1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 Grille Repair - Part 4


Pic #32 - I decided to keep the oval opening at the lower section of the grille. It would have been easier to eliminate it, but I felt it was somewhat iconic and made the International brand stand out. I first made a rectangular cardstock template the size of the plate/oval and used this as my pattern to make a steel copy using left over 14 Ga. steel. I cut the 14 Ga. steel plate with my die grinder and cut-off wheel and then rough-cut out the center oval with my cutting torch. Finished/shaped the oval with my die grinder and a carbide cutter. I then positioned it on the grille shell over the original and clamped it down.

The 3 lower ribs attach their centers to the plate/oval and I fitted these to the grille shell first and then to the plate. Then I pop riveted each rib to the shell to secure them and proceeded to oxy-acetylene weld the other ends of the ribs to the plate. Torch welding was just easier for me to do in this instance than using the mig welder. Once the 6-ribs were welded on, I ground the welds smooth and had to do a little more grinding on the open oval. At this point I had not yet fit/install the new ribs on the right side above these.

Pic #33 - I removed the pop rivets and removed the welded up ribs/plate as a unit and set it to the side. Here is what it looked like as 1 piece assembly.

Pic #34 - The left side ribs were pop riveted to the center bar running vertical and the next step was to torch welded all the ribs to the center bar. After welding I ground the welds smooth.

Then I worked on the right side ribs as I had done on the left side by installing my center bar (cut down shelf bracket), and then pop rivetting each rib at the bottom to the shell using my spacer block and aligning the rib at center opposite the left side rib so they were even and matched.

After all the ribs were attached I repeated my torch welding and welded each rib at the center to the bar and ground down the welds.

I reinstalled/fitted my lower 6 rib/plate assembly to the base of the center bar and welded the plate to the vertical center bar. Again, ground my welds down. Then I added a weld to join the 2 center bars together so they were aligned with one another and would no longer move about.

Then I flipped the grille over and drilled holes from the backside using the original grill holes in the ribs used for the clips that hold the stainless trim to the ribs. I made the holes small as compared to the oval slots in the original ribs. Not quite sure what means of trim attachment I plan to use - stock clips or other. Also ground off the excess fiberglass mat at the edges of the lower section.

Flipped the grille back over again and drilled to size the 7 holes that had been covered up at the lower area when I added the aluminum strip for a little more support to the thin steel.

The photo shows the finished rib assembly set on top of the old grille ribs which will eventually be cut loose.

Pic #35 & #36 - Removing all the pop rivets allowed the rib assembly to be lifted off in 1 piece. I set the unit facing down so I could grind/bevel the ends of each rib on its backside where it attaches to the grille. I did not want to weld the ribs to the shell for fear the heat would easily burn through the already thin metal. My plan was to use my favorite JB Weld to secure the rib ends to the shell. The pop rivets would hold the pieces tightly together as they cured.

Pic #37 - Time to core the grille shell of its old rusty ribs. Using my die grinder and cut-off wheel I zipped off the old ribs. I cut through one of the trim mounting holes and left enough original rib material to apply the JB Weld onto and refasten the new ribs with pop rivets to hold everything together.

I had to sandblast the upper most and lower most stamped rib that was part of the grille shell. I also did all the short cut down ribs with the sandblaster to make sure they were clean and ready to go since I had already blasted them and had been putting my grimy hands on them.

Pic #38 & #39 - Sandblasting done, I was ready to slap on my JB Weld to the upper and lower stamped ribs of the shell and the small cut-off ribs I had left on each side. With the JB Weld applied, I lowered my new rib assembly on top of the shell aligning the new ribs on top of the old cut-off ribs. Then I went around and pop riveted the ribs back in place as the excess JB Weld squeezed out. I had a gap at the lower stamped shell rib which was due in part to the lower panel being hit and bent. I filled the small gap in with JB Weld to give the new rib a little extra support/backing. You can see some of the old ribs at the lower left on the floor in photo 38.

Pic #40 - I let the JB dry for the week. Then decided I wanted to sink the pop rivets using a counter sunk style rivet so they would be flush with the ribs and not cause any interference issues with the stainless trim that goes on top of the ribs. I ordered a 100 pack of 1/8" dia. blind rivets with a countersunk head diameter of .188" and a .250" grip/length from Hanson Rivet. They have a 120 degree taper, so I ordered a Drill America 1/4"-120 degree, 6 flute high speed steel, chatterless countersink. Both on Amazon and inexpensive.

I drilled out all the rib pop rivets, countersunk the holes using a low speed on the hand drill,, and added a dab of JB Weld to each rivet to seal out any moisture from getting under the head, and secured the rivets in place. Then I countersunk all the holes that ran down the middle of the ribs where I had welded them to the center bar. It was not about needing rivets, but filling in the open holes. So they too got the countersunk rivet & JB treatment. The excess JB will be blasted off or sanded smooth to finish them. The shorter shell ribs seen next to the new ribs are pitted, but still solid enough that they did not need to be replaced or worked.

With the new ribs installed the grille will be going to the dustless blaster I used for the rear doors to get the metal cleaned front and back and then an epoxy primer applied. When it returns I still have a little body work to do on the shell to get it in shape and ready for a coat of Rustoleum primer.

Painting the KB5 Hood

The grille shell has been dropped off at the blaster for him to blast/clean and then epoxy prime it. When it comes back, I will get it ready for a coat of Rustoleum primer and go from there.

Pic #1 - In the meantime, I decided to paint the hood. I sanded it down with my board sander using 240 grit paper. Did some hand sanding on the curved areas. Blew off the hood, wiped it with a degreaser, and then a tack cloth.

Pic #2 - I bought what I had thought was epoxy primer some time ago and saw that what I received from my local auto paint store was a 2K grey primer, or a primer with a hardener you mix together. I did ask for a 2K epoxy primer, but, it does not seem to be what I had wanted. It was an expensive buy for what I paid, and only got 2 quarts of it. I mixed the paint up, thinned down with acetone, and sprayed. It seemed to come out fairly well.

Pic #3 - I did not have much info on this paint other than what the counter person told me on mixing ratios. The paint can did not have any product number so I was not sure what I got. The internet had all kinds of suggestions/opinions depending on type of product. Some said wait 20-30 minutes and follow up with the color coat. Others said wait and sand, then color coat. I waited the 20-30 minutes and I mixed my Rustoleum with hardener and acetone and laid down the Hunter Green. The color coat went on well, but I can see what almost looks like there was dust peppered all over the hood. It may simply have been a reaction with the 2 different brands of paint or I should have let the 2K primer cure for a week to ensure all the solvents had evaporated. The hood looks good from 20 feet away, but I won't leave it like this. A little more work for me, but I will sand the paint down and re-spray another top coat to get it smoothed out. For now it is well sealed and almost done.

The quality of your workmanship and your attention to the details is above and beyond repute.

The quality of your workmanship and your attention to the details is above and beyond repute.

Thanks, I do appreciate your words. The challenge is always working with the parts on hand because you either cannot get a replacement or the replacement price is far too steep and may not be any better than what you already have - better in some areas and worse in others. Since it is not a true frame-off restoration returning the truck back to 100% original, I have leeway to use artistic creativity. I can't even imagine what the final price tag would be to restore a truck of this type as restoration prices are astronomical nowadays. Replacement parts are just as crazy and forget anything NOS. LOL

Here is a couple sneak pics of the grille. I had it blasted using the "dustless" process which not only removes rust, but exposes all those bad areas that need repairs. I have several areas needing attention from holes to heavy pitting. Once it is blasted, I had it epoxy painted to protect it from any further rusting. This also allows me to do my repairs without rush or fear that the grille will rust up before I can get to all the repairs and back into a primer coat.

I will still use may sand blaster to remove the epoxy primer in a couple areas at the top of the grille where I will use the fiberglass bondo to repair. I don't plan on welding any patches due to the thin steel and welding would do more damage and cause more work than needed. The areas having rust-through holes will get a small fiberglass cloth overlay patch on the back side for support and bondo on the front side to fill the hole making the two work together and hold steady. The deep pits will get a light sanding of the epoxy primer, glazing putty, then sand and prime over it. I will seal the backside of the grille using my favorite bed liner spray bomb and then prep the front for paint.

I also have to drill the stainless trim holes a little larger and I am fabricating my own means of attachment bolts so I can shift the stainless trim about to get the pieces straight seeing the ribs are no longer factory and the stainless trim just won't pop into place like the factory grille did. I have new factory trim clips, but they won't do what I need, so I'll make things work so the trim looks correctly placed.

I see a bunch more hours still to go to get this done and will cover the process in another post.

lOOKS LIKE A NEW GRILL!

KB5 Driver Side Fender Paint

Managed to paint the driver side fender over the long weekend in spite of 3 days of rain. This is the driver's side fender and this write-up will also apply to the passenger side fender when it gets done.

Pic #01 - I wanted to undercoat the inside of both fenders before painting them. Nothing fancy here. I used my electric drill and a round scotchbrite type of wheel and went over the entire underside. I removed previously applied undercoating that was flaking off and some light rust areas, and basically scuffed the entire surface up. Then I wiped it down with some lacquer thinner and used what I had hanging around to undercoat. One fender got the spray bomb bedliner and the other rubberized undercoating.

With that done, I wanted to paint the inside lip of the fender and top inside section as this would make it easier when I went to spray paint the outside of the fender and not have to worry about reaching up and in to spray paint. I used Rustoleum Hunter Green in the spray can and did both fenders so they could dry and be ready the next time I tackled painting the fenders.

Pic #02 - This is the inner fender/wheel well I had previous cleaned and undercoated. I wanted to attach it to the fender before it got painted. I felt this was the better way to go instead of later when installing it could lead to scratching the paint - which is my kind of luck. LOL

Pic #03 - These are the holes along the fender's inner lip that the inner fender bolts to. However, the bolts do not go through the top, but come up in from inside. There is a stamped inner support piece that has the attachment nuts secured to it and then the stamped support is spot welded to the fender's lip making it a 2-piece assembly.

Pic #04 - There is a factory inner fender attachment nut within the stamped support strip. It is a round affair with a flat side and a flange on the bottom of the nut and the flange fits into the hole and is then peened over to hold it into place. I am assuming that there was a tool that may have been inserted into the opening up against the flat side to keep the round nut from turning when new. Most of mine got the bolt heads on the inside torched off as they were too badly rusted, stuck, or spun. Once cut off, I pulled them out. I did have 1 factory nut I was able to save/use after I used a tap to clean the threads.

Pic #05 - To replace the factory nuts, I used clip nuts. These are common and found on many automobiles. The factory used 3/8" bolts, but I went with 5/16" to give me a little extra room to make it easier.

Pic #06 - The clip nut is shown on top and then you can see how it is inserted to replace the factory nut. The bolt will come in from the inner fender side. I had to make sure the bolt length was not too long and not stick through the hole. That fender flange is what goes up against the box body cowl section. Those smaller holes are the nail holes used to secure the gasket that seals the fender to the cowl. I have new fender seals/gaskets I will be using.

Pic #07 - The inner fender being installed. I put a layer of silicone caulking on the inner fender where it mates to the fender to seal the 2 pieces. I then inserted a 5/16" bolt & washer into one of the clip nuts and snugged it up, then I used a pair of vise grips at the front edge to clamp it into position at the front so as to hold it up and into place. I then went back and installed all my inner fender bolts & washers. The very front of the inner fender/fender do not get any bolts at this time as the front section gets bolted together with the grille shell. I will come back and tape off the fender and spray some undercoating over the caulking.

Pic #08 & #09 - I had to come up with a way to set the fender up for painting. I have a Harbor Freight table/stand I bought for painting parts of the KB. It was not tall enough when I set the hood on it for paint, so I raised it up using my jack stands under its four corners. With the assembled fender, I added a pair of C-clamps to the back legs so the inner fender would sit in place on them and not slide off on me. Then I used a lacquer thinner can set on the stand frame and up under the fender to raise it up off the stand. Worked perfectly and kept the fender lip off the stand for painting.

Here I sanded the primered fender with my air DA sander and 400 grit paper. The epoxy primer had several rough "sandy" areas that had to be taken down. I sanded the entire fender with the DA, blew it off, then went back over it by hand sanding with 400 grit so as to feel any areas that were rough and to sand the fender contours that may have been missed by the flat pad of the DA.

Pic #10 & #11 - I blew off the fender and wiped it down clean with lacquer thinner. Again, wiping it down by hand allows you to feel any areas that may be rough and need a little more sanding. I did find a spot like this and sanded it smooth and then wiped the fender down again with the thinner.

I mixed my Rustoleum Hunter Green, acetone thinner, and 2 caps full of paint hardener. Air pressure at the gun was 40 pounds. I applied my first coat, let it tack up about 45 minutes, then thinned what paint I had left in my gun down with a little more acetone and shot a second coat of paint over the fender. The paint came out good and was smooth as glass with no orange peel or runs.

FYI - I have noticed that the Rustoleum paint in the quarts, once opened, the remainder will harden up in a week or two even with a secured lid. Typically, the paint would remain liquid so you could use the leftover on the next job. This does not seem to be the case. So I am using a fresh quart can of paint each time I spray a panel.

The headlight buckets & headlights will be installed once the fenders are back on the truck.

Got The Hood On

A couple update pics. I have both fenders painted and ready to go.

I got the hood back on the truck. Went on fairly easy. I did have to replace one of the hood hinge bolts. These are shoulder bolts so the hood hinges can pivot. I happened to have a hardened pin that was threaded at its end. I had to cut it down as the length was too long and open up the hole on one of the hood hinge brackets for the bolt to go through. Then it was a matter of bolting/tightening everything up. I also tried my hand at polishing with the electric polisher and foam pad. Looks good.

While mounting the hood, I am also working the grille shell and filling the deep pits in the front face and fixing the rotted upper corners.

KB5 GRILLE SHELL REFURBISH Part 1


Pic #1 & #2 - Here is the grille shell as it looked returned from the dustless blaster shop with its epoxy primer on it to protect it. The dustless blasting does a super job of removing stubborn rust and it will also find any weak spots/pin holes in the metal of which it came back with having several holes in addition to the known rusted out holes that needed repair. I told them not to blast the fiberglass patch I had put down at the lower inside section of the grille. However, blasting the outside revealed a few weak spots so holes were made through the fiberglass patch which was not an issue.

The first thing I did was to add a few more fiberglass patches to the backside of the grille where the pin holes rusted metal had opened up. I used my air powered angle drill motor and a 40 grit sanding disc to remove the epoxy primer on those areas I put my patches. The purpose of the patches was to give a backing to the pin holes so I could fill them from the front with the fiberglass bondo. Some of the small holes were filled by the resin used with the patch and only needed to be sanded smooth on the front side.

After the fiberglass matting had cured, I lightly sanded the patches with the sanding disc and hand scuffed the entire inside of the grille. Then I painted the inside with the Duplicolor truck bed liner spray paint to seal things up and provide a good protective coating. I wanted to do this before doing any work on the front of the grille.

Pic #3 - There was a lot of pitting of the metal on the front side as can be seen in the photo. I used the angle drill and sanding disc to cut through the primer and expose bare metal. I do a small section at a time.

Pic #4 - An application of the 2-part glazing putty on the roughed up/cleaned up area. Once dry, most of it gets sanded down leaving the pitting filled in and a smoother surface to work with later in priming.

Pic #5 & #6 - The lower center section of the grille had a lot of small holes left after the dustless blasting. The metal was very thin and fragile and blasting removed the rust as well as the thin metal and blew through the fiberglass patch on the inside - which was repaired at this point. I applied a layer of fiberglass bondo to the lower area and worked it to get it as best I could. The lower area is a little out of shape from being hit, so it was not going to be perfect and it sits low between the frame rails and will be hidden for the most part. You can also see where I continued removing the epoxy primer and applied my glazing putty to the pitting along the side ribs. I move around as I work different areas.

KB5 GRILLE SHELL REFURBISH Part 2


Pic #7 - At this point you can see that the fiberglass bondo has been sanded, the glazing putty has been applied and sanded, along with the area above it and on the right side of the grille - just as I had done on the left side.

There were also 2 holes at the top corner of each side of the grille that I filled with fiberglass bondo and sanded/shaped and put the glazing putty on and then finish sanded it down. The grille was now prepped and ready for a coat of primer.

Pic #8 & #9 - Everything was all filled, sanded, scuffed up, wiped down, and ready for paint. I sprayed an epoxy primer I had over the grille to seal it and let it dry. Looks good, but far from done.

Pic #10 - Next up, to fill any unseen pits, low spots, or blemishes, the epoxy primer was first block sanded with 240 grit. Then an application of red spot putty was put over the areas where the 2-part epoxy putty had been used. The red spot putty is made to go over primer or paint. The epoxy putty is designed for bare metal use.

Pic #11 - As seen, most of the spot putty is sanded off. I used both my block sander and DA with 320 grit paper. A few areas I had to hand sand due to the contours such as up at the top curves. This really produces a very smooth and even surface for paint to go over.

Pic #12 - I sprayed a final coat of Rustoleum primer to seal the spot putty and the previous sanding that was done to get the grille surface smooth. Note that the holes drilled in the new ribs appear small because they are. These holes were only pilot holes to make sure they were fairly well centered on the ribs. If not, I could easily adjust them when I went to a larger size hole. I drilled the holes to a 3/16" diameter knowing that the factory stainless trim clips were not going to work and that I was going to fabricate my own trim fasteners.

Pic #13 - The outer grille ribs, and the center ribs I replaced, all have stainless trim that will be fitted on top of these ribs. The smaller outer rib metal was heavily pitted and somewhat thin. I decided to hand sand the entire rib area to scuff up the paint, wipe it clean, tape the area off, and applied a layer of the Duplicolor bed liner followed by a spray can coating of Rustoleum Dark Hunter Green which I had on hand. My thinking was that this should help to additionally seal and protect the fragile metal and since the bed liner cures hard, add a slight amount of strength. May have been a waste of time, but I figured I had nothing to lose either.

Pic #14 & #15 - After letting the bed liner/paint dry, the next step was to lightly sand it down to scuff it up and sand the Rustoleum primer I had put on the grille earlier. Sanded the primer again with the DA and 320 grit paper as well as hand sanding. Got it all wiped down and ready for paint and shot a coating of Rustoleum Hunter Green with the hardener over the prepped primer. I sprayed 2 coats of paint on the grille.

I let the paint dry thoroughly and masked off the top area above the grille front where the hood closes down and the hood latch attaches. Then I painted it with the black bed liner.

KB5 GRILLE SHELL REFURBISH Part 3

Pic #16 - Since the center ribs were replaced, the factory oblong holes in each new rib could not be added.

FYI - The factory trim holes are elongated/oval and measure 3/8" Wide and 3/16" in Diameter. The spacing of the clip holes from the top of grille to the bottom follow a vertical line and measure 1 1/4" center hole-to-center hole. Measuring from the the middle/center edge of the grille and going outward, the center of the first row of holes is 3". Measuring from the center of that hole to the center of the outer row of holes is 6", or 9" from the middle/center of the grille. These holes don't seem to be centered in the middle of each rib. Measuring from the top of the rib to the center of the clip hole was 5/16", while measuring from the center of the clip hole to the bottom of the rib was 1/4".

The factory stainless trim clips would not work with the drilled 3/16" holes, but worked fine on the smaller outer trim pieces since the oblong holes were left as is. I had to fabricate clips that would work for the longer center trim. The stainless trim pieces are made in a way to have the back edges folded to create a channel that the factory clips snap into, and in my case, a clip that I could slip behind.

My fabricated clips were made using #6-32 x 1/2" flat taper head machine screws & nuts and steel washers having 3/16" center hole. I inserted a tapered machine screw through the washer and install a nut to hold the screw to the washer. Using a deep-well socket, I set the screw/washer on top and oxyacetylene welded the screw head to washer. Let them cool and removed the nut and painted the new trim "clips."

The trim clips will not fit as is because the washer diameter is too large to slide in the trim's channel on the back side. To make the clips work, I had to grind a flat spot on one side of the washer just enough so it would slip into the trim's channel. The flat spot allows the clip to slide in and when tightening the nut, the oversize of the washer holds the clip from turning so the nut can be tightened and draw the trim tight against the new ribs. The smaller diameter of the #6 screw also gave me a little wiggle room in horizontal alignment of the trim in case my ribs, or the drilled holes, were a little off.

The photo shows from left to right, the nut, the washer that the screw sets down into, the taper head machine screw, a welded up "clip" with the side ground down, and a piece of the stainless trim with the 2 clips installed.

I also decided to use my die grinder and cut-off wheel to cut relief notches in the bottom backside of all the stainless trim - 1 notch in the smaller trim and 2 notches in the longer trim. My thinking is that the design of the trim that forms the channel to which the trim clips attach to also creates a channel for water to collect and sit in. Once secured to the grille, there was little way for water, moisture, or condensation to exit the trim and this may have been the cause for the badly pitting/rotting of the grille ribs. With a small relief cut into the trim channel, the water can run out and/or moisture can evaporate. I will also seal all the trim clips from the backside to seal off the elongated trim holes and factory clips so no water can enter.

To install the center trim on the ribs the new clips are slid into the trim's channel and then positioned to line up with the holes drilled in the grille ribs, slide/adjust the trim for fit, and then install the nuts and tighten to hold the trim in place.

I did not encounter any problems with rib or drilled hole alignment. I used the smaller factory trim along the sides of the grille ribs and the lower bolt-on trim pieces as my guide to align each center trim piece to get a straight line on all the trim pieces.

The lower trim pieces that extend onto the fenders used a different type of flat clip that slid into the trim channel and bolt through the factory drilled round holes. They were in good condition and may have worked for the rib trim, but I did not have any extra and used those trim clips as my idea in making the ones for the grille ribs.

Pic #17 & #18 - Installing the stainless trim to the grille ribs and grille. Everything seemed to line up well and I did not encounter any issues. In the second photo you can see the completed grille with all it's stainless trim. I will have to remove the lower stainless that overhangs the grille shell and bolts to the fenders. They will have to be removed so they don't get damaged when I put the grille and fenders on the truck. Then I will attach those lower pieces once again.

The grille turned out pretty good considering what it was when I began - it is not perfect, nor could it be as bad as it was. I have close to 60 hours into it to include all my time running around for parts, the blasting, fabricating, and the body work. This is not a bill you would ever want to get from a body repair/restoration shop. It would be cheaper and wiser to have found and purchased a grille shell in much better condition needing minimal rework. But, keeping true to the aim of this rebuild, I wanted to keep as much of the original truck as possible and work with what I have since I can do the work.