1986 Chevy C10 SWB Step Side

[quadzero]

Very informative and useful thread. Your engine parts and dyno numbers are an excellent source of info. Even the tank removal is of value because I need to do that as well. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more updates.

[aotte1]

The engine is now back in garage and will start fitting accessories. Also working on cleaning the engine compartment. The original paint is still good so will just clean it. Will experiment with trying to clean-up some of the tar sealer that is all over the fire wall. More on engine bay clean-up soon.

[aotte1]

Engine bay fire wall clean-up

Have started to remove some item, this is my starting point.

[aotte1]

Here is a close up of paint cleaned some, this will be fine for me as a driver.
The cleaned area is left side near top of firewall.

[aotte1]

Core Support and Front Bumper Removal

First put penetrating oil on all the bolts I could reach. All the bolts came loose easy, except for one of the core support front fender bolts. I believe during build the welded nut on the fender was broken loose. It just turned when trying to remove, so used grinder with cut off wheel to cut head off. Tools pic is shown below, pretty much used 1/2 drive 6 point sockets to break bolts loose. Thirty and 24" breaker bars were used to loosen bumper bolts. I took the bumper and braces off as one piece. Did this based on rear bumper experience e.g. The actual bumper bolts with SS caps on the heads broke. Wanting to save these bolts, left them on for now giving me more time to soak them with penetrating oil.

[aotte1]

Core support removed, ready to be cleaned and painted.

[aotte1]

Engine bay with more stuff removed, however, more stuff off soon.

[aotte1]

Front with core support and bumper removed. Removing core support with fender on, I removed three of the inner fender/fender bolts closest to core support, along with the top fender bolt on the fire wall being loosened. This allows the fender to be spread a little for removing the core support.

[jpnh]

progress looks good. im gonna have to do the same coming up when i have
all the peices/parts collected for my 84 my inner fenders are not as clean as i want so the whole nose will come off.i already got the passenger fender inner gotta get the drivers side. im replacing the passenger fender with one without the antenna hole i already had the bumper off 2. another chore to power through coming up.

[aotte1]

Jeff,
Thanks for the support, my approach for front end is how paint shop wants it. The plan is to take it to them this week. However, lots of work I want done before it goes. Today worked on bed items work needing done before painting. Removed the outside row of nuts on each side of the bed ( purpose to get remaining wood strips removed). Two broke off on each side. All the rest came loose with some on / off movement of nut and penetrating oil. The four that broke were frozen on and in the wheel well area, maybe saw more road debris over time. Did you get these nuts loose on yours and/or did some of the bolts break too. If so are the bolts welded to the bed sides angle metal piece on the bottom? Any suggestions on how to replace them/ or use sleeve on remaining threads. Picture of removed parts below, one washer is temporarily lost, rolled somewhere yet to be found.

[aotte1]

This pictures shows the outer edge of the bed wood on the sides from below. From the top side the angle metal on the bottom of the bed sides extends out some over this wood. Will post picture of wood removed to show factory holes.
These are the nuts I removed today, described above.

[aotte1]

Picture of wood floor edge, showing hole size. The picture is showing the bottom of the floor board.

[aotte1]

Another board picture.

[aotte1]

Getting ready for painting, removing stuff, tail gate chain attaching bolt on bed.

[aotte1]

Got more of the bed apart today, thinking about reusing the strips between the boards. Removed most of the bolt/ nuts holding them with sawsall.

[aotte1]

Another reference picture.

[aotte1]

Status update: working on the firewall, found a few small holes. Most from debris getting in the cowl and heating/vent system. The others are from hydraulic clutch fluid leaks, eats away paint, then rust. I made some patches and installed them. Cleaned the area around the holes with a small media blaster, it worked good for small areas. Next used seam sealer around each patch. Now ready for primer and paint on patched areas, maybe tomorrow?? If it warms up.

Also, working on the cowl area where the wiper rods are. It needs a little work too. The original seam sealer is drying out in some areas. Since not planning on repainting this area, will carefully remove the damages seam sealer and replace it.

Picture of the patches below. Will also post picture of body hammer used to make them. It was easy, just a little trial and error.
Les

[aotte1]

Picture of repair pieces.

[aotte1]

The previous owner caused a lot of the firewall rust, and small holes by not fixing the leaky clutch cylinder. He just kept adding more fluid vs repairing it. All that fluid caused damage, removed paint, sealers, then rust.
Les

[aotte1]

Have finished the firewall for now, all the bad spots are patched and/or primed. Except for braked master cylinder/ steering column area. Not doing that area since going to paint shop as soon as roads dry out. Need steering and brakes their. Going to update the steering to add tilt and cruise when I do that area. So will finish cleaning/ prep that area once back from paint shop before I paint fire wall. Below is picture of fire wall, along with some frame area I clean and painted.

[aotte1]

Front frame cleaned along w/ numbers.

[aotte1]

Drivers side frame.

[aotte1]

Picture of number stamped in fenders shows they were made at same time. Note sure if this is a date ? Look like it could be. The stamping is D 9 on this fender. The 9 is kind of light to the left of the "D".

[aotte1]

The right side fender with "D" with a slanted 6 or 9. You can check for these stampings to see if they match meaning likely original, and if reproduction.

The 6 is real light to the right of the "D".

[aotte1]

Below is a picture of the tools I used to clean the frame. Used the die grinder first with the sandpaper wheels, they work great in the area you can reach. The grits were 40 and 80. Then I used the air, angle grinder to get into tighter areas with 3M twist lock disks- brown color for heavy debris. Lastly used a "united gravity feed hand held sandblaster, with black beauty medium blast media. Used this on area not reachable by previous tools. It did a good job on small areas. Lastly used the vibrating tool to finish sand before painting. Also used it between coats of paint lightly.

The areas to be painted were cleaned with the degreaser. The SEM Rust treatment was used in the cowl area where only a long arm could reach.

Used the painters mask, which is a must. This is a minimal level mask to protect yourself. Those little paper things over your nose do not protect you. The painters mask need to be checked for fit. Do this by placing a hand on each canister to seal air inlets, then try to breath, if you can it is not fitting properly.
It should be cleaned with mild soap and warm water after each use, returned to it protective bag for next use. I am sure their are YouTube vids to explain this too.