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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Body, Glass & Paint => Topic started by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 25, 2016, 02:33:54 am

Title: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 25, 2016, 02:33:54 am
im watching this david stacey gearz episode and hes putting in a motor and next thing i know i see him taking out the front clip with the whole front grille assembly fenders and wheel welds in one piece!

sorry to sound ignorant but is this a real thing or just reality television? just have never see this in any kind of a automotive design.

id like to know because it would be great if it came out like this. my garage height is a problem and im not sure if i can hoist the motor high enough to take it out, also my driveway is on a slight hill so i cant just poke the hood out of the garage.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: brewster on September 25, 2016, 02:39:24 am
You might have to take out the grille first so you can get at the front frame mounts but otherwise you should be able to do that

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Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 25, 2016, 02:42:08 am
You might have to take out the grille first so you can get at the front frame mounts but otherwise you should be able to do that

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awesome ill take a look at it tomorrow. i guess maybe in the video they just put grille back on to make it look good.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Stewart G Griffin on September 25, 2016, 07:12:47 am
It's definitely possible, but the problem with most car shows is they never go into any detail about anything. >:(
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Irish_Alley on September 25, 2016, 07:40:18 am
its possible even with the hood still on the clip. dont recomend with the hood cause you cant have the cable still attached and if the hood closed you will have fun trying to pop the hood lol. and the grill can still be in place.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Stewart G Griffin on September 25, 2016, 08:50:15 am
speaking of removable front clips:                    o....................k...............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4C-PVjZ4-0
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: AZ4X4SQBDY on September 25, 2016, 09:52:41 am
I would run some duct tape over the edges of the fenders and doors to keep the nicks in the paint to a minimum. Another trick is to drill 1/8 holes though the fender mounting points and the cab of the truck. When you are reassembling it, you use the drill bit to line it back up and just tighten the bolts. This is so you don't have to realign anything, it will fit the way it was when you took it apart. To finish it up, just put a dap of seam sealer, silicon, or caulking over the holes.

Another suggestion might be using a 3/8 battery powered impact to disassemble and reassemble the complete front end to remove it. If the bolts are not too rusty, you could have each fender/inner fender assembly off with in a half an hour each, the core support in another half an hour. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled, living in the south west, all the bolts just come loose and nothing is fighting you because it's rust.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: 80Chevy4x4 on September 25, 2016, 10:09:16 am
I would run some duct tape over the edges of the fenders and doors to keep the nicks in the paint to a minimum. Another trick is to drill 1/8 holes though the fender mounting points and the cab of the truck. When you are reassembling it, you use the drill bit to line it back up and just tighten the bolts. This is so you don't have to realign anything, it will fit the way it was when you took it apart. To finish it up, just put a dap of seam sealer, silicon, or caulking over the holes.

Another suggestion might be using a 3/8 battery powered impact to disassemble and reassemble the complete front end to remove it. If the bolts are not too rusty, you could have each fender/inner fender assembly off with in a half an hour each, the core support in another half an hour. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled, living in the south west, all the bolts just come loose and nothing is fighting you because it's rust.

Hey I love mt battery powered tools...no air lines to get in the way and scratch things up...plus you don't have to listen to a noisy compressor so you can hear the radio better...LOL
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 25, 2016, 10:56:54 am
I would run some duct tape over the edges of the fenders and doors to keep the nicks in the paint to a minimum. Another trick is to drill 1/8 holes though the fender mounting points and the cab of the truck. When you are reassembling it, you use the drill bit to line it back up and just tighten the bolts. This is so you don't have to realign anything, it will fit the way it was when you took it apart. To finish it up, just put a dap of seam sealer, silicon, or caulking over the holes.

Another suggestion might be using a 3/8 battery powered impact to disassemble and reassemble the complete front end to remove it. If the bolts are not too rusty, you could have each fender/inner fender assembly off with in a half an hour each, the core support in another half an hour. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled, living in the south west, all the bolts just come loose and nothing is fighting you because it's rust.

thanks for the tips.
ill prob have my work cut out for me. my truck has alot of surface rust under the hood fromt before i bought it.
wheel welds are completely covered in surface rust but the metal is still strong.  but the good news is that it has been garaged since day one from when i brought it home and will stay that way.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 25, 2016, 10:58:31 am
its possible even with the hood still on the clip. dont recomend with the hood cause you cant have the cable still attached and if the hood closed you will have fun trying to pop the hood lol. and the grill can still be in place.

i was actually hoping to leave the hood on because i dont want to deal with in being mis aligned after reinstalling it. but i guess im eventually going to have to do it either way.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 25, 2016, 11:01:56 am
It's definitely possible, but the problem with most car shows is they never go into any detail about anything. >:(

true most dont but at least they give you ideas.
although some car shows actually get pretty detailed about installation or insight on installation they just do it for every scene.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 25, 2016, 02:44:21 pm
Definitely can be done. Take hood off. Take out grill and remove 2 body mount bolts. I take the battery out to make it lighter. There are cables, ground wires, tranny cooler lines (auto), radiator hoses, vapor canister, front axle breather, and windshield washer lines.  IIRC there are 4 bolts on each fender to the cab, 1 is though the inner fender. If I missed something, somebody correct me. Oh, newer models have hood release cable.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: brewster on September 25, 2016, 04:21:28 pm
If you want to take off the front clip without taking off the radiator hoses and making a big antifreeze mess you can take out the bolts for the radiator and just lift it off the radiator support and set the radiator on the frame while you have the clip off

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Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: AZ4X4SQBDY on September 25, 2016, 06:18:49 pm
its possible even with the hood still on the clip. dont recomend with the hood cause you cant have the cable still attached and if the hood closed you will have fun trying to pop the hood lol. and the grill can still be in place.

i was actually hoping to leave the hood on because i dont want to deal with in being mis aligned after reinstalling it. but i guess im eventually going to have to do it either way.

Drill 1/8 holes in the edge of the hood hinge and use the drill bit to realign it.
Title: Re: removing the front clip with fender grille and wheel weld in once piece
Post by: Macaroni_Sackaroni on September 30, 2016, 08:00:00 pm
Definitely can be done. Take hood off. Take out grill and remove 2 body mount bolts. I take the battery out to make it lighter. There are cables, ground wires, tranny cooler lines (auto), radiator hoses, vapor canister, front axle breather, and windshield washer lines.  IIRC there are 4 bolts on each fender to the cab, 1 is though the inner fender. If I missed something, somebody correct me. Oh, newer models have hood release cable.

basically everything on the front..