project suzy diesel...or the isuzu powered j10

[JeepinPete]

Glad to see you made it home in one piece

[manimal]

That is gonna be awesome when you get 'er done!

[altrocker1]

started to clean and organize the shop before things get really hot and heavy. i put the dana 60 i got for free up on the bench and i knew it might be in rough shape since there were no shafts in it, but it was worse that i expected. the carrier was locked solid with rust and there was a mouse nest of some sort in there...also it was not a limited slip like the guy thought.



i couldn't get the carrier to budge at all so im going to give up on it. i have the 14 bolt that is the right gearing and the disc brake conversion on the 14 bolt is cheaper...so at this point it might be the cheapest route to go. so if anyone wants a dana 60 ya'll can come get it. if not its on the way to the scrapper.

the knuckles on the 44 are a little frozen, but the carrier turns well and the gears look pretty good.



14 bolt looks great on the inside



the workbench was saggin a bit with all the weight, so you'll notice my sweet 2x4 rig up to keep it level while im working on my axles



got the motor, tranny and transfer case separated and stowed away in the shop while i finish the frame.







they won't be stowing there for long fortunately. the cab is getting new floors as we speak so it will all start to come together very soon

[Resbum]

Nice. I remember when all my parts started to take up space in the shop. It was a good feeling to have them around so I could get hands on while planning. That's when I first felt it might actually all come together.

Resbum

[altrocker1]

fred flintstone style...i've decided to give up the diesel project in lieu of my new fred flintstone powered vehicle...won't be long and the floorboards will be good as new

[altrocker1]

this was my brilliant idea for how to get the box off...unfortunately it didn't quite work out. fortunately, my buddy was coming up to sandblast a hitch so he helped me out. now after months of waiting i have a bare frame.



LOTS of grinding and sandblasting to do this week

[Carnuck]

I lifted the box off mine the same way, but I put a comealong to the front of the box to keep it level while lifting.

[altrocker1]

I lifted the box off mine the same way, but I put a comealong to the front of the box to keep it level while lifting.

lol...i wish i had a chain hoist so i could have lifted the front from the door frame, but no such luck. we just lifted it from the sides while my buddies girlfriend rolled the frame forward.

today i got the old motor mounts cut off/unbolted to prep for the new custom mounts for the isuzu



then i pulled the front axle so i could prop the frame up higher on saw horses to reach the bottom side



got the front half of the frame mostly cleaned up with the flap wheel and wire wheel. i have to go back over the pitted spots and some of the tight areas with the sand blaster. gonna go back over to the shop after the gym to do some more.

i also had a flap wheel grenade itself today. it was a little scary. i think it got snagged in a groove in the spring mount, but it was strong enough to yank the grinder out of my hand and fly about 6 feet. as it flew through the air in slow motion i could see that the flap wheel was broken in the air and didn't break when it hit the ground. im just glad my first instinct was to jump away instead of trying to catch it in mid air!

[altrocker1]

i was also going to see if anyone has a good trick for cleaning the rust/dirt from inside of the boxed parts of the frame? not a lot of rust in there, but it is dirty as heck in there. i'll get the sandblaster as far in as i can, but beyond that im not sure exactly what to do

[altrocker1]

not much exciting to report...de-rustifying for now. its slow going. i broke another flapwheel and i broke the nozzle on my sandblaster. im starting to feel like im spending as much on parts and tools to do this as i would to just have a shop do it! oh well.

i did get these in the mail last week:



milled, drilled and already tapped for $60 shipped to my door. now i just need some high steer arms and some dom...that can wait a bit though

[Resbum]

i was also going to see if anyone has a good trick for cleaning the rust/dirt from inside of the boxed parts of the frame? not a lot of rust in there, but it is dirty as heck in there. i'll get the sandblaster as far in as i can, but beyond that im not sure exactly what to do

Sorry, I didn't see this until now. Sandblast what you can. While my frame was on the rack I made for rotating it I stuck a pressure washer nozzle into every opening I could from every angle possible. Then I let it dry and sprayed rust eater in and rinsed. Then rust converter. And finished by spraying Zero Rust in.

Yeah, you'll be amazed at how much dirt gets trapped in there. I probably lightened the front of my frame 10 or more pounds.

[Resbum]

... im starting to feel like im spending as much on parts and tools to do this as i would to just have a shop do it! oh well.

Yep, me too. But I'm enjoying the project and will have the new tools for future projects.

Besides tools and expendables the other thing that I didn't plan well into the budget were fasteners. My decision to use all new nuts, bolts, fasteners, etc. is probably going to come in around $1200.

[altrocker1]

well...no exciting pics...yet frame sandblasting will be finished on monday. i spent about 8 hours grinding and blasting the front half....then got really sick of my little blaster. it will work fine for axles and other parts, but its just too small for the frame. soooo....i got a recommendation to call a restore place down the road that does large farm equipment and trucks. called the guy, and he told me that they do bare truck frames for $150 seriously...why did i even try it on my own. and he told me since mine was partially finished he wouldn't charge me full price. his estimate was between $100 and $120 to do the whole rest of the frame inside and out

so needless to say i threw the frame on a trailer and got it up there as fast as possible. he is going to blast it on monday morning and it will be ready for pickup monday afternoon...i sort of am mad that i even tried it myself for that price! like i said, i still have to blast the 14 bolt and the d44 so now at least i have the equipment to do it. im also on the hunt for a small blast cabinet to do the other parts that i have. i do have a short list of questions that i am going to post in the general forums, but i figured i would post them here too...

1.) Does anyone have a pic and measurement for the cab mounts on a j truck? Mine need to be replaced and i was just going to weld a plate on top and re drill the holes for the mounts.

2.) Anyone here ever inboarded springs? i really want to use this 14 bolt, and im having trouble finding measurements. it looks like the new spring mounts will pretty much line up under the frame. I'm going to use some heavier square tube stock to make the mounts and box them around the frame when i do...

3.) my only 2 bad rust spots on the frame are on the back on the back side of the shock mounts and the old rear spring mounts. Would it be better to just weld a plate over it, or box in the back couple of feet of the frame? I was thinking about putting in another brace back there, but because of the rust pitting towards the back, i feel like the stouter i can make it, the longer it will last.

4.) what would be your recommended frame painting method if you were going to dd your fsj? i live in the rust belt and my ideal methods would either be to galvanize it, then paint it or to powder coat it. (I have a guy who might be able to do the powder coat for fairly cheap). However, these methods are both pricey. The next would be to POR 15 it, but after the cost of the metal prep and some sort of paint to cover the por 15, it seems like the other two methods would almost be worth it. the last option would be to clean it well when it comes back from blasting...spray several coats of galvanizing primer on it, then use an epoxy or enamel paint to cover it with several coats. this is probably the cheapest option, but im very worried about it rusting through in a year or two.

anyway...any input would be much appreciated!

[rwjohnstone]

I know what you mean by rust belt ha! I can honestly say that of all the trucks we go through at the shop and all the ones I work on in my family the best lasting maintenance free option is to put on several good coats of primer and paint ant then get it professionally undercoated that seems to make it through 5 or 6 winters with normal washing before rust becomes apparent. The best thing I have seen is you make a mixture of half diesel engine oil and scentless kerosene or lamp oil and spray that all over the underside of the truck. It gets messy and requires some work but I know guys with 15 year old trucks that look great. In the end the salt will find a way into or under anything you put on the metal. Personally I do not plan on driving my truck in the salt at all, far to much time is being spent to sacrifice it to the oxidation gods just yet.

[altrocker1]

workin on a parts truck deal right now to get this guy



owner is out of town all weekend, but basically it has ALL of the parts that i would need to finish my truck. crossin my fingers.

got my frame back right before i left but forgot to take a pic. for 120 bucks, it looks great. right now its sitting covered in a dry storage area, so im hoping there won't be any rust spots when i get back. im gonna shoot a coat of primer on it asap when i get back, then i'll weld the plates on for the cab mounts and put the steel on for the new spring inboard project. with any luck it will be sitting on axles waiting for paint by the end of sept..