Well, been plugging away at the old beater and figured I’d post some pics. It’s going back all stock, or at least very close.both hinge pockets were pretty hammered. Took a lot of bending, pulling, hammering, welding and cussing to get them straight. The cowl patch panel was a piece of cake compared to the hinge pockets. The engines an untouched 352, but it had obviously been overheated sometime in its life because ever chamber was cracked. And it had been starved of oil. I had it punched .020, the crank turned 10/10 and found a set of C8AE-H heads for it. It’s been back together for about 3000 miles, and runs like a top. However….it’s going to get a Performer intake, PerformerPlus cam and a Holley 650 when it goes back in. The only piece of trim missing is the left front fender, otherwise it’s all there. The bed is nearly dent free, but the front bed support rail is missing some material where it mounts to the frame. East fix, especially since it’s under the truck once the bed is off. The driveshaft is bent, so I’m having it re-tubed.

I’m in the worst part of a restoration right now….the cleaning. I say it’s the worst because this is that point where the parts list grows and grows. Cha-ching cha-ching cha-ching. I’ll probably have about $13.5k into it by the time it’s done, but there won’t be a single component on the truck I haven’t touched, and it’ll be fresh paint too.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Oh, and I asked about doors recently too. Well, I’ll take some
pictures of the door when I get a minute and add them. I got the hammer and fillet out, bought a shrinking disc, and got the door right.


The day I brought it home.

 

A few more pictures.

You can get an idea of how bad it was.

If you zoom in, you can see the repair completed.

 

Looking real good! Don't think about the money. Just think about what you'll have in the end.

 

Yours is rougher than my ‘69 CS. If you can bring that one back to life I should quit whining and get ‘er done. Great work.

 

After about a week scraping, wire brushing, oven cleaner/pressure washer’ if and then putting 80 grit on a DA laying on my back….THIS IS AS CLEAN AS THIS MF’er IS GOING TO GET! Next time, I’m getting a rotisserie. The plus side? I finally found a use for that garbage Eastwood roll on epoxy primer I bought. Next step is rubberized undercoating. It ain’t perfect, far from it but it’s good enough after over a week of laying on my back like a…..woman of the night. It’s protected, and someone please tell me that that’s what matters….PLEASE!

 

I think it looks great, and it'll probably outlast all of us. And I agree with what was said earlier; don´t think about the money...

Also - why would you paint it? It looks pretty perfect as it is :-)

 

It had surface rust all over it. It’s going to get undercoated either tomorrow or next week when I’m off again. The frame is getting painted next. Then the suspension will go back on, and I’ll start on the rest of the bodywork.

 

I think you are doing great!

 

Day off today….well, not at work anyway so more progress. Had the neighbors help so I could get from the front of the bed forward painted. Rear of cab back will get done when the bed comes off for rust repair. The Chassis Saver satin has just the right amount of sheen.

 

You do amazing work & you give me lots of incentive to do mine & I thank-you.........
I have read several times that undercoating on beds or underneath are bad from causing rust after it gets chipped or cut . moisture supposedly seeps in and stays causing rust , like the old original one piece plastic bed liners di Actually I just now remember I have a neighbor that put that lizard Skin looking stuff all over a Dodge truck . It looked great at first , but I saw it after about a year & it is faded bad & coming off...........
I need to do something to my undercarriage & think I am going use the brush on rust preventive paint & then maybe paint with cheap paint..........
Anyway you do great work , & you get me motivated...........I enjoy your progress

 

Cab interior is in primer. That was three days of sanding and digging out old seam sealer, one day of cleaning and new seam sealer, and one day of prepping and painting. FML! Working the next three days, then off for four. Hopefully, I can get the interior blocked and in color in those 4 days. Colors will be Frost Turquoise and Wimbledon White.

Eating elephants one bite at a time…

 

The reasons you speak of about rust underneath is why I used epoxy primer. It seals the substrate, so if it does come off, it won’t rust. Replying to this made me realize I hadn’t posted the after pictures of the undercoating. I used a product called Barrier Bond, which is what we used to sell when I was a dealership tech and the stuff kicks serious ***. It works good, goes on fairly thick, is resistant to solvents and oils, and makes a friggen mess when putting it on. But it works great.

 

Not primer.


But my sweaty *** dripped into the driver side. DAMN IT! FML!

 

Looks great so far, keep us posted with new photos of your progress!

 

Those interior cab pics look super sweet!
Keep us updated. You’re doing some kick *** work!