Rotor and caliper installed

I went and grabbed some wheel bearing grease this afternoon. I got the
bearings and seal installed and bolted on the caliper.

Passenger side suspension done

Today I went and rented a ball joint press from Autozone and assembed
the passenger side suspension. I had to wrap a chain around the frame
and the jack to get the spring to compress. I have to pick up some
wheel bearing grease and then I can get the rotor and caliper on.

Passenger side A-arms are done

The passenger side upper and lower arms have been repainted, new bump stops installed and new cross shafts. The passenger side is now ready for ball joints. The drivers side arms still need to be painted. I just realized I got rid of my grease gun when we moved to Texas. I'm going to have to pick one up.

Installing new cross shafts

Bolting on the new lower cross shafts was quite a procedure. The only way I could get enough leverage was to start the threads by hand, mount the arm and then hold it in place with some straps. I put some red loctite on the threads and used my 24" crescent wrench to tighten the nuts.

Lower a-arm cross shafts

I was starting to question whether it was worth the effort to change out the lower cross shafts. Once I got the first one apart I realized it was. One of the cross shaft bolts was broken and the seal all torn up.

Lower A-arm u-bolt replacement

GM replaced the u-bolts that connect the lower a-arms to the cross member with much larger units. The bolts on my truck were 7/16" and the new ones are 9/16". I figured GM increased the size of these for a reason and I'm guessing these have never been replaced since my truck was built 44 years ago. So better safe than sorry. The old u-bolts look pretty wimpy next to the new bolts.


I had to enlarge the holes to accommodate the larger u-bolts.


Here is the first one in place. Only three more to go

Grill / Radiator support panel rust repair

Today I repaired some rust on the Grill / Radiator support panel.

This section was below the old battery tray. The battery leaked and corroded this part.		I marked it off with a sharpie and then cut it out with the cutoff wheel.
Next I made a cardboard template and then transferred it onto some sheet metal.		Here is the metal piece cut out and bent.
Here is the piece set in place with the mounting hole drilled in it. I ran out of time to get it welded today.

Removing cross shafts

Today I removed the cross shafts from the upper control arms so I can replace them with new ones. Man they were a bitch. I had go buy a huge cresent wrench from Harbor Freight to brake them loose. Next up are lower control arm shafts which look even harder to get apart.

Suspension cross member bolted back on

Today I bolted the cross member back onto the frame. I used all new grade 8 hardware. It might be a little overkill but I don't want to mess around with cheap bolts on a part of the truck where the engine and entire front suspension connects. Here is an interesting article on grade 8 hardware.

Lonestar Rod & Kustom Round Up

The Lonestar Round Up car show is this weekend so I am definitely not getting any work done on the truck on Saturday. This is a really cool car show featuring traditionally-styled american hot rods and custom cars. www.lonestarroundup.com

Slow progress right now

Between my daughters surgery and helping out more around the house because Cristy needs to rest I haven't had much time to work on the truck. I did go buy a bunch of grade 8 bolts ($45 bucks worth!) to bolt the front suspension back together.

Final paint on the front suspension

Today I put on the final coat of Chassis Black on the front frame rails and the cross member. I am almost ready to start assembling the front end.

Lower control arm and frame rail

Today I cleaned up the passenger side lower control arm and another section of the frame rail under the cab. I painted rust converter on both.

Suspension cross member painted with primer

I got the front suspension cross member all cleaned up and a coat of primer on it.

Primer on the frame rails

Over the last two weeks I have been preparing the frame rails under the cab. I wire brushed them and then applied the Eastwood rust converter. Today I sprayed on the rust encapsulation primer. Once I get the front end back on it's wheels I will paint the rear section of the frame.

Cleaned up and painted control arm

Today I cleaned up and painted the passenger side upper control arm. I wanted to start with something small to find out how to work with this paint. The primer drys fast but the Chassis Black top coat takes forever to dry.
Before

and After

Frame paint arrived

My Eastwood paint kit arrived today. Hopefully I can use it this weekend.

More frame rail prep

I have spent the past several weeks scraping and wire brushing and degreasing the frame rails. Now that all of the suspension has been removed I have dropped the suspension cross member so I can work on it separately. They are almost ready for paint. Here is how the frame rails look today:

Choices for chassis paint

I have been trying to figure out what type of paint to use on the frame once I get it cleaned up. As luck would have it I went to lunch with a former co-worker (and fellow car guy) Steve Berry. My buddy Miguel and I call him 'Volvo Steve' because he is a Volvo nut. Just check out his web site and see for yourself. I was telling him where I am at on my project and he suggested I check out a company called Eastwood. He said that he used their chassis paint and rust converter on his car and was pleased with the results. I decided on their Satin Full Frame and Suspension Kit. It comes with a rust converter, rust encapsulating primer and a tough top coat called Chassis Black.