nice and clean, but stock '85 S-10
Blazer. Nice in it's present form, but in
need of some custom touches.
about 3" off the frame to fit the roll pan
on. A sawzall works wonders for this
one. Cut the frame all the way back to
the body mounts to make sure you've
got ample room to work. After that, take
some time to clean everything up. A
sand blaster or wire brush works well to
pull all the rust and dirt off the frame. Hit
everything with a rust-preventative paint,
such as Rustoleum or, if you can, a can
of POR-15 or Eastwood Chassis Black.
welding magnets come in handy. A good
roll pan won't require any trimming, but
test fit it just in case, and buzz down any
extra metal. Use the magnets to hold
everything in place, making sure the gap
between the tailgate and roll pan is even
all the way across, and tack the pan into
place. Place tack welds every 1.5-2" ,
being VERY careful not to warp the
pan. Place more tacks in between the
original welds, again, slowly to prevent
over heating. Then, fill the seam with
small stitch welds in between the tacks,
skiping every other one to keep from
warping. Repeat untill you have a solid
weld, and grind smooth.
you should have. Nice, smooth welds
with little need for body filler. Next,
figgure out where you want your tag box
and start measuring. The tailgate has a
strange shape to it, so you'll need to
make sure you'll have enough room for
the box. You'll need to come at least 3.5
inches in from the side, and about 5.5
from the bottom to clear the inside of the
gate. Trace the shape of the box onto
the gate with a grease marker, making
sure to keep it square with the rest of
your tailgate.
traced on, time to cut. The best tools for
this one are a) Air nibbler b)Air cutoff
wheel or c)Sawzall...in that order. I used
the cutoff wheel. make sure and cut to
the inside of the traced line, and take
your time. You can always grind out a
little extra if the hole is too small, but it's
a pain to fill gaps if you cut it too big. In
the end, you should have a nice, big hole
in your tailgate.
excess sheet metal around the edge of
the hole for a perfect fit. Remember, you
don't wan to take too much off. The box
should slide in for a nice, tight fit. Follow
the same steps for welding as the roll
pan, starting with tack welds, then filling
with stitch welds being VERY careful
not to warp anything.
grinding everything smooth, remove a decent
ammount of the paint and begin prepping for filler.
Remember that filler sticks best to bare steel. Give
your self ample room to smooth out any
imperfections. Rough up the bare steel with no less
than 80 grit sand paper. I prefer 36 grit when
possible. The rougher you get the steel, the better
mechanical bond you'll have between the filler and
the pannel. After sanding, use a tack cloth or some
grease remover and clean wherever you'll be
putting filler. Start applying filler in small ammounts
over the welds and any areas you may have
warped. DO NOT try to gob on 1/2" of filler at a
time. It will be harder to work with, and that much
filler will eventually crack off. Thin coats, sanding
between each is the only way to a smooth finish.
light coat of primer over where you've
just finished your filler, let it dry and
lightly sand. The low spots will stay
primered, and the high spots will show
filler. Keep sanding and filling till it's
smooth. Remember, thin, even coats.
When you've finally got it smooth, you'll
probably notice some little tiny holes in
the filler. Those are pin holes. They're air
bubbles in the filler that show when you
sand through them. The best way to get
rid of these, and any other MINOR
imperfections in the final filler is with a
glazing compound, also called icing. It is,
for the most part, just a thinner version
of body filler. Mix it up as you would
regular filler and appply a thin coat over
your filler work. Let dry and sand
smooth. (the pink in this pic is the glazing
compound, the blue is the filler)
and smoothed. time for primer. Make
sure and use a good sealer/primer if
you're going to be driving it around for a
while before you paint it. If possible,
avoid spray can primers. Most are
laquer based, and actually pull moisture
in and will begin rusting. Do a final sand
with 100 grit, scuffing everything and
feathering the edges of the original paint
so there are no visable lines. Mask off
any areas you don't want primered.
Again, use a tack rag and grease
remover to make sure the whole area is
nice and clean, and spray. Wait 10-15
minutes between coats, an spray nice,
thin coats to ensure proper adhesion and
coverage. I sprayed 4 good, thin coats
just to be safe. Remove tape after it
dries and, voila, you have a new rear
end!!
a nice spot, the cops will notice you.
Make sure you have some lighting. the 2
easiest ways of doing this are either a
lighted license plate frame, or lighted
studs, both available through your local
custom shop or on-line retailer. Just wire
them up to the wire for your stock light,
make sure you have a propper ground,
and you're on your way!!!