began working. I started by replacing the outer section of the cross sill, then the b-pillar reinforcement, then moved to the a-pillar. Got the cab mount done, then set the front floor back in. I ended up re-filling the holes from the "spot welds" the previous restorer did. I use that term loosely because they were about 1/2" across and just big ugly puddles of metal... Anyways, the rest of the front floor piece was solid and just needed cleaning up and a few small spots taken care of. I put that back in, and began work on the rear section of the floor that I made out of 16 gauge. I got that in and then had to make the outer 6" of the elevated part that the seat bolts to. That was a real PITA, but I am super pleased with how it turned out.

My parts still weren't here so I did my mod's to the dashboard. I hated the idea that the dash was welded in along the whole front seam, and still haven't figured out if I'm going to be doing my cage here in Hawaii, or after we move. So I trimmed the whole front seam off where the spot welds were. I left a 1/4" lip after the bend for strength, and re-welded it back in there. I got to try out my fancy schmancy new spot welder on this, which worked great except that it weighs about 45 pounds, so I was a little shaky by the end of the day. Then I made three brackets that I spot welded onto the underside of the dash that will bolt to the firewall. I finished and primered the whole dash, but forgot to snap a pic.

I was waiting on b-pillar patches so decided to do some work on the axles while twiddling my thumbs. Got the 14 bolt cleaned up, disc brackets from Kert thrown on, and mostly primered. I haven't bought calipers yet because I didn't want them sitting with no lines hooked up, and I still need to decide what cover I'm going to get. Otherwise some shock tabs (which I have but just need to put on) and final paint and she's all set.

I finally got the b-pillar patches in and got back to it. I put that in and then removed my door brace and threw the new door back up there. After a few adjustments in was lined up 99% with the body lines (I'm working by myself most of the time so that was close enough). My gaps at the window frame and rear of the door looked great. So I lined up the outer rocker and tacked it in. Then I changed things up a bit. I never liked how the floor ran under the rocker and would allow all moisture and everything else to run into the rocker and cause rust. So I made the outer 2 1/2" of floor from the 16 gauge and overlapped it on top of the rocker. I contoured it front and rear to channel water and crud right out the door opening. Then I welded it all together. It will need a bit of filler to smooth a couple areas, but after the Al's liner is in place I think it will look great. Then I cleaned everything up and primered the whole passenger side.

Once that was done, last Saturday I cut out the entire driver's side floor, the lower a-pillar and part of the b-pillar area. There was another big ugly patch in my bedside, so that came off too. Looks like I have more sheetmetal to buy... the jackass PO had previously patched the rear section of the floor, but he just laid the new metal over the old and welded it in. Obviously this is not cool based on the huge amount of rot that was in this area, so I had a fun time cutting all of the old floor out, grinding welds and cleaning up underneath. Luckily the "new" patch is still very solid, so I'll be able to reuse it. I got off work early every day last week, so I now have the cab mount, a-pillar, cross sill, 2nd cross sill and b-pillar patches in. I did the same amount of work in a week that took me 8 weeks on the other side. I'm stoked at how it's turning out!

BTW, the red primer is this stuff: clicky

I can't seem to find the trusted zinc chromate out here, so for small spots I have a zinc primer that I use, then for larger more "finished" areas I have been using that stuff. I was told about it by my buddy that I bought the doors and stuff from. It's got a 5 year guarantee, so I feel pretty good about it

Give me some feedback!

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[Z71paramedic]

more

 

[ryoken]

nice progress....

 

[NorCal69]

Way to get after it, Bud..

I really like how you did the transition from the floor to the outer rocker. I wish that I would have done something like that.

Now that the dash is completely cut off, looks like it's time for the cage..eh.

The last photo that I quoted is awesome. You just don't realize how rusty these old rigs are until you start with the cutting.

Good Job..

 

[AJs72K5]

Holy cow! That's some progress. Nice work.

 

[bp71k5]

I like what you did at the bottom of the door jambs. Lots of junk collects in that stock channel. Are you going to try and use door seals at all?

 

[max 02]

It`s always nice to buy a truck that you think dosen`t have much rust...then start to poke around and crap,look what I found under here!

Keep up the good work!

Looking real good man!

 

[Z71paramedic]

I like what you did at the bottom of the door jambs. Lots of junk collects in that stock channel. Are you going to try and use door seals at all?

Thanks for all the kind words guys. It got a bit dodgy there for a bit with nowhere to take good measurements from/ trying to figure out what things were before the rust/previous owner... My welds are getting infinitely better though and I know what I'm doing now so things are starting to move pretty nicely.

As for the door seals, I don't think so but I'm not 100%. It's going to be a soft top only truck, so it's not like it's going to seal well anyways. I plan to wheel it, just not beat the snot out of it. Mostly light bounce around get dirty and have fun type stuff. It will spend most of it's time on the road though.

I'm selling the two small blocks I have in my garage right now (355 I pulled out of the truck and a 94 tbi that I picked up cheap) to clear some room and coin for the 383 I'm getting. I found a guy in Portland that will do a complete long block with new aluminum heads and the cam of my choice shipped to me for $3,500 with a 70,000 mile warranty. So I'm pretty stoked about that, just need some room first...

As for the cage, I'm not sure what my plan is yet. Based on the fact that steel is painfully expensive here (along with everything else) and that I don't have a bender yet, I was thinking of cutting the crappy "cage" that's in there now out, getting flanges from kert and doing the under body stuff now, then redoing the actual cage when we move. Does that sound reasonable or should I just ditch the ghetto-cage for now and do everything when we move?

 

[Z71paramedic]

I meant to say that I might cut the old cage out, but weld flanges to it and bolt it back in for the time being... It looks like crap, but I like some cage better than none, this is a tall a** truck.

I also meant to mention that I can't believe how imperfect all the new parts are! I've gotten stuff from LMC, Brothers and classic bowties and EVERYTHING has needed reworked a bit to get it right. Some stuff is WAY off. The second cross sill under the bed (where the rocker box end cap would bolt to) was about 1/8" too tall. I'm just glad I only used the outer 8" of it, otherwise I would have some serious shimming to do to get things back the way they should be! I'm getting pretty efficient with a hammer and dolly though.

 

[Greg72]

Unless you plan to run the a-pillar cage bars through the dash, I don't see much reason to worry about the cagework yet. Think of the cage as a lower and upper "clamshell" if you will.... The upper roll cage attaches to the lower supports through about 6 specific cage plates on the body. As long as you re-use those spots for the next cage, you can build the underside structure now and then tie it to the upper "temporary" cage until you finally have time to rebuild it.

Make sense? I'm only 1/2 way through the first cup of coffee so there's a chance it doesn't!

 

[Z71paramedic]

Yeah that's kind of what I was thinking. I may pay someone to bend me the a pillars and halo and tie them into the old cage temporarily also. Then just cut them and work it into the new cage later. Who knows... I'll keep you guys informed!

 

[sponsoredbydad]

WOW-EE WOW WOW WOW A guy steps away from the computer for a month and WOW. Nice to see all that progress going on. Hea I'll have to agree with you on that Factory Assembly Manuel what a mess. Every time wander wander then O-hea maybe that's what I'm lookin for O-no wait maybe it's on another page , crap it's not, damn where is that other page. The drawings are cool to look at just not when your in a hurry to figure something out. My copy looks like somebody went to the very first Kinko's ever and got the midnight speical on printing.

 

[Greg72]

WOW-EE WOW WOW WOW A guy steps away from the computer for a month and WOW. Nice to see all that progress going on. Hea I'll have to agree with you on that Factory Assembly Manuel what a mess. Every time wander wander then O-hea maybe that's what I'm lookin for O-no wait maybe it's on another page , crap it's not, damn where is that other page. The drawings are cool to look at just not when your in a hurry to figure something out. My copy looks like somebody went to the very first Kinko's ever and got the midnight speical on printing.

Post-it notes my friend... Lots of them!

I have them stuck in my FSA on all sort of cool pages, with a small note on the tab that sticks out so i can find things again.

One day when i have LOTS of free time (like in about 21 years when my child is grown) I will pull that book apart, rescan each page and print them out.... Then reassemble everything in an order that makes sense.

 

[Z71paramedic]

More Progress!!!

I'm cruising pretty good now! Of course our computer took a crap 3 weeks ago and now the pretty new iMac has cut into my truck fund.

Enough crying, anyways I got the drivers floor (and surrounding area) buttoned up pretty good with only a few little things I need to take care of. I got the floor tied into the rocker like I did on the passenger side. I had cut the whole floor out in one piece intending to just reinstall it, but of course ran into some headaches. The rear patches that the PO had welded on top of the old floor were a bit tweaked of course, so after spot welding the front back in I had to cut the seam where it had been overlapped. I cleaned it up better and welded it back in straight. I then finished up the rear seam, fixed a small area on the upturned area where the floor attaches to the cross sill. I got everything cleaned up one last time and primered. There are a couple little spots I'll need to retouch but at least it's got some paint on it and won't rust any more.

Then I moved onto the firewall/cowl areas. I started by cutting open the drivers cowl/kick panel vent area. That side was fairly trashed and had a bunch of crud in it. I got it all cleaned up and found that the lower portion was badly pitted and paper thin. So, back to my sheet of 16 gauge I went and cut out another piece to make. Soaked it in vinegar overnight to remove the mill scale (which works freakin awesome btw!) and then bent the sides/front to fit. I buzzed it back in and then primered/painted the inside. Let that stand overnight and then sealed it up the following night.

Then I moved to the passenger side. It was in very good shape inside and just needed a quick cleanup and primer/paint. I was able to button that up the following day and moved on to the holes in the firewall from the factory a/c and heater stuff. I got into the truck and used the grinder to cut along the lip of the a/c holes so that I didn't make any more area that needed patched. Once those were cut out I cut a rough rectangle out of my 16g and then laid the thin lips I had cut out onto it as a stencil. A quick outline and some straight cuts and I had some perfect fitting patches that then went in the vinegar. I got those buzzed in the next evening and cleaned up. I welded up all the holes in that area except the two holes where the heater core would have come through to the hoses. I plan to run a mojave heater so those should suffice fine.

Next up I stripped the whole outer firewall. Got it cleaned up all the way to the lip where the floor meets it (though I'll clean up the very bottom a bit better when the body comes off the frame). Got that done Saturday and then cleaned up and into primer as of yesterday.

Then yesterday/today I started stripping my tailgate (got tired of looking at it leaning against the bedside in it's current condition). Found that it used to be yellow, has a done of dings and has a good amount of rust around the lower seam. Yay... So I got the inside all the way stripped tonight and have a bunch of small patches to make and weld in in the coming days, lucky me.

After I finish up the tailgate I'll be cutting out the cage and stripping the bedliner out of the inside. I don't think I have any patchwork to do inside, just cleaning up of the PO's goobery welds. Of course with the amount of rust I've found so far nothing will surprise me. I'm still trying to nail down what I'm going to do about the bedsides. I've put ads on craigslist out here multiple times saying I want to buy a truck bed, but no one wants to sell me one I guess. I've heard the front half bedsides from LMC are junk, so I'm not sure what I'll end up doing. I know I can't afford full bedsides + freight if I want to get this thing driveable by January like I'd like. I still need to track down a windshield frame too. blah... Lots of currency to spend still

 

[Greg72]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but did you close up the bottom of that cowl patch completely?

Remember,when water gets in it needs to have a way to get back out. The factory leaves a small triangular gap in the lowest corner for the water to escape....which I find usually jams up with pine needles and crud over the years.

I really hate those fresh air boxes. Seems like their only function is to propagate rust and blow dusty air into the interior!

 

[NorCal69]

Looks really good Bud. Glad that you're still pushing along.

What are your plans with the weatherstripping at the bottom of the door?

Had a thought of you this past weekend. Went camping with my friend and his '69. The brush up in the hills this year is crazy because of the heavy snow. What you could have passed through last year with a 5 ton, is now a quad trail. Ended up ripping both of his mirrors off the rig by Sunday.

Something that folds in, is definitely going to be needed.

 

[Z71paramedic]

Greg, I did leave that little area open in the corner. Actually, the side I made should drain better than the passenger side now. Hopefully I won't have to do that again any time soon. If I didn't like the amount of fresh air it kicks out at my leg I'd have just sealed them up... I'll run screens in the top and try to keep them clean from here on out.

As for the weatherstrip, I plan to use the door weatherstrip from the gap in the windshield frame all the way around, and I'm going to make a header panel that bolts to the hard top mounts to then install my soft top snaps into. Otherwise, no weatherstripping. The mirrors are still in the works, just haven't had time to make anything yet. I'm definitely not satisfied with any of the voices on the market that I've found.

Thanks for the encouragement guys!!!