Thanks for the positive vibes fellas, inspiring to know people are interested in what we all enjoy doing.
The next step was the hood and front clip. Luckily there is YouTube to tell me how many ways I was going wrong with the front clip, but we got there in the end.
Next was the engine, cab and then the transmission. Again, off to YouTube and I built one of the lifting frames to go on to my 2T hoist. This made the task of lifting the cab off so much easier.
On the 6th of January this year, this is all that I was left with. Anything that could be unbolted had been removed. Now it was time to clean and prep, after I had cleaned up all the mess that had been left behind.
The differential went out and was rebuilt. While it was apart I did the swap to a 5 bolt stud. The gearbox went out for a freshen up also. It is the SM420 granny box so that was chore to find somebody that could do it. Found someone a little over an hour away that worked from his backyard - also found a nice bar in that town which made the drive worthwhile.
While the frame was undressed I cleaned it up and applied the Black Out from Sweet Patina. The product applied well, given that the prep may have left a little to be desired, but it is also my first rodeo with any rebuild.
Once the Black Out was applied it was on to the rebuild. Crossmember back in, trailing arms, 3" lowered springs and differential installed.
With the back end taken care of it was time to turn attention back to the front end.
This is definitely a budget build. The only things I have handed off has been the differential, gearbox and engine. I am regretting the engine though. It has been out for machining for 10 weeks and that is where everything has stalled now. I want to install the engine before the cab, so for now I am pottering around prepping a whole lot of stuff, ready to get a call about the engine. It has been difficult to get people to work on these I6's, everyone wants to work on SBC and LS's.