Tinkering with Deerslayer

DEERSLAYER LINKS including vendor sites for parts and tools as well as sites for old truck and hot rod organizations

TINKERING WITH DEERSLAYER chronicles the day-by-day maintenance and improvements episodes for Deerslayer, a '37 Chevy farm truck hot rod.

CRUISIN' WITH DEERSLAYER Roadtrips, cruise-in's and truck show stories and tall tales.

TONY'S DUNGEON Tony Pascarella's forum entries at OldGMCtrucks.com regarding Deerslayer, particularly the 302 GMC engine build in his farmhouse basement.

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

PROJECT NAILHEAD Chronicles the rebuild of a 1954 Buick Roadmaster 322 nailhead engine as a future replacement for Deerslayer's Jimmy 302.

46. Rollin' Paint

April 13^th 2020  Shop inventory continues with the left side of the corner sit down work bench. On top is a 9 qt heated, ultrasonic cleaner, 2 small parts muffin tins, parts pan, long tweezers, and a Maglite with dead, corroded batteries. In the corner below is a tire leak test tub and medium funnel.

Left to right is a plastic tool box containing a 3/8" drill motor, wire wheels, flap wheel, wool buffs, and two trays on assorted steel and wood drill bits, hole gauges and hole saws. My Uncle Tom Kephart included this in the mother lode of tools he gave me when he and my Aunt Marianne were selling their house in Melbourne.

Next is a Rigid bore scope, and a small tool kit with most of the tools missing. Only items remaining are electrical tape, feeler gauge, terminals and wire stripper/crimper. Next is a body hammer and dolly kit, DeWalt hammer drill and 5 parts trays.

To the left of the bench is a broken shop fridge with a vintage metal cooler on top. A small plastic cooler is inside the vintage cooler.

Inside the shop fridge is a computer tool set, wire nut collection, crimper/striper, CalTerm wiring tool set, box of car bulbs, grommets, flasher, another box of bulbs, fuses, terminals, 6 rolls of electrical tape and a battery tender.

April 14^th 2020  Sanded the first coat of Rustoleum International Red paint with 240 grit, using the Dura-Block system. There are a lot of shallow depressions in the roof I didn't see before. I could easily spend another month of filling and block sanding but I am resisting the siren call of perfection. It's good enuf for a farm truck hot rod and we are moving on.

April 17^th 2020  113 degree heat index on Wednesday. Summer is back, Jack. I've adjusted my schedule to spending most of my shop time in the wee hours of the morning except on weekends when I work until mid-afternoon.

Continuing with inventory and organizing ops, this time the first shelving unit on the west wall. The top shelf has a small blast cabinet, small portable gas can, industrial wipes, Eastwood Contour surface conditioning tool and Black and Decker angle grinder.

Second shelf is a paint shelf with a box containing 2 touch-up spray guns, one from Uncle Tom, A Beugler paint pinstripping tool and a 12 foot magnetic pinstripping guide strip. A second box contains assorted disposable brushes, masking wraps and masking plugs.

A large assortment of spray bombs, full and virgin, of Rustoleum, Eastwood specialty paints, Bill Hirsh and Dupli-Color engine paints, wheel paint and primers, Miller tire paint. Lacquer thinner and paint prep. The viability of these old paint cans is in question but I couldn't bring myself to throw out full and unused cans yet. There are rectangular cardboard and foam board scraps for masking and mixing. There is an assortment of general purpose masking tape, automotive masking tape, Alvin drafting dots, duct tape and strapping tape, and coathanger wire hangers.

Next shelf down is the nuts and bolts shelf, a semi-organized assortment of mostly SAE hex bolts, nuts and washers, with some allen head, some metric fasteners, flat and lock washers in stainless steel, armorcoat and plated finishes. Also included is a stainless steel machine screw assortment, stainless steel tapping screw assortment, sheet metal screw assortment, 2 boxes of misc. screws and washers, 2 boxes of e-ring assortments, 3 boxes of master gunsmith screw kits - torx, allen and blade heads, 4 boxes of assorted springs and 2 boxes of cotter pin assortments.

The bottom shelf has a 5 gal can of automotive paint grade lacquer thinner, 2 five gal jerry cans and mounts - fuel and water, Milwaukee heavy-duty Sawzalls, 18" bending brake, 4 pc heavy-duty pry bar set, slide hammer kit, tool box containing 5 six inch buff wheels, 3 buff rouges, leather gauntlets and buff rake. There are also 19 qts of Valvoline VR1 20w-50 Racing Oil and a Purolator oil filter for the 302 Jimmy engine.

Beneath it all is an oil drain pan and 4 wheel chocks. That was thirsty work. Beer of the day is Free State Brewing Co's Ad Astra Amber Ale.

April 27^th 2020  I have a small hole in the back of the cab so, I mixed up a minimal batch of JB Weld and plugged it. JB Weld is waterproof and does not shrink. I've used this method before on the BillyBob windshield bodywork and it is still holding strong.

Wiped down the top with mineral spirits again and gave it the tack cloth treatment followed up by two more coats of paint rolled on a day apart. Broke out a new supply of denser rollers. None of these have fallen off the spindles yet. They don't soak up as much paint. I have mo' better drip control.

Wet sanded with 400 grit. My wet-sanding Kung-Fu is weak. I was not happy with the results after 2 mineral spirits wipe downs. Re-sanded with 400 grit dry, then mineral spirits wipe, tack cloth and two more coats rolled on.

I have one more sanding with 800 grit and a final coat of paint to roll. Currently, I'm out of paint and waiting for delivery. In the meantime, beer of the day is Bent River Brewing Co's Jingle Java Oatmeal Stout with Coffee.

April 29^th 2020  Moving along with the shop inventory and organization ops. Moving South along the West wall, the next shelving unit is mostly occupied with BillyBob parts. These were for improvements when BillyBob was still a stock truck. There are some maintenance fluids and tools here also and they are now relocated forward in the organizational line of march.

The remaining contents of the shelving unit were triaged as still useful for the BillyBob or Deerslayer builds, scrap pile or swap meet pile. I found several treasures I had lost memory of. I didn't do much with the third shelf down other than tidy it. Too much heavy lifting. A 848 Stovebolt head and a three-speed transmission with overdrive, for example.

The rest of the parts are mostly door parts and engine maintenance parts - ignition parts, hoses, etc.

April 30^th 2020  Going thru the BillyBob parts on the shelving unit, I found two gems from the past, the first accessories I bought for my first car, a '59 Ford sedan, "Henry". A bare foot shaped gas pedal and a piston shaped shift lever knob.

The shift knob set screw had issues. When "speed-shifting" from first to second, the piston knob could come off the three-on-the-tree and you could end up missing the shift, bruising your knuckles on the windshield and raking your forearm on the shift lever. I have fonder memories of the foot pedal and plan to use it in the upcoming BillyBob build.

Years ago, my brother wrote of these two items on the BillyBob site - "It all started when my maternal grandparents bought Krash a '59 Ford Three Hundred Custom, four door sedan for high school graduation. The Ford was powered by a 223 cu. in. six cylinder and a three speed transmission. As was typical of a 200 dollar car, much work was needed. Krash responded to this challenge by spending his meager funds on wide oval tires, a piston head shift lever, and a foot shaped gas pedal. Krash's careful accessory selections seemed to anger Dad who, for some inexplicable reason, felt that repair of things like bad brakes was more important. Dad just didn't understand the importance of looking cool. Why wide oval tires on a wore out, ten year old, four door sedan was cool is beyond the scope of this essay."

May 4^th 2020  Reinstalled the rear window frame. Got some cab interior parts from Jeff at Bowtie Bits which included new black clutch head screws for the interior trim. They were all too short and the wrong thread for the rear window frame so I hunted up the rusted ones from the tear  down and gave them an EvapoRust soak. Stuck them in a piece of foamboard to hold them, PRE Paint prepped them and sprayed the tops with Eastwood's Underhood Black, the closest match in my inventory to the screws from Bowtie Bits. Beer of the day was Free State Brewing Co's Stormchaser IPA.

May 6^th 2020  On with the organization and inventory gig. Last shelving unit on the West wall. Top shelf is maintenance fluids. Motor oil, coolant, radiator flush, gear oil, ATF tranny fluid, DOT 3 brake fluid, battery acid, Stabil, lead substitute, power steering fluid, Marvel Mystery Oil, Seafoam additive, silicone spray lube, white lithium spray lube, cornhead grease, WD40, Brakleen, PB Blaster and Kroil penetrating oils, wheel bearing grease, metal prep and rust remover.

Second shelf down has Eastwoods Vibratory Tumbler with cutting and polishing media, Power Bleeder, 3 in 1 Chassis Service Kit, 2" air sander, tire plug kit, clutch alignment tool kit, tap and die set, thread straightener set, nitrile gloves, air powered lube gun, manual battery charger, hand held sandblaster, 1/2" Black and Decker drill motor, Makito electric die grinder, MAPP gas torch kit, funnel assortment, spark plug blaster and media, and a hair dryer.

Third shelf down has four Homer Boxes, a welding blanket, shot bag and mallet, disposable coveralls and a faceshield.

Homer box 1 is tire tools - 3 tire pressure gauges (2 analog, 1 digital), tire valve puller, tire valve installer, tire valve assortment, lead wheel weight assortment, tire valve air hose fitting and tire valve core tool.

Homer box 2 is tuneup tools - strobe timing gun, vacuum gauge, two PCV valves, 2 spark plugs, wood block plug holder (numbered 1 thru 6), remote starter, plug wire clothespins (numbered 1 thru 6), plug gap tool, 2 feeler gauges, 2 plug sockets and ratchet wrench, small combo wrench and distributor cam lube.

Homer box 3 is scraper tools - 6"x2" wire "scrubbrush", 5" wide putty knife and 2 brass "toothbrushes".

Homer box 4 is battery tools - battery load tester, digital battery tester, hydrometer, terminal protector spray, top off bulb, small terminal puller, terminal pliers, battery carry strap, putty knife blade.

Homer boxes 5 thru 14 reside on the bottom shelf. Homer box 5 is oil change tools - Fram Sludge Syphon, plastic oil spout, 2 oil filter tools (strap and chain), wheel bearing packer, manual grease gun, golf tee.

Homer box 6 is diagnostic tools - stethoscope, color tune diagnostic kit, remote starter, dwell / tach meter, Power Probe circuit tester.

Homer box 7 is tubing tools - double flaring tool, tubing cutter, 3 tubing benders, 2 Teflon tape rolls, copper washers, assorted inline tubing fittings, elbows and banjo fittings.

Homer box 8 is brake tools - drum puller, Mityvac bleeder, C-ring pliers, top off bulb, shoe retaining spring remover, brake caliper grease, bench bleeder, 2 brake pry bars, 2 brake spring tools.

Homer box 9 is clamps and bungee cords - 3 C-clamp visegrips, 10 assorted plastic spring clamps in three sizes, 20 assorted bungee cords (12", 18", 24").

Homer box 10 is sheet metal tools - aviation tin snips set (3), Eastwood mini-nibbler shear, rod bender, Roper Whitney #5 hand punch, slapping hammer, door seam set (remover, pick, crimper).

Homer box 11 is specialty tools - seal installer, seal remover, 42" flex drill extension, radiator rake, radiator fin straightener, Xtraktor nut, bolt, stud remover, 6 plastic pry bars, radiator flush kit, Shake-n-break screw removal kit.

Homer Box 12 is safety tools - respirator, dust masks, NRA ear muffs, 3 sets safety goggles, 2 pair mechanix gloves, 1 pair cavalry leather gauntlets.

Homer Box 13 is puller tools - E-Z Puller pipe separator, 2 jaw puller, steering arm puller, steering wheel puller, pickle fork kit, small 3 jaw puller, faucet puller, nut breaker.

Homer box 14 is valve tools - Hoppes #9 powder solvent, gun cleaning kit 38/357 caliper, palm bruiser valve spring compressor, 2 manual valve lapping tools, drill driven valve lapping tool attachment, umbrella and spring type valve stem seals (Chevy sm blk), steel blue layout fluid, Permatex valve grinding compound, Permatex Prussian Blue.

I'm glad that's done. Background music was Southern Culture on the Skids Dirt Track Date and Lacquered Up and Liquored Down.

May 7^th 2020  Putting the trim back in the upper cab. The current screws I took out were self-tapping Phillips head screws that damaged the original threads and they won't accept the black clutchhead screws from Bowtie Bits. Fixing the threads for the clutchhead screws is a bridge too far. Change of plans. We are using the Phillips screws and moving on.

The existing cab windlace is like new and I'm keeping that. Deerslayer's builder, Tony, added several items that his wife, Joy, fabricated. She made the deerskin steering wheel cover that I kept until it wore thru. She also made the boots for the shift and parking brake levers and a firewall cover too. I think I see her handiwork in the windlace as well. It is cloth backed vinyl wrapped around what appears to be cotton clothesline and machine stitched. It's quality.

The trim pieces are a little rusty and I need to find a matching paint for touch-up. Pondered that while I sipped on the beer of the day, Bent River Brewing Co's Daytrotter Pale Horse Pale Ale.

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Issued  Monday May 11, 2020

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