BillyBob Work-in-Progress Log

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS is the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I can accomplish without a garage.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

26. Two-Forty A/C

Two-Forty or "240" air conditioning is what is in BillyBob. Two windows open and forty miles per hour, that is. Actually, the cab can be quite comfortable, I think, without aftermarket air conditioning with proper insulation and seat materials. The two vent windows in the door provide the most relief, supplemented by the cowl vent. I am also installing a Trico rubber-bladed vacuum fan for psychological cooling purposes (it really doesn't push much air but fools the brain a bit). But most of that is still in the future. Gonna be fixin' the broken passenger side vent window in this log entry.

December 8^th 2002  I was a Boy Scout once (and still support them 'cept for the politically correct San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia councils) but, I wasn't prepared when I got here this morning. After getting computer backups started at the Krash Lab, I headed out to Home Depot for some mineral spirits. Picked up a Campbell Hausfeld Standard Duty Detail Spray Gun as an "impulse buy" too. I've voiced my disappointment with clogged rattlecans in these log entries and "Tony M" from the stovebolt.com forums suggested a detail spray gun as a partial solution . . . You don't have to suggest a shiny new tool to me twice. The spray gun was missing its spray control knob so, I have another trip back to Home Depot ahead of me.

Still working on the used passenger side vent assembly I purchased from American Classic Truck Parts. I'm trying to take apart the vent window today. The vent window handle is held on its shaft with a 3/32" pin. I was lucky in that a few months ago I bought a Pittsburgh 13 pc. Pin Punch Set from Harbor Freight when it was on sale. It has the 3/32" punch which allowed me to get the old vent handle off in less than a minute.

I needed the mineral spirits for separating the vent window glass from its frame. It is the recommended procedure in the Shop Manual. Jim Richards, In his Classic Car Restorer's Handbook, uses gasoline for the same task. I put the mineral spirits in a spray bottle and started wetting down the vent window every few minutes. Also took the advice of Billy "Hoot" Gibson from one of his ole trucks mailist response posts.

Very carefully Get two pieces of flat bar about three inches long wrap friction tape around both ends of both bars,about 4 wraps each put the bars on each side of the glass, get a pair of vise grips clamp them to the bars and start working the glass very slowly pulling outward with one hand and using a small screwdriver working the tip in the top and bottom of the glass and channel, that's where you have to be carefully because you can break the glass if you put to much pressure on the glass. Good luck it worked for me and that's the way we did it in the 50's. HooT58

I wasn't concerned about saving the glass I was removing, so I wasn't as careful as Billy suggests. He's right. carelessness with the screwdriver will break the glass in short order. I did break the glass but got it out in mostly one piece.

December 28^th 2002  Went back to Home Depot. Their return policy is setup for Home Depot management operational efficiency. What this means is that they didn't want to give me the missing part. They just wanted to give me my money back. If I wanted to, I could locate the spray gun again and buy another one. I decided to order a cheaper gun from Harbor Freight instead. I ordered a Central Pneumatic Touch-Up Spray Gun (item #00086) and a Central Pneumatic Air Angle Die Grinder Kit (#41655), both of which were on sale. The air grinder was a replacement for one that malfunctioned during the floor pan Stage I repair over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Also ordered a Rechargable Aerosol Spray Can (#01102). They arrived earlier this week.

March 2^nd 2003  Sandblasted the three subassemblies of the passenger side vent window assembly today. Took about three hours. The whole time this was going on, I argued with myself about whether to powdercoat the subassemblies or further disassemble them to their basic elements. By the time I finished sandblasting, the further disassembly option had won out. Decided to do the best job I could based on the current state of my tool chest and knowledge. This operation is something I don't want to do a second time if I don't have to.

March 9^th 2003  Decided to finish the long upright first. Wired the piece up to my homemade powdercoating frame and applied Eastwood's Metal Wash per instructions (using a generic spray bottle). Rinsed with clean water the same way and dried with a hair dryer. Next, Eastwood's Picklex was applied per directions (via spray bottle again) and rinsed with water. Immediately afterwards, the piece was dried and chemicals cooked off using the infared curing lamp. The upright is now streaked with a brown tint (normal results of the picklex, I hope).

The chrome powder from Columbia Coatings went on very nicely. I musta had everything just right this time. I had to "walk" the infared lamp along the length of the piece, curing for fifteen minutes at each position. Powdercoating chrome is a two step process. Both Eastwood and Columbia Coatings provide a clear powder for the second coat. There was a thread in one of the Stovebolt.com forums a while back about this and the consensus was that the clear powder wasn't a very satisfactory solution. At least one fella was using clear coat paint over the chrome powdercoat with better reults. With this in mind, I ordered eight oz. of Pelucid clear topcoat from POR15. I used a Preval disposable spray gun to put the first coat of Pelucid on but, it was so messy, I decided to brush coat the final coat. ~!@#$%^ That was an excercise in futility! The second coat crinkled the chrome powdercoating. I'm gonna have to sandblast again and start over! Some days the bear gets you.

June 28^th 2003  Been away from this task for awhile. Started out today by further disassembling the two vent window frame subassemblies. My portable drill battery charger quit working sometime back and I haven't been able to replace it yet. Since I do have power here under the BillyBob shadetree and I tire of waiting for recharging batteries, I picked up a Black and Decker 1/2" electric drill on my last trip to Home Depot. I drilled out the remaining rivets in the subassemblies with a 1/8" drill bit. Remainder of the day was spent on light maintenance. Gonna spend Independence Day up in Pennslyvania and I've gotta work inside today so the computer network will run smoothly without too many glitches for my co-workers during my two-week absence.

July 20^th 2003  Last Sunday was spent sandblasting vent frame parts and general maintenance. The chrome powdercoat with Pelucid was a failure but it is proving very tough and darn hard to sandblast back off for another try. Next time I have a problem like this, I think I'll try paint remover chemicals. Today I started by blasting the upright a litte more and finished blasting the vent glass frame parts that were exposed by further disassembly. Gonna try to powdercoat those parts and re-assemble today.

Wired the vent glass frame parts into my jerry-rigged powdercoating frame and gave them the Metal Wash and Picklex treatments. Then cooked off the chemicals for about twenty minutes. Applied Columbia Coatings Chrome powder and cured for fifteen minutes, then applied their High Gloss Clear and cured for thirty minutes. The chrome looked great before the clear was applied. It had some of the mirror quality of real chrome or stainless steel. The clear makes it more opaque, unfortunately, and it begins to look more like gloss silver. Good enuf fer govmint work, tho, and I'm not gonna fiddle with it any longer.

August 2^nd 2003  'Sposed to rain today (sixty percent chance) but I've been lucky so far. Mostly did minor maintenance and interior cleaning on my Jeep 'til noon, then started setting up to work on the vent frame some more. Gathered manuals, hammers, mineral oil, new parts, glass setting tape and glass previously purchased from Chevy Duty. Then used C-clamps to anchor my vise (with soft plastic jaw protectors) to a workstation bookcase. I've also got the unrestored driver side vent assembly on hand to study as a guide.

August 3^rd 2003  Yesterday ended in slight disappointment. I was having trouble installing the original type rivets. First, the rivet setting tool was too big to fit in the glass channel so I had to install the rivets backwards to use the tool. Even then, I couldn't get the rivets tight and the tool was maring the surface around the rivet opening. Then I gouged the powdercoated vent frame surface ~!@#$%^. That's it! This morning I went to Home Depot and picked up a box each of steel and aluminium 1/8" short pop rivets. Got stopped by a fella in the parking lot who asked me where "Timmy and Lassie" were. We talked old trucks fer awhile. By the time I got back to the Krash Lab, I'd decided on the steel rivets. I thought I needed the extra strength. The pop rivets work fine. I put a dap of Permatex RTV Silicone Sealant in the hole before installing the rivet and I plan on painting the heads with touch-up silver along with the gouge I put in the vent frame. If I keep making goofy mistakes, I'll end up with a Stage I job that I'll have to revisit down the line.

Installed the bottom vent pivot first. While I had it in the vise, I chased the threads on this pivot with a 5/16" - 24 die to remove the powdercoating. The upper pivot hinge half was next. Then the vent window handle saddle. Sanded down the handle pivot until the new repop chrome handle would fit over it. Will wait until after the glass is in place to install the handle

Time to put the glass in the channel. Clamped the glass in the vise (plastic grips). Unrolled the setting tape and cut off a length two inches longer than the channel. There's 'sposed to be enough setting tape in this roll for both vent windows but, it ain't so, Joe! I'll have to order more before I do the driver side. Used a one inch brush to spread mineral oil on the glass side of the tape (what looked like the front side), then draped it over the glass. Cut some kerf slots in the tape at the bends so it wouldn't kink up too badly. Brushed the vent frame channel with mineral oil and went about the business of pressing it down over the glass and setting tape. Had to back off and try a couple of times before I got a good enuf fit (not perfect but good enough). Lightly tapped the frame with a rubber mallet to seat it better. Used a bungie cord to pinch in the frame ends. After triming the excess setting tape with a utility knife, I will let it cure overnite.

August 10^th 2003  While waiting out thunderstorms that have interrupted my other BillyBob jobs today, I came inside to finish up the vent window. Had to go after the vent window handle pivot with sandpaper and Dremel motor tool before the handle and retaining pin would fit. After that the assembly was cleaned up and bagged to await the finishing of the rest of the vent window assembly. Wanted to sand blast the remaining pieces of the vent window frame today but mother nature is not going to allow that.

August 17^th 2003  yesterday was a day of mixed success and failure with maintenance, chassis and electrical work so, I'm steppin' around the shadetree garage lightly today. Don't want no more setbacks this week! Started by sandblasting the outer vent window frame parts. Then went thru the prep and two-step chrome-clear powdercoating routine.

August 23^rd 2003  Doing maintenance on the Jeep today. BillyBob is up in the warehouse with a slightly toasted electrical charging system but that's a story for another day. Didn't have time last sunday to assemble the outer vent frame so I did that this morning too. Got busy with the RTV Clear Sealant and the pop rivets and re-connected the outer frame mounting brackets and hinge half. The weatherstripping is next but I'm gonna wait until I have the divider upright powdercoated and the rest of the vent window assembly parts ready to go back together.

August 31^rd 2003  Might rain but I dragged out the sandblaster anyway. Finished re-blasting the vent window assembly upright. Weather held so I went on with the Metalwash, Picklex and chemical cookoff steps. Just as the chrome powdercoat stage started to cure, a passing cloud dumped a five-minute rain on the shadetree garage. Had to scramble to get the equipment undercover. When the rain stopped, I examined the damage and judged that I could continue with the curing process. A couple of raindrops had hit the upright below the window line where they will not be seen. Looks like a pox. Murphy's Pox, I guess. Baked on the Clearcoat . . . ~!@#$%^ Some nasty new blemishes in the visible area of the upright. This will have to be done over again! Third time's the charm, I hope.

Got a shiny new tool this week too. BillyBob's doors will have to come off down the road for bodywork (if I ever get the vent windows finished) and since I'm almost always alone when I need an extra hand, I went looking for a door dolly after I saw one on a TV show, Trucks, I think. Found one at TP Tools. Problem was the price tag of $400 plus shipping. On a whim, I searched EBay and found this one for $95 plus $60 shipping. I can live with that.

September 7^th 2003  Not much done this weekend 'cept for "I don't care if it rains" maintenance. I'm still a little gun shy about pullin' out the powdercoating setup during "sixty percent chance of rain" weather reports. As luck would have it, it was overcast, but didn't rain on saturday. "Henri" is a good name for a storm system that turned out to be mostly bluster and of little substance.

September 14^th 2003  Forty percent chance of rain but I'm gonna risk powdercoating the upright again this morning. I lightly sanded the blemished, visible area of the upright yesterday. You can powdercoat over powdercoat so I didn't take it down to bare metal this time. I wasn't sure last time because of the Pelucid clear coat so I played it safe with the sand blaster. Hung the upright up in the powdercoating frame and went through the Chrome and Clear powdercoat processes one more time. Jumpin' ~!@#$%^ It started raining on me again half way thru the Clear coat curing process. I hustled the lamp and powdercoating frame inside. This is really getting old.

September 21^st 2003  Last week I wanted to start re-assembly after the powdercoating but discovered that I didn't have the new window channel that goes in the vent window assembly upright. It was up at the warehouse. I locked up the Krash Lab and went after it. When I got back I realised I was missing another vent window weatherstrip that was also up at the warehouse ~!@#$%^. I gave up for the day. Today I'm more prepared and the first task is to pop-rivet the window channel and vent weatherstrip to the upright . . . Foiled again! I'm gonna need some slightly longer pop rivets - three pieces to be riveted together. 1/8" short rivets don't cut it.

September 28^th 2003  Nice weather today but, as luck would have it, BillyBob is up in his warehouse bay with a leaking wheel cylinder. Did some scheduled maintenance on the Renegade then came inside to work on the vent window assembly. Picked up 1/8" medium length steel pop rivets at Home Depot on friday and they did the trick for connecting the window channel, upright (division channel) and vent window rear weatherstrip together. May have to do some Dremel grinding on the deformed rivet ends when I go to fit the window glass down the road. Won't know til I get there.

Used WD-40 to lube the main vent window weatherstrip which allowed me to slip it into its channel without too much trouble. Then pop riveted the vent window frame to the upright. Sposed to seal the gaps between the two vent window weatherstrip pieces with weatherstrip adhesive, but I'm gonna wait awhile for everything to take a set and the remains of the WD-40 to dissipate.

Put the wing window into the assembly next. Located the vent window tensioning spring I got thru Chevy Duty only to find that it is about TWICE as long as the original and will not fit. Put the old one on instead. Had to deal with the hinge rivet next . . . More than one fella on the maillists has complained that the rivet setting tool obtained thru the vendors (in my case Chevy Duty) does not work . . . They're correct. The shoulder on this thing is too high and will only set the rivet half way. I used the other end of the tool to finish flattening out the rivet end but am not entirely satisfied with my results. Maybe I'm just doin' it wrong.

OK. We're finished here for the time being. Looks like I was too good at seating the vent window glass 'cause there's a slight gap between the edge of the glass and the weatherstrip when closed and I don't know how I'm gonna fix that. This thing is better than a Stage I job but I'm not happy enough with it to call it a professional stage II accomplishment . . . I'll do better on the driver side vent assembly. For those of you who don't want to tackle this yourself, Bowtie Bits rebuilds both the standard black and the deluxe stainless steel vent window assemblies.

Gonna post this log entry and go soak my head in some TV couch potato activity. Got brake and electrical problems to report on down the road along with continued frame and cab work. Also gonna start a travel log soon if BillyBob will cooperate. It's gonna start out with a short beach road run down to Fort Lauderdale and back but everytime I schedule it something breaks on BillyBob to postpone the trip. We'll get there eventually tho'.

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Issued Sunday September 28, 2003

Updated Friday February 16, 2018

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