Chassis blasting

Unusually for me I decided simply to pay someone to blast the chassis and it turned out to be a good call because the whole thing was blasted and primed in about three hours; it would have taken me weeks! especially since the existing paint turned out to be very tough.

Paul and Chris from Blast Tech NZ did a great job - really thorough. Paul recommended I made up a see-saw on two oil drums so that he could easily tip the chassis to and fro to get at all the angles

The blasting kit is all self-contained on a truck with a seriously large diesel compressor

Blasting nozzle with headlight is a great idea

Paul in action

Chris takes over for a session

As if by magic...

The pink primer is a good idea too. It allows them easily to see where they have been over the grey blasted surface without wasting paint. It's a two pack epoxy.

Bare Bones

With all the pipes out, some good weather and a decent Christmas break it was time to do the final strip-down.

I built a wooden frame that supports the chassis rails

Then off with the front axle

And finally the bare bones ready for steam cleaning, blasting and painting

The axles I will probably just clean and put them back on after the chassis has been painted. I don't really want to get involved with dismantling them all; I'm not building a 'show' truck

I'm hoping that the new-looking caps and grease nipples means that the king pins have been replaced not too long ago ?

The answer is 34!

In case you ever wondered how many air pipes there are in a TK...

...the answer is 34!

Biting the bullet

With the cab off and engine out the chassis looked increasingly shabby compared with my lovely new cab so I decided to bite the bullet and strip it down for blasting and painting; I was hoping not to bother but there you go.

There are a LOT of bits to remove and in particular a lot of pipework. I drew diagrams and got to point where I think I understand how it all works before starting dismantling it all. I am taking loads of photos of where everything goes and then using Windows Paint to label the photos. I started adding some diagrams to another page of this blog under Reference Material.

Here is an example of the photos for a single air pipe. It seems very anal I know but I am also sure that I will never remember how to get it back together any other way.

Then there is a list of pipes in a spreadsheet

Engine out

As the title says, I lifted the engine and gearbox

Had no idea that it would be so heavy. It is right on the limit of what the front end loader will lift. I will certainly need some help getting it back in again but there is a local chap with a hiab on a small truck so I may ask for his help.

The only casualties were the small unloader plastic hose to the compressor and the two front engine mounts that just fell apart.

Got straight to it and pressure washed all the chassis and pipework that was inaccessible with the engine in place

Old cab off

After being a bit slack for the last month or two (actually putting some extra lights and sockets into my workshop) I finally got the chassis parked up where it won't be too much in the way and took the old cab off. Summer is coming in this part of the world so it does not matter too much if it is all parked out for a few months.

It was a much quicker job than I expected, bring out the imperial spanners -

1. Remove pedals (2)
2. Unplug wiring loom
3. Disconnect steering column
4. Disconnect earth strap
5. Disconnect engine stop cable
6. Disconnect throttle linkage
7. Disconnect radiator filler hose
8. Disconnect air filter and breathers (2)
9. Remove gear lever
10. Disconnect handbrake pipes (2)
11. Disconnect emergency brake valve pipes (2)
12. Disconnect speedo cable
13. Disconnect pipes to brake pressure gauges (2)
14. Remove alternator regulator
15. Remove cab bolts (4)

With no windscreen fitted all you need is some forks on the front-end loader and a plank...

The coolant came out clean as a whistle which is encouraging considering how many years it's been in there!

I marked some pipes with paint and took plenty of photos.

Cab spraying complete

My spraying is passable but not great so for the outside of the cab I called in my brother, Hugh, who has done quite a bit of spraying: boats rather than cars.

The scheme is to - 

1. Mask up all the openings so that the overspray does not spoil the previous work
2. Wet the floor with water to keep the dust down.
3. Wipe the whole thing down with wax and grease remover
4. Wipe the whole thing over with a tack rag to remove dust
5. One light coat that just covers everything
6. Wait for the coat to be just dry enough to touch without it coming off on your finger
7. One heavy coat and wait for it to be just dry again
8. Thin the paint and one final coat
9. Walk away and leave it alone for 24 hours

Spraying the first coat video

The man at work

And the finished article -