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.

47. Back Bottom Bodywork

May 12^th 2020  Started on the back bottom bodywork. The top still has a few flaws to clean up requiring one more coat of paint but, I can still get started on the next phase. Went over the rough bottom areas with Scotchbrite cookies in the air angle grinder and gave the area the dawn dish soap and water treatment. We're ready to spread some mud. Background music was The Traveling Wilburys.

May 15^th 2020  Time to install the new windshield. Pulled the windshield hinges down off the shelf and gave them a two-day soak in the EvapoRust soup, followed by PRE Paint Prep and a coat of Eastwood's Extreme Chassis Black. Then the windshield assembly was fitted for new stainless steel screws. Hinge to cab screws are #10-32 x 1/2" which I have in inventory. Windshield frame screws for hinges and regulator are #8-32 x 3/8" . I don't have those so a McMaster-Carr order was initiated. Beer of the day is Wild Ride Brewing's Hidden Trail NW Hazy Pale Ale.

May 18^th 2020  Moving to the south wall in the organization and inventory ops. On the wall is the ABC Fire extinguisher required by my new landlord with a 30" shop fan below. This is the detailing area of the BillyBob Shop. In the corner is a entertainment center shelving unit my former landlord, Jerry Zucker, found abandoned on the backside of the warehouse complex on Christmas eve. He informed me about it in case I could use it. I took Deerslayer back there and retrieved it.

On top is a cardboard box with ziplock baggies, wax paper, aluminum foil, Seran wrap quick covers, Seran plastic wrap, steel wool and soap pads. In the first tote is Black & White tire cleaner, Rain-X, ArmorAll wipes, Lockease graphite lock fluid, Q-Tips, Curad alcohol swabs and Krazy Kloth. In tote 2 is wheel cleaner, leather conditioner, leather cleaner, Aerospace 303 cleaner, Scotchgard upholstery cleaner, Archer electric cleaner spray.

On the top shelf is a cardboard box with sponges, assorted scrub brushes, hose fittings, 2 chamois cloths. Also on the shelf is vinegar, mineral oil, baking soda, petroleum jelly, ammonia, lighter fluid, Bleche-wite tire cleaner, carpet stain and spot lifter, ArmorAll spray and Meguiars protective wipes. Gunk engine cleaner, Eastwood UnderGone degreaser, Meguiars Oxi-polish, Meguiars car odor eliminator, Simple Green all-purpose cleaner and Extreme Simple Green aircraft and precision cleaner, ZEP glass cleaner, and Oil Eater cleaner degreaser.

On the second shelf are gallon containers of tire mounting lubricant, vinegar, Apex windshield washer fluid, Simple Green, Wash Wax All cleaner and Wash Wax All degreaser.

On the third shelf is a 7" electric shop polisher with buffs and compounds. Flitz ball and polish, Autosol polish, body clay and terry towel pack. Spray blaster wand with connections for garden hose, compressed air and degreaser reservoir. Also on the shelf is a long handled scrub brush and California car duster.

On the bottom shelf is a 3 gallon container of Purple Power degreaser, a small plastic bucket with assorted brushes and a multitude of 12" wooden picks and rolls of Scot Shop Towels.

There were also a lot of products bought specifically for "BettyLou", my parents '93 Chrysler Concorde, which has been scrapped and "Renegade" my '91 Jeep Wrangler which was sold. Those items were discarded. Background music was from a Led Zeppelin box set.

May 22^nd 2020  Installed the windshield hinges. Failed to note left and right during removal. Noticed during cleaning that one side of each hinge had a taller mounting leg. After some study, I made a WAG and installed them with the tall legs to the outside. The wild ass guess was wrong and I had to switch them. Getting the windshield positioned so I could start the small hinge leaf screws was challenging as well. Took some salty language to get the job done.

Attached the windshield frame to the hinge leaves at the top and windshield regulator at the bottom. The hinge to windshield frame screws were too short due to the hinge leaf thickness so another order to McMaster-Carr was initiated. To paraphrase the old maxim "measure twice and order once".

When the order arrives, I will remove each screw, one at a time, and reinstall with threadlocker blue. Then I can put paid to this task. Beer of the day was West Sixth Brewing's 6 Pennywile Pale Ale.

May 26^th 2020  Rounding out the detailing area in the inventory and organization operations, is a misc shelving unit with a Greenworks electric leaf blower and face shield on top.

The first shelf has 2 boxes of 30 gal Glad Bags, a small parts pan with a whisk broom, Raid flying insect killer and and and roach killer sprays, 4 Ziploc containers with lids and a spare spray bottle. Second shelf has two metal dust pans, large and small, and a small feather duster. Third shelf has a first aid kit and scrub bucket. Fourth shelf has a bag of cat litter and a bag of sawdust, both for oil spill cleanups. The bottom shelf is currently vacant.

The detailing cart, given to me by my friend, Gato, contains a 12v mini car vacuum, ArmorAll brake dust repellent spray, Sonax upholstery & alcantara cleaner, touch screen cleaner pads, Ticarve dust cleaning gel, F11 Topcoat, Wash Wax All cleaner and Wash Wax All degreaser spray bottles, ZEP glass cleaner spray, a wheel spoke bottle brush and a Rain-X glass squeegee. On the bottom shelf are microfiber towels.

Adjoining the shelving units is a high place duster, 5 gallon used oil container, portable shop vacuum and a detailing seat with detailing brush. Background music was a Steve Miller Band box set.

May 27^th 2020  With the new windshield in place, I can reinstall the adjacent interior items. The original windshield hinge cover is a thin sheet metal item, rusted out at one end. Repair of this item is beyond my present skill set. I got a fiberglass replacement hinge cover and wiper motor access covers from Jeff at Bowtie bits. The hinge cover is a nice item, the access covers, not so much. They will need some work due to uneven and ragged edges.

Deerslayer's wiper motor was not made for this truck. It worked fine but was too big for the hinge cover to conceal. It stuck out of the access opening as a result. No big deal but I decided to make a change for the rebuild. Ordered a wiper kit for the truck from Chevy's of the forties and it is in transit . . . to the wrong location. I've tried to let UPS know where I want it delivered but have been unsuccessful thus far.

In the meantime, the a-post covers went in the EvapoRust soup to clean the surface rust off their backsides. Beer of the day was Wild Ride Brewing's Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter.

June 4^th 2020  Filler and block sanding the back bottom of the cab. Three applications of mud and sanding with 36 and 40 grit. I wear a dust mask and goggles but as little as a half hour of these ops and I'm sneezin' and drippin' for a few hours, one of the reasons I think "the new normal" of wearing masks in public is mostly symbolic at best.

Not enuf defects to mix up another batch so I applied some Bondo brand spot putty I had layin' around and sanded everything again with 80 grit.

Washed the back bottom with Dawn soap and water, masked and roughed up the door jambs and cab corner bottoms with a Scotchbrite pad and PRE Paint prepped the same, then spray bombed them.

We're ready now for priming the bare metal patches and rolling the first guide coats. Background music was The Moody Blues Time Traveler box set.

June 8^th 2020  Windshield wiper replacement arrived from Chevys of the Forties in a round about way. I couldn't change the shipping address unless I signed up for a data mining "membership" and I declined so I had to pick it up at a UPS drop off point. The wiper motor is considerably more compact in depth and will fit nicely behind the valance.

I fiddled around with the angled shaft spacers of the old wiper, which I wanted to use, until I broke the outer one and abandoned that idea. It was pot metal and, while securing it to drill it out larger, I turned one piece of pot metal into three.

Then I installed the wiper motor with the jam nuts that came with the kit and everything was fine. Ran the wires down thru the A-piller and put the wiring diagram with the other dashboard items for completion  later down the road. Beer of the day was East Sixth Brewing's 6 IPA India Pale Ale.

June 9^th 2020  Moving East with the inventory / organization ops we come to a chest and a trunk. Next to the trunk is a plastic trash can / scrub bucket. On top of the chest is an Evac Pack SHTF bugout bag containing TP roll, potable water bag, dust mask, cotton rounds, Q-tips, cocoon pocket size sleeping bag, Ark personal care kit w/ food, water packets, space blanket, candle, hand warmer, first aid kit, light stick and waterproof matches. Red Cross hand crank radio / charger, 2" hundred mph tape, soap bar, water purification tablets, LED key fob, ASE 60 fire escape smoke hood, drop cloth, vinyl poncho, additional first aid kit, potassium iodide tablets, nitrile gloves, swiss army knife, kleenex pack, hand sanitizer, first aid instructions, mixing bottle, spring loaded probe, whistle, CPR pocket mask, and a bite and sting kit.

The top chest contains domestic cleaning supplies for my least favorite pastime. Enuf said.

The trunk, given to me by my maternal grandparents in the dim mists of time, contains Deerslayer spare parts - two starter motors, 2 water pumps, distributor caps, wires and coils, both points and HEI setups, radiator hoses, fan belt and a heater that my friend, John Carey, found at a swap meet and gave to me.

Background music was Jimmy Driftwood's Americana box set.

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Issued  Wednesday June 10, 2020

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