Build thread for the 72 GMC, finally. Thanks John!

All of my pictures are TERRIBLE. Here are the best ones. The first one is a hint.

I didn't do it all, just the upper and inner surfaces of the frame and brackets between the cab and the axle.

That's the only pic worth anything, mostly because I put the bed back on so that I could paint the inner portion of the bedside on it, and then I realized that I couldn't take a picture of it. Oh well, use your imagination. The brackets are done, the frame is welded up, the frame is painted. Tomorrow I can get the brackets on and torqued for the last time, and then pull the damper brackets and paint them and the rear portion of the frame.

Not too bad, eh?

No pics, but I got time today during naps because I did 6 loads of laundry in the morning and got dinner ready ahead of time. I was able to prop up the bed floor, torque the front spring hanger brackets, mount the front eye of the springs, put the bed mounts back on, and then torque down the U bolts. This last one took a while. Look up the torque spec for a grade 8 5/8 plain bolt and you'll see why. Next step is to swap out the bushings and paint the shackles, remove, paint and replace the damper mounts, remove the swaybar and paint the axle and mounts, remove the gas tank and paint surrounding. Sounds easy, but that's a ton of tedious off/on work.

A lot of work, but final assembly type of work!

tuna55 wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: Looks good- way better than before. Here's some inspiration for you: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/4390617219.html

Wow, $17,500!! That is either major inspiration or major crack-pipe. Nice truck, either way. Thanks for sending along.

Given that the ad's already been deleted, hopefully that's inspiration!

In reply to dculberson:

Let's hope so!

So some sick kids are preventing me from getting work done. Last night I fell asleep on the couch with Tunakid #2 and a coughing fit. Sooo close to getting the rear end finished up...

Tunawife covered for me for a bit and I got out there despite the coughing fits.

I pulled the dampers, mounts, swaybars, bumpstops, and brackets off and painted the rest of the stuff nearby, plus the shackles. Now I am essentially painted to the gas tank, which will come out for the next painting session while the other stuff goes back on. No cool pictures because with the bed floor sitting there, it's really not very photogenic.

But progress is progress.

The tank is going to be silver I think. I don't have any silver yet. Any good leads on decent but cheap silver paint that will last?

In reply to tuna55:

Crap.

I bought a bushing kit forever ago for the leaf springs and shackles. It's Prothane 7-1001-BL. It's listed as a leaf spring and shackle bushing kit. I no longer am going to swap out the leaf spring bushings because they are new, but I took out the icky shackle ones last night.

Turns out they are wrong. The bushings don't fit. And I cannot return them. There are 12 identical bushings. The ones for the shackle/frame mount must be smaller ID and they are not.

Crap.

I wonder how easy it is to turn down these poly bushings on a lathe.

Machines really nice. Holding the bushing is a bit more of a challenge. You could try sandwiching the bushing in a bolt, holding the head of the bolt in the chuck and the threaded end (center drilled) held by the live center. Large washers should clamp it well. You want about 0.005" interference fit.

Dropped off the too-big bushings with machinist neighbor-Jim yesterday. Tonight I reassembled the swaybar and mounts, the dampers and mounts and it's all waiting on the shackles. Pics when it's all through.

tuna55 wrote: Dropped off the too-big bushings with machinist neighbor-Jim yesterday. Tonight I reassembled the swaybar and mounts, the dampers and mounts and it's all waiting on the shackles. Pics when it's all through.

Remind us...Are we all going to have as much work to do on the front suspension?

Luckily, the fronts are coils. Tuna has lots of experience chopping coils.

SkinnyG wrote: Machines really nice. Holding the bushing is a bit more of a challenge. You could try sandwiching the bushing in a bolt, holding the head of the bolt in the chuck and the threaded end (center drilled) held by the live center. Large washers should clamp it well. You want about 0.005" interference fit.

Freeze them first and they can machine up pretty well.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: Luckily, the fronts are coils. Tuna has lots of experience chopping coils.

You got it.

Chop the coils like we did with Charlie, probably. I may look into relocating the upper control arm upwards instead. The dampers will be new, but in the same location, and the swaybar should bolt on with no fab work.

Saving money enough for new bushings is going to be a bit harder, because the control arms will need them, and potentially new ball joints as well.

Painted the rest of the rear frame tonight after removing the gas tank. I painted myself often. I also painted the gas tank straps. It's looking pretty good. I had enough paint to do some of the bed floor underside, too. Pics when the bed floor comes off.

Neighbor Jim still has the bushings.

tuna55 wrote: Painted the rest of the rear frame tonight after removing the gas tank. I painted myself often.

Hope you avoided the hootus. It will wear off eventually.

Junkyard_Dog wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Painted the rest of the rear frame tonight after removing the gas tank. I painted myself often.

Hope you avoided the hootus. It will wear off eventually.

You're just looking for pictures now, aren't you?

Tonight the gas tank got stripped and the neck stub got fully welded on. Small, I know, but I also had to mow the lawn for the first time this season. I'll grab some of that aluminum paint tomorrow. Anything else under the truck need to be aluminum with it?

Anything that doesn't need to be black can be "aluminum".

Let us know how the rustolum goes down and hardens up, I'm thinking about using it to paint my chassis.

bgkast wrote: Anything that doesn't need to be black can be "aluminum". Let us know how the rustolum goes down and hardens up, I'm thinking about using it to paint my chassis.

Wait, you were the one who suggested it!!!

I painted the floor in the wagon with that rutolum and it took for-berkeleying-ever to harden. It's fine now, but there may or may not be a fingernail mark or five from me testing.

mazdeuce wrote: I painted the floor in the wagon with that rutolum and it took for-berkeleying-ever to harden. It's fine now, but there may or may not be a fingernail mark or five from me testing.

Yeah, I am thinking about something else now. I'll figure it out - hopefully today. I am home with two sick kiddoes and a sick tunawife, though, so don't hold your breath. Or maybe you should. Everyone's sick, after all.

mazdeuce wrote: I painted the floor in the wagon with that rutolum and it took for-berkeleying-ever to harden. It's fine now, but there may or may not be a fingernail mark or five from me testing.

You gotta thin it out with paint thinner or acetone and brush on several coats that way it will dry more quickly.