Disassembly of my Pickup

[gdr05a]

Thanks for the help on the other thread everyone.

Ok, I have sort of a complicated question, but if anyone has advice or tips, well, that would be nice.

I'm thinking about disassembling my truck this summer, sandblasting the chassis, painting it (it is really rusty), and doing some suspension work while I have everything pulled apart. I'll post a build thread with pictures if I do.

Anyway, I have never removed a cab and/or bed from a frame before... what does this entail? Can I remove the bed and cab without removing the engine and transmission? Can I use some sort of engine hoist to remove the bed or what do I need? How about the cab?

...Oh, and I can weld, but I don't currently have a welder. Does anyone have any recommendations on a decent welder that is sort of all-purpose, like a MIG welder or something, that won't break the piggy bank?

If anyone has ever disassembled their truck before, I figure you might have some experience. Thanks.

 

[BHBurban]

You can use an engine hoist to remove the engine, cab, and bed.
What you really need to do is take pictures of everything (assembled) and bag and tag everything. These types of projects almost always take longer than expected, and things get misplaced, moved, and you forget where stuff goes, and how it goes back together.
As for a welder, do you have 220V? As with anything, get the biggest welder you can afford.

 

[Mike]

Engine you need a hoist, cab, frame and bed you can move with a couple people.

I would take off the front radiator shell and pull the entire engine tranny transfer case out in one shot first to make it easier to get in and around everything and you can see all the wires that way.

 

[71 cuda man]

Good luck on your project.I'm in the process right now of pulling truck apart.Its not as hard as it looks.Just remember to label everything especially your wires.I use white electrical tape with a sharpe.Get a couple of boxes of baggies for your bolts.When you remove a part put those bolts in a baggie and label it.As for the frame & suspension parts after you get done cleaning everything I use zinc chromate primer & outboard engine paint on all under carriage.I find this works great,when it drys completely its as tough as nails.The way I see it if these products are made to go into salt water then they wiil work great on auto/trucks.I've used this on many cars I've restored with great results.I personally like to go with gun metal gray & Mercury black.yamaha blue metallic looks great with semi flat black also.Just take your time remove one part at a time clean it, paint it,label it & put it away til your ready for assembly.
Good luck you should be fine just take your time & post some pix when you got it all painted up.

 

[bizzo15]

I have absolutely no experience with the disassembly of a pickup truck but I hope you post a thread with lots of pics because it's definitely something i'd be interested in doing to my truck someday. As far as repainting the chassis I recommend por15. I've used the stuff on other rusty metals and it works great. You can paint it directly over the rust aka "Paint Over Rust 15" and it chemically converts the rust and stops it from spreading. They also sell a chassis coat for exactly what you're doing that you paint on after the por15. Check out their website www.por15.com they have some really good products. Good luck! and I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[71 cuda man]

I used POR 15 years ago & really didn't like the results I got out of it.I dont think its worth the money,but hey everyone is different.I found it just didn't adhere to the metal as good.I used the stuff on a 69 Superbee I redid & ended up stripping it back off.

 

[bizzo15]

It worked godo when i used it if you are using it on bare metal you have to use their metal ready product which i think is just a self etching primer. POR 15 is really meant to be used on seasoned metal that is rusty.