Ok, now that I have a CMP, what do I do now?

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Pedro Bedard

It dawned on me that, now that I've purchased my truck, I have NO idea where to start on it...Is there some kind of "CMP rebuilding for dummies" book out there? I'm beginning to think I've bitten off WAY more than I can chew here...

Learn as you go. Here are a few rookie mistakes I made:

Not photographing everything;
Not labelling or tagging everything with INK;
Not organizing parts, and most importantly;
Not asking for help (until it was too late).

CMP Ten Step Program (recommended):
1. Your first step is to learn from MLU -you won't find a better resource for info, advice, and CMP fun.
2. Get a good set of SAE wrenches and a good socket set with deep and short sockets.
3. Find a lot of coffee tins or plastic containers in which to store small parts for future use - milk crates are great for the larger parts, and pallets are very useful for outdoor storage for the real large and heavy parts.
4. Strip down the truck - keeping parts organized.
5. Clean useable parts.
6. Look for replacement parts/clean them (tear down to verify fit, form and functioning).
7. Sandblast the big bits (with the usual cautions).
8. Paint everything.
9. Reassemble.
10. Drive the beast - but beware of sore facial muscles from SEG.

Enjoy!