1969 Ranger - Project Glory Days!

[67nukeford]

Tyler, had to come on and check this out. Sorry it took me so long, I can't see pics on here at work. First off, I have shop envy!LOL! Wow, your kickin' butt on this truck! I like the idea of the taller dolly, I've been trying to come up with something for my dolly, to raise the cab for the cab corners. I have to do that cab floor support also. I was thinking of getting some of Eastwoods frame coat, to do the inside of the rest of the support.

What did you paint your frame with?

[tylerb43]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. It's fuel to the fire to have others that share your interests cheering you on, thanks for that!

nuke - I painted the frame with a combo of Eastwood Encapsulator and PPG DP90 Epoxy Primer, then I top-coated with Eastwood's Chassis Black - turned out really nice! It has just the right sheen and is durable!

I also used EW's Internal Frame Coating on the cab's support channel, and the closed channel near the rear cab mounts. Wow, that stuff really shoots out of the nozzle! I thought I would be thicker like a gel, but it flows like paint. It ran out of some of the joints, but I soaked it pretty good in there, working it back and forth like the video showed. The extension nozzle works great, just make sure you clean it out good afterward. Of course I can't swear by it's ability to protect things from the rust monster just yet, but as far as it's usability and the piece of mind it gives you - I'd definitely recommend it!

[67nukeford]

Okay, great! I was wondering how well that stuff worked. I'll have to get some ordered, along with that support brace piece.

[67nukeford]

Tyler, did you coat the floor boards under your mounts with anything? I was thinking of using POR -15 on the floorpan and the inside of the mount, except where I'll have to weld it.

[tylerb43]

Pat - Yes, I primered and painted the floor board and inside the mount with Rustoleum enamel. I used weld thru primer on both panels for the "footprint" where they came together. After they were welded and sealed from the outside, I tried to shoot paint down through the access hole into that joint, but I really doubt I did much good. I then got the bright idea to stick the extension tube of that internal frame coating in there and guide it along the joint. I guess that' s not perfect, but it's still protected much better than it was 42 years ago, and it will have a much easier life from here on out!

[67nukeford]

That is an great idea! I've got to get some of that ordered...

[67nukeford]

Tyler, how did you get to the welds when removing the vent boxes on the sides of the kick panels? I wish there was an extension for my spot weld bit, so I could get to those!

[tylerb43]

Yeah, the spot weld cutter wasn't much use for those, I first drilled a small 1/8" pilot hole in the middle of the spot weld, then moved to a long, 1/2" drill bit on my cordless dewalt to eat up most of the bond, then hit it with the air chisel and bingo - two pieces. Good luck!

[67nukeford]

Sounds like a plan. I've been trying to devise an extended chuck, to hold that bit, but may just give up on that.

[sargentrs]

Any issues with loose blast media concern you when you get ready to paint? I'll be going there soon and thought about blasting my cab but there's a lot of little nooks and crannies that stuff could get into. Especially those cowl vents. What are you doing about removal of the left over media in the cab? Vacuum?

[tylerb43]

That's a good question, Randy. The main weapon I use for that is a 24" blow gun with 3/8" fittings (maximum air). The cowl vent channel blows right down into the lower cowl box and out. Also, at the moment I have the inner corners cut out in the rear which helps all the media blow out. Up front on the left, I left a patch panel cut out at the bottom of the A pillar, on the right - I have the lower cowl box removed. All these things really help when cleaning out the media.

But even if I didn't have these little cheats, you could still clean it out pretty well I think. All the pockets have (supposed to have) drain holes, which are big enough that the fine grit media runs out of them with a little push of air pressure. Tapping around with a dead blow hammer while you're waiting for the compressor to catch up seems to help too.

[FoPAR]

can't be any worse than the 10 pounds of metal shavings that are created when cutting all the rust and any custom work/cutting. Man that stuff is everywhere! Everytime I flip the bed over another 5 pounds of stuff falls out...

tylerb43, your cab is looking good wish I was at that stage already.... at the speed I'm getting things done maybe next week.. yeah right

[sargentrs]

Thanks for the encouraging words, tyler! I really wasn't looking forward to wire brushing with a grinder. Blasting is much easier!

[67nukeford]

Nice thing about these trucks, the sheet metal is heavy enough to blast!

[tylerb43]

Quick update guys -

I've almost got the cab ready to lay down the first couple coats of primer. I've smoothed the dash and the original evaporator ports and mounting holes in the firewall. I used a 6" knotted wire wheel to clean out the seam sealer from the drip rail, then I blasted all the seams and edges for a final cleaning. After the epoxy primer is sprayed to seal the bare metal, then I'll reapply the new seam sealer to the drip rail and body seams. I've got the rear corners cut out (inner and outer), but I'm going to wait until it's on the taller dolly to weld the new ones in.





Days when I'm tired of bodywork (which is more and more), I've been tinkering with the engine. I bought some different exhaust manifolds from 1971ford (thanks Ryan!!) and they are in great shape! I'm going to blast, and coat them with POR15 factory gray, and have the mounting surface machined flat, then I'll bolt them on. I added a 1" carb spacer and new air cleaner from Summit. Pertronix plug wires and Ignitor II coil should be here today. And I think it's looking pretty sweet!