Re: Project: Shiro
 

Thank you gentlemen, I look to get the front fenders off tonight. And anything beyond that will be be gravy.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Looking good..need any help with the heavy lifting..Let me know..I'm only a hop skip away and i won't be like Rob and not show up LOL j/k

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Progress for the night...

"Rust free" California sheet metal... :lol:

Attachment 1324030

Stopping point for the night.

Attachment 1324031

I think I'll tackle the heater box tomorrow after work.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

"Hidden rust".....;)

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Tonight's progress and findings...

So the forward cab mount bolts are tack welded, weird or common?

Attachment 1324408

Floors are pitted pretty bad, thinking I may need to replace them. Mike (mcbassin), are you sure you don't want to move to Florida? We could use your skillzzzzz!

Attachment 1324409

These are the strange holes in the passenger side toe board. I think they were for the A/C, easy fix, just thought I'd share

Attachment 1324410

And finally the progress. Nothing cosmic, mostly pulled bumper brackets and such, then pulled the outside portion of the heater box.

Attachment 1324411

Re: Project: Shiro
 

The welds on the cab mount bolts is common. They were there to make sure the bolts didn't push up and out when they set the cab on the frame at the factory. The rear bolts go up from the bottom so obviously they weren't welded. On the Blazers all 10 bolts were welded from the factory... lots of cutting to change body mounts.

Those floors aren't that bad. It looks like it was scaley rust that was de-scaled and painted. I would trust those floors over replacement sheetmetal, but I have recently come to the conclusion that re-pop parts SUCK. So, I might be biased. :lol:

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Thanks for the info on the mount bolts Steve, I just thought it was odd because it makes it tough to change the body bushing if they fail. As far as the floors go the pits are very deep. I imagine that if you hit them with a blaster you would have Swiss cheese. I am building this truck for longevity so I am going to give them a very close look once I get the rest of the interior out and move on from there.

Didn't get any work done on the actual truck this weekend but I did get the cab and bed dollies made.

Attachment 1325701

Attachment 1325702

Attachment 1325703

Now I just need to gather the man power to put the cab and bed on them! ;)

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Looking good Buck, your making good progress and nice job on the dollies. I'll be following along closely for the LS1 swap ;)

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Nice progress on your truck Buck. Yep you will need a small cutoff wheel or dremel to cut that pesky welded bolt. I have taken a bunch of cabs off these model trucks, they are always like that from GM. Do you have an engine hoist/cherry picker on wheels? You can manhandle the cab by yourself if you have a decent one. You just need to make a bar or board to go across the inside of your cab. If you're like me it can be hard to get 3 helpers in the shop at one time.... Good luck.
Nice dollies btw.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Thanks Keith, the swap will be a mixture of what I did on the '68 and some of the things Hart_Rod has learned over the last year. The big things will be the use of a BP Automotive harness, manifilds instead of headers, and I think I will give a go at building the exhaust myself.

Thanks Mike, I have some worn out discs I think will work on those bolts. I though about buying the plans for LFD's cab lift, but I think I'll just use human power. :lol:

Re: Project: Shiro
 

If you don't mind me asking, what's the reason for running manifolds instead of headers? Clearance issue with the dropmember of did you have an issue with the headers on your stepper?

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Today's progress...

The bed on the dolly I built.

Attachment 1327475

This frame needs some Porterbuilt love... :metal:

Attachment 1327476

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Nice progress ..... !

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Excellent to see progress...

Re: Project: Shiro
 

I feel like I've been run over by a truck! But I'm relieved we were able to get a lot done this weekend. Here is today's progress...

Here is my youngest son removing the drive shaft. He hung out with me for two days working on Shiro, good times.
Attachment 1328136

Engine removed, we also removed the exhaust, all the shocks, the glove box, the inside portion of the heater box, and the high hump! Good bit of progress...;)
Attachment 1328137

Anyone need a 250 I6? Previous owner claimed it had 41,730 miles when I bought it and I've put about 1500-2000 miles on it over the last year. I'm not really sure about the mile at this point...:confused:
Attachment 1328138

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Well Ernie, I just read your thread from start to finish before going to bed tonight. I'm not sure how I've missed it but I haven't been on here much either. What a roller coaster ride you guys have been through on this.

I can't wait to see the progress and final product. You and your son are going to have a lot of great memories(and a few, "remember that time?")when this is all done.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

More progress today, we removed the seat, carpet, steering column, insulation, some wiring, fuel tank, fuel lines, and the front cab mount bolts. The cab mount bolts didn't go very well due to the "tack" welds the factory puts on them... :waah:

Here you can see the difference in how the cab mount bolts came out. As soon as I started trying to remove it a crack formed immediately. :(
Attachment 1330652

Beginning to look a little sparse...
Attachment 1330653

Another angle
Attachment 1330654

Fuel tank removed
Attachment 1330655

Fuel tank in the yard!!
Attachment 1330656

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Tear down is always quick and easy and fun.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

My body doesn't agree with it being quick and easy! :lol:

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Nice progress buck. Been a while since I checked in so you're doing a ls1 now?

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Yep, Hart_Rod had one layin' around so... you know... ;)

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Today started off slow, probably because I slept until well after 9am! I did manage to get the door weather strip removed as well as the master cylinder and all the brake lines. I have decided to remove the cab and put the Porterbuilt parts on the chassis without powder coat. Once that is done I'll put the cab back on the frame with new bushings to do the sheet metal and bodywork. After ALL that we'll blow it apart for powder coating and paint. Sheez, I'm tired after just writing that. :lol:

Pics...

The master cylinder and lines removed...
Attachment 1330956

The cab is ready to come off... maybe I can get some help removing it tomorrow...
Attachment 1330957

The "Man" pedal is gone and it couldn't have come sooner, I'm tired of shifting! (My other car is a 5-speed). I think some Lokar pedals are going to make their way into this build too.
Attachment 1330958

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Major progress today, the cab is off!! It took some out of the box thinking but it worked. :metal:

The crew! We came, we saw, we kicked its @ss!
Attachment 1331275

The frame is now ready to finish dis-assembly have to sell some those parts.
Attachment 1331277

My dropmember ready to get in the mix!
Attachment 1331278

Re: Project: Shiro
 

I like it!

Re: Project: Shiro
 

See told ya taking it apart is fun, three generation of help.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Awesome ! Gonna love watching it come together.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Oh yeah!

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Nice progress. I just started to disassemble today myself.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

IT's been a while since I checked in, but it looks like you've done a LOT! Good work!

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Looking good Buck! No turning back now....Glad to see you going the direction you are :metal:

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Mike, I would like to bend your ear sometime regarding my sheet metal. I just want to make sure I do this in the correct order. Hart_Rod has offered to give me a hand with it and that will help a lot, but I figure too much info is better than not enough!

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Go Buck Go!! 10 months till Cruisin' The Coast..;)

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Sure Buck,
Anything I can do to help. Just fire away. I know all the little things I would do different on my next one :)

Re: Project: Shiro
 

I know I have cab corners, the area where the floor, inner, and outer rockers meet, outer rockers, and finally at least one lower kick panel to fix. If you go back through the pics I posted (posts 169 and 170) of the rust and the pics below you can see what I'm up against.

Forward end of passenger inner rocker
Attachment 1332069

Closer look at passenger side inner rocker
Attachment 1332070

Driver side inner rocker
Attachment 1332071

Closer look at driver side inner rocker
Attachment 1332072

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Tonight was a health night, I had to rest up. But I did unpacked some of the goodies tonight. I think my project for tomorrow night will be the rear notch.

My RideTech coilovers..
Attachment 1332081

Surveying the landscape for the Porterbuilt mild notch. :metal:
Attachment 1332082

Re: Project: Shiro
 

Thanks gents I'm looking forward to knocking out some rivets... said no one ever!! :lol:

Re: Project: Shiro
 

did the suspension kit you ordered cone with new trailing arms? or is that an option when you go to order?

Re: Project: Shiro
 

They come in the kit.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

I would highly recommend getting a good Air Hammer (Mac Tools or Snap-on). I fought rivets with the cheaper brands and it was torture. I never dreamed how much better the Mac w/good bits would cut through them until I tried one. Literally made the job EASY! I removed 10 rivets in less than an hour the first time I had a quality tool to work with. It cuts through them like butter, no grinding, drilling, or cutoff wheels needed.

Re: Project: Shiro
 

I used a cheaper ingersol rand air chisel, but I did buy a good bit and I cut EVERY single rivet on my frame in one day. And the way I remember that day... there are BILLIONS of them. I've done the grinder way, the torch way and I have to say the air chisel was hands down the fastest & cleanest way I've done it.

Glad to see your back on it too... :metal: