Project Big Red

Well, the good/bad news is I'm down to the last couple big problems I think. When I bought the floor pan metal, I basically bought everything LMC had not realizing that the outter floor part covered a lot of the same area as the foot well pieces. It's actually not a big loss because it turns out, since they are for a regular cab not a super cab, it looks like I can trim the first couple inches off and use that to do the big problem in the rear because it has the right shape for that big hole. I'll take pics when I go to do it. I also learned something I had forgotten watching guys put a trunk pan in a challenger I think. I forgot about the trick of laying the pieces over one another and cutting at the same time to make the final cuts fit and line up. I will be doing that for the remaining parts. I've been doing pretty good following the marks but it takes alot of trimming to get it to fit decent. Anyway, need to decide on floor coating (again). I'm worse than my wife when it comes to making up my mind on stuff.

I have used the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator and still do. It seems to work pretty good, but I haven't used POR 15 so can't compare it. I like it because I can buy it in spray cans and every fall, I respray the underside of my truck with it to make it through another salt season. I clean the truck and good as I can with the pressure washer, then spray with wax and grease remover, pressure wash one more time, and then spray the rust encapsulator. It sticks pretty well considering there is no way I can get the underbody "clean enough to eat off of". I have also used Magnet Paint's "Chassis Saver". This stuff get super hard and that is probably what I would use after the ospho etch. I would then spray a couple of coats of Montsaliner over that. I am thinking about painting the exterior of my truck with the stuff.http://monstaliner.com/

i checked out some othat chassis saver on a freshly painted big rig recently...makes me wish i bought tha tin the first place instead of the cat paint for my frame. **** dries HARD.

Well, got a little done today. I shaved the seam between the cab and floor pan through the trans tunnel to make room for turbo plumbing.





It doesn't seem like a lot, but it took a while when I had to keep putting out the fire and fight the residual seem sealer in the joint. Anyway, I thought that would be a little nicer than just beating it back. Now to figure out the mount points on the front of the cab and decide if I'm going to put the last patches in vertical or horizontal.

More of the same.









I also picked up a new toy. My air saw died. This guy works pretty good.



That leaves one more little floor piece and a hole bunch of welding and grinding. Need to decide how I'm going to fix the cab mount debacle but that's tomorrow's problem. I think I have figured out how I'm going to support the cab to move it around. I'll post pics of that if it works. If it doesn't I won't.

Tomorrow I'll weld those parts in solid and put in the last piece hopefully. Then massive amount of welding and grinding to commence.

Much welding.



Actually welded from underneath.

I finished welding in the other floor sections.







And from the bottom side.



I can't put the last piece in just yet in the back corner. I think that's going to have to wait until I cut the cab corner out. The repair there is going to be a little more extensive than I hoped. Big surprise there. Think I'll pick up some Eastwood rust encapsulator with the long spout for these un reachable places. In the mean time, ready to order the POR and maybe, just maybe, paint the floor next weekend.

In the mean time, need to fab up the rear seat mount and replace the one seat mount. I also am going to weld studs in place for the center consol getting rid of those holes too.

That's it for tonight.

I wish I had more progress to report but, it is what it is. It's getting cold enough now I spend as much time keeping the shop warm as actually working.

I picked these up to install my rear shoulder belts.


They are 1.5" by 3" with 7/16"-20 threads. Seems to be right for the belts although it's a little tight. May need to run a tap through them to make life easier. At ~$4 each, I figured it was worth a shot. Should work perfect in the rocker for the floor mount.

I also fabbed a new mount for the rear seat.



As you can see the old one was toast and the nuts (inserts) all broke off. I'll weld that in place one I get the POR on everything under it. I'll tack weld the nuts once it's all torqued down.

I also figured out how to put the cab mounts back in.



Pass side fits perfect. Drivers side is not quite as good but it will do. I sliced the support there so I could get to it to weld it back together easier and re paint it as needed.

I picked up a set of the small HF furniture dollies to move things around on. They are 1000lb each supposedly.



While I'm not sure I'd put that on them, the cab ought to roll nicely on 4 of them. I cut 3/4 plywood to fill the holes and drilled for keepers to hold the jack stands down to the surface. I'm not totally sold on it yet but if I tie them together, I think it will all set good and be adjustable. With a couple blocks of 2x4 I think they would even let me set the wheels on them to move the frame around in the garage.

That's where we are. Paint is on its way for the underside. If I get real lucky and I'm not sick all weekend, might get the underside buttoned up and painted. Still have a few really small areas to deal with pin holes and another front seat mount stud to install. I also want to weld in studs for the console. Minimize screws through the floor pan is the plan.

! where did you get those shoulder bolt straps? I welded plates and need to drill a hole and weld a nut but i like these much better!

keep up the good work. the cold weather sucks! i friggin cracked my windshield when upright9ing the cab plast thursday when it was below freezing. hairline crack RIGHT where my eyes are.

Got them from here.

http://www.wescoperformance.com/retrofit-seat-belts-shoulder-mt-door.html#top

It worked out a buck cheaper or something with shipping than a couple other places. Amazon didn't have the ones with the correct thread. I was a little nervous about welding on something for a seat belt. Gives me the willys for some reason. I'm not that experienced a welder and I don't need something like that on my conscience if I can avoid it. Besides, I don't think I could have fabbed it that cheaply by the time I bought the nuts and steel. They say to pop rivet them in but I think I'll tack weld them too. If you hunt around, they have directions for mounting them.

X2^^

I was gonna pull some shoulder belts out of a donor to use for my back seat, but I just had a hole in body structure without provisions to bolt in upper portion of the seat belt.

Remember, you also need an extra floor mount through the rocker like the front belts. Hence I bought 4 of them. Since they go inside the sheet metal I guess it should be strong enough to spread the load over the interior of the cab sheet metal. They show using these to put shoulder belts in an old mustang.

Do the extended cabs not have a lab belt already attached to the floor?

quick Q, is this the same thread diameter and pitch as the stock bolts?

No. The lap belts don't have a floor attachment point. They just have the attachment of the retractor which is just below seat level in the wall. If you look at your front seats, you have the retractor, shoulder and floor mounts. That's what you need for the rear. I picked up a set on eBay, and it caught me by surprise too. I never thought about having to add the floor mount.

Greg5OH said:

quick Q, is this the same thread diameter and pitch as the stock bolts?

Click to expand...

The answer is I think so.

I did a lot of reading and tried the bolt in a 7/16" fine nut and it seemed to fit right. I thread the bolt into this guy and it is snug. Like I said, I may drive a tap through it and see if that helps a little. It feels like its the right thread that has been plated over etc and is just a little small. Tollerances on these fine threads are pretty tight.