I just went through this whole thread. Love the work you're doing.

Quick question, What are you using to strip the paint, a wire wheel on a grinder or a DA sander? I'm not looking forward to the paint portion of my truck, but for cost savings, I'm most likely going to have to do it myself.

Also, I'm curious why you didn't do the epoxy primer prior to the body filler. I've read where today's filler is meant to go on top of the epoxy primer instead of under it. I know earlier years the filler was to go under it. I'm not sure if it depends on the filler or not.

 

Thanks


All 3 but I found the wire wheels work the best. I used a 40 grit flap wheel on the roof and anywhere I was going to apply body filler.

This seams to be a fun debate in the autobody world and from the research I've done looking at the spec sheets and directions filler companies say it needs to go on good clean bare metal that is ground with 24-36 grit to create a good "tooth" for the filler to have the best opportunity for superior adhesion, but epoxy companies say you can put filler over epoxy. So yes many body shops put filler over epoxy and it seems to be just fine. I will be doing a few small areas with filler over epoxy on my build as well. I think that most want to seal up the bare metal as soon as possible once it has been stripped to avoid any new contamination or rust and epoxy primer will allow for decent adhesion so they go epoxy then filler. With the low moisture here in eastern WA I have left metal bare in my shop for years and it doesn't rust so there wasn't a rush to seal up the metal. I did as much of the filler the way the directions say to (at least the one I bought says to) and then put on the epoxy primer. A write up/test an autobody guy did on this subject also helped me decide to go filler then epoxy route as well as a few YouTube searches on this subject. In fact one of the youtubers put up a poll question on this subject and it seems that the majority go epoxy then filler. He was very surprised by the results as he always does filler then epoxy per the directions and assumed most shops would be doing the same.

Here is the link to the article that really helped me decide the way I wanted to go... Epoxy or No Epoxy Under Filler - Autobodystore

I personally don't care if people are putting filler over epoxy because any solid impact that dents or bends metal is most likely going to cause damage to filler and force your to sand it out and start over. I just liked that it seemed to be less damage when filler was applied first so that was the way I went.


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Time to pay some bills... Ford buddy brought over this truck for some new gaskets and an engine compartment clean up and detail (new paint, hoses, untangling a wiring rats nest, ect) Also needs all the exterior trim removed as it's heading to the paint shop after I'm done with it. So this will bring in some extra $$$ for the projects.

 

Wow awesome work! Maybe my cab isn't a lost cause after all...

So the bolts you are restoring that go in the inner fender well and front fascia and several other front end panels I don't know the size but there's a bunch of them about a inch long... Have you thought about replacing those bolts with new bolts like grade 8? What is your reasoning for keeping them? They actually look in great shape for the most part

 

Thanks

Yeah those were a mix of front end body bolts from the 67 and 72. I typically reuse the stock bolts if they are still in "good" shape. Just never saw the need to speed the $$$ on new ones unless they were just too rusty. I've had a number of parts vehicles so it always seems like I have plenty of bolts to chose from and the kits I've seen are $250 to $300. Seems like there is always something else I need to spend that on rather than bolts... maybe I'm just cheep

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That is too much for a kit. So far with all the grade 8 for everything in front of the cab I'm at about $60 for all grade 8. Here's a snap of a receipt for some of the hardware and the company I bought everything from. They are awesome to do business with. Ill have to cut the threads on the spring to Ibeam bolts due to not being able to find a perfect match but it's not that much more work.

 

Quick update... Still working on the 78 ford, there have been a number of delays with incorrect parts showing up and a week of cleaning and degreasing whenever the rain will let me. New timing chain, oil pan gasket, oil change and new filter, new water pump, new valve covers and gaskets are also on the list. The owner wanted everything but the engine painted black. He's planning a lift for the truck as well so all the suspension was just blacked out for now...







The owner wanted to keep the Edelbrock air cleaner so I polished it and painted it to match the engine.




As soon as this truck is done I'll be getting back to the flatbed project. Couldn't say no to this one as the extra $$$ will really help out the other projects.

 

Nice job on the clean-up.

 

Owner of the 78 dropped off the correct parts yesterday so I was able to start working on the engine bay again. Swapped in the new timing chain, dropped the oil pan and put in a new gasket then buttoned up the timing chain cover and put on the new water pump. With all the other parts cleaned up and painted the rest of the engine came together nicely. I still need to sort out the wiring and clean it up so it's not an eye sore.


Before...

 

Dang!! Nice work!!

 

Sorted out and cleaned up the wiring and started to reassemble the front end. Shouldn't be too much longer and I'll have it wrapped up and I can get back to the flatbed project.


Before...





After...

 

Good work. I'm sure the owner will be real happy.

 

Wow, what a great transformation!

 

Man, that looks amazing! Good job!

 

Your degree of craftsmanship on the cab is awesome! I'm working very slowly on my '72 and really appreciate watching your progress. The underside of the cab looks better than new and others have said the same. I'll be watching for the continuation of the project!