Truck overhaul! Week #4


Thursday afternoon's project then became: remove the rocker skids. Those are the heavy steel bars I made that sit along the side of the truck, and they are welded get at the to the frame in 2 places on each side. The rear attach point is very accessable, but I can't fully get at the front welds, the grinder is blocked by a large frame extension. It helped to remove the front wheels for better access, and when I did that, I thought it would make a good opportunity to compare tire sizes! That's 225/75 15 vs 295/75 16. Or in simpler terms: 28.5" vs 34" tires.



After making the cuts that were possible, and only partly freeing the rocker skid bars, I figured now was also a good time to collect a "souvenier": The passenger side front fender with the logos and the air intake that I had made! Actually, I plan on getting this framed!



And what was behind the souvenier, one of the few non-rusty fender sections on the truck? More rust!



Friday was another day of finishing off various projects. I re-painted the rear bumper, and put it on the truck to get it off the floor, and clear some floor space. The spare tire is now transferred, as is the tailgate handle cover. I like the gold and black look.



This is the floor in the silver truck, driver's side. I cut an access hole in the floor so that I could complete the removal of the rocker skids! There is a smae-sized hole on the passenger side. After cutting the skids off, I started cleaning the huge mess that made, and then vacuumed all the grinder grit out of my hair and off my clothes and the 2 trucks. That stuff gets everywhere, and it turns whatever it lands on into very effective sandpaper! Then it was time to properly scrub the floor area under both trucks using the shop's floor cleaner. That sure made the place look clean again. Then finally, the trucks traded places, so that now the gold one is back on the hoist. I finished off the day by getting the fuel door release handle re-attached, and transferring more of the silver truck's interior bits. Next week: Transmission install!



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