Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Go get that thing!! The prices of the '60-'66 trucks are going up like crazy. If you've been wanting one, I would suggest not waiting too long. If I had the money and the space, I'd buy every one I could, because I just like 'em and it breaks my heart when they get sent to the scrapper. I would be like the Crazy Cat Lady of trucks!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Yeah im trying to save up the cash so i can go to him in person with cash in hand and make a persuasive offer.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Oh, there's a semi-stripped '65 near here that's calling my name. My friend Flyin' Ryan keeps tryin' to talk me into layin' hundreds on the hood 'til the guy gives it up. He's even offering a '75 front clip for it.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Yep that is me too !!
These things are crazy easy to work on, a lot less cramped and tight spaces as my Pontiac of the same era.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Plus they're kool trucks with the right looks.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

that stance is perfect man!!! same thing i am going for only lower. i love ur truck man!! cool patina and i dig the wheels too!!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

The stance, the wheel-tire combo, and everything else about it just works on this truck. Really diggin it!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Thanks! I really like your truck as well. I like my stuff slammed, but this truck still had to be available to pull a small trailer and make Home Depot runs, so I stayed with coil springs. My '55 is currently on hold until this truck gets done, and it's on bags. It's a Pro Streeter, and it's got a wild cantilever rear suspension with RE-8s. All the details are in my '55 build thread shown below.

Thank You! My intent with this truck was keep everything simple but effective, using readily available parts. No trick stuff on this truck, but almost nothing was left untouched. Nearly every detail on this truck has been tweaked, but the intent was to have it all very stealthy and subtle. And 100% driveable. Oh yeah, and cheap.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Finally got the notches installed. I have done notches before on '73 and up Chevys, and these were by far the most difficult ones I have ever done. Every part of the install area was either double wall or triple wall 3/16". Cutting it was no fun, and drilling was even worse. I wound up breaking a total of 5 drill bits. With the thickness of the metal, once the drill bit caught, you were going for a ride. I used a torch and warmed up the top portion to make it fit the contour of the frame better because it's getting fully welded around the entire perimeter of the notch.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps9659785a.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psf40396e2.jpg

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

I like what I see. You know I've looked at guys installing notches and never thought about the frames being the way they are. The way they sorta "S" bend. I bet it is fun to get the notches installed flush. I don't envy you. Still waiting on more.
"

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Lookin' good!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

subscribed........looks great

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

I have to say that this is one of my favorite trucks in this forum. I'm not knocking the bagged street sweepers or the stockies, I love em all. But- this truck gives me a warm n fuzzy.I am planning for a similar look on my panel and I have a set of vintage A/R Torque Thrust wheels that I've been saving. I really was not sure that I would like them on a C10 but I am now! I DIG this truck!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

looking good, I still need to weld my notches in on both sides and I plan on boxing them in also! its going to be fun bending the metal from scratch to box them in, but I'm a lil worried about pulling anything with the frame notched thou!! what are your thoughts about this?? also I noticed your c-notch is notched at the back, is that for the porterbuilt track bar mount??

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Thanks for the kind words!
I'm a huge fan of Torq-Thrust style wheels, and had a pretty good collection of them before everybody started reproducing them in the '90s. With the factory 6-lug bolt pattern on our trucks, you never saw one with 5-spokes on it back in the day. To me, it's the best looking wheel on our trucks because it just fits the body style. Finding a set of 5-spokes in a 5x5 bolt pattern can be a real challenge, as it wasn't a common bolt pattern for this style of wheel.

Bagging this truck was never an option. I wanted to build a truck with a simple suspension using very common parts that I could find at nearly any parts store. I didn't want to mess with leaking air lines, pumps, and valves because I plan on driving the wheels off of this thing and I don't want to have any issues when I'm far from home. I went a little off-track when we Z'd the chassis, narrowed the rear end, and did the caster mod, but these mods were done to gain crossmember clearance, center the wheels in the fender openings, add caster to make it drive better, and to get the rear wheels and tires to fit. There was a benefit to each one of the mods.

I haven't posted lately, but I have been hot and heavy on the truck. The notches are now fully welded, the panhard bar frame bracket mod is done, and I'm currently raising the bed floor 2.75" for suspension clearance. The structural work on the bed mounts and crossmembers is about 70% done. I'll post up pictures when I'm done with it.

I've also been out in the garage every night working on trying to save the bed wood. All of my wood was basically there, but badly damaged. Splits, warping, cracking, oil soaked, you name it. I've got 3 pieces left to do before I figure out what I'm going to coat them with. I haven't done anything with the bed strips yet, but I have to address all of the bolts that snapped off during the removal. If this experiment works out on the bed wood, I'll post up pictures. If it doesn't, I'll have some 50yr old wood for benches, shutters, shelves or firewood.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Chad-
My notches are ones that CPP sells. They are 1/4" steel and are a pretty nice piece for the money. They had a sale at Christmas, and I picked them up for $105 for the pair. They even make a heavier duty set that are 3/8ths of an inch thick, I believe.

Initially, I thought the same thing as you about not being able to pull anything with a frame notch. After I did the job, my thoughts have changed. My truck is a C-20, and I'm not sure if the frame is any different in the rear from a C-10. When I cut the pieces out of the frame for the notch, it was double walled 3/16ths steel. When I installed the notch section (1/4" thick), the frame now became 5/8ths of an inch thick, in the shear area where strength is critical. Everything was bolted in and red Loc-Tite'd with Grade 8 hardware and then fully welded around the entire perimeter. I have seen threads on this site that say that a bolt in notch weakens the frame, but I have to disagree. My frame is stronger than it was before. I actually made inner boxing plates out of 1/8" steel plate and wound up not using them. On a leaf-spring truck, I would agree that a bolt-in notch is weaker because you have two opposing forces on each end of the leaf spring and the notch is at the center of the opposing forces. On coil spring trucks like ours, there is nothing of great force past the notch. Sure, there's a panhard rod mount, but there's not a ton of force on it if the suspension is set up properly with no binding. All of the forces on a coil spring truck are forward of the notch, namely the coil spring mount (which is double walled and tied from side to side with the shock crossmember), and the forward trailing arm crossmember. Plus, you have to consider the rear crossmember, the rear bumper, and when the bed is installed, it stiffens everything up even more. I don't have a problem with a c-notch at all. A lot of the data that was shown on the c-notch strength thread did not address the location, whether it was a leaf spring or a coil spring application, the other crossmembers that tie into the area, the rear bumper, and the bed crossmembers.

The area on the driver's side notch that appears to be cut out is for the panhard bar mount. The notches came with some very vague instructions, and I removed the panhard mount, not knowing that the notch actually slides under the mount after you blow out the factory rivets and replace them with supplied bolts in the kit.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

very true the instructions aren't very good, I bought the same notches that you did! I installed mine awhile back, I saved a link to installing the notches from the cpp site! I'm still going to do the front cross shaft mod that you have done! I really like what you have done an the mods and things you have done really tie everything together, some people wont notice these things but there are a lot of people that will, like all of us on here!! this summer i'll be cutting a longbed frame down, centering the wheels by moving the cab mounts back, cutting the frame horns off and moving them back, and buying captfab. steering box bracket!

this is one reason I haven't welded my notches in yet cause I don't now if I want to leave this 70's frame alone or go ahead and finish what I started

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Huh, I just noticed. I've been under more'n two of these and never seen the strap on top of the rear control arms where the spring and rearend mounts are. Must be a 3/4 ton thing. Learn something new every day.

How's the wood coming?

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

The wood is a much bigger project than I expected because after closer inspection, it was more torn up than I had initially thought. I've been out in the garage every night working on it. I have done a lot of gluing and clamping, and adding biscuits and fillers to make up the gaps in the big cracks. I have also bought a lot of epoxy, and that stuff is really doing a good job in filling cracks and making new sections that were missing. I'll post up progress shots if this experiment works out, and it's looking like it's going to work.

I think when it's all said and done, if I counted my labor and supplies, I should have just bought a bed kit. Oh well, this experiment has kept me off of the couch and from falling asleep an hour after dinner, so that's a good thing.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

What kind of epoxy are you using? Kinda curious. Can't wait to see the pics.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Glad I'm not the only one.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Rusty-
Here's the epoxy I am using:
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/epx...Heavy-Duty.htm

It is sold at Home Depot. Oddly enough, Lowes doesn't carry it. Kinda spendy at $15 for the kit, and right now, I'm on my 5th kit. I'll probably buy another 2 more before it's all over.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Kool thanks. I can't wait to see the progress.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

So anything new?

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Yeah, yeah, what he said!

Thought about you the other day. Ran into a guy who had a full set of straight spine MAGNESIUM Americans, in 5x5, 8.5 and 10's. I about crapped right there. Too cool!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Although I haven't posted lately, there is a lot of activity on the '64. I've got about 6 things going on at the same time, and each one is about 50% complete. I'm hesistant to post anything because I want to do a start-to-finish explanation of everything I'm doing. In a nutshell, I have moved the bedfloor up 2.75", I'm redoing (lots of gluing) all of the original bedwood, fixing all of the broken bolts on the bedstrips, I've mounted the gas tank(s), I'm building a new spare tire mount, and designing a hidden trailer hitch. So far, it's going really well. When all of this gets done, I'm blowing apart the entire back half of the truck and painting and detailing everything and re-assembling it all for (hopefully) the last time.

I am trying to sell a bunch of my excess truck parts right now, and with the proceeds, I'm buying the American Autowire Classic Update wiring kit. Everything mechanical has been redone, and I just can't bring myself to use 50yr old wiring. I could go with a cheaper kit, but I've already done the painting of the firewall and inner fenders, and I need a kit that will go in with no drilling or extra mods.

About the magnesium Americans......Those are like crack to me. I love the old straight spoke Torq-Thrusts. I had a pair of 10"s on my '55, but I sold them to a guy in PA who is building a '57 Chevy Gasser. I made enough off of them to have E.T. build me a pair of 16x12 Fuelers. No more polishing magnesium for me!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

I understand, I'd gone over there to look at a motor, and had almost my entire wad of truck bux with me. Took every fiber of my being not to just start throwing money at him till he coughed 'em up! I didn't have enough anyway. He knew exactly what he had, and was as stoked as I was.

I was thinking that when he showed them to me. "Man, those'd be Bit*hin' polished, but then you're in Magnesium Hell. Aww Maaannnn..."

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Only bad part about magnesium is its very hard to polish and keep polished.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

You're not kidding! I had my wheels polished a few times, and even did a few tricks to keep them from oxidizing so quickly, but it's almost a hopeless cause. I also had a pair of 10" Halibrands, and they were much easier to polish because they didn't have spokes like the Torq-Thrusts. There's lots of nooks and crannies on a 5-spoke that are a real pain to keep shiny. One of the tricks I used was car wax. Get them polished real nice, and then use a good paste wax and buff them with a microfiber towel. It worked pretty good.

If you ever get a real magnesium wheel:
**Don't ever get them wet. They'll oxidize 10 times quicker
**Paint the backsides and the outer hoop and it'll slow down the oxidation. Any unprotected exposed surface will oxidize
**If your dog or cat pees on them, they'll start pitting immediately
**If you want them to stay in their natural finish, use Gibbs Oil. It's thin and penetrates like gun oil. It's expensive, but goes a long way.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Oh man I can't wait for the updates.....geez this build is almost like candy for me, lol.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Rusty, this is for you...

I was hesitant to post any pictures of what I've been doing because I wanted to complete some of it first, then do a start to finish explanation. Today, I was doing a bunch of stuff, so I took some pictures to show what's been going on.

This is an unattractive picture, but it shows how I raised the bedfloor 2.75". The bed wood usually goes underneath the flange that goes around the perimeter of the bed. I decided to mount the bed wood crossmembers on the top side of the flange, thereby raising the floor by the height of the crossmember (2.75"). The two primered crossmembers are ones that I made to support the floor in the area adjacent to the wheel tubs. In the stock configuration, the bed wood rests on the tops of the frame rails. Now that I raised the floor, there was no support for almost 36", so the crossmembers will now provide support. Without the supports, the wood would have snapped as soon as you stood on it.

Right now, I'm in the mock-up stage. When I'm done, everything from the cab to the back bumper will get removed, sandblasted, and painted chassis black.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps3f7888f0.jpg

I removed the gas tank from the cab to gain more cab room, and I didn't want to mount the tank between the rear frame rails because I want to utilize the factory spare tire location. So, that meant that the old saddle tanks that I almost threw away would be put back into service. Because the bed floor was raised, I built new tank mounts and moved the tanks up as high as they could go. I plan on sending out both tanks to Redi-Strip to be chemically stripped. When they get back, I will install new sending units and a vent system, and utilize the GM fuel tank solenoid switch from the '73-up trucks. I want to be able to switch tanks from inside the cab and use all factory parts. I was going to get really trick and fill the tanks using the factory filler neck, but I think I'm going to put access doors in the bed floor to fill the tanks. Here's a picture of the nasty looking saddle tanks.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psb519244c.jpg

I've been spending way too much time trying to save the original bed wood. It was cracked and broken everywhere, but after a lot of biscuits, filler shims, epoxy, and Liquid Nails, it's starting to come together. There is so much epoxy in those pieces that it they ever caught fire, they would melt instead of burn. I plan to cover them all with deck restoration paint, tinted in black. The bed strips will be sent out for powder coat. The wheel tubs were also moved up. I had to cut into the stake pockets so the tubs would clear, but it all looks factory. Here's shot of the wood just setting in place, with no bed strips.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps1fbfd43a.jpg

I was also able to install the 67-72 Fleetside rear bumper. I still need to do a little tweaking, and the license plate box is a '73-up, which puts the plate at too much of an upward angle. I am probably going to build a new box, unless the factory 67-72 box solves this issue. Can anybody tell me if the license plate boxes are different?
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psbf37ec03.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps50845569.jpg

That's enough for today. Tomorrow, I might try to tackle the spare tire mount.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

That is a slick deal on the floor, I like that a lot. Shame there's no real slick way to do the filler, seems a pain to go over the rails every time, and it kinda precludes a tonneau, which is nearly indispensable on trips. Hmmm. It wouldn't be too hard with some tube to do like you were saying and come down and out the back of the cab and into the tank, then run an equalizer between them. Same grommet would probably work both in and out of the cab, hmmm.

Man, that '72 bumper looks good on those. Like it grew there. I used a Squarebody s-10 blazer license box from PNP on Yeller. Couple small mods, bolts right up, $5 including the light. Used a g-body plate flipper to hide the hitch. As seen here-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...501131&page=12

and here-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...501131&page=13

and in action here-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...501131&page=25

Great lookin' work, I can't wait for the shot of this and Brad's on the freeway together.

I notice the background changed, did this poor thing finally get to come home?

Glad it's coming together. Stoked for you.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Thanks for the links and the tip on the S-10 Blazer license plate box, Chip. I assume that the box is from the '82-'92(?) style with the chrome bumpers. Funny, I should have known that. I had a really nice '88 S-10 back in the day that was a show-winner that wound up getting exported to Japan back when those guys were buying American vehicles like they were going out of style. The guy made me an offer that was thousands of dollars higher than anyone else, and off she went. I had a Blazer rear bumper on that thing, and that was the only time I ever saw it done. That thing had a KILLER paint job. I sketched up a design, and Brad and another buddy went nuts on the paint and graphics. It won "Best Graphics" (and a $1000 check!) at the Chevrolet-sponsored Pick-up Trick-up Contest at Pomona in 1991. We took out the heavy hitters of the custom paint world like Pete Santini, Doug Starbuck, and other big-name shops. I'll try to find some pictures of that truck and post 'em up.

Yes, the background has changed, and the '64 is now back at home. I had a slab poured next to the house, and now there's room for the '64, the '71 Camaro, and the '83 C10, plus I could maybe fit 1 or 2 more. Now, I'm looking at putting up some kind of roof extension so I can work in the shade and not have the cars out in the weather. I'm hoping to sell the '83 to help offset the cost. I'm in that "whittle-down" mode right now, and I want to thin out the herd and concentrate on 1 or 2 projects max. Right now, I'm thinking that the two projects will be the '64 and the Camaro.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Thanks for the updates! The floor looks great. I know pictures don't do justice but still it looks awesome. I can't wait to see this thing finished up, but then I will be sad because I won't get to see more work.....grrrrrrr..... The rear bumper looks nice. You got it going on like donkey kong, lol. Thanks again.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Yup, got it off an '88 Blazer, I think.

Post 'em up! I'm actually a square dime guy at heart. I drove a dropped '94 4dr 2wd Jimmy for 8-9 years in the '00's. I ran the hell out of that truck. At 100+ in the rain, it'll wash it's own back window! (heh, heh, heh,...) I can remember when Starbuck was THE MAN. I got to deal with Santini a few times when I worked for Weld Racing for about 2 seconds, he was a nice guy. Sounds like you guys built a nice truck! Bet it wasn't the first or last...

Glad you got it home. I managed to get the dough for a side pad ratified by the Executive Committee, just gotta get warm. It'll be nice, I had one at the last house.

What's up on the '57? And where did an '83 c-10 sneak in?

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Yeah were did the '83 come from?????? Hmmm..... Okay we will let you slide.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Lets see a pic with the gate down.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

The '55 is kind of dry-docked right now. It's got the second bay of the garage tied up right now. I'm going back and forth on this one. On one hand, I want to finish it, and on the other hand, I want to sell it. I'm torn.

The '83 has been around for a long time. It's an original half-ton fleetside, black on black. I bought it from the second owner, and he had it for a long time as well. The issue was (is) that the truck had a carburetor fire back in the early '90s and it burned the top of the engine. The guy put it back together, but eliminated all of the computer and sensor wiring. It runs good, but it's not smog legal, and in California, that's a bad thing. My initial intent was to get it back together with all the required 1983 stuff, and that turned out to be a hassle because from 1979 to 1990, GM changed the computer and sensor configuration every year. I even bought a complete TBI set-up, and when I talked to the smog referee about retrofitting it, he made it sound like that was going to be a huge hassle, so I backed off. This truck would be the PERFECT candidate for an LS engine. I have had many, many '73-'87 Chevy trucks, and this is the most solid one I have ever had. Not one spec of rust anywhere on the truck and only 1 dent the side of a pencil eraser on the body. The guys back East would die for this thing. It's got dual tanks, a small block, A/C, a 700r4, and I put a 12-bolt out of a '73 in it. If it was a pre-smog ('73-'75) I would be driving that thing right now.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

I know what you're wanting to see! I haven't installed the 2x3 square tube across the back yet. On the edge of the wood, I will also install a piece of angle iron to protect the edge from damage when things get loaded into the bed.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

That sucks about the '83. But that's how it goes sometimes. When my uncle first got my '76 it didn't have any smog stuff and at the time it didn't matter. All it had to do was a safety check. This was early '80s. Then the laws changed here and he had to do the smog stuff. This was at the same time we put a smallblock 400 in it. He had a hard time with the Nazi smog guys. Finally he got it to pass. When I got the truck in or around '97 I had a terrible time getting the thing to pass. Looking back I think the smog stuff was really the problem and not the motor, but that's my story. I'm glad some laws have changed around here for the better.