Big Rat's 1979 C10 High School Hot Rod Restooo

[Big Rat]

Thanks Bruiser. I'm itchin to get it down to the bare frame NOW! Stupid warm weather means my stupid job has more stupid business which means more stupid job security and longer stupid hours. Being responsible is so stuuuu... dumb.

[Big Rat]

Howdy kids. I went out into the garage today to play with the truck and figured hey, before I get started I'll hurry and polish my headlights on my car. Hurry. RIIIIIIIGGHHHT. So one headlight done and too many hours later I kind of did a review on 3M's Headlight Restoration Kit. I'll tell you what though, that frame and I, are going to GET IT ON... tomorrow!

2000 cents at my local O'reilly's. Yeah, it's MY O'reillys!



Tools you will need




Here we go. The test subject, one "Peoples Car" Jetta.
4 step process. 1st take your drill and attaatatch the supplied 500 grit sanding discs and ruin your headlight more than it ever was. You will be ruining your headlight for quite a while.



Next, pick up the instructions and read them for the 37th time then add some secret ingredient to the mix and keep ruining



Now that your headlights are thoroughly FUBAR'd, move on to step two, which is use the supplied 800 grit discs and make your light look like you smeared flour all over it, for clarity while driving of course! It is crucial that you drink the secret ingredient and sand at the same time with the same hand.



Step 3, Take the supplied 3000 grit foam pad disc and spritz, NOT SPRAY, spritz water on the aforementioned pad and headlight. Just remember, it's always better when wet. It even says to not let it dry out while doing this step.



Final-ish step, atataach teh sponfs.. Obviously at this point the majority of the secret ingredient should have been consumed and you should be sluring as I have demonstrated through clever typing abilities. Attach sponge applicator and use a dime size amount of compound(supplied with kit). Dime size, not nickel, or quarter, or silver dollar, A DIME! First pic is before, second pic is after.




Now top off your blinker fluid with Royal Purple, because your blinkers deserve only the best and sit back and listen to your dumb wife tease your about how long it took you while your shriek at your children to get you another beer and enjoy the fruits of your labor!



All in all I'd buy it again and I am impressed with the outcome. Very easy to use. Tomorrow, I have a date with this...

[rusty76]

Thanks for the review.! I b needing to do the same to my wife's car. Stupid plastic.

[Big Rat]

No problem. I was curious how well it worked before I did it so I figured why not share.

So on to the good stuff! It's Saturday, all day long. No work for me, so no excuses not to work! Only way I'm going to have a hot rod is to get busy crackin knuckles to metal!

So here is where I'm startin from.





I'm just pluggin away thinkin to myself that instead of removing the wiring harness I should probably get that tranny out that is hangin by some wire... It's at this point in my pondering and reflection the my good 'ol TH400 decides to do an eject-o seat-o on to the floor hangin by the trans mount! I mean seriously, what if my kids had been playing under there?! After quickly barking out words that rhyme with "fit" and "shuck", my cat like reflexes sprung into action and I grabbed my secret weapon... My cab liftin engine hoist!




I proceeded to share how I felt about the puddle of fluid now penetrating well into my concrete,



After sitting in the corner crying for a short time I persevered and overcame. Gathered my wits and regained my composure





Luckily, I had just picked up some newly invented specially formulated granular transmission fluid absorb-all



Finished removing the loom and then took a closer look at ye old cab mounts. Be sure to watch the for sale threads for these bad boys!!! I'll be posting them up real soon!






Moved on to the power steering pump. Proceeded to remove it, along with some of the frame. Well, I guess it is lighter now?! Any one want to comment on ideas on a good repair for this, I would greatly appreciate it.




Would've got the brake lines fully removed but this little rear brake line fitting decided to be a sneaky bugger and not come loose. So I removed the tanks and figured I'd do a little research before I destroyed anything.



Other than the rear suspension, which I purposely have left till the end, and a couple other things that are soaking, it is just about bare. Be c-notched and POR-15'd before we know it! I'll get after it again soon!








Oh and just to gloat, the 'ol lady told me she is taking me to Lynyrd Skynyrd! She buys me a Nova, then she likes my chops, and now is taking me to see Skynyrd?! Oh MAN! This is my white trash red neck dream come true!

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

I can't stop laughing reading through this. I love informative threads, but informative with humor is something new! Can't wait to see more reviews

[ol'blazer]

awesome build dude! good luck!

[Low Elco]

Terrific writing, loving it. If there's a HF nearby, a couple casters on stands makes the frame a lot easier to deal with.

Remember the headlights? If you intend on your own paint, get used to it, it's the nearly exact same process.

Can't wait to see where this goes next, if just for story alone. Please continue. The badass rental pressure washers come in handy at this stage. As for the frame, the battery powered sawzall is your friend. Go to pick a part and lop out a large chunk of the same affected area from a good frame. . Cut out bad stuff. Precisely match with new stuff and weld in. If you can't, get someone who can. Then get grade 8 clamping washers, big yellow buggers, and weld them to the backside of the mount surface.

I promise I'm not a condescending prick, I hate that. I just don't know your background, other than mad humorous writing skillz. Any question, fire away, and continue, good sir!
Posted via Mobile Device

[rusty76]

So after I read your review of the headlight restoration I decided to go tackle my wifes KIA. I know no self respectin Southern should own a KIA, well you know. So instead of the stuff you used ( which I may still end up trying down the road) I busted out something from the bathroom. Toothpaste. I had heard a year or so ago to try toothpaste. I thought "really?" but it worked. I just cleaned them real good with windex and then went to it. Basically put the tooth paste on like wax and then washed it off with water. Made a big difference. I did try it in a spot that was unnoticeable first. I won't say they are perfect but got to be better than before at night. Thanks once again for humor and fun.

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by THE "10" SILVERADO

I can't stop laughing reading through this. I love informative threads, but informative with humor is something new! Can't wait to see more reviews

Originally Posted by ol'blazer

awesome build dude! good luck!

Thanks guys. Stupid stuff just comes to me naturally and than I can't control it overflowing onto this here keyboard. I am glad that you gents have a good sense of humor. I never thought having a build thread would be a way to keep motivation up. That and the awesome interaction on here is a big help to get ones lazy butt up and off the couch or start receiving those, "any updates on this build?" messages in the thread!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Terrific writing, loving it. If there's a HF nearby, a couple casters on stands makes the frame a lot easier to deal with.

Luckily I am one of those lucky guys with a HF really REALLY close. (One of four in Utah!) The castors are a great idea. I'll certainly need some way to move it around soon.

Remember the headlights? If you intend on your own paint, get used to it, it's the nearly exact same process.

I would love to learn paint and body skizzillzz, which is why I opted to do my '79 first as the body does need work, but isn't in too bad of shape. Figured it would be a good learning curve for me. Plus, it would be one more thing to save money on. One of my dad's friends can lay paint that looks like you could swim in it, soooooo, that is pretty hard to resist a paint job that'll look that good for my old truck.

Can't wait to see where this goes next, if just for story alone. Please continue. The badass rental pressure washers come in handy at this stage. As for the frame, the battery powered sawzall is your friend. Go to pick a part and lop out a large chunk of the same affected area from a good frame. . Cut out bad stuff. Precisely match with new stuff and weld in. If you can't, get someone who can. Then get grade 8 clamping washers, big yellow buggers, and weld them to the backside of the mount surface.

Luckily, I have a father-in-law that has to own better than the biggest and the best of everything. Example, every now and then he will cut the weeds in his pasture, so, he went out and bought a $50,000.00 Kabota with A/C and all the attachments! Same goes for his boat, lawnmower, and pressure washer. Thankfully I am a extraordinary butt-kisser and he lets me borrow his toys! Except for the boat, I'm not quite that skillful, yet... Thanks a lot for the pointers on the repairs! I figured it would be something like that, or at least some JB Weld and duct tape, which is why I saved the old pieces!

I promise I'm not a condescending prick, I hate that. I just don't know your background, other than mad humorous writing skillz. Any question, fire away, and continue, good sir!

No worries whatsoever! I'm not one of those sensitive peoples that thinks people are out to insult when being constructive. I'm all sorts of open to hints and tips to get me towards the end result quicklier!

Originally Posted by rusty76

So after I read your review of the headlight restoration I decided to go tackle my wifes KIA. I know no self respectin Southern should own a KIA, well you know. So instead of the stuff you used ( which I may still end up trying down the road) I busted out something from the bathroom. Toothpaste. I had heard a year or so ago to try toothpaste. I thought "really?" but it worked. I just cleaned them real good with windex and then went to it. Basically put the tooth paste on like wax and then washed it off with water. Made a big difference. I did try it in a spot that was unnoticeable first. I won't say they are perfect but got to be better than before at night. Thanks once again for humor and fun.

You are welcome. I enjoy the humor as well. I'm always trying to keep it in the back of my mind as I'm working along. The toothpaste thing is something my wife was just talking about the other day. That pinterest and it's ideas are EVERYWHERE! It sounds like the toothpaste is the Red Green Show's equivalent (minus usage of duct tape at some point) of Meguiar's Plast-X Polish and it is awesome for headlights that are in not too bad of shape. It's more for maintenance I use it on my big trucks at work and all my cars. If the lights are chipped and/or extremely yellow the sanding then buffing really helps a lot. I left my Plast-X at work and they say to apply that after the buffing and you will see an even more noticeable difference.

Thanks everyone for following, it helps to keep the motivation high, and the humor just shy of the gutter!

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Big Rat

Luckily, I have a father-in-law that has to own better than the biggest and the best of everything. Example, every now and then he will cut the weeds in his pasture, so, he went out and bought a $50,000.00 Kabota with A/C and all the attachments! Same goes for his boat, lawnmower, and pressure washer. Thankfully I am a extraordinary butt-kisser and he lets me borrow his toys! Except for the boat, I'm not quite that skillful, yet... Thanks a lot for the pointers on the repairs! I figured it would be something like that, or at least some JB Weld and duct tape, which is why I saved the old pieces!

Isn't that amazing? "Here, take my daughter! Take her away! Have your way with her! Make me some grandbabies!"

"Can I borrow your boat?"

"Ummm, let me get back to you..."

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Isn't that amazing? "Here, take my daughter! Take her away! Have your way with her! Make me some grandbabies!"

"Can I borrow your boat?"

"Ummm, let me get back to you..."

Yes sir! That's the American way! You can always make more kids, but stuff we actually put our heart and soul into, irreplaceable!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

I figured I would let y'all know what's I's be think I'll be doing next in the up coming weeks. It's gonna kinda be like visitation with a kid. Me being the child and the front yard and the truck being the two parents fighting over who is cooler. I know what you are thinking, you can't drive your front yard around dummy, so who cares?! That's what I'm saying too. I look at it like, finished yard means higher property value, which mean refinance, AND BUILD A SHOP! Totally logical, I know. So back to the going's on's with the truck. Get those blasted lines and ebrake removed, c-notch frame, remove rear suspension and diff, remove bottom two leafs and overload leaf, drink some beer, complain about my back, have my wife ask me if I'm coming in the house yet, me ask her "REALLY?!",(her to me), then I'll spackle that poorly engineered power steering bolt hole on my frame, then clean etch and POR-15 the chassis and components, make her a roller and make my kids push me up and down the street so that I can receive praises from the masses on being a mans man and building things with might and brawn!
Posted via Mobile Device

[bluex]

Cool build. Use this for the steering box area, that's a common problem on these trucks.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm

Sorry for sending you to a 4x4 site
Posted via Mobile Device

[Low Elco]

This looked interesting as well.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/greasebushings.htm
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by bluex

Cool build. Use this for the steering box area, that's a common problem on these trucks.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm

Sorry for sending you to a 4x4 site

See!!! That is why having a build thread is AWESOME! A junk yard fix, thanks "Low Elco", and a pre fab fix, thanks "bluex"! Just curious but have you used that brace and/or repair kit? If so, how did the install go? I do like the simplicity and design of it. Oh and no worries on the 4X4 garb. A fix, is a fix!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

This looked interesting as well.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/greasebushings.htm

No squeaks and a smoother ride eh?! It just so happens that I am going to be installing poly bushings on the build... hmmm

[bluex]

Nah i havent used it yet. I will probably pick one up when i finally start my build. From everything ive read about it the install is pretty straight forward as long as there isnt previous shodily fixed frame damage.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

Certainly ain't no shoddy repairs or good grammar here!

On a totally unrelated topic I have the opportunity to buy a '76 Ford Highboy with a 390 and a 4 speed for 1200 bucks. It's in fairly good condition and runs like a champ. Any thoughts on this other than the blasphemous fact that a bleeding orange Chevy guy is considering buying a, I dare not say it's name,
(Ford, whispered in the quietest of tones) on a Chevy forum. So other than that, any thoughts?
Posted via Mobile Device

[Tx Firefighter]

The Ford highboys had neat drivetrains in them with a divorced transfer case. Well worth buying even if you just resell it later for a profit.

I mean, your work truck is a Volvo isn't it ? You're obviously a man who doesn't get too wrapped up in brand name. Ford is every bit as good as Chevrolet.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

Oooohhhh! Ouch! You cut me real deep right there Tx! I'd be lying if I said I don't prefer a Pete or KW more for creature comforts and looks, but I must say my Volvo has a 15 liter Cummins ISX that is tweeked, and blowing past guys lighter then you pullin a grade is very rewarding, and it doesn't hurt the ego either. Really it's not my lack of respect for Fords, it's more my lack of knowledge about whether or not I'd have a true find staring me in the face versus realizing it with versions of various Chevrolets. More time spent gettin learned about bow-ties than ovals is all.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Tx Firefighter]

Don't take me wrong brother. I wasn't poking at your Volvo (sounds dirty). If I had a truck I wouldn't care where it fit in the LargeCar social status ladder. I'd want it to make the most money per mile no matter what.

The highboy Ford is an awesome and rare truck. I'd be Jones'n for it if I had a chance at buying one.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

No worries man. I think I'm learning to have a sense of humor with this build. I'm not the sensitive type that gets all butt hurt about things. This thread is like a safe haven for "stupid". So it is truly ALL good. So now that you are selling my wife and I(I was already sold) on this highboy, I have some pictures of it. I work with owner, the only reason it hasn't been registered is because my work bought the owner a new truck so he didn't feel the need so it has been sitting in his back yard. I checked the inner fender wells, bed sides, hood hinge mount points, interior and so on. The doors are rotten but that is it. All rims and tires match with good tread(regardless of the picture with the mismatched spare tire). Runs like a champ. Fairly fresh 390 with an RV cam. Bed side are new pieces. Let me know so I can get better learned... (SELL THIS TO MY WIFE PLEASE!! Keep giving me rarity points and value stuff and things and such)

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Nothing wrong with a F*rd! My grandpa has a 76 with a 460 in it. That was going to be my project truck until I found out that I could see the road while driving. Somehow I ended up with a . So are you going to have 2 projects running now?

[Low Elco]

Dune/snow basher! A friend had a 79 like that with a 400M. FUN FUN! you felt instantly more burly man just turning the key. You could practice your nascent bodyworking skillz on that thing! Ooooh, scope creep! (Get used to it!)

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by THE "10" SILVERADO

Nothing wrong with a F*rd! My grandpa has a 76 with a 460 in it. That was going to be my project truck until I found out that I could see the road while driving. Somehow I ended up with a . So are you going to have 2 projects running now?

Technically I'd say I have way more than 2 projects already! Unfinished basement, unfinished yard, 79 C10, Nova, 69 C20, and now maybe that highboy?! Oh my next project may be sorting out the divorce settlement! What an addiction! If anything it would be a kinda tinker with it and be able to drive it at the same time project. I need something old that I can drive NOW! I'm dying always having to be fuel efficient and responsible!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Dune/snow basher! A friend had a 79 like that with a 400M. FUN FUN! you felt instantly more burly man just turning the key. You could practice your nascent bodyworking skillz on that thing! Ooooh, scope creep! (Get used to it!)

I know exactly what you mean. I sprouted a full beard and dawned a flannel shirt as soon as I sat in it to take the pictures! I was immediately flooded with old feelings from high school and my truck. Luxuries of new cars are great n all, but the nostalgia and memories that accompany old vehicles, no words can describe it, yet every single one of you know exactly what I'm talkin about.

[rusty76]

People instantly think that I'm a chevy man but honestly I'm either or. I've owned atleast one vehicle from each of the big three. I'm not super picky. I like the old Ford and like having something to scoot around in. I think it's a decent find.