Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Yeah I saved the glass for last because I have been dreading it. I did collect the tools to do it when I had my 54 5-window but I don't remember how bad it was to get it out. Guess I will find out next weekend. We have football games 3 nights this week so no more truck work till next Sat morning.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Finally got around to pulling out the windshield yesterday. First I tried the trick of wedging something between the rubber seal and the inside of the cab. I had a piece of rope that I used but after pushing carefully for a while I decided that it was going to take a little more than the rope.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

So I decided to justify the fact that you can't have too many screwdrivers. I just carefully wedged them in across the top and started to pry away the glass from the outside along the sides. Then poof it just popped right out!! The glass wasn't in good shape to begin with but I didn't want to break it and make a big mess. The chrome trim is in perfect condition so I wanted to be careful with that too. Next step is taking out the back glass and then unbolt the cab from the frame.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I forgot to show the zoomed in pics of the lower corners. Not as bad as I had feared but it will need a little rust repair.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Great to see a Father and son project. The screwdrivers worked really well! Tagging along for the rest.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Had a little time today to pull out the back glass. That was much easier than the windshield but it also had a little more rust than I had anticipated. My son really pitched in a lot today.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Couple more pics from today cleaning off the door seals and removing the door striker plates.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Has anyone ever seen a power steering box pull the frame apart like this before? The big problem is that the lower bolt is even with the wall of the frame rail so I can't get a socket on it to remove the steering box. I decided to use the persuasion tool and a wooden block to see if I can move it enough to get a socket on it. I whacked it a few times and really couldn't even tell that I did anything. Any ideas??

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

That is unusual for sure I have never seen one but I'm sure if it happened to yours it has happened to another one before.
Your only two options is to force it back into position or drill the head off.
Try loosening the other bolts first to relieve some pressure off of the broken part of the frame.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Great build so far. You guys are doing some good work.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

You might try to weld a longer bolt (maybe an old starter bolt) to the head of the lower bolt and see if you can turn it out that way.

Good luck, Rg

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Yeah I am afraid you are right. I will take pictures of whatever I do.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

There is always more than one way to skin a cat. :lol: I got feed up with trying and went the route of just cutting off the lip of the seal to justify buying a new seal when we reinstall the windshield.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Looks like a pervious owner might have taken it stump jumping and caught one on the bottom end of the steering box. ;) Diffidently something new I haven't seen before.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

We got the cab off this afternoon with our homemade lift attachment.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Now its time to get this frame stripped down.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Moving along nicely. Now the real fun starts. Years of road grim and oil to clean off. We just clean ours today with 4 cans of oven cleaner and a pressure washer. Much nicer to work with now.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

That is precisely my next step too. The PO had cleaned the frame up a little and then sprayed primer over what he didn't clean up under the bed area.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Well not long after my last post I ran across a screaming deal on a ..... gulp... I'm afraid to say it..... a Crew Cab 4x4 Dodge Dakota for my son. We both agreed that he may be graduating college before we finish the 71 C10, so I bit the bullet on this Dodge so he can have something to drive in High School and possibly college. You will have to admit that it looks good in this picture and the interior is perfect with leather. It needed a few things fixed, but that didn't bother me. The one thing that I didn't realize was that it needed a heater core, which was a real pain, since we had to take the entire dash out to remove it. While we were at it, we replaced the AC evaporator & accumulator, blower motor & resistor, valve cover gaskets, O2 sensors, spark plugs, water pump, radiator & hoses, and thermostat. I'm probably forgetting something, but you get the picture. A lot of this was just me being anal and making sure it would be reliable for my son to drive.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

So now that the Dodge is in good working order and basketball only has one more weekend (in the Middle School State Championship game if I may brag about it). Last week we pulled the frame back in the garage and got re-started. Here are a few pics of the little progress made.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

There are some major holes left where the Power Steering Box was mounted. I may just fix them and go with a R&P. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I think I may need a new set of rotors...

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Well it has been a while since I made or posted any progress. I finally got back to stripping down the frame after a long Spring and Summer filled with camping, beaches, boating and football. Here are a few shots of the frame during the process.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

and here is what the frame looked like after I got it back from blasting and a black epoxy primer. This was the first time I have spent a penny on this truck since I bought it, but it will certainly not be the last $$$ I spend on this project. I plan to replace every nut, bolt and washer with new hardware as I re-build. Tractor Supply is a great source for Grade 8!!!

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Coming along nicely. WHAT a good father son project!