Project Frankensquare

[n8in8or]

The bottom of the floor has 2 coats of KBS Rust Seal on it.



The interior floor is prepped for paint, but I won’t paint it until the cab is sitting on the frame because it’s very awkward to paint with the cab in this current orientation.



Before the cab goes on the frame I’ll be trying KBS’s asphalt undercoating for the first time.

 

[DieselAmateur]

Are you using the water or solvent based undercoating? I couldn't find much on the differences/ benefits between the two.

 

[n8in8or]

Are you using the water or solvent based undercoating? I couldn't find much on the differences/ benefits between the two.

I’m going to use the solvent-based in aerosol cans. I also didn’t see a difference, but the solvent made more sense to me.

 

[n8in8or]

I got the floor undercoated. It took 6 aerosol cans to do 3 coats.



I also got the transfer case degreased.

 

[Husker6.5]

What'd you use for the undercoating? Do you plan to recoat occasionally once it's all back together and in service, or is this the "it's done and it'll last for as long as I have the vehicle and I don't care if I die first" one time only treatment?

 

[SnowDrift]

Once it wears off, fluid film the bare stuff. It will turn black in a few weeks and will creep for a very long time.

 

[n8in8or]

What'd you use for the undercoating? Do you plan to recoat occasionally once it's all back together and in service, or is this the "it's done and it'll last for as long as I have the vehicle and I don't care if I die first" one time only treatment?

This is the stuff I used.

KBS UnderCoat - Solvent-Based Asphalt Undercoating from KBS Coatings

KBS UnderCoat is a superior automotive undercoating that provides protection in wheel wells, gas tanks, frames, quarter panels, fenders, undercarriages, hoods, decks, and floor pans.

www.kbs-coatings.com

I figured it was one-and-done, but I guess I’ll see how it lasts.

 

[n8in8or]

Once it wears off, fluid film the bare stuff. It will turn black in a few weeks and will creep for a very long time.

I’m hoping this stuff doesn’t wear off, but I really applied it largely for noise control and secondarily for rust protection. I’m relying on the Rust Seal for the rust protection. I’ll keep the Fluid Film in mind for future projects though, thanks.

 

[jrsavoie]

Once it wears off, fluid film the bare stuff. It will turn black in a few weeks and will creep for a very long time.

I never had great longevity with fluid film.

But it's a whole bunch easier on my lungs than Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector.

Mostly I used whatever oil I had handy

 

[n8in8or]

This was a cool milestone to reach tonight.



I had to add a 1/4” spacer under the front driver side to make it sit decent…..not perfect, but decent.



I guess I misjudged the height of the shock mounts. Hopefully I can work around this. I don’t recall what that stud was for.

 

[Husker6.5]

Servicing?

 

[dbrannon79]

Good thing you hadn't already mounted the shocks with the bolt head on the wrong side! that would have made for an "wlkrp" moment later when trying to remove the shock lol.

 

[n8in8or]

Good thing you hadn't already mounted the shocks with the bolt head on the wrong side! that would have made for an "wlkrp" moment later when trying to remove the shock lol.

So true!!

 

[n8in8or]

And I figured out why it’s so close - the frame this cab came off of had a homemade body lift on it. I was using that to measure for the location of the mounts. I had looked at it multiple times over a couple different days and the last time I apparently forgot to subtract the body lift thickness from the measurements. Hopefully I don’t have problems with steering and AC clearance now. I’ll be check those post haste.

 

[Husker6.5]

Still don't know what the stud was for?

 

[n8in8or]

Still don't know what the stud was for?

Not yet. Haven’t looked into it yet.

 

[dbrannon79]

How big of a stud was it? might have been for a ground strap to the frame.

 

[Husker6.5]

Or it could have been put out to pasture when it could no longer provide stud service!

 

[n8in8or]

I confirmed that both the steering and the HVAC clear the shock mounts with plenty of room. Phew.

I did some image searching online to see what that stud is for and it appears to be for some kind of steel line, like the vacuum line for the trans, which I don’t need anyway. I didn’t think it was critical and this seems to confirm it.

https://www.chevyhardcore.com/tech-stories/interior/flaming-river-steering-column-swap/

The rest of the night I started working on rust and screw hole repair on the passenger side of the firewall.



Oh and I also hung a fender real quick to get an idea of how tall this was sitting. Of course it will be lower once the drivetrain is in and the flatbed is on, but still, it’s pretty tall considering those are 35s.

 

[dbrannon79]

are you planning to use the factory style AC/Heat setup or something aftermarket like from Vintage Air? they make some neat custom setups that are more robust in terms of keeping the cab cool or warm. Plus giving more room and a clean look under the hood.