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where to start?

52chevyga

52chevyga

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Just got my grandfathers 52 chevy out of his shed to completely restore. It was in perfect running condition when he parked it in 1985.. hasn't been moved since. I've gotten it out, completely gutted the inside, and cleaned/pressure washed everything (even the undercarriage) - Where should I start? Should I start by taking out the engine, then bondo/fixing any body damage/rust on the truck, or should I start by taking the bed off and restoring/replacing any suspension parts that may need to be done. I keep wanting to jump around.. I need a list of things (by priority) that I need to achieve. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
RE: where to start

# 1 BRAKES !

# 2 Tires & wheels

# 3 change ALL fluids and then do a _major_ tune up , new battery , belts & hoses etc. .

NOW you can drive it so begin looking at body work and so on , DO NOT take it all apart ! this is the # 1 most common mistake done by enthusiastic beginners ~ the result 99 % of the time is a pile of rusty old parts being junked a couple years later .

Good on ya for wanting to keep Grandpappy's old truck ! .

-Nate
 
RE: where to start

Makes perfect sense..

So should I go out and buy some Haynes manuals? :)
 
RE: where to start

I doubt you will find a Haynes manual that covers your year truck. The Chevrolet shop manual is about all you will find, other than maybe an old Motors Manual. But I only use the shop manual. You can purchase one right here, from chevy duty.
 
RE: where to start

I highly recommend you buy the 1948 - 52 Shop Manual and the matching Factory Assembly Manual. You can find them on line at places like Chevy Duty or several of the other classic truck sites. The shop manual is invaluable as a guide for fixing and tuning. The assembly manual shows factory specs and assembly details as they did it back them. It even shows things like welding diagrams, where they used seals, wiring diagrams, etc. The manuals cover all trucks from 1/2 ton to 2-ton in one book. If you want to keep it fairly stock, this is the way to start.
 
RE: Books & Shop Manuals

Listen to Bossman , he's telling you straight , buy the original owner's manual too and _both_ bed rebuilding booklets and then _READ_
all of them , over and over again , don't worry about getting them dirty or making notes in the margins , they're repro and that's what they're there for .

When you go to buy a Motor's manual , have the seller look on the Chevy tech specs page to ensure it's for your year , they overlap quite a bit .

Be sure to buy a Chevy shop manual to mach your engine's year too , if you have a 235 stuffed in there .

Always keep a legal pad and pen pr pencil near the truck as you'll be doing one thing and think of a part or job you need to do/get and having paper close by to jot down reminders helps a _LOT_ .

For this old guy anyway =8-) .

-Nate
 
RE: Books & Shop Manuals

Thanks for all the input.. I know my mind is going 100mph right now thinking of everything that needs to be done. It's almost driving me crazy hahah.. I guess that's normal though :)

I'm starting with the brakes/brake lines/master cylinder, and then I'm going to do what was suggested and get the engine flushed and get it tuned up.. that way it runs.. then I'll begin the interior.. I think the body repair/paint/suspension will be one of the last things I do.. the reason for this is because I'll have to take the bed and fenders and everything off to get it ready for paint, so I'm going to work on the suspension then.. then when EVERYTHINGS done, I'll rebuild the engine..

This sound like an OK plan? :)
 
RE: Refurbishment

Yes , it does to me ~ you may well find that the engine does _NOT_ need rebuilding at all ~ these things were designed to work and last ,
think about it = it's 50 years old and still going , even if you rebuild it , it'll leak oil and run the same unless you have bad compression etc. .

Even if it smokes or has a burned valve you'll find it far easier to do an " in frame " overhaul as it was designed to be done .

Being able to drive it whilst you're working on it will keep your interest up .

You can remove the bed and hand the taillight off the frame horn and continue driving whilst you spend a month or two rebuilding the bed ,
when it's finished you can leave it on saw horses and begine the cab corner repairs etc. , this keeps your eye on the ball .
ENJOY the work and you'll enjoy the truck , & vise versa .

-Nate
 
RE: Refurbishment

[updated:LAST EDITED ON Mar-08-06 AT 12:20 PM (CST)]Got some pics...

http://www.elasticdesigns.com/1.gif
http://www.elasticdesigns.com/2.gif

There actually isn't much body damage at all. My grandpa had parked it in 1985 and it was running perfect and everything. I'm having a guy that owns a body shop come look at it today and price me.. I'm figuring a good paint job will cost around $1500 or so..

I'm going to start painting the interior soon after I get the engine running.. of course I'm going to sand down everything to get it nice and smooth.. where can I buy some good car paint? (to paint the dash, the seat frame, etc..)?

Thanks! :)
 
RE: Refurbishment

Get the Chevy Duty catalog for the year range for your truck. They have both original interior colors and exterior colors if you want to keep it that way. My experience has been that Chevy Duty is almost always the best price for parts compared to other sources. You will be able to get things like headliner, door panels, floor mats, dash parts, etc. Just about everything in the cab is available including screw kits. Generally, if you spend more than $300.00 on an order, shipping is free. Boy, I sound like a commercial... but these guys are good for us.

Be sure to pull the plugs, squirt some oil in the cylinders, and turn it over by hand a few times (with the electronics turned off) to make sure the engine cylinders are lubed a bit before you try to start it. Of course, check the plugs, points, distributer, etc. while you are at it. I have heard of guys just pouring gas in the carb and trying to start 'er up. This can lead to bent valves, broken valve stems, etc. Just make sure she's freed up before kicking it over.
 
RE: Refurbishment

Ummmm, WOW.. I had a guy come by here to look at my truck today. He owns a body shop and he's the best around and comes highly recommended. Well, I thought he'd price me at $1500-$2500 for a nice paint job. Well, he priced me at $8,000.. that is for fixing all body damage (which isnt that much), sanding it down, 2 coats of primer, several coats of base and several clear coats and blocking it off several times... This seems like wayyyy too much, or maybe I just didn't expect it. Is this about right?????

Thanks!
 
RE: Refurbishment

He isn't that far out of line if he is doing a good custom job. I used a shop on my roadster a couple of years back and ended up spending $40K for all the body work and paint. Just painting was $3500.00. The going rate for custom work nowadays seems to be around $75.00 an hour plus materials. That's why a lot of us are doing most of our truck stuff by ourselves. I am also learning a lot as I go and having more fun. Keep in mind that you probably will never get out of it what you spend if you go to a shop for all the work. A lot depends on what kind of paint, number of colors, is he disassembling things like fenders and shooting them, then reassembling, etc. If he is just doing a "Maaco" or "Spraycraft" job, then he is way high.
 
RE: Refurbishment

Good looking truck there. Interesting, it is a 5 window, but I do not see any signs of the deluxe cab option. Someone once said the corner windows could come without the deluxe cab option. Guess he was correct.
 
RE: Refurbishment

Thanks for the compliment.. and for the painting, he wanted me to bring him all of the parts totally disassembled, then he was going to sandblast the entire thing. He was going to fix every piece of body damange on the truck, patching stuff up... he said it would be as slick as glass when he's threw with it. I was talking to a couple of other people today and they said that $8,000 wasn't too bad... of course, the paint job will be the ONLY thing I have a shop do. Everything else like brakes, suspension, engine will be done at my home.. so I'm figuring when everything is done, I'll have about $12k in it...
 
RE: Refurbishment

I'm going to let him do the paint job.. $8,000 but he is doing EVERYTHING. He's even painting the interior of the cab back to its original color. He's also painting the engine as well. Over the next week, I'm going to start disassembling the body.. then I'm taking the frame to get sandblasted, then I'm going to paint the frame and work on suspension/brakes while the pieces are at the body shop. He's even going to come to my house after he paints them and said he will help reassemble the truck.. he's actually one of the best painters I've ever seen. He showed me a Mustang he painted 16 years ago and the paint still looks like glass, so thats cool... WISH ME LUCK! :)
 
RE: Refurbishment

Cool.. I just got my 1947-1954 factory assembly manual today.. I've never seen something so detailed haha.. anyways, where can I find the paint codes or is that in another book? I need to know what my interior and all of that is. I know the exterior of my truck is "Marina Blue", but not sure about the inside...
 
RE: Refurbishment

It is actually called "mariner blue", but you were close! As for paint codes, all you do is have to ask. Mariner blue's current PPG paint code is 10419. Interior color kind of a "champagne" color, I cannot find a good paint code I am happy with, but Chevy Duty sells a real close color, and I recommend that.

You may have found a good deal with that painter. Will he also install any patch panels if they are needed with that price? You may discover some rust damage that is beyond welding repair with the sand blasting.
 
RE: Refurbishment

Thanks!

And yes, he said he'd install any patch panels needed, would sand blast everything, paint the interior of the cab back to its original color, paint the engine to look brand new and several other things.. he listed a lot.. all for $8,000.. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it's a good price. He said if the truck was rusted really bad, it would have costed about $20k to do all of the body work. Thanks again for the paint code info..
 
RE: Refurbishment

That's a nice looking truck there , glad you can afford to have it properly painted , the top dollar guys can make it not only look as new again but it'll last a long time .

Be SURE he knows the engine color is _GREY_ ~ not blue or orange/red !

Few non vintage truck painters know this and once it's painted the wrong color , every place you take it to , folks will comment on that one tiny detail and ignore the fabulous Mariner Blue paint job that's going to be -so- sweet .

-Nate
 
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