Bondo Bondo everywhere and not a drop to drink.....

The more I dig into my truck the more bondo I find.   Some of it is coupled with a pop riveted sheet metal repair some of it is not.

I pulled my wheels off and checked out my spindles and bearings.  The passenger side spindle is in pretty rough shape.  I lucked out on the driver's side and it looks pretty serviceable.  The passenger side outer bearing appeared to be missing the outer race and balls.  This made the spindle look pretty bad.  I haven't cleaned up and checked the hub, but I won't be surprised if it's damaged beyond use.

I opened up and cleaned out my ebay bench seat yesterday.  That was perhaps the most disgusting cleaning chore I will have during the whole restoration.  In addition to being full of rodent droppings, it needs a lot of repair.  The springs and frame are heavily damaged after decades of use.  I'll try to fix it up, but I have a backup plan or two if I can't make it useful.

Spindle, complete with serious damage.

Cab Rot, once hidden with sheet metal and Bondo.

Driver's side cab rot unmasked.

Coolant sludge and more sheet metal

This week I made the decision to do rebuild work on my engine since I'll have the rest of the truck apart.  I'm almost ready to pull it, but I need to find someone to do the machine work for me.  While I was draining the coolant from the block I noticed it was barely trickling out.  I probed deeper to try and clear any buildup of dirt and gunk, but try as I did I could not clear the passage.  We'll see if it's still dripping after being left alone overnight.

I tried removing some rust with electrolysis.  It was taking a little longer than I thought, but I didn't give it much of a chance.  I plan on trying again when I have somewhere to leave my setup longer.

I found a replacement floor section last week.  I thought this might be the last part on my shopping list I would find.  I also got an aftermarket oil filter.  The engines from this period didn't come stock with a filtration system. When I drained the oil it had a stench I had never smelled from oil before.  I didn't recognize it, and wonder what it was.

I haven't tried welding any patch metal yet.  I need to order some sheet stock to patch some things up.

Rust in my cooling passages. Hopefully not too much damage has been done.

Rusty thermostat housing, with destroyed thermostat.

A spot of original paint left on the firewall under one of the hood catch brackets.    I knew this was a pretty common color  for the 47-54 trucks, but I wasn't sure about mine.

My largely stripped engine awaiting an engine hoist.

My newly found floor section.  It's rusty, but workable.

A rear fender after some paint stripper.  I'm looking for a less unhealthy  useful stripper.