welcome to the shop Ross! we love pictures here
grinding off the old paint you should be fine with a good dust mask, the respirator is for when you're spraying primer/paint, and you'll find that the fastest way to get the paint off is to start very coarse, like 40 grit - if you keep it moving there won't be a heating problem, the warping is more a sand blaster problem, on large flat panels
if you do some searching in the forums here you'll find some info on paint colors, and if you've got a code# from the data plate on the truck [drivers door jamb], you might be able to translate that to a name that will indicate what you should see on the truck - also pay attention to hidden areas when you take things apart and you'll usually be able to determine what it started out as
good luck, and be sure to get some pics and a story into the editor for the gallery, we especially like to hear about the upcoming generation of 'bolters!
Bill
