Dad's Truck Build

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - Just got a text from John, the paint/body man, and he'll call me on Monday with the info. We are headed to T-town that day so I should be able to pick the adhesive, as well as the rivets, up. And in the midst of that is, I think, an implied I'll-loan-you-the-tool.

Shaun - It was tough to do. But, having already had an E4OD built and installed, something had to be done and this looked like the least-bad solution. In the end it'll work out fine and with the bedliner below and sound deadener above no one will be able to see it.

Yesterday I got all the bits and pieces to put the patch on the floor:

• SEM 39747 Multi-Purpose Panel Adhesive: This stuff has a 90 minute working time, 4 hour set time, and 24 hour cure time

• Dominion Sure Seal's Primer/Coating Cold Galvanizing Compound to paint the patch with before installing and after I media-blast it. But, I'll have to tape the mating surface so the adhesive is bonding to bare metal. This was John's recommendation, and provides both corrosion protection as well as "tooth" for the bed liner he will shoot on.

• Marson 3/16" stainless rivets with a grip range of .062 to .270".

So the plan for the day is to go up to John's and borrow the "gun" for the adhesive, come back and blast the patch, mask and paint, and while it is drying strip the paint off the mating surface on the floor.

Then I'll mix the adhesive spread it on, run the screws in, and then pull them one at a time, drill the hole to specs, and install the rivets.

And then I'll have to clean up the mess! There will probably be adhesive everywhere, so that will take a bit of cleanup.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yesterday I got all the bits and pieces to put the patch on the floor:

• SEM 39747 Multi-Purpose Panel Adhesive: This stuff has a 90 minute working time, 4 hour set time, and 24 hour cure time

• Dominion Sure Seal's Primer/Coating Cold Galvanizing Compound to paint the patch with before installing and after I media-blast it. But, I'll have to tape the mating surface so the adhesive is bonding to bare metal. This was John's recommendation, and provides both corrosion protection as well as "tooth" for the bed liner he will shoot on.

• Marson 3/16" stainless rivets with a grip range of .062 to .270".

So the plan for the day is to go up to John's and borrow the "gun" for the adhesive, come back and blast the patch, mask and paint, and while it is drying strip the paint off the mating surface on the floor.

Then I'll mix the adhesive spread it on, run the screws in, and then pull them one at a time, drill the hole to specs, and install the rivets.

And then I'll have to clean up the mess! There will probably be adhesive everywhere, so that will take a bit of cleanup.

The labyrinth (?) nozzle should do all the mixing for you.

Instructions should say to discard the first x inches of bead to ensure proper mixing/ratio.

Or something like that....

So glad to see you getting closer and closer to your ideal interpretation of Dad's Truck!

Progress is good.

ETA, this is good hand cleaner.

Be sure to get the Special Ultra.

It smells like green apples.

[Gary Lewis]

The labyrinth (?) nozzle should do all the mixing for you.

Instructions should say to discard the first x inches of bead to ensure proper mixing/ratio.

Or something like that....

So glad to see you getting closer and closer to your ideal interpretation of Dad's Truck!

Progress is good.

ETA, this is good hand cleaner.

Be sure to get the Special Ultra.

It smells like green apples.

Yes, that nozzle should mix it well. And, I now have the gun, have sanded the parts to bare metal and am about to do the deed.

HOWEVER, John said my plan to pull the patch down with screws and then swap the screws out for a rivet, one at a time isn't good. I need to leave a little space between the two pieces of metal so there is some of the epoxy between them.

Given that, I'm going to run a few of the screws in just to align the patch and then start installing rivets. But, I won't tighten them down much and certainly won't "pop" them until tomorrow after the epoxy has set up.

Sound like a good plan?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yes, that nozzle should mix it well. And, I now have the gun, have sanded the parts to bare metal and am about to do the deed.

HOWEVER, John said my plan to pull the patch down with screws and then swap the screws out for a rivet, one at a time isn't good. I need to leave a little space between the two pieces of metal so there is some of the epoxy between them.

Given that, I'm going to run a few of the screws in just to align the patch and then start installing rivets. But, I won't tighten them down much and certainly won't "pop" them until tomorrow after the epoxy has set up.

Sound like a good plan?

Good to me.

I'd imagine someone who does this for a living would have an air tool that punches the hole and creates a dimple at the same time, leaving the proper film thickness of bonder.

[Gary Lewis]

Good to me.

I'd imagine someone who does this for a living would have an air tool that punches the hole and creates a dimple at the same time, leaving the proper film thickness of bonder.

John doesn't have fancy equipment like that. But, he's sure done a lot of body work and knows his stuff.

Ok, the floor patch is in place and it looks like the process of snugging the rivets up worked. I started in the center and worked to the ends like torquing a head. And I got some of the goo squeezing out all 'round. But then I went back to the center and made another pass as the rivets there had gotten loose. But after two passes all were snug and I cleaned things up as best I could.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

[1986F150Six]

John doesn't have fancy equipment like that. But, he's sure done a lot of body work and knows his stuff.

Ok, the floor patch is in place and it looks like the process of snugging the rivets up worked. I started in the center and worked to the ends like torquing a head. And I got some of the goo squeezing out all 'round. But then I went back to the center and made another pass as the rivets there had gotten loose. But after two passes all were snug and I cleaned things up as best I could.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Fine work and well documented!

[Gary Lewis]

The labyrinth (?) nozzle should do all the mixing for you.

Instructions should say to discard the first x inches of bead to ensure proper mixing/ratio.

Or something like that....

So glad to see you getting closer and closer to your ideal interpretation of Dad's Truck!

Progress is good.

ETA, this is good hand cleaner.

Be sure to get the Special Ultra.

It smells like green apples.

Jim - Sorry, I missed this. Yes, the nozzle did mix it nicely. And I was told to run 2" of stuff out before installing the nozzle. What it didn't say is that you'd better have a strong grip. I now understand why there is a pneumatic applicator. I broke out in a sweat getting the adhesive in place.

As for the hand cleaner, I may give it a try. I have been using Permatex's Grease Grabber, and even bought the dispenser. But the only way it works well is to get a gob of it in the palm of your hand and add a squirt of Dawn. That combo works pretty well. But, for the price I'm not impressed.

Fine work and well documented!

Thanks, David. I really wanted to document this as I went 'cause I suspect someone else is going to want to put an E4OD in their 4wd Bullnose and I thought they should know one way to solve the floor problem.

 

[Steve83]

...a gob of it in the palm of your hand and add a squirt of Dawn. That combo works pretty well. But, for the price I'm not impressed.

For general filth, I typically reach for the orange-flavored slime with pumice. It gets average dirt out of my fingerprints without much effort. For the really-greasy grime, I use plain Gojo (or almost any other brand) of waterless cream. In either case, it's critical to apply & work the cleaner BEFORE any water; and use a fingernail brush, fingernail scrubber, or non-stick pot scrubber to break up the heavy spots. Rinsing while scrubbing the last spots usually results in hands that don't look like they've been grimy in weeks. Then I follow up with Dawn to remove the odor of the other cleaners.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The labyrinth (?) nozzle should do all the mixing for you.

Instructions should say to discard the first x inches of bead to ensure proper mixing/ratio.

Or something like that....

So glad to see you getting closer and closer to your ideal interpretation of Dad's Truck!

Progress is good.

ETA, this is good hand cleaner.

Be sure to get the Special Ultra.

It smells like green apples.

Jim - Sorry, I missed this. Yes, the nozzle did mix it nicely. And I was told to run 2" of stuff out before installing the nozzle. What it didn't say is that you'd better have a strong grip. I now understand why there is a pneumatic applicator. I broke out in a sweat getting the adhesive in place.

As for the hand cleaner, I may give it a try. I have been using Permatex's Grease Grabber, and even bought the dispenser. But the only way it works well is to get a gob of it in the palm of your hand and add a squirt of Dawn. That combo works pretty well. But, for the price I'm not impressed.

Fine work and well documented!

Thanks, David. I really wanted to document this as I went 'cause I suspect someone else is going to want to put an E4OD in their 4wd Bullnose and I thought they should know one way to solve the floor problem.

Gary,

The handcleaner was an afterthought when you mentioned how messy the the panel bond might be.

While i'll use Fast Orange w/ pumice or regular Goop for grease, in my work when I get caulk, paint or most glues on my hands that little tube in my truck is very convenient.

Of course nothing on the planet will remove polyurethane glues like Gorilla glue or PL Premium construction adhesive.

The pneumatic gun is almost twice as expensive as the manual one and doesn't work at all if you don't have a convenient source of air.

So, there IS that...

When you mention John doesn't have a need for fancy tools, if he is using panel bond on any visible parts he's surely using a punch and flange tool already.

I was suggesting that the punch die could incorporate a countersink.

Automagically providing proper film thickness and making it almost impossible to squeeze it too much.

Hmmm, maybe this is my next million dollar idea. (no chin scratching or light bulb emoticon)

Anyway, it looks great and I'm sure you're glad to get past this last hurdle on your way to mating cab and chassis.

Congratulations!

 

[Gary Lewis]

Gary,The handcleaner was an afterthought when you mentioned how messy the the panel bond might be.While i'll use Fast Orange w/ pumice or regular Goop for grease, in my work when I get caulk, paint or most glues on my hands that little tube in my truck is very convenient.Of course nothing on the planet will remove polyurethane glues like Gorilla glue or PL Premium construction adhesive.The pneumatic gun is almost twice as expensive as the manual one and doesn't work at all if you don't have a convenient source of air.So, there IS that...When you mention John doesn't have a need for fancy tools, if he is using panel bond on any visible parts he's surely using a punch and flange tool already.I was suggesting that the punch die could incorporate a countersink. Automagically providing proper film thickness and making it almost impossible to squeeze it too much.Hmmm, maybe this is my next million dollar idea. (no chin scratching or light bulb emoticon)Anyway, it looks great and I'm sure you're glad to get past this last hurdle on your way to mating cab and chassis.Congratulations!

Jim - I like the idea of the punch die having a countersink. Go for it! Invent it.

But I didn't mean to imply that John doesn't have a need for fancy tools. Just that he doesn't have them. He didn't even have a rotisserie until I came along, but I took mine up and he is still using it - which is great 'cause I don't need it as he does my body work.

As for the hand cleaner, I carry a tube of Fast Orange in my tool box for use when out and about. I just need to find the "right" cleaner for the shop. Years ago I won a wall-mounted dispenser for Go Jo, but while it was convenient it leaked and there was always a mess under it. So I thought the Permatex dispenser would be the way to go, but I'm not too happy with it. Maybe I'll go back to the 2 gallon plastic bottle with a pump on top.

Anyway, thanks for the congrat's! Yes, I am really looking forward to getting past this last hurdle. In fact, when John comes down and applies the bed liner under the cab I'm taking a break on Dad's truck and moving on to Big Blue. (If only I knew exactly what to do to BB. )