New Build Thread 82 J10 Honcho Sport Side

[rang-a-stang]

Your "roller" tires are nicer than my tires! HAHA!

That chassis is gorgeous!

How long did it take you to get your hood to that point? is that 8 hours? 24 hours? (actual working hours, not clock hours)

[FleetFox]

David, thank you. We need to get you posting some pics so we see what your working on too!

Rang, high praise, thank you as well. If I had your weather, this would be a 2 year project, but here it will likely be three. The bugs will be here soon, the frogs are already hatching in the creeks so I know it won't be long. Probably won't get to paint until fall. To answer your question on the hood. 2 hrs to sand blast, quick rub down with OSPHO, 2 quick wet coats of epoxy primer. Let sit over night. long block with 220, then hammer and dolly, skim, rinse and repeat. 10 hours i would say on the hood. The cab has well over 100 real hours in it and I'm not even close to happy with it yet. Now that it's in primer and protected I can slow down and break it into sections so my brain isn't swimming all the time. I bet there's another 50 hours in there to get it paint ready. Not complaining, just want to do this truck right. As for the rollers, they are spares for Farm truck #1, bought at a county auction. I should post some pics of that one, 79 GMC K35. Bone Stock and beautiful. More good stuff to come in the near future.

Fleet Fox

[SOLSAKS]

FleetFox

just saw your post.

you are right
I definitely need to learn how to post photos.

only FSJ I have done was 1988 wagoneer.
drivetrain had been done when I got it
I did cosmetics to interior and exterior
had it painted.

that put me in the fever for a J10 now have 2.

now working on the 1976 Honcho
carried to body shop to do body/paint and mechanicals

as much as I wish I had mechanical skills
the only skills I have are a few cosmetic things
and an eye for detail.

your j-10 will be the talk of the town.

dave in NC

[FleetFox]

Little update. Realized we're just past the one year mark now. So much done, and yet in some ways, little to show for it. Fear not, we forge ahead. So I've been splitting time between adding parts back to the rolling chassis, and body work. First the chassis work. Sway bar installed with longer disconnect links, urethane bushings and all new hardware. Bump stops in, new tie rod and drop pitman arm. 90% there up front:

[/url]0505191809 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

New drum brakes and hardware on the rear. Wanted riveted shoes, nope Raybestos said bonded or bonded, so I give. Drums were turned, new bearings and seals in the hubs, STILL looking for a set of P Brake cables that will work. Gonna call Inline Tube I think and just have a set made. 3/4 ton van, too short, long bed 3/4 too long, never been a short bed production 3/4 ton w/ a dana 60 rear i can find/ Anyways:

[/url]0504192346 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

Then back to massaging, filling and sanding the cab, rinse and repeat. I think I started on the cab in earnest in late November. Figure 7 days and eight nights a month, long days and long nights, cause I'm a night owl. I'ts gone from a good cab at 500 feet to a good cab at 20 feet. Goal is a great cab with your nose on it. Cowl is done, Both sides are at 90% including rockers, Roof at 85%, rear at 75%. At this point 1 more weekend of filling, sanding and blocking and it should all be at 95%. I swear half the stuff I massaged this past weekend were factory flaws. In the first (2)coats of 2k High Build. Long blocked after these pics. which is an oxy-moron because all the curves mean a long block is an 8" flex block:

[/url]0505191648 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0505191649 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

sorry about the glare:

[/url]0505191650 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

So this bed skirt has been sitting on my bench for months, in the way. 3 were in great shape the one had quite a bit of rust. Got tired of moving it and looking at it. So time to just get it done. Before:

[/url]0421191713a by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

the endcap:

[/url]0421191912a by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

New piece on home made radius jig for brake:

[/url]0421191714 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

skin graft:

[/url]0421191912 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

with new end cap installed; primer, little filler, 2K high build:

[/url]0505191808a by highsiera, on FlickrIMG][/IMG]

So the next goal I am working towards is getting the cab to 95% and placing it back on the frame. The fenders are done; grille and radiator support done; doors done. Hood... well, let's call that 70%. I need to mock up everything to make sure it all fits before paint. There are pieces from 7 different trucks from the early 70's to the late 80's in that list. Let's see how everything fits together before paint. Hoping for better panel gaps than factory... we shall see, the weather has been very kind to me this year so far, hopefully it will continue to shine on me.

Fleet Fox

[Kaiserjeeps]

Sure is looking great. I too like the Honcho's. It's going to be pretty cool. Nice to see a Made in USA sticker on the springs. Looking forward to more!

[FleetFox]

Thank you Kaiser Jeep! It was after viewing your Sadie thread that I realized "your going to have to make a bunch of these parts" and just started doing it. So, thank you for the inspiration/ courage/ resolve etc...

Will post an update here next week with some more progress. I got a little time in over the long weekend, but real didn't snap any pics. Going to try and finish up a few things this weekend and take more progress photos. For now, a small teaser:

[/url]0519191527a by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0519191526a by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

Fleet Fox

[FleetFox]

Haven't posted in a while, so some updates. The doors are both on now but I'm still fiddling with panel adjustments to get gaps right.

[/url]0602191713 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

This has netted me more room in the shop, so the bed was brought in from outside and placed on the moveable cradle.

[/url]0531191959 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

In the background you can see the new Sportsides having been primed and wet sanded. Really nice pieces from BJ's, with the mounting flanges molded right into them.

[/url]0531191959a by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

Next job was to bang all the dents out of the bed. And there were plenty.

There were also a number of holes in the bed floor that were welded up, including a nice fifth wheel modification.

[/url]0602191805 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0608192244 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0608192245a (1) by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

What do you do when the bed rails are all bent up and there's a big dip in the middle? Farm engineering. Ram a 3/4" iron pipe through the rail rolls and get out the big jack. I hate that jack. I have more cuts and bruises from (mis)using it than any other tool in the shop.

[/url]0706192346 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

As you can see, the entire bed has been sandblasted. This was a long, miserable task here in the summer heat and humidity. I really could have, and should have sent this off to be done. But it's done. The bed is is 90% galvanized, which meant very little rot. The floor is solid, there was a little repair needed at the tailgate end, and one of the stake pockets. Stake pocket repair:

[/url]0704191816 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0704191824 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0704191851 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

At this juncture, time to dip into the plastic fantastic and smooth out the ripples left by all the hammer work. Goal is to get this in primer, blocked, and test fit by month's end. I am aiming to paint everything in September. I have some wiggle room here into October usually with the weather. The bed is a second priority though. Once in epoxy, it can go in the barn for the winter if need be. But the cab needs to be in paint before the cold weather so i can install the drive line and spend the winter doing re-assembly. Boring post, but this is where we're at. More in a few weeks.

Fleet Fox

[rang-a-stang]

..,Boring post, but this is where we're at...

LIES!!!

[jeepman1]

Awesome work!

Hurry up and get that one done, I'll have mine loaded up and pull right in to the same spot! it'll be like you never stopped... the second one has to be easier!

[FleetFox]

You can drop it off any time, but you might not get it back if I lay my hands on it!

Fleet Fox

[FleetFox]

Well while I've been busy trying to make the outside of the truck pretty, fellow member Rick Jones (SC/397) has been building the power plant. After a number of conversations back and forth, I asked him to build a stroked AMC 360 for this truck. He asked a lot of great questions in the process about the complete drive train and what I was looking to accomplish in the end so it felt like a natural fit. Below is a link to the forum where he posts his builds. Scroll to the bottom of page 35 for this truck's engine build, #93:

http://rebsamcandjeep.proboards.com/thread/11/amc-engine-builds?page=35&scrollTo=16345

This photo was taken by Rick and is his:

[/url]IMG_2010 by Rick Jones, on Flickr[/IMG]

As always, thoughts and feedback are encouraged.

Fleet Fox

[Full Size Jeeper]

The build is looking really good. Have you made a decision on the color?

[FleetFox]

Thank you for the compliment Full Size. I am going with a dark green, still debating the shade furiously, but likely the late hunter green. I am going with the decal package, but from the earlier 79-80 set as opposed to the final design which the truck had when i bought it. I think the oranges will make a nice contrast to a dark green. It'll look very much of it's time, which in my opinion it should.

Fleet Fox

[FleetFox]

Haven't posted in a while, life has been kind of busy. The bed at this point is completely finished. We put it on the truck to complete the pre-paint mockup with all the fairings and the fiberglass steps:

[/url]0811191527 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0811191525 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

I'm not happy with the way the step part of the step sides fits, but I'm going to deal with that in the spring. Most of my weekends have been spent blocking, sanding, filling small defects and generally going slowly crazy trying to get this ready for paint. I did take some time off from that grind to build a small box to contain the filler neck for the aux fuel tank. There's a lot going on in this corner but it was nice to get my mind back to work after the drudgery of sanding primer.

[/url]0907192211 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0907192210 by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]0907192211b by highsiera, on Flickr[/IMG]

In other news, Rick is done with the engine, which is a huge motivator. Bed is completely apart again and sanded down to 400. Paint and clear are purchased. Cab and doors are down to 320. front clip also. Plan for the next 2 weekends is to totally clean out the shop and rebuild my "booth" into a spray booth. Then to shoot base and clear on all the bed parts and whatever little trinkets I can fit in there as well.

Thanks for following along

Fleet Fox

[SOLSAKS]

it is going to be an awesome j-10

especially with ricks engine and your hard work.

better than anything you can buy off the lot.

(you know one of those computers on 4 wheels )

dave in NC