Project "Uncle Fester"- 9/21 Interior almost finished

[72stepside]

Well, finally back at it. We got my daughter all squared away and she is doing great. She scurries around like she never had heart surgery only a month ago. Kids are amazing.


Over the Veteran's day weekend, I got all the wiring completed to the Garage-mahal!!! I got a 50 amp circuit set up for my free welder, 110V outlets installed, and the lights finished up.

I purchased a new impact wrench with my birthday money...

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... act+wrench

I got the 24 month free replacement for $24. When I told the salesman that I would be dismantleing a complete truck with it, his eyes got real big and his expression was like "you mean people do that?"

I picked up a 50ft air hose retracting reel and Impact Socket set from Harbor Freight last Sunday. I figured the Pittsburgh Tool brand would be good enough for what I'm going to be doing. They're pretty beefy and the 16 piece set only cost $16.

So, no more excuses. Time to get cracking and take some stuff apart!!!!

[layedout72]

take pictures first! of EVERYTHING. and when i say everything...i mean EVERYTHING

[72stepside]

I got the final bed bolts ground off. Only one of the 6 came off without requiring grinding off the top. Two of them further had to be cut off underneath because they were hanging up somewhere between the bed floor and the frame rail. The thin cutoff wheels for angle grinders are AWESOME !!!!

I'll get my father over here tomorrow to help me get it off the truck. Pictures forthcoming soon.

There must be 100 pounds of fine gray mud under this truck. Everytime I hit a bolt with my impact wrench, I got covered. I can't wait to start cleaning on this frame.

I'm gonna replace the spring bushings and go for the Por15 coating.

[SebringSixSpeed]

Looks like you put new brake hoses (flex lines) in the pic of the front brake caliper. I need to get some of those for my CS. where did you get them and what brand are they?

[72stepside]

Looks like you put new brake hoses (flex lines) in the pic of the front brake caliper. I need to get some of those for my CS. where did you get them and what brand are they?

O'reilly Auto Parts Number BH78077
or
Advance Auto Parts Number H78077

They are the same part. Check on the Advance website. They have the length and thread info for each end. Check to make sure it matches what is on your truck. I did that the after Oreilly sold me the wrong one first. Their computer showed two part numbers for my application. The 78077 is what fit. They are about $23 each.

[72stepside]

Here are a few pics of taking the bed off and some items I found as a result...

[72stepside]

More



Giant rust hole in the floor where the aux tank filler hose goes

[72stepside]

What is the purpose of this plug? It appears to be some auxillary wiring for a camper or something.




I have all this prepared just in time to go visit the inlaws in North Alabama this weekend. The weather here has been fantastic. Temps have been from 60ish in the morning to mid 70's in the afternoon. Maybe I can get at it when I get back. I have bought a wire brush attachement for the angle grider to cut some of the corrosion.

[72stepside]

Man, been a while since I updated.

Over the past few weeks, I have removed the rear spring shackles, cleaned the frame from the cab back with degreaser and pressure washer, then hit it with the wire wheel in the angle grinder last weekend. I got my Energy Suspension Poly Bushings from AutoZone last week. My POR15 arrived today!!!!!

My game plan is to get the Flex-O-matic shackles coated with POR15 and bushings installed this weekend. I'm gonna finish the final touches on the back end of the frame to get it coated and the rear spring shackles back together. Then I'll get the front rear shackles apart, bushings installed, and finish up the coating.

I'll get some new pics posted up as things go back together.

But... this will all have to wait until Saturday because I am headed to New Orleans on Friday to see VAN HALEN !!!!!!!! Big thanks to the wife for getting the ticket for me for Xmas!!!

[1971ford]

not even a teaser pic?

im dying for some pics of this project!!!

especially since im going to be doing the same stuff you just mentioned...

[72stepside]

Ok...

Here's a pic of the partially brushed frame (outside and top of frame rails)



And another before I took out the parking brake cables. See the difference that wire brush makes...




I'm gonna get a good picture of my bushing pulling method when I get to the front spring eyes so stay tuned...

[1971ford]

yes!!!

ill be using a wire wheel too...
it looks like it will take a while to get it stripped.

[72stepside]

That twisted wire wheel in my Dewalt Angle grinder cuts through rust and paint like a hot knife through butter. But, you gotta be very careful. If it gets away from you and tangled up in your clothes, you are hurtin, BAD!!!! Eye protection, tight clothes, and at least a paper type respirator mask is a must.

[Nausea]

Amen! The straight wire wheels are nearly useless in comparison plus they shed wires like crazy which you'll find stuck in your skin! Those twisted wheels work 3x better, last much longer and don't loose wires nearly as bad.

If you want some really serious stripping power for the bigger sections, try a 20 or 40 grit sanding wheel - just remember it leaves marks but thats ok as it'll give the por15 better adhesion. Sanding discs are great for going to bare metal in a hurry.

Btw, there were some spots on my frame where the original paint (primer maybe?) was really tough to get off... did you find that too?

Looking good!

[72stepside]

Yeah, I had to go a little slower in some areas. Some of that paint was in good shape, but I read that POR15 bonds best to steel, not paint so I'm taking all of it off that I can reach.

This thing is a cleaning beast though...