Good thing about any phosphoric acid product for rust treatment is that the acid only eats rust, and leaves the base metal untouched, other than a light phosphoric coating, providing a bit of protection behind.

 

I used Phosphoric Acid once to clean the rust out of a Kawasaki tank before coating it with plastic rustproofing. I used the P.A. cleaner the MC shop sold me then I looked on the label then went to buy Lime-away. It's nice to know there is a proper product out there. Evaporust.

I have a small bottle of Rustoleum Rust Reformer that I need to try on some dings on my front fenders when I get ambitious but I've been sick all season.

Edwin

 

Ive bought the. Rustoleum gel phosphoric acid rust remover. It works very well.

I even recently purchased the home depot phosphoric acid they sell for concrete cleaning. Works well on metal as well.

Oliver's process of keeping it wet is a great technique. I also have several jugs in the shop I throw bolts and other small parts into, and by morning, they're brand new looking. They must be decreased before, and should be wire brushed to get as much off as possible for efficiency.

 

So the evapo-rust is phosphoric acid too then?

Thanks for everyone's chiming in. Rust is a constant battle here.

 

Great looking build! Looking forward to seeing/reading about the progress!

On the subject of rust removal, I used Eastwood Fast Etch on many smaller parts, phosphoric acid more or less; did a great job. Any loose rust or scale needs to be removed first for it to work the best. I would just fill a mixing cup with it about half way depending on the size of the part and drop it in. Takes less than 10 minutes for most pieces.

Eastwood rust encapsulator is good for a large part that you cannot sand blast or take apart etc; it is a very tough coating, goes right over rust, looks like matte finish black paint in the end. Good on surface rust.

 

I took the day off to work on the RC today.
My friend was in town to help with the front end rebuild.

After going through three trucks worth of upper control arms we found a good set. With all the snow around here pulling parts was exciting in the deep stuff. I spent much of the day being a shovel technician.
Napa should have 4 fresh ball joints, brake pads and wheel seals tomorrow so we can get it buttoned back up.

After running out of parts to re-assembel the front end, I dug out the powertrain and we worked on that for a bit.
The KDP was tabbed and the case bolts pulled / re-installed with Loctite. The cover was re-installed with a fresh Cummins gasket and new front main seal.

The transmission pan was also dropped, filter changed and the bands where adjusted.

 

Yesterday the front end got re-assembled, with a good set of OEM "seasoned" used coil springs and all four new ball joints,.
We used some recently replaced, nice used rotors and some good used calipers along with a fresh set of pads.
I will order some new ProComp ES3000 shocks for the front end to finish it up.

We left all the A arm bushing bolts un-tightened until it is loaded down with the powertrain and sitting at the actual ride height.
The rest of the front end parts looked good as they had been recently replaced on the Cummins W-250 donor rig that I grabbed the front frame 1/2 from.

 

I got an hour or two worth of work done the other night before I lost power in the shop on Monday night.
We had high winds as some cold weather blew in. The local MT, Stowe, had 100MPH winds sustained for 4 HRs. MT Washington, an hour away in NH, had 175MPH winds recorded the same night.

I got the last of the intake plate gasket cleaned up and buttoned down for the twin ram intake horn set up.
I also got the fan hub and pulley wheel swapped out for the '91.5-'93 style so I can run that style radiator, clutch fan and fan shroud on that P-pumped 12V.
I have decided that I will use that style radiator and parts on the '78 core support which I will need to modify to suit my needs.

 

And I think 45 MPH winds are strong, I can't imagine winds like that!

 

Pulled the 5 lug rear axle out from under the RC today.
A clean Dana 70 axle with 3.54 gears to going under it. The cover was pulled last night and all looks clean and good inside it.
I have not had much free time, but try to get something done to it even if it is only for an hour here and there.

 

Cowl crack drilled

Cracked weld at windshield

Custom made cowl crack plate

Plate welded

primed

 

Thanks for posting those T-man!
I figured some cowl crack fix pictures might help other solve a very common problem with these old 1st gens.

 

This is the first I've heard of a cowl crack. Is it something I need to be checking or is it something that is obvious? I assume to see it you have to pull the fender?

 

Do you here a funny metal cracking noise / popping noise when going over bumps and turns?
Do you have unexplained leaks on your floorboard after a rain?
These are signs you have cowl cracks.

Almost every 1st gen I work has some sort of cowl crack though the 2wd usually lead an easier life and have the cracks less often.
Even both my 2wd RCs which only had 100,000 miles on them both had cracks to fix.
I would guess about 14 out of 15 1st gens I work on have some sort of cracks in that area. It is a weak area that was under designed.

I have welded up both of my crew cabs and both of my RCs that I have swapped over to 12V power.
Poncho, my 91.0, needs it done as well, but I have not pulled the fender off to do it yet. I can just tell by the occasional noise it makes coming from that area.

 

I haven't noticed any noises like that but since the po chopped off the exhaust under the cab it is slightly noisy... I'll have to listen for it or check it out once I get my interior put back together... ok hijack over...