After another long weekend of sanding, scraping, cleaning, repairs, removing final bits and pieces, we are getting very close to the milestone of a first high-build primer coat.
Everything has been completely stripped, rust-treated and rust-proofed. After primer we'll rust proof the inside of all panels with either Rust-Bullet or POR-15 products and spray a protective Dura-guard coating which decreases sound and vibration making for less sound transfer and a quieter ride.
Inside the cab we still have the heater and final dash panel to remove for paint and rebuild:
These knobs are being a MAJOR PITA!! They have a tiny hole on one side that obviously has a release mechanism inside, but I have yet to figure it out!! more research needed!
The roof panel has this discoloration that appears to be baked-though primer, not rust. None-the-less we'll sand it down, treat it with POR-15 and paint it to be sure it's right.
Teaching the next generation of car builder, much like my Dad taught me!
Grille and undersides of hood sanded down to metal where required and rust-treated several times over - a level you'll never see done in a for-profit body-shop!
Even pieces like the trasn cover get scraped and treated - that's QUALITY workmanship! :)
Also, the interior kick-panel, which holds the gas pedal assembly, was rusted through on one side and needed a lot of work throughout. I cut and welded in a piece on one side, smoothed out the rest and we'll rust-board, then gravel guard the entire thing for durability.
The engine is also on the agenda as we get closer to paint. Time to assess all the parts, measure the bores, check the lash and top end and see if we can't run it up on the bench.
Unfortunately, I made this potentially problematic discovery as I was removing the carb... a missing frost plug. This could mean it had a freezing issue at some point in its past many years of sitting idle. Now the question becomes: still go ahead with the bench start and see what happens - or go straight to full disassembly to have the block magnafluxed.
Or....pull the head off and Magnaflux the top end of the block -
which is likely the best half-way measure at this point.
After removing the heater core I sanded it down and disassembled it. I'll take the core in for a pressure test and then re-assemble it for paint.
Based on the shape of these duct-pipes, the heater hasn't done much good for a long while!
Stay tuned for more!
