Page Last Updated 05 June 2005
Here we go... sandblasting the cab. I am in this picture, upside down under the dash blasting the inside of the dash. Nothing was left out. This proved to be a 6 day operation (10 hours a day). It wasn't pleasant, but necessary. Suggestion... use sunscreen! 10 hour days in the sun without sunscreen make for a rather painful lesson in logic! I went through quite a few face shields and ceramic nozzles too. The entire project (all sheet metal and the cab) took approx. 30 bags of sand (about $150.00.) Even though I had pretty good luck reclaiming the sand, wind, a smaller tarp than the distance the sand can travel, and poor aim took its toll as well. Still that 30 bags of sand represents about 140 hours of sandblasting. The dry strip place charged me $650 to do an inadequate job, so this is way more economical and you have the benefit of it being done to your standards.
These are shots of the sandblasting after completion. Every nook and cranny was hit as best as is possible. If you are gonna do it, might as well do it right. Under the dash, inside the door hinge recesses, heater recess, between the dual walls of the inside back as best as possible, everywhere. The advantage of doing it yourself is you have total control over the quality of the end result.
That was a short roll... it's April 29, 2000. The engine is still at the engine shop getting the babbit re-poured, and I primered the cab today. Stay tuned for more rolls of film as they are developed!
Both doors had substantial rust through damage on the bottom inside. Chevy Duty sells patch panels for this... all you have to do is put them in! Hahaha! If there was ever a reason to worry about warpage, this is it. The distance across these doors is just not very stable. I added a piece of angle iron the length of the patch panel to use as a flange under the panel and then welded the panel in. This added the stability needed to keep the panel from warping. I learned this the hard way. I had to remove my first attempt due to warpage and I followed the rules! Its tricky so be careful. I did BOTH doors and in the end, they came out looking absolutely perfect. You simply can't tell where the panels were patched and without using bondo. Time and patience is key. I would have preferred a bit more experience before tackling it too!
The die grinder I bought at Harbor Freight for $19.95 was the perfect tool for the job. Nice straight cuts that left the edges nice and smooth. Bending the crimp-over was a bit tricky (at the bottom of the door) but was necessary to get the patch panel under it. I ended up cutting that crimp-over off completely and welding a strip back on after the panel was installed. The job came out looking really good and removed all the rust-through and pitting.
Patch panel is installed and fitted. After clamping there is nothing left to do but weld it in. Tacking it on opposite ends until the weld is complete isn't all... you also have to be careful how much heat you use when grinding the welds smooth. You can warp the metal during the grinding process just as easily!
Well, I will be kind here and say that after 5 months and $400.00 over what was estimated, the engine shop finally finished re-babbeting my 216 engine. Needless to say I won't be using that shop again. But at least it's back and now ready to super-clean the outside of the block for priming and painting.
Another short roll... it's September 17, 2000. The next roll should have a fully operational and mounted 216 engine on that nice frame. After that, more sheetmetal work on the cab. Need to replace the toeboard, inside cowls and top outside vent. I hope my adventures and misadventures have been entertaining!! Stay tuned for more!
At last the engine is ready to go back on the frame. Another major milestone and nobody is happier about having the shop space back than me!
Here is the head all ready to be put back on. I did this after setting the engine in since I felt it would be easier that way.
A very short roll but it's a busy time of year for our business so I dont get as much done as I'd like... it's January 20, 2001. Time to start work on the cab sheetmetal but after a few other pickup projects get completed. Stay tuned for more!
With so many other projects under way, I have been slowly making progress over the past year. The carb has been rebuilt and a few other misc. items have been completed. I am at the point where completion of the cab sheet metal repair is next. It's November of 2002 and progress is slow, but sure!
