Alright, the last update had me with a rolling chassis, and putting on the radiator support. So, I guess it is time to take the time for an update. I hope you guys haven't forgotten about me.
First up the cab.... Since me old war horse had been repainted before, I thought I might rub through that paint just to see what I had. If the paint was good, I would keep it, and smooth it, and paint over it. NOPE! Just a few scuffs took the old paint down to bare metal. NO PRIMER!!!!
I had planned on stripping the cab anyway, so that deceided it for me. So after hours of fixing the floor boards, and using donor sheet metal from two other trucks, I now have a perfectly rust free cab with the later (81+) style cowl, and hood hinges. Next step was to use a chemical stripper on the cab roof, and then hours of sanding to get the rust off of that, to get it back to 100% bare steel. Next came a dry weekend whereas I could sand blast the rest of the cab. DON"T LOOK ETHYL, SHE AINT GOT NO CLOTHES ON!!!!!!!
Before blasting I hung the doors with the latches in them, and the strikers on the cab so I could align everything. I wanted to get the placement perfect, so that after the blasting was done, and the primer, and paint was applied, I wouldn't scratch everything up trying to align the doors. All I would have to do at that point was drop in the hinge pins. Good for the bottom hinge, not so much for the top hinge.
For two weeks I had a dehumidifier running 24/7 to keep the cab from rusting before I could get the primer on it. I still had a lot of body work to do fixing hail dents, etc. This was during a hot part of the summer, add to it that my dehumidifier was adding heat into the shop as well, and that made it a scorcher. Just as I would start to work sweat would run down my arm, and drip on the cab somewhere........Instant rust.....
So that had to be addressed. To get any work done, I finally had to work in long sleeve flannel shirts, in the heat, just to absorb the sweat. More
After I primed the cab, I deceided to keep the dehumidifier running just in the oft chance that moisture would get trapped between the primer, and paint.
Primer:
Paint:
Dropped the cab back on soon there after:
Look at that gloss.......Not bad for a rookie!
You eagle eyed viewers will notice that is a StLouis Cardinals hat in the reflection. As in the 2011 World Series Champion StLouis Cardinals.......
LOOK MA! NO RUST!
As posted earlier, my son found a 1985 manual trans steering column out of a C4C K10 truck. This has the later model dimmer switch on the turn signal. I tried to clean it up to make it presentable, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it to suit me. So, I tore it all the way down to it's least common denominator, and started from scratch cleaning, and painting everyting. The chrome on the turn signal was peeling badly, so I replaced it with a new one. This time I bought a signal stalk with intermittent wipers, and cruise control. Hey it is a Silverado afterall you know.
While I was at it I bought a new lock tumbler with brand new keys.....Why not, since we are going through all of this trouble.
The next step was the stressful part. I deceided to strip the paint off of all my other sheet metal as well. As posted earlier, my doors, fenders, hood, and other front end sheet metal were bought off of a 1990 C4C Suburban. This is the awesome part, thank you GM! All pieces were galvanized, and rust free.
But, here is where the stress starts. I was in a race to get the paint stripped, and then get the epoxy primer on, followed by the 2K urethane, sand it, and then get the BC/CC on BEFORE the weather turned cold. I really wasnt wanting to wait until the cold got here, and have to heat my shop to paint it.
Fenders, doors, etc. stripped, waiting for primer:
Whoever had that Suburban must have made a hobby of driving through fresh asphalt. Sheesh, it took me almost 1 full day, and a gallon of diesel fuel just to get that off before I could start stripping the paint.
Fenders, and doors had some minor dents, but I was able to work those out with various means, like screw driver handles, and broomsticks. I am happy to report that there is no putty in my front end sheet metal.........Now the cab, well, lets not talk about that.......just couldn't be helped with all of the welding, and hail dents, etc. etc. This is after all parts of three different cabs all rolled into one.
Starting to come together:
If money were no object, and I could have any truck in the world, it would be a 1991 Chevy V3500 regular cab, long bed. Since Chevrolet never built this truck, I can only imagine if they had it would look something like this:
That is where we sit right now. I am waiting to get my master cylinder fixed up before putting on the driver's fender. I don't want to lean over it, and scratch it if it is not necessary. Got the clutch linkage hooked up, so that is out of the way.
But I just couldn't wait any longer, I had to get the passenger side back together just to see what it looks like. The body side molding trim, "bowtie 3500", wheel opening molding, front side marker light are all 1991 model year Blazer/Surburban/R/V. Take a look at the smooth wheel opening molding, it was only available on the 1989~1991 Blazer, and Suburban. The R/V series trucks had the black stripe like the 1981~87 trucks had. Like everyting else on this truck, the WOM is discontinued, but I got the last of it from GM.
One other little tid bit. And challenge me on this if you will, but that grille that you see here, was the VERY LAST 1991 Suburban/Blazer/R/V grille in the GM parts chain. When I ordered it, my parts guy said that there was one left at whatever distribution center he ordered it from. After I bought this one, there was 0 stock on hand. GM never ordered any more from their supplier, and now the part number has been discontinued.
After all of this, I am proud to report that to this point the body of my truck is still 100% GM with no aftermarket parts.
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