First mistake that was visible upon putting the truck back in the garage. I was rushed and I just missed a spot.
First mistake that was visible upon putting the truck back in the garage. I was rushed and I just missed a spot.
Upon putting it into the garage, the above windshield area doesn't look quite as good as I remember it looking when I had sanded it. I'm going to take that to mean, optimistically, but I can again sand it pretty flat.
Some minor trash
Remember that's a welded seam and also a butt weld when I skinned the roof
Hard to communicate what a pile of work it is to paint a vehicle.
Pete
NOHOME said:Hard to communicate what a pile of work it is to paint a vehicle.
Pete
Yes. It was an exhausting day, and only one of many previous and many to come.
Well it's a family day, I'm on for dinner since everyone is sick, and I'm in the middle of another project too. I couldn't help myself and I had to go out and block sand the one part of the truck that I was kind of worried about, I used guide coat here pretty judiciously. It's much much better than I had hoped.
Another video inbound. I broke the sabbath just a bit after everyone was in bed. Block sanding with 400 grit showed very very few spots and very very minor at that. I'll have to decide how much, if any, filler to add in these spots. Sanding filler with only 400 grit will require more precision!
Can't get the video to upload properly, but it's nothing exciting.
The truck really appears to be quite flat. I am very excited. It's cold now, and I feel like crap now, so it's over as far as beating the weather. It's all in 2K save one spot I forgot (the back of the fuel filler patch in the cab), so I can take the winter to block everything in 400 and get ready for an immediate sealer coat and body color come good weather. Every time I see a could-have-been restored classic vehicle with that telltale shiny-but-wavy-and-ugly paint, I cringe and have forward looking PTSD. I think this is going to be really nice.
I had a neighbor stop by when I was sanding the other day and ask me about it. He is also restoring a truck. I think he wanted me to wire his, and I would not be a good candidate to select. Regardless, he showed me pictures of his ongoing restoration, and the candy red he chose, and the 7K he paid. It looked quite good, but he had to send it back to the painter because the bed and cab were a noticeably different shade. Oooooof. I will endeavor to avoid this issue, despite having to paint in batches, by buying the body color all at once, and by being extraordinarily careful to mix properly.
Lots of sanding today! I did a whole guide coat on the roof and it's almost perfect now after a few hours of sanding with 320 and 400. Gosh this uses a lot of paper.
The fenders are nearly done. The doors seem almost perfect already. I'll finish the front of the cab and lower bits of the cab tonight if I can. Super excited that I can actually be ready for body color!
I'm two sanding sessions away from being ready for body color.
Someone help me figure out how to paint this horizontal stripe, or something like it. I have -always- failed at using masking tape. Part of me wants to order a vinyl sticker.
Just a daily update. Since the kids activities (which are many) are paused this week, I am using the opportunity to get things done. I have a bit more work on the hood to be perfect, one tiny spot on a door the diameter of a pencil, and a few thumbnail spots on the gate.
If anyone is wondering where my time is typically going. Each week the Tunakids are involved in:
Archery
Trail Life
Dance classes
Climbing
Trumpet
Band
Aquarium volunteering
And many of those things happen during prime truck time.
I'm sure that reading about sanding is almost less exciting than actual sanding, but I am taking advantage of this week off for the kids stuff.
The cab is done sans the flat strip right under the rear window.
The hood needs a bit more work right on the front face.
The cowl panel needs a bit more work on the drivers side.
Both doors are done inside and out.
One fender (can't remember which) needs one spot on the lower cup, the other is done.
I am tired. My hands are at 120 grit themselves, and my eyes are filled with dust, but it's really happening.
Still following along with anticipation!
Pete
Tired and bleary eyed I went to work last night after saying good night to my kids.
I came in at ten. I have a tiny bit of filler drying on the hood, and another two spots fingernail sized on each fender cup.
And that's it. It's block sanded to 320 all around, and most to 400 simply due to availability of sandpaper. I'll go back and block it all to 400 in a short amount of time, then I can do a sealer coat over this work and body color right afterwards.
Right now the plan is this:
Block everything again to 400 grit just for consistency
Sealer coat everything as-is
Block to 800 grit
Body color everything, four coats, any wet sanding at 1000 grit between the 2 and 3 coats
Two coats of clear
Assemble the truck
Mask off and paint the horizontal stripes with four coats of white after sanding that area to 800 grit
Clear the sides of the truck two more coats
wet sand 800 grit
Clear the entire truck as a whole twice
wet sand 1500 as needed
It's been a week, and it's ready for the next coat, but it's cold. It's going to stay cold. I don't like waiting, but I have to wait.
Help me figure out a cheap way to get into a seat donor.
Help me figure out how to add a limited slip and C clip eliminators for $0 without a Lincoln locker (or Hobart locker in my case). Can I make one? I have access to a CNC.
In reply to tuna55 :
does your use case require elimination of C-clips? or is it just a want?
Re. seat donor, i'd grab some X Y and Z measurements to relate pedal position, steering wheel position, floor, ceiling, vertical center of windshield, door-to-door width, etc, then wander through junkyard looking at recent full-size pickups. a bench with a nice flip-down center storage console / cup holder / etc would be a sweet addition, i think. Get the tracks with the seat, then figure out how to adapt them to your OE mounting points.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to tuna55 :
does your use case require elimination of C-clips? or is it just a want?
Re. seat donor, i'd grab some X Y and Z measurements to relate pedal position, steering wheel position, floor, ceiling, vertical center of windshield, door-to-door width, etc, then wander through junkyard looking at recent full-size pickups. a bench with a nice flip-down center storage console / cup holder / etc would be a sweet addition, i think. Get the tracks with the seat, then figure out how to adapt them to your OE mounting points.
Being GM, anything up to 91 works fine with a welder, but I don't want to spend $100 on a donor and that's what they gets me. I'm close to welding square tubes and making my own. I don't want to add modern things to it, though.
C clips are a want for later. Eventually this thing will make more than 175 horsepower.
Will a 8.8 axle out of a Crown Vic do what you need? They are stout, compact and often found with LSD bits.
I think you are mixing different things.
There are clutch differentials aka "traction lock" or "limited slip" that use c-clip axle location. You should be able to get a limited slip differential out of another GM vehicle without too much trouble.
A Lincoln locker is more or less a "spool" aka no differential action. The c-clips are typically still there, the spider gears are just welded so both sides rotate together. You definitely don't want that on the street if you can avoid it.
A c-clip eliminator kit typically adds end bearing retention to the axle tubes similar to a Ford 9 inch. At least, that is what I remember about them. That is how it was done on some Ford 8.8 housings.
tester (Forum Supporter) said:I think you are mixing different things.
There are clutch differentials aka "traction lock" or "limited slip" that use c-clip axle location. You should be able to get a limited slip differential out of another GM vehicle without too much trouble.
A Lincoln locker is more or less a "spool" aka no differential action. The c-clips are typically still there, the spider gears are just welded so both sides rotate together. You definitely don't want that on the street if you can avoid it.
A c-clip eliminator kit typically adds end bearing retention to the axle tubes similar to a Ford 9 inch. At least, that is what I remember about them. That is how it was done on some Ford 8.8 housings.
Right on. I want both a limited slip and also I want a C clip eliminator
NOHOME said:Will a 8.8 axle out of a Crown Vic do what you need? They are stout, compact and often found with LSD bits.
Probably, but that doesn't work now. I did all that work to weld in the new brackets on the tube - recall that it's all custom now. I also want to retain the 5x5 pattern, so anything swapping is going to mean drilling axles or using adapters anyway. It seems silly to rip out my fab work with 0 miles.
In reply to tuna55 :
I get that....and I would not touch the rear end until the project was on the road and it became the limiting factor. But 3 transmissions, 3 fueling systems and 4 distributors later, I have learned to accept that I don't always get things right the first time and time wasted before doing the right thing is just time wasted.
Kinda like the day I looked at my newly minted English Lit degree and thought: "I shoulda done electrical engineering." So I started all over and did the EE. Paid off.
You are going to love the LS when you finally get around to putting one of those in the truck. 
NOHOME said:In reply to tuna55 :
I get that....and I would not touch the rear end until the project was on the road and it became the limiting factor. But 3 transmissions, 3 fueling systems and 4 distributors later, I have learned to accept that I don't always get things right the first time and time wasted before doing the right thing is just time wasted.
Kinda like the day I looked at my newly minted English Lit degree and thought: "I shoulda done electrical engineering." So I started all over and did the EE. Paid off.
You are going to love the LS when you finally get around to putting one of those in the truck.
I have engine plans, but they are different.
I do need a place to sit, though.
No need to overthink this. We need driving vids above all else...
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