rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Wow, what a commitment! Cutting into the body on this truck is intimidating to say the least. I've done some messing around with my mig, but never anything this challenging. What a schooling!
When I've been researching this I've not found very much info about what lies under the roof skin, like where braces are and how things are spot welded together. I went to the junkyard and cut the roof out of an 84 blazer to use part of it for patch panels and to cut it up to see how it's put together. So far my to do list includes the windshield frame above the glass, floors, bedsides, and tailpan. I sold the top and tailgate cause I don't have room to store that stuff and cause I want to use a soft top and truck tailgate instead. Hope I don't regret that later. In Baja this past winter whenever I'd get on a rough road little bits of rust would rattle out of the headliner and fall in my lap. I was expecting it to suck pretty bad when I took things apart, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Here's some pics from first stage. Rust above windshield frame. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4240/3...b547bbc2c8.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...b547bbc2c8.jpg2017-06-14_08-11-52 by Mick, on Flickr https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4238/3...033b469e58.jpg Decided I needed a dome and map light so while the roof was apart I placed the wiring and made a bracket for a light out of a '98 Tahoe. Backseat light actually cause it's a bit smaller. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4199/3...b8b3a0640a.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4274/3...f079bd074c.jpg While the top skin was cut out I used some of this stuff. http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-int...z-aerosol.html to spray around inside between the layers and down the A pillars. Also used to hit the inside of the pinch weld after things were put back together. Not sure it'll make a big difference, but makes me feel better. A bit later I'll post some pics of the cut up junkyard roof so you can get a better idea of what's going on under the top skin. |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Nice work.
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
sort of done with the roof for now, just need to do the filler and primer
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4221/3...b10085e433.jpg junkyard donor roof https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4236/3...2eaf3f2d01.jpg A pillar cut away looking down from the roof https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/3...6f215cb820.jpg looking up the A pillar from below https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4276/3...50fdc900cd.jpg B pillar cut away https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4219/3...3c9d4b57cc.jpg If you want more pics of how the roof is put together let me know, still have it in the driveway for now. |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Next up are the bed rails.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4290/3...ee9022fd9e.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4241/3...ae51eb8c46.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4266/3...8c4c7ce257.jpg the junkyard donor bed rail with spot welds drilled out and separated. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4275/3...e77ed1d3ff.jpg the patch https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4237/3...b27e7ba8d2.jpg the partial fix, just need some epoxy primer and filler and finish https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4219/3...785f071548.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4281/3...3e827a8ef5.jpg |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
what kinda clecos are those
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
They're just a set of stitch weld magnets from Eastwood. On sale for like $5 or something. I've been using them alot, not using the butt weld clamps much though.
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Wish you weren't two days drive away, I could use the back half of the donor cab. My 79 has rot where the top butts against the half cab. KUTGW...
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Good job! I just got done doing a couple of patches for my "74's door strikers but nothing like what you're doing. Very satisfying to cure cancer though!!
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Man I wish I had tour patience. Looking good!
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Looks like you've taken your time and done a very good job with your repairs. Nice work.
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Thought I'd throw out an update, as I've had a bit of a eventful summer. Kind of back on track now.
My white truck has had a rod bearing making noise for a while now. Just as I was getting ready to head out on a road trip in July it started to really make a racket. So I had to swipe the motor out of the blazer. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4489/...66257d25_z.jpg ...and jabb it in the white guy https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4452/...29afd8ab_z.jpg Then rolled out on a 2500 mile road trip into Idaho, Montana, and Washington for some fishing with my kid. North Fork Clearwater, Idaho https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4492/...a64c66a8_z.jpg Coming down into Superior, Montana https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4527/...7d160ea8_z.jpg Montana/Idaho stateline we got woke up by a bear huffing around at 3am. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4580/...41747928_z.jpg While on the road in Spokane I stopped into a junkyard that had a seat sale going on so I picked up these '99 Tahoe seats for $22 for the pair. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4523/...44267cb9_z.jpg Then took a big hit getting them re-skinned in buckskin leather. Seats have always been high on my priority list so these should work out. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4549/...bbd2db01_z.jpg Since the motor was out of the blazer it was time to bite more bullet. 400hp Roller cam vortec 355 from West Coast Engines online. Not sure what I'm going to do with this other than break something. Maybe turn the white guy into a muscle truck later, but that'll require a 502BBC. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4586/...812ef4fe_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4536/...32940cc4_z.jpg I was thinking since the motor was out and the floor was all cut up that now would be a good time for a NV4500. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/...dd74dbd5_z.jpg Bummer I can't drive it for a while yet. Hope to have it ready for another Baja trip by this time next year. I think I'm done with mechanical for now. Back to body work next. |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Seats turned out great! Anyone who's paid to redo seats realizes that the TMI stuff is actually a good deal! Nice work as always.
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
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Sorry, what is TMI? |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Picking up where I left off with bed rails in post 4.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4219/...5f071548_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4528/...c70c83d2_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4570/...5dc6bea0_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4572/...8a5f83f9_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4568/...2cd28ee3_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4570/...f9ec62a8_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4569/...1ce8d63f_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...9022fd9e_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4571/...aa1bd5b5_z.jpg |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
I guess one good thing about this taking forever is I've got some time to decide on interior. Thanks for the link.
Next on the list is to build a roll bar, which I hope will give the cab some added structure before I cut up the floor. JD Squared model 3 bender https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4524/...4669a6bd_z.jpg |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Nice work, Rg
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Man that must be one beefy table! I've got my JD2 bolted to the concrete and it takes some muscle to get it done! Maybe yours is air/hydraulic?
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Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Roll bar done. I figure this is a good backup to the work I did in the B-pillars.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4526/...549d8fda_z.jpg Also wanted to give a thumbs up to this guy on YouTube for the good tutorial on tube notching without a tube notcher. |
Re: rust repair on the '77...here goes nothin
Sweet sweet sweet.
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