Thread: Project Special K

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I think he wanted to see how much clearance he had to route the pipes but I am thinking with the roll pan maybe going out to the sides, yet there still is a fair amount of rear clearance since the back end is stock height to exit under roll pan, I have a few weeks to figure it out!
Roger don't worry that won't be an option. There are a few steel crossmembers he can attach to on the bed subframe. I think it was more for clearance referance than anything else, also he's worried about room, I guess Flowmaster Delta 50's are some big beasts of mufflers, around 20" long?

Worked some more on the truck today. Found the package of fender bolts so I bolted the old steel fenders on, and cleaned up the shop/garage so I could maneuver around a bit. In all took about three and a half hours but at least I can move around in there now, and less truck parts not on the truck.

Sorry for no recent updates, my friend who owns a tow truck business and who races cars, disappeared from my radar for a while, he's actually just got a new # but for some reason Ma Bell doesn't forward you to that number! Anyway we are now back on track so hopefully the muffler guy can clear some time for my truck, in the mean time, the garden has my full attention. Went after a massive quince bush, and it took two days to dig the stump out. Since I got called off work today, I took an alieve along with a few beers, and just kept at it until the stump started to move, then out came the heavy steel chain, and "Old Faithful" our 1993 Toyota 4x4. It did the job of pulling the stump and remaining roots out of the hole! Gotta love 4x4's. Now my neighbors can see out of the drive way as the back into the street(the bush made that trecherous!) that's it but I'm one step closer to getting the truck on the road.

Nice work on removing your stump. We were going to plant our garden yesterday but it rained like crazy off and on all day.

Did a bunch of stuff today and yesterday. I had bought some rusty fender braces for the front so I hit them with a 3m disc to get the thick rust off and then coated them with an old can of POR 15. The paint is so tough I had to peel the lid off with vice grips, but managed to use up the last of it on the frame and fender braces. While I was mounting the braces today, I noticed a bunch of parts of the frame I never hit with por 15 due to the difficulty of getting at them. I also noticed that you can easily remove the front fender with just 4 bolts that are easy to access versus all the impossible to reach rusted out bolts of the inner fender wall /skirts. Once they were off the whole fenders and inner fenders are now free of the truck making it much easier to work on the fenders, and get rid of the old rusty bolts now that they are on the work bench and I'm right side up instead of under the truck! I also oiled the plywood floor to the bed with a couple coats of clear danish oil and today started top coating it with layers of polyurethane with a uv guard in it.
The front fenders need some work and few patches where they are rusted thru.
I figure I'll leave the front off while the exhaust goes on and work on the fenders getting them ready to prime while they are off. Plus when paint time comes they will be bolted back on with new grade 8 nuts and bolts, making it easier to take apart when it comes time to paint everything
Here are a few shots.
Still amazed at all the bolts holding this thing together.

The red edge is the sun umbrella above reflecting on the black paint

Good progress There Steve!
Grade 8 fasteners is overkill, Grade 5 will serve you well.. but, it's your money!

Good to see you're making progress. I agree with Mike, when I read your post earlier the Grade 8 statement caught my eye, too. For body bolts even your run of the mill Grade 2 hardware is sufficient, IMO. Tensile strength (psi) for smaller bolts (1/4"-3/4") is nominal 74,000 Grade 2, 120,000 Grade 5 and 150,000 Grade 8. Your fender will rip out before you see 74,000 psi on the bolts, but it's just $$ if Grade 8 makes you feel better.

I'm all about saving money, I just don't want the bolts to crumble over time, but I guess grade 8's are over kill. And I'd have to park it outside for another 66 years to get to the old bolts level of decomposition! Thanks for the advice, need to save where I can.

Steve, the issue with bolt selection is tensile strength, not so much corrosion resistance. You could use polished button head SS bolts for corrosion resistance, if that's your concern?

Originally Posted by rspears

Steve, the issue with bolt selection is tensile strength, not so much corrosion resistance. You could use polished button head SS bolts for corrosion resistance, if that's your concern?

Roger, your first phrase is what I always tell the folks who are afraid to lift their engines with a carburetor plate.

Yep that is my concern. Actually something that snaps easily used for OEM would make working on this old truck much easier. Instead the bolts resist snapping, but the heads grind down to powder when trying to remove them! I guess I was thinking grade 8's would be tougher steel to resist mushrooming.

Got some more time in on the truck. Sanded the bed wood, and gave it a second coat of polyurethane. Next I went after separating the upper fenders from the inner fender skirts. One side every @#%$^ bleeping bolt had to be cut off, But the other side I managed to get every bolt off without stripping a nut or bolt head, kinda weird? I then had one lower fender to remove from the upper and got to the last bolt before I encountered trouble. So I will tackle that tough nut tomorrow, meanwhile I scrubbed the interior of my wife's daily driver, since there was a smell in there that would kill most people, mustard gas in origin I think! She is away until tomorrow, so I thought I'd surprise her with a breathable car when she gets home from her NY trade show!
I bought some turtle wax carpet and upholstery cleaner which has oxyclean in it, and supposedly eliminates odors. Anyway hopefully my two hour effort will work before I pick her up tomorrow. I also found these genie odor foggers online, that like flea foggers, you throw in the car and seal it up, then air it out and it is all better so to speak, so if the odor comes back it's car bomb time!
I also was wondering if the steel strips for truck beds that hold the planks in place would fit flat onto the plywood of my bed, or if the require some sort of groove? Anyone? Thanks, Beer and meatloaf time!

Originally Posted by stovens

I also was wondering if the steel strips for truck beds that hold the planks in place would fit flat onto the plywood of my bed, or if the require some sort of groove? Anyone? Thanks, Beer and meatloaf time!

I'd say you need to route grooves in the plywood to inset the metal strips part way if you want to mimic the original look. Pretty sure that's what Steve Lang told you he did on his before he put the protective finish on his?

Edit - Sorry, I mis-spoke. Steve told us that he was going to glue down a ribbed rubber layer atop the wood, and then put stainless strips down on the rubber - Oh no not another Willys Gasser build, this time a Willys shop truck At least that's how I understood his explanation. I'd still route grooves for your metal strips.

I'd not have thought of cutting grooves for the rails. Man, that would look good, and might go a long way to mask that It's plywood, not strips.

I've never actually seen the steel strips, when they are not installed so was just wondering if routing is even necessary. When I see pictures of them they look like both side edges are even with middle screw area.