CK5
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First Attempt 71 rebuild: running again!

Yeah, that's probably it. You need to adjust that pushrod so it's shorter. By lowering the body/pedals you made it so the clutch is only partially engaged.
 
Thanks, that's what I was hoping to hear! How much would you suggest shortening the linkage?
 
I'd run it in until you have just a tiny bit of a drop that doesn't release the clutch. That way you're making sure there's no slipping.
 
Getting back at it

Well it's been a while. Turned out the clutch was just gone and I had to get that replaced, but it is night and day in the way it drives now compared to before. I also got the drivers side door latch repaired that was bent during the body mount replacement, and was preventing the door from opening. After that, work on the truck slowed down to a halt, due to moving into a new place w/ the gf.

I also spent a ton of time trying to find the right damned parking brake cables. After trying 3 different ones ordered from LMC and auto parts stores in the area (I don't know how companies can sell a product that nowhere comes close to fitting, but apparently it is common. Where do they get their measurements from?!?!) I finally got a whole set that should work from Inline Tube. High quality stainless parts too.

I have 3 more days at work then I'm on vacation for 12 days. My hopes are to get that damned parking brake installed, cut out and replace the drivers side and passenger floor pans, A/B pillar repair, and install the torsion boxes & reinforcement panels that were MIA when I bought the truck. So here's good luck to me! I want to get this beast on the road so bad!:eek1:
 
sounds like you've got a good plan. can't wait to see the progress pics!
 
cut out and replace the drivers side and passenger floor pans, A/B pillar repair, and install the torsion boxes & reinforcement panels


Remember the first step to that rust repair is to brace the door opening. Guys have done it in the past here without the brace and have paid for it later.

Good luck and if you have any questions, post them up. Rust repair on these is a hell of a task and can get pretty frustrating over time.

Posting pics somehow gets you through the suck sometimes. At least it did for me. ;)
 
Yeah I've been spending a lot of time reading over other peoples builds in regards to repairing the rust in the area and have some steel bars for supporting the doors. I've been planning to keep the top on as well for extra reinforcement. Thanks for the tip though, and pics will soon be sure to come!
 
Tearing apart

Well I got the whole e-brake system in place after finally managing to get into those old damn drum brakes. The only issue I seem to be having is holding the main cable sleeve in place right by the pedal. Currently I'm only using little clamps as that's all I seem to have, and there is just too much movement and the inner cable itself doesn't get enough action. If anyone has any advice on that I would appreciate it, but it isn't a big concern of mine at the time being.

My big project work has begun today with the floor replacement, and I will give updates on that and pictures shortly, but I'm being called upstairs for dinner by my gf.

In the mean time here is a picture of the new compressor I bought yesterday! :woot:

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Cutting

So I did a tiny bit of sand blasting today to get rid of the piles of bondo on the floor to find what needed to be cut out and where the seams for the panels were.

The previous owner did a real hack job. Tons of bondo, some weird stuff under the pedals that seemed to be roofing tar or something.... Wouldn't come off with the sand blaster, and too sticky to chisel, so I used an angle grinder. It made a mess but it worked. The weird thing was that it didn't seem to serve any purpose, the metal under it was in decent shape.

The PO replaced the outer rocker it seems at some point. Barely holding together using only tiny pop rivets.... Also higher up on the B pillar was a shoddy weld job for another patch.

It looks like I have my work cut out for me but I've started delving in, sand blasted underneath to find where the good metal still remained and then cut out the drivers side floor panel.

Question: to get to the 4 bolts area/A pillar repairs, I am wondering if it would be easier to cut out a patch on the front fender to make it accessible or if I should just take off the entire fender. I'm not doing a frame off resto, and I don't want to take off stuff I just have to put back on later if I don't have too. Just wondering if someone would have some first hand knowledge of what route might be quicker and easier.... Thanks!
 
First pic is of the A pillar side where you can see the outer rocker is riveted on horribly.

Second is of the B pillar side where the old delightful weld is shown.

Third pic is of the nasty tar like stuff you can see at the top of the picture making that black "L" shape

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Here are some before and after pics of the floor removal process. I didn't remove the torsion boxes....they were non existant from the get go. At least it saved me some time :dunno:

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That requires taking off the grille and hood though I believe and having to drill out all those spot welds? That's what I was hoping to avoid, or can the panel be taken off without removing all that?
 
That requires taking off the grille and hood though I believe and having to drill out all those spot welds? That's what I was hoping to avoid, or can the panel be taken off without removing all that?
Drill what spot welds? The 4 bolts area is what the lower rear of the femders bolt to, so to access it the fender has to come off.

If you don't have any other work to do to the rest of the grille/core support/fender area you can take the cowl off, undo the body mounts under the core support and then take the fender bolts out and lift the whole front clip (hood and all) off all at once. It's a time saver and will get you access to the whole front of the tub.
 
Just like what these guys said... it will need to come off anyways for the 4 bolt area and the front flange of the new outer rocker panel. It gets a couple of spot welds on the very front of the A pillar.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I did as recommended and took off the front clip today. It was a little difficult by myself, but I managed okay. Definitely seems like it was the right way to go and opened up a lot more room to work on stuff. Also wasn't as hard as I first foresaw it to be, only real annoying problem I ran into was the inner fenders are completely covered in tar stuff and made it real difficult to get at the bolts. I also cut out the outer rocker today and got the front cab support out. Tomorrow I plan to try and finish cutting out the junk on the drivers side and begin patching the pieces back together as long as nothing unexpected comes about.... We shall see.

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Also I was wondering if anyone knows off the top of their head what the order is of the sheet metal sandwich at the 4 bolts area? My truck was so rusted out that there was nothing left when taking it apart to figure out how it goes back together. I'm pretty sure I can figure it out from my assembly manual but I just want to play it safe, so if anyone could let me know I would appreciate it!
 
It should be from the outside moving in to the tub.

1) A pillar

69Blazer352.jpg


1.5) Good time to do any work that you need to do to the kick panel now as it ends up between the floor and A

69Blazer353.jpg


2) Inside rocker

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3) Front Cab support
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4) Fender support. This only uses the front 2 bolts in the 4 bolt area.

69Blazer582.jpg



Edit: added some pics. Hope it helps..
 
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Help!

So I was installing the inner rocker/outer 4 inch floor patch and I have a concern. I am not sure if it is supposed to tie in with the B pillar. I know it is technically for the trucks with cabs and I had to trim some off of the back end, however before taking too much off lengthwise, I wanted to see how it matched up with everything. In doing so I am worried that I may have cut out a little too much of the original floor, creating that small gap. I didn't have much choice, I removed as little as possible to get to the good metal. So now I am at this crossroads and desperately need to know if this is lined up incorrectly before I move forward...!! Here is a pic to see how it currently looks.

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