If you don't mind me adding on to your request, once totally disassembled did anyone use a jig of some sort for re-assembley to ensure the frame was true? I like the idea of galvanizing before paint or powder coat, gives one more layer of protection.

 

At my structural steel shop we sometimes galvanize stuff for longevity (especially around the ocean where salt is a factor)then later someone else will paint over it . It really is the ultimate in protection but could be pricey! These frames are usually in good shape to start never really seen too many bad ones in my area but then again these trucks are becoming antiques lol.
I powder coated my winch bumper and it requires a exterior prime first then powder coat. Looks nice though..

 

Once the frame is disassembled, I wouldnt think that anything will twist or bend, unless you run over it or drop it or do something else that would cause damage. As far as removing all the crossmembers etc.............I think I would be concerned with it once you put it all together with bolts. Even a properly torqued good quality grade 8 bolt will not have the holding power that a factory installed hot rivet will have. There is a reason that they rivet them together besides cost savings. Replacing a damaged crossmember or suspension mount is a different story than removing every rivet and bolting it back together. Im sure that someone will chime in and say that all heavy duty trucks frames have bolted in crossmembers and suspension mounts which is true. However, there is a big difference in the thickness of the material used and the big trucks are DESIGNED to be bolted together. Light duty trucks are not.............I think if it were me, I'd really think twice about cutting all the rivets out of a frame. Just my 2 cents worth........

 

I think I'll take a cleaned up painted frame that's bolted together over a rivoted one that is rusting away. Those wonderful rivots do no good if the metal they go thru is rusting away.

If you have ever removed any of the factory brackets from a truck frame from the rust belt you'd be a lot less worried about the bolts.

 

i just ordered some eastwood 2k chassis black so we will see soon how it looks, keep an eye on my build thread

 

Oh yeah..I'm subscribed!

Good info guys. Still not convinced of one over the other yet. Slayer, I'm definitly looking forward to seeing what you think of the 2K CB. That's the ceramic stuff correct? If I have it galvi/primed, that likely would still be my finish coat.

If I do go the galvi route, I'm thinking it just would be frame and suspention at this point. NOT axels, driveshaft, etc. That stuff is and will always be readily available for replacement parts so I'm less concerned about it.

The key to anything is starting off with the SOLID foundation, and I'm just looking for piece of mind. I understand the bolts maybe not being as strong as hot rivots, but this truck will maybe get 5K-8K miles a year on it, so less worried about stress of everyday use. Would rather know everything is protected properly.

Keep it coming if you all want.....

 

Grade 8 bolts are fine. If your concerned remove one bolt at a time with it bolted in place and die grind holes to accept next larger size bolt. I own a dewalt heavy duty die grinder I got off eBay and sounds like you could use one. I use a high quality 5/16 cutting bit that grinds away very fast. Don't bother with a cheap piece of junk tool or cheap bits. I hate drilling and I will sometimes even pop a small hole in up to 1/2" stuff just big enough to get my die grinder bit in and open up until the right size keeping as round as possible.
DW887 1-1/2" (40mm) Die Grinder | DEWALT Tools
http://www.heavydutystore.com/champi...-pr-23020.html

Honestly this is one of the most handy tools I own.
We use these at my shop all the time so I had to have my own.
They are pricey new but you can get them for about 50-75$ as they are about $300 new.

 

All of my rivets were removed and I had no issues with the frame during coating etc. All of the bolts were upgraded to grade 8 flanged 1/2 inch bolts and flanged locking nuts wherever I could make that happen.
Good luck with your build.

 

When replacing rivets with bolts be sure that the bolts has a shoulder that fits the hole tightly and does not run out of threads before it is tight, a sloppy fit can and will cause problems. You may have to custom make certain length bolts to do this.(involves getting a bit longer bolt with a shoulder and cutting more threads into the shoulder which may require a machine shop to take a some mat off for threads.

 

I just checked with a shop here in Ontario that can galvanize, they said it's about $130 to coat if the frame is clean and free of paint. Seems like a small price for the piece of mind before paint.

 

I think that seems pretty low...I expect it to be around $600 where I am at.

Even if it were upwards of $1,000 I don't know why more people wouldnt do this. Galvi is said to offer 10 times the corrosion protection that a very good automotive paint would have. Most hot dipp galivinizers offer like a 75 year warranty.

FYI, galvenizing a frame is pretty standard procedure for guys in the Range Rover camp. That's where i got the idea.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QmcrtClly0

 

So I get the impression that I should be boring out the holes and installing larger diameter bolts than the old rivot diameters were???

Is 1/2" dia what you all did? Did you do that everywhere? Spring hangers, crossmembers, etc.???

 

What really sucks is I don't know that I am going to be able to do the complete rebuild right away like I want. It's not so much a money issue, but I have a big delima. I have owned this truck for just over a year now. It has never been registered by me and driven on the road however. I mean when I bought it, I drove it with repair plates for about a mile or two but never really got a good sense of what the truck is and can do.

Delima 1: The motor. It has a 351M or 400 in it. I dont know how good that size motor would be for me. I dont even know what all was done to it already. It has after market intake and carb, but can I assume they put the straight up timing on it? Is there some much more potential to this motor waiting in a timing swap and I jus tdon't know it. Even if it was timing corrected and close to it's max potential, do I need/want to step up to a 460 if gas milage is going to be about the same as the 351m/400 like I have read?

Delima 2: The transmisison. It has a C6 Auto in it. I really really really want a manual...but if I go through the extent of installing a manual, am I going to want a 5th gear (ZF5 or NV4500 conversion)? Will a 4 gear T18 or T19 Close ratio be acceptable? I don't know. If I drive the C6 with the same 1:1 final drive I can see what that will be like in a T18 4 speed manual tranny. (Truck has 4.10 diff). I know I will be frustrated if I know I cant go at least 65-70 comfortably on the highway.

Delima 3: Less of a delima...I am looking to add a Pierece Arrow hydraulic dump kit on it for the bed. Just not sure that I wanted to have to do that right now becasue of the price tag ($1,100). It's not like I can mock everything up and put the hinge and other bracing in without buying the whole kit right now so there is definitly a big investment required for something so trivial! But I know I will want it one day.

So because I have never really driven the truck I have no idea what I will want. This affects all the modified engine mounts and crossmembers and bracing of frame, etc. that would be required.

OF COURSE I DON'T WANT TO GALVI THE FRAME UNTIL ALL THAT WORK IS COMPLETE!!!! I don't even want to have to drill it.

So now for this year, Im thinking I just need to get the parts on the frame that I know need changed to get it road worthy enough to register and drive it. Probably rattle can some rustoleum on the frame for now. Then get a sense of how it performs by driving for a while and start making decisions from there.

That REALLY stinks!!! I just wanted to get going on this project full bore. I have waited long enough and now have to wait longer.