97 K1500 DD/Overlander

[mdnky]

4.30.2024

Started the morning by wire brushing the shock mount, then cleaned it well with brake parts cleaner, mineral spirits, and alcohol. I put a heavy coat of Corroseal on it and left it to dry in the sun. At the end of the day I put a heavy coat of satin enamel on it as well.

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[mdnky]

04.30.2024 (cont...)

Moving on to the frame, I wire brushed around the part of the previous repair that I cut out last week, as well as two grounding spots. Then I did a quick dirty weld to seal it up.

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Cleaned up the welded area and a few bare spots, then put a good coat of self-etch primer on. After that dried, I put a heavy coat of the satin black enamel.

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Finished out the day by reattaching the passenger's side shock mount using M10-1.5x30 flange bolts and serrated hex nuts, then mounted the shock.

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[mdnky]

05.01.2024

Inspected the problem area on the driver side today. Used a BFH and a screwdriver to knock the scale out and see how bad it really is. This is basically what stalled the project.

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I need to temporarily reinforce the area, but I don't have the time needed to pull the tank. Definitely not comfortable welding right by the gas tank, so I'll probably just bolt in some 1/8" flat bar for now. The truck isn't going to be driven, other than to shuttle around the yard, so that should suffice for now.

 

[mdnky]

05.01.2024 (cont...)

Finished chipping as much scale from the problem area, then blew it off with a leaf blower before saturating the area with Corroseal. Once I reinforce it, I'll heavily cover this area (and the rest of the frame) with black FluidFilm. That should prevent, or significantly slow down, any more deterioration while it sits this summer. Hopefully, that'll buy some time to do a proper repair this fall.

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I also wire brushed the passenger's side mid body mount retainer, then applied Corroseal. I let it dry for a few hours, then I threw a quick coat of satin black enamel on as well.

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I started to work on fabbing up a new rear passenger's side body and bed mount. The remnants of the old mounting bolt needed to be extracted first. I applied PB Blaster a few times over the past few days in preparation.

I didn't feel like getting the welder out, nor was there an easy way to get a good ground. Luckily there was a nice long stem remaining, so I just used a pair of ViseGrips and VERY SLOWLY backed it out. Took about an hour or two, but it eventually came out. Pretty sure I just maxed my carpal tunnel cause quota (repetitive movements) for the year though, as the vise grips had to be repositioned after ~15deg of movement.

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Started to mockup the new passenger rear body/bed mount, but ran into an issue with the body mount's threads being a bit rusty (go figure). So I had to run into town to HoboFreight (arrived just 3 min before their 8pm closing time) for a metric tap/die set. Finished the evening by cleaning the threads out.

Tons to do tomorrow, as there's too much rain forecasted for the rest of the week and weekend. Still need to create a mount, get the frame coated in FluidFilm, and the bed reinstalled.

 

[Sean Buick 76]

Good work!

 

[mdnky]

05.02.2024

First thing I needed to address this morning was the passenger's rear cab mount. I very briefly considered a trip to the UPull yard, but I quickly decided that would likely be a waste of time (parts most likely rusted, not to mention being a big PITA to remove by the yard rules [sawzall/drill only]).

I have some decent scrap laying around, so it's time to break out that plasma cutter and the welder. Last week I ordered two cutting guides, a shield cup, and swirl ring from Amazon. The originals were slightly damaged when I was tearing the old mower deck apart a couple weeks ago.

I installed one of the guides this morning, but decided to try and get as much use out of the original cup and ring. Seems to be working fine, even with a 'cosmetic blemish' (i.e. 3mm melted section) on the cup.

I installed the rear cab mount using the retainer cap from the middle mount and a new GM Genuine M12x1.75x110 bolt. To account for the thickness of the new mount, I used a piece of the mower deck I cut last year to reinforce the mount (same material).

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After getting the measurements, I transferred them to a scrap section of the old deck with a combo square. I used a 1 & 3/16" socket as the template for the curve.

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I cut the bracket face from the old deck with the plasma cutter, using a heavy straight piece of steel to act as a guide.

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Right after doing that, I quickly realized I should have cut the center hole out first...DOH! So I measured and traced the location for said hole, then ground the edges of the bracket and the deck clean. I used the heavy steel bar and the BFH to weight down the face. Thankfully, there was a decent enough ground to cut the slightly distorted hole out with the plasma. She ain't pretty, but it'll do.

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Sidenote...I'm definitely rusty using the standard system. I converted to using metric on my woodworking projects a few years back, as it's just way easier. Plywood and most boards I get are usually measured in metric, then converted to standard (most '3/4" plywood' sold measures a hair thinner than 23/32"...it's actually 18mm). When I build speakers, the drivers are almost always metric. Division by 10 is definitely quite a bit easier to do in the head as well. Definitely forgot how much a pain it is to use the imperial system in certain instances.

 

[mdnky]

05.02.2024 (cont...)

Checked the fit of the new 'face' plate with the body mount. It looked good, but it will definitely need some support.

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Time to make some triangles. I took a few measurements and transferred them to the deck section, then I cut them out. Really starting to like this plasma cutter a lot.

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I cleaned up the edges using the grinder with a stone wheel. Then I used couple welding magnets to do a quick test fit. Everything fit properly, so it was now time to pack up the plasma and hookup the welder.

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[mdnky]

05.02.24 (cont...cont...)

Tacked the sides to the main face in a few spots, then removed it to weld it out.

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I definitely should have used 0.35 wire, but the 0.30 was already loaded and is getting old. So I decide it was time to use it up. I'm probably past due on replacing the contact tip as well. I do have some flux for nozzles somewhere, but they seem to be hiding at the moment. They definitely would have been handy attaching the bracket to the frame.


CAUTION: If you continued reading/viewing, you may encounter UGLY WELDS.


I'm still not used to running this little welder on 240V...definitely behaves differently than when it's run on 120V. The welds are definitely not pretty, but they'll work.

I threw a full bead on the inside edges and I also ran a quick thin bead on the outside. Then I used the grinder with a 80-grit flap-disc to smooth the outside and make it somewhat presentable.

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[mdnky]

05.02.24 (cont...cont...cont...)

I cleaned the frame with a wire wheel, then reinstalled the new bracket using the body mount to locate it properly.

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After tacking in place, I jacked the cab up a bit more to remove the body mount, then I welded the bracket in place.

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Once everything cooled down a bit, I cleaned it with the wire wheel and a wire brush. Then I wiped it down with alcohol and I applied a few coats of self etching primer.

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When the primer dried, I added a few coats of satin black enamel.

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[mdnky]

05.02.24 (cont...cont...cont...cont...)

Took a break to eat lunch and let the paint dry, then it was time to undercoat everything with FluidFilm Black. I have it sitting here, so might as well use it.

I found a use for the huge pile of empty Kroger pickup bags...they're decent for masking and the price is right.

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It's supposed to rain for the next week, so I was just trying to get the top and insides of the frame done today. Basically everywhere it is usually impossible or hard to get with the bed on. I originally masked the tank, but then later decided to just coat it as well.

I stayed away from the section by the new frame mount. I'll hit that section, and the underside of the frame, once the weather breaks later this week. I still need to weld a new front support for the bed on the passenger side and I'm not keen on burning lanolin...it burning, or the smell. This stuff is smelly enough on application.

I installed the rear body mount with the cup from the middle mount. I need to source another cup, make a new one, or repair the old one from the rear mount. For now it seems like a better idea having the rear mount attached. Anyone know a (cheap) source for these new? Might be heading to the UPull yard after all.

Time for the bed to be reattached, so I grabbed the engine hoist and somehow finagled the bed back into position by myself. If anyone is wondering, it can be done without removing the hitch or rear bumper. However you'll definitely run the risk of damaging the bed sides or the plastic cap on the bumper, which I did pop-up just a bit on the driver side. It popped back into position, so I'll just pretend it never happened (hence the strikeout).

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Somehow I managed to get it almost perfect aligned on the first try...maybe I should probably go grab a lottery ticket.

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I installed 7 of the 8 bed bolts, then attached the filler neck and its ground, followed by the light connectors and ground the bumper. On a plus note, the bed and cab lines are now properly (or close enough) aligned...YAY!

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I took it for a quick test drive. Those rear KYB MonoMAX shocks are definitely stiff. I might need to swap out the front Pro-Comps as well. I can always use those on a trailer build or something.

Definitely better than before. I can barely bounce the rear, unless I stand on the bumper and jump. Before it could easily be pushed down by one hand, so that's a win.

The steering wheel is sitting at the 9 o'clock position, so it definitely needs some alignment attention. No surprise there, although since it isn't going to be driven any distance, I'll wait. No sense wasting money on an alignment, only to be potentially replacing the frame later on. The current tires are from mid-2018, showing signs of dry-rot, and Firestones...so I'm not too worried about wear either. Besides, it's an easy-enough fix should the need arise.