Ground up 86 4x4

[thirsty]

I was thinking that too Vile. I hadn't looked into if they were made for that vintage front end.

[VileZambonie]

They are and they look real good

[thirsty]

The other day I painted the floor. When I had a seat in it I decided that I wanted to see some of the color on the seat hump when the door was open. Seemed like a good idea when I had the seat in but when I took the masking off I really didn't like the look. The finished floor will have a rubber mat someday and with the seat in it hopefully it will look the way I wanted it to. If not I can always paint the rest or if I change my mind and use carpet it won't show anyway.




Just about everything that I have for this truck is filthy! I spend a fair amount of time cleaning stuff before I can install it.

Did I see a fender on in one of the previous pictures? I have both my fenders mocked on right now but it seems like I'm gonna be fighting with them to fit to the doors. I've never aligned fenders to the doors before and I'm way scared it's gonna be ugly.

Yup I did have a fender on it. I had to move one the other day and while it was in my hands I couldn't resist walking into the garage with it and hanging it on there for a day or two. After I get it running and moving I'm going to assemble the rest of the body. Two reasons why, first is to align the whole body to the chassis so the cab is right where it needs to be, second is for making sure I have all the right bolts and shims in the right places like a trial fit so I don't struggle so much with fresh paint on everything.

Make sure you tape everything off when you align everything and it will less ugly for ya.

[thirsty]

Last Friday I worked on the motor some to get it closer to firing up. I needed to change some fittings on the engine to hook up my heater core. Then I started playing with carburetors deciding which I should use. Decided on the holley that has been sitting on the engine right along. It had an aftermarket throttle bracket on it that I didn't like so I dug out a gm one, cleaned it, painted it, installed it, then realized that it must have come off a car because it was too far back for my cable to work. The one that was on the motor that I took out of the truck was the wrong one too, cut and bent to make work, looked like crap and just had one bolt to hold it in place. So I put the aftermarket one back on. Something just seemed off with the pedal travel. I messed with it for a long time. I took that stuff apart in 2009. Knowing this is a simple thing I was getting frustrated. Went to the computer to do a search also knowing that nobody would have ever asked a question like this and didn't find anything. I needed a truck to look at but there aren't any squares around my area.

Then I had an idea after seeing what members where online so I did this.

I had a feeling that Firefighter would be turning wrenches on his 76. Contacted him and he confirmed that I had it right and the pedal travel was the same as his. Sgarage took this picture of me while I was talking to Firefighter. We took right care of business with the measurements then had some great conversation about our trucks, Thanks again Firefighter!

[firefighter]

I had a feeling that Firefighter would be turning wrenches on his 76. Contacted him and he confirmed that I had it right and the pedal travel was the same as his. Sgarage took this picture of me while I was talking to Firefighter. We took right care of business with the measurements then had some great conversation about our trucks, Thanks again Firefighter!

You are more than welcome friend. I'd be happy to help you any time.
It was great to chat with you on the phone about your question, your truck and a bit about you. If we lived closer, we'd share stories around the wood stove no doubt.
I'm sure we'll talk again and I look forward to it.
You've got a great truck for sure !!

[thirsty]

Sunday we got the bed from out behind the garage before it was snowed in for the winter. They are heavy enough without a bunch of ice in the wheel wells. I had it upside down sitting on 4x4's. After we got in we stood it on end to melt all of the ice. Tonight I really wanted to move it but there was only two of us at the garage. I came up with a plan that worked pretty good. We got it moved under the access hole to the attic and I hooked a chain fall to a 4x4 then to the bed, and put the engine crane on the headboard. Picked up with the crane and lowered the chain fall at the same time.

Couldn't resist continuing so it ended up on the truck too. I wanted it on to align everything once before more paint anyway and takes up less room in the garage.

[bake74]

     What do you know, it kinda looks like a truck.     I bet you are just itching to get it back together, it sure going to look great when it put back together.  Keep up the great work Thirsty.

                                               Tom

[thirsty]

I just looked back through this thread and it has slowly started to turn into a truck again.


I got to get it running soon it is starting to get real heavy again 

[thirsty]

I got a small update.
I never painted my door hinges when I did my cab. I was going to have a friend do it for me because he paints quite a few repair panels at his shop. I thought it would be easier if he had the stuff out already and he said "Sure I'll let you know next time I paint something". Well you know how that always works. It never got done and I wanted to put my doors on and start lining things up so I can move on to some more work. So tonight I got everything out and did it myself.

I know it's not much to show but it is what I did. 

[Blazin]

Cool. I have white door hinge bolts on YELOSNO!!!

[thirsty]

That's funny Blazin...Mine were yellow before tonight.

[bake74]

     Hey Thirsty, got a question.  When you paint the hinges, do you have to let them dry and rotate the hinge to paint the part that did not get paint, or do they come apart so the whole thing get a coat the first time ? 
     I am just curious since they roll on the hinge part.

[Blazin]

I wish you would have spoke up before you said somethin! I woulda traded ya!

[firefighter]

Way to go thirsty !!

You say "I know it's not much to show" but anyone who's done a build knows each step is an absolute milestone.
The hinges look great and the cardboard holder is a great idea for painting the bolt heads. I'll have to end up going back with a small brush to touch up a few small detail things I didn't get when I was painting some of the bigger stuff.

Keep up the good work. I get excited for ya every time you post another accomplishment!!

[thirsty]

@ bake74, I painted them together because my pins and bushings are still good. I did have to paint them and then move the hinges around and paint them again. It was a pain, would be much easier to paint them in pieces.

@ Blazin, that's why you need to stop by the garage. I would have just given you them if I knew. Really didn't matter to me what color they were before I painted them, I just had the yellow ones handy. If I come across any more yellow body bolts while I am assembling the body I will set em' aside for you.

@ firefighter, not much to show but those 4 hinges and 22 bolts took a long time to clean, scuff, paint, and clear. The only reason that I took them off was to be able to get them clean enough for paint. They were covered in the wax type undercoating, over spray, and regular grease too.