Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT A new lease on life: 30x40 schoolhouse conversion

[jollygreengiant]

That's some nice looking wood, especially the spalted maple! What do you plan to build?

SOP now a days. What are you going to do with the wood?

This wood is going to serve two purposes for me. The most immediate is that I'll likely build some small cutting boards to start with. Likely some more projects down the road with it. But it's also going to let me get some experience working with hardwood (and maybe glue ups, weather depending). I actually made a little napkin holder for my wife out of Hickory, and I have a salt cellar about half finished as well from Hickory. It's nothing fancy, but I think what was more valuable than the project for me was what I learned about hardwood. You certainly can't go at it like you can with SPF dimensional lumber lol. It was a good learning experience for what I need to do differently, and I'm hoping to build on that with some single piece and some glued together cutting boards.




Also, @xtremek what are you doing posting on GJ in the middle of the night? You have more than enough on your plate, get some sleep man! lol.

 

[xtremek]

Also, @xtremek what are you doing posting on GJ in the middle of the night? You have more than enough on your plate, get some sleep man! lol.

I couldn't sleep, so I came out to the shop and did a little work and cruising the interweb.

 

[captain14]

Looking forward to see your cutting board projects.

Can you secure a piece of radiator hose over the spot where it was rubbing against something to protect it?

Just about any newer piece of equipment is tight to work on. That’s why I loved my Dodge 87 D150 truck with a slant 6. Plenty of room in the engine bay.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I have an update on the Avalanche saga.

I have been debating what to do with this truck for a while. More recently I have been leaning towards a certain direction which I've alluded to in here previously but I hadn't decided yet. But recent events have accelerated my deliberations, and I've come to a decision.



I'm going to part it out and scrap the rest. The way things are going here it would probably be the better part of a decade before I would be able to start working on it, which kinda torpedoes the idea of using it as a family hauler for camping/boating trips. And really it's just too far gone to make sense to bring it back to life. Even if it was just the fenders, doors, rockers, etc that needed replaced, that would still be quite a bit of work. But with the frame being rotten too? That's just too much. I'll be way ahead in both time and money to go find something rust free in the southern US and bring it back up here.

So, yeah. It's certainly been a tough decision but I think it's for the best. I've already started tearing into it, thinking it will make a good project that I can tinker with over the winter. That, and with the new woodworking tools I now have, I really need the space that the Avalanche is currently occupying. I'm thinking I'll keep a few pieces and put them up on the wall as a keepsake, just not sure which ones. I have the front clip, but not the headlight housings. I could keep the tailgate and mount it to the wall as a fold down workbench, but I'm pretty sure the tailgate latch is broken.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Looking forward to see your cutting board projects.

Can you secure a piece of radiator hose over the spot where it was rubbing against something to protect it?

Just about any newer piece of equipment is tight to work on. That’s why I loved my Dodge 87 D150 truck with a slant 6. Plenty of room in the engine bay.

Yep, there was actually a couple places on the line where I added some wear protection.

 

[xtremek]

Is the tailgate fairly rust free or are the hinge pivots pretty much gone like most of them around here?

On a different note, how much of the dreaded white stuff are you supposed to get this weekend? Around here they're saying 4", 5" or 8" (10, 12 or 20cm)

 

[jollygreengiant]

Is the tailgate fairly rust free or are the hinge pivots pretty much gone like most of them around here?

On a different note, how much of the dreaded white stuff are you supposed to get this weekend? Around here they're saying 4", 5" or 8" (10, 12 or 20cm)

I'm not actually sure on the hinge pivots. The tailgate seemed to move pretty well so I never actually looked at it any more than that. Guess I better take a look.

We were south of the big squall line so we only got a few inches, but it was really windy so it's mostly bare with some drifts in spots. Now if you go 30 minutes north of here, they got 24" since Thursday.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Here are some ideas for your Avalanche. I'm sure with your skills, you could do any variation of these ideas.

Porch swing

Fold down counter/bench. Even if the latch is broken, that's a simple repair.

Bench

Make a base to mount the front seats on for a comfy shop chair.
You can keep a memory alive and have a practical use for it.

 

[xtremek]

If the hinge points are good on the tailgate, then you can make just the gate itself work. Better if the rear of the box is ok. I'd do something along the lines of the middle pic above if the back of the box is ok. Use enough of the box so that you can close the tailgate with a seat cushion on the gate.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I like the second idea. Would be a combination of practical and also a keepsake. The back end of the box is in decent shape, the bumper not so much. May be able to find a replacement for that though, or swap for one.

 

[xtremek]

Skip the bumper? Make the tail lights work. Set up a switch so you can make them function either as regular tail lights or 4 ways? Or maybe even turn signals and brake lights?

 

[burger]

Sometimes it is best to move on from a project that doesn't make sense, even with the sentimental attachment.

But this means you're going to LS swap the old International, right?

 

[jollygreengiant]

The more I tear into this thing, it's becoming more apparent that I made the right call. The rust is worse than I thought, and the mice have done some serious damage to some of the wiring and interior parts. I've found a couple serious mouse houses already, and the remnants of a few mice as well.







Had to make a new tool purchase. I couldn't believe that despite my own tool collection and the addition of parts of 2 other collections over the years, that I did not have any external torx sockets.



Does anyone know how much the bare cab for an Avalanche/Suburban would weigh? I'm working on a top down approach as I'd rather not try and pull very rusty parts from underneath of the truck while having rust and dirt constantly falling on my face. I'm just trying to get an idea of how much I'll need to cut up the body.

 

[gilr]

Mouse droppings are dangerous to your health, wear a respirator or at least a good dust mask!

 

[XJSuperman]

I'd imagine the IH could lift it if thats what you're getting at. I'd consider taking the sawzall to it if you need to make pieces smaller for easier handling. All depends on how much you are actually parting out and if anything is really worth saving. I'd seriously consider scrapping the whole thing and saving wheels/tires if they have any life left. Take whatever keepsakes you want and take the rest in one trip. If you can't or don't want to handle it that way, then maybe cut it up and stack the pieces on a trailer until you make the trip to the junkyard.
What pieces are avalanche people looking for these days? An LS is only worth a few hundred down here, and the transmission is worth almost nothing unless you can prove its in good working order and not fully evolved into a 4Lslippy. Wheels n tires could be $2-400 depending on condition. The rest is bodypanels or trim pieces if you care to deal with that and the time involved in messaging with finicky people and those wanting a single $10 part.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I'd imagine the IH could lift it if thats what you're getting at. I'd consider taking the sawzall to it if you need to make pieces smaller for easier handling. All depends on how much you are actually parting out and if anything is really worth saving. I'd seriously consider scrapping the whole thing and saving wheels/tires if they have any life left. Take whatever keepsakes you want and take the rest in one trip. If you can't or don't want to handle it that way, then maybe cut it up and stack the pieces on a trailer until you make the trip to the junkyard.
What pieces are avalanche people looking for these days? An LS is only worth a few hundred down here, and the transmission is worth almost nothing unless you can prove its in good working order and not fully evolved into a 4Lslippy. Wheels n tires could be $2-400 depending on condition. The rest is bodypanels or trim pieces if you care to deal with that and the time involved in messaging with finicky people and those wanting a single $10 part.

Yeah I'm discovering that part. I've been pricing stuff similar to or a bit cheaper than what's for sale on marketplace, and a lot of people ghost me after that. Is everyone just thinking that since it's a part out I'm going to sell them a transfer case for $10? And the cats, I'm getting at least a message every day asking if I still have the cats.

I did consider scrapping the whole thing but I don't have a trailer that big. I only have a little 4x8 utility trailer, and I don't know anyone with a car trailer. The IH would lift it, but it still has a bad headgasket so there's no chance of starting it until it warms up next spring. I pretty well have to cut it up so that the pieces will fit on my trailer, I was just wondering if I could get the body on the ground before I did that.

 

[XJSuperman]

Yeah I'm discovering that part. I've been pricing stuff similar to or a bit cheaper than what's for sale on marketplace, and a lot of people ghost me after that. Is everyone just thinking that since it's a part out I'm going to sell them a transfer case for $10? And the cats, I'm getting at least a message every day asking if I still have the cats.

I did consider scrapping the whole thing but I don't have a trailer that big. I only have a little 4x8 utility trailer, and I don't know anyone with a car trailer. The IH would lift it, but it still has a bad headgasket so there's no chance of starting it until it warms up next spring. I pretty well have to cut it up so that the pieces will fit on my trailer, I was just wondering if I could get the body on the ground before I did that.

Dunno why they'd care so much about the cats. I scrapped a truck within the last year and got 20 bucks a pop for a cat. They aren't worth the goldmine people think they all are. And yeah, its marketplace so everyone thinks they can get everything for nothing. Good luck, but make sure you aren't wasting your valuable family time fighting the fbmp demons and their flakiness.

 

[xtremek]

Marketplace people are getting ridiculous. I'm getting to the place where I'd rather burn it than sell it. $1600 (USD) snow blower new, used once, I can't get $300 for.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Dunno why they'd care so much about the cats. I scrapped a truck within the last year and got 20 bucks a pop for a cat. They aren't worth the goldmine people think they all are. And yeah, its marketplace so everyone thinks they can get everything for nothing. Good luck, but make sure you aren't wasting your valuable family time fighting the fbmp demons and their flakiness.

Yeah I'm gonna have to watch that. I have enough other things on the go that I don't need this turning into a huge time sink. I think I've talked with a dozen people so far and haven't sold anything. Although one guy is supposed to be coming by tonight for a couple doors, and one other guy sounds serious about the transfer case and front differential.

Marketplace people are getting ridiculous. I'm getting to the place where I'd rather burn it than sell it. $1600 (USD) snow blower new, used once, I can't get $300 for.

I'm not sure why it's changed recently but something has. May have to do with the economy? I've noticed it on both ends; people trying to buy stuff for dirt cheap but also trying to sell stuff for way more than what it should be at.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Well it's only the middle of December but it looks like the middle of February with how much snow we have. I've got over 5 hours on the tractor now just blowing snow, and winter hasn't even officially started yet.






The new blower has been working really good, except for one case of the owner being braindead. I found a pretty big rock with it, and it snapped the shear pin as it's supposed to. The problem was that I had shear bolts for the PTO shaft but apparently didn't get any for the blower itself. Needless to say that got rectified pretty quick.

I also got another job checked off the list. I gave the wife the gift of a warm car seat this past year and I finally got around to installing it. I was dreading it a bit as I've never done upholstery work before, but it wasn't actually that bad. There were no hog rings to deal with, instead it had a hard plastic seam in the seat liner that clipped into a bunch of clips inside the foam base. Took a bit to figure out the best way to pop it out, but wasn't too bad.



Of course it wouldn't be a project around here if I didn't run into a problem. I didn't have any micro fuse taps that would work with the fuse block in her car, and no local stores had one either. Had to wait for the jungle store to ship one out. But it is done now, and wifey is tickled pink to finally have a heated seat again. I don't think it's been off since I installed it lol.

 

[Prospecter]

Nice thing about that blower is being able to stack the snow really high. With a plow, you'd be pushing it way back this time of year. That shear bolt will break even without a rock, although I think you'll do better with an electric PTO and hydrostatic transmission. My manual and clutch means some more stopping and starting of the blower.

 

[xtremek]

Nice job. Happy wife, happy life.

 

[burger]

I also got another job checked off the list. I gave the wife the gift of a warm car seat this past year and I finally got around to installing it. I was dreading it a bit as I've never done upholstery work before, but it wasn't actually that bad. There were no hog rings to deal with, instead it had a hard plastic seam in the seat liner that clipped into a bunch of clips inside the foam base. Took a bit to figure out the best way to pop it out, but wasn't too bad.

Whose kit did you use? I've been eyeing up a Dorman kit for my F150.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Nice thing about that blower is being able to stack the snow really high. With a plow, you'd be pushing it way back this time of year. That shear bolt will break even without a rock, although I think you'll do better with an electric PTO and hydrostatic transmission. My manual and clutch means some more stopping and starting of the blower.

One drawback to this new setup is that in heavy wetter snow it doesn't throw it as far as my old tractor did, likely because it's 25hp vs 50hp. But yes, still a lot better than dealing with the piles I would have from a plow. That's what I did my first winter we lived here, but that only lasted a month before I got a blower lol.

Whose kit did you use? I've been eyeing up a Dorman kit for my F150.

That's what this was. Seemed to be a pretty good kit, having the wire harness included saved a pile of time. The only downside I had was that you are not supposed to cut the heating pads but they barely fit the seats on my wide's Edge. Had to get them just right before the adhesive on the pads grabbed. But for an F150 I doubt you'd have that problem.

 

[jollygreengiant]

I should have figured that the cab would be rusty but I didn't think it would be this bad. It really would be a complete replacement of every piece of metal on the lower half of the truck if I had tried to fix it.





It looks like this project will be one of those ones that requires a new tool purchase. In this case it's a 15 amp 7" angle grinder.



I had originally planned to get a 9" grinder because I thought I needed the bigger capacity for a couple future jobs. But after comparing the weight of them, and the cost difference of the grinder and abrasives, I decided on going with the 7" grinder. Even so, I was a little apprehensive if I had made the right call. But it wasn't a problem for this job, it cut right through everything like it was paper.




This is a pic of the cross section of the rear pillars of the cab. I thought it was interesting how it was put together.

 

[xtremek]

Why didn't you go with a 4 1/2". And yeah, the posts have a lot of structure in them. In the newer vehicles, the posts have higher carbon content than the body skins. That's what someone told me. All I know is that they're super hard to cut through. At least on GM cars.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Why didn't you go with a 4 1/2". And yeah, the posts have a lot of structure in them. In the newer vehicles, the posts have high carbon content than the body skins. That's what someone told me. All I know is that they're super hard to cut through. At least on GM cars.

I already have a couple 4.5" grinders. I got this one to handle heavier stuff and to get a deeper cutting depth.

I did notice especially in those rear cab pillars that the inner pieces where harder to cut through.

 

[captain14]

Newer cars are built with crumble zones. Everything but the passenger compartment will crumble but the “box” tries to stay intact.

Are you trying sweep and pick up the pieces after every cutting time?


Years ago, my former neighbor cut up an old studebaker car after he stripped everything he nnexed for his project car and loaded it to the back of his pickup truck for the scrap yard.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

The pillars are engineered to support the roof structure in event of roll over. This is done by use of higher strength steel, as well as metal shaping for controlled deformation.

 

[83VillageRepair]

I happen to live in the rust free part of the world so if you would like I can keep an eye out for a rust free example. I like looking for cars, just ask my wife

 

[jollygreengiant]

Newer cars are built with crumble zones. Everything but the passenger compartment will crumble but the “box” tries to stay intact.

Are you trying sweep and pick up the pieces after every cutting time?


Years ago, my former neighbor cut up an old studebaker car after he stripped everything he nnexed for his project car and loaded it to the back of his pickup truck for the scrap yard.

For some reason I had thought that would be done via large singular pieces, but the multiple overlapping pieces makes sense.

There hasn't really been any pieces that small except for when I took the windshield out. I got most of that cleaned up but still seeing some pieces I missed.

The pillars are engineered to support the roof structure in event of roll over. This is done by use of higher strength steel, as well as metal shaping for controlled deformation.

That was another thing I found interesting. I know these trucks can go through a rollover without the roof collapsing, but I was a bit surprised how little metal they needed to accomplish that. The supporting pieces in the roof weren't very big at all.

I happen to live in the rust free part of the world so if you would like I can keep an eye out for a rust free example. I like looking for cars, just ask my wife

Thanks for the offer, and I will definitely keep that in mind. That's what I'm leaning towards doing once some of this excitement over the border calms down.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Well it's not even the middle of January and I've already put 10 hours on the tractor blowing snow. Time for a lube job, and to correct a couple little things.



Some of you will notice the puddle of water on the floor. We had a brief warm up for a couple days this past week, and we even had one day that was sunny for most of the day. I kid you not, I don't think we have had that since before Christmas. I actually took a day off and used the nice weather to get a bunch of stuff done. It was really nice to have the shop doors open again.



And I'm still working away on the Avalanche. I'm amazed I didn't snap off what was left of this body mount bolt.



Making good progress though. I now have the back half of the truck completely gone, so there's finally a bit more room to maneuver.

Interesting side note; apparently the only thing keeping the frame rigid was the body panels. I originally had the jack stands at the front and under the rear axle. I put my floor jack under the rear axle and moved those jack stands up to where you see in the pic so that I could cut up the back half. After getting the jacks in place, I went to lower the floor jack to take any weight off the rear axle, and as I did so I watched the frame slowly bend downwards in the middle where it was rotted out.



Question for you guys: has anyone ever lifted a V8 engine with a 25hp compact tractor? Looking at the weight of the engine and the specs of my tractor it looks like I should be able to do it. But I don't want to get mid lift and find out I can't either. I don't have anything else to lift with if things go sideways.

Also, will the engine sit just fine on it's two mounts if I take the transmission and transfer case out? Or does it use those for support as well?

 

[XJSuperman]

Just the engine, or the trans too? With no need to get stupid high to clear body panels or anything, I would think your tractor will be just fine, esp with the snowblower hanging off the back. Maybe its an opportunity for another attachment? One of those 3pt boom poles. A coworker just picked one up cheap and is using it all the time to move things around the yard.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

How high do you need to lift it? And will you be doing it with the transmission and transfer case removed?

Tractor should have zero issues with just the engine. I would at least pull the transfer case to give you a better center of balance.

Do you have an old tire? If you lay it in front of the engine under the front part of the oil pan, it will sit there no problem.

 

[Prospecter]

My 790 is rated about 700 lbs or so on the FEL. Yours should be similar, and you can check at TractorData.com. A boom for your 3ph would lift a little more. If you get too ambitious, all that happens is that a relief valve opens, and the lift won't go higher.

How are you adapting your snowblower?

 

[jollygreengiant]

Just the engine, or the trans too? With no need to get stupid high to clear body panels or anything, I would think your tractor will be just fine, esp with the snowblower hanging off the back. Maybe its an opportunity for another attachment? One of those 3pt boom poles. A coworker just picked one up cheap and is using it all the time to move things around the yard.

How high do you need to lift it? And will you be doing it with the transmission and transfer case removed?

Tractor should have zero issues with just the engine. I would at least pull the transfer case to give you a better center of balance.

Do you have an old tire? If lay it in front of the engine under the front part of the oil pan and it will sit there.

Sorry guys, yes it would be just the engine. I know I don't have enough lift capacity to do the engine, ******, and t case all in one shot. That was why I asked if I can remove the transmission and leave the engine in place. I would take them out and then lift the engine out.

I should have lots of lifting height since I just need to get over the frame rails. I can even drop the jack stands down and gain some inches there.

My 790 is rated about 700 lbs or so on the FEL. Yours should be similar, and you can check at TractorData.com. A boom for your 3ph would lift a little more. If you get too ambitious, all that happens is that a relief valve opens, and the lift won't go higher.

How are you adapting your snowblower?

Adapting my snowblower?

I thought about a rear boom but I don't think I'd gain much capacity. I've noticed that even the snowblower is enough to make the front end light.

 

[Prospecter]

Yep. Snowblowers are heavy.
Yep. Booms only provide a little bit of extra capacity, at least when I've used them. Nice for when I didn't have a FEL.

"Well it's not even the middle of January and I've already put 10 hours on the tractor blowing snow. Time for a lube job, and to correct a couple little things."

Yep. I wasn't clear. Sorry about that. I was wondering what needed correcting.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Yep. Snowblowers are heavy.
Yep. Booms only provide a little bit of extra capacity, at least when I've used them. Nice for when I didn't have a FEL.

"Well it's not even the middle of January and I've already put 10 hours on the tractor blowing snow. Time for a lube job, and to correct a couple little things."

Yep. I wasn't clear. Sorry about that. I was wondering what needed correcting.

Oh I see.

One thing was that I needed to lock the slack adjustment turnbuckles. As it was they kept backing off so then the snowblower would be swaying all over the place. The other problem was one that I made myself. When I installed the rear lights I ran out of crimp/heat shrink connectors, and I really needed these lights operational, so despite knowing full well that it would bite future me in the @ss I used the dreaded scotch locks. And sure enough; recently the one light has been working intermittently, so I ripped off those stupid connectors and re-did the connections with proper connectors.

 

[xtremek]

Scotchlocks? Hold your hand out palm facing down so I can slap it. Bad boy, bad boy.

 

[madison069]

Don’t feel bad, I’ve used scotchlocks in a pinch, for it to turn permanent. It happens.