Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Didn't realize it has been so long since an update. My daughter is moving back to our area so spent a week house shopping. We finally got back to work yesterday. As you will see we have been cleaning up the firewall and fixing the back of the cab.

As you can see the PO hacked up the firewall putting on a brake booster. He also drilled a number of holes all over the firewall.
Attachment 1090158

Got the firewall cleaned up. I love the look of a very clean firewall so am going to go with an economy/recirculating heater. Have been looking for 64-66 heater delete plates and only found one bad set for $80. Decided the heck with it and cut patches and welded them in. We also got all of the holes we don't need filled.
Attachment 1090159

We then moved to the back of the cab. We had previously put on both cab corners but had cancer next to them on the bottom. The driver's side was only 3-4 inches but the passenger side was about 8-9 inches. Spent a frustrating day making patches for the bottom of the cab. Had to throw away a couple of attempts on the drivers side, just had a hard time getting the radius right and then the bottom return the right length.
Attachment 1090160

Here are both sides. The passenger's side had some thin metal around the patches so it took a day of welding, grinding to get it all filled in.
Attachment 1090161
Attachment 1090162

Now we are going to get the rockers attached. Bought a set of doors off of another guy on this site. Mine were a patch work of filler and rust. Now that the doors are back from soda blasting, we can put them on today and get the rockers done. It has been 2.5 months of work on the cab so it is nice to see an end to the metal work on it.

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

I like your progress and the attention you are putting into it. I borrowed a HF shrinker/stretcher from a friend, but not used it yet. I need to get back to it and get the parts made...

Looks great!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Thanks! I am surprised how much the shrinker/stretcher helps on some patches.
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

We have finally gotten the outer rockers installed. We got different doors from a fellow forum member; mine were half filler that I got with the truck. Got them soda blasted, finished our other work and got to the rockers. The fun part on the driver's side was that the inner rocker I bought from Classic Parts of America was about 1.5" shorter on the front side than the back. We had to fabricate a piece and weld it on to the inner rocker to get the necessary length to be able to weld the outer rocker to it. Here is the driver's side.
[ATTACH]Attachment 1093507[/ATTACH]
Attachment 1093506
On the passenger side it was no fun at all. The PO cut off both the inner and outer rockers and attached a new outer rocker with filler. He apparently drove it that way for a while so when we put our new outer rocker on we were about an 1" off length wise. It turned out that since the floor was so full of cancer and the rocker was held on with filler the passenger side relaxed about 3/4 of an inch. We had to pull the door pillars together and then weld a brace in to get the cab back in shape. Once we got through that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Just had the normal adjustments to get the parts to fit. Here is how it turned out.
Attachment 1093511
Attachment 1093508
For any other newbies out there that read this, BRACE YOUR CAB BEFORE YOU CUT ANYTHING!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Your firewall looks great- I didn't like the look of the heater delete plates either so I did the same thing. Great progress!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Great work ! Looks like you learn fast for not turning a wrench in 20yrs

Around the cab in 80 days
 

We finished our final patch on the cab yesterday. Went back and counted and its been 80 days we have been doing metal working on the cab; seems like forever.

We are going for a clean look and are going to mount speakers in a custom wood box behind the seat. So we decided to take out the speaker grill on the dash and put in a solid patch. We went real slow to make sure there was no warping.
Attachment 1094415
Attachment 1094416
Here is a picture of the cut out speaker grill.
Attachment 1094417

We also replaced the passenger side rain guide (guessing that's what it's called) on the front door pillar. Ours had a fair amount of cancer so we formed a new piece and put it in. This was another challenge to form. It has a flat side an inch long to attach to the door pillar, then and reverse bend and then a 90 degree bend. Lots of tinkering around to get it right.
Attachment 1094418
Attachment 1094419
So today we are will be putting away the saws and welder for a while and finally get to start doing some body work and priming on the cab.

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Awesome Progress!!!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Thank you!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Looks great. I did the same thing with the speaker grill. :metal:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Looking good. I've been watchin' and like what your doing.

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Thanks Bomp. Gotta tell you that your tag line about cutting it up and making it cool encouraged me to weld the firewall instead of delete plates and getting rid of the speaker grill. Nothin wrong with being different. ;)
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Thanks for the comments!
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Exactly !! :metal:

Good week last week
 

Continued progress on Thursday and Friday. We able to get things filled in and smoothed out and then got the inside of the cab primed. Happy to not have to worry about the inside of the cab flashing given the recent rains and humidity.:clap:
Attachment 1095459

Speaker grill is gone..........
Attachment 1095460
Attachment 1095462
Attachment 1095461

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Very Clean!!!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Just a minor update. Been watching other builds and have realized I tend to do a phase a then post the results where a lot of other builds are showing each step. So, spent the last couple of days DAing the cab and then got the fiberglass filler on our welds on the firewall. The fiberglass filler is a PITA but its good to have the strength around the welded areas we filled on the firewall. I am really hoping the firewall turns out as clean as I hope.
Attachment 1097413

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

That cab is looking really good! :chevy:
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Its a nice clean build. I'll look every chance I get.:metal:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Man, I thought that mine was clean! Nice work on the cab/firewall!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

It is kind of humbling to have guys with your skills givin me kudos. Very much appreciated. Now time to get off of the computer and out in the garage!:metal:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Finished DAing the cab today and got more fiberglass filler on. Good news is all exterior welds are now covered with fiberglass filler. One thing I found out today is to not let the fiberglass filler sit for a long time. I put some on the cab corners before lunch and then my buddy who has been helping me stopped by and we talked for an hour. So the fiberglass sat for about 2 hours before I sanded it, not good. Took about double the time to sand. When I DAed the roof I found another problem. Yes, as expected I have a lot more dents to work on but the real problem is that I have an oil can effect going on for most of the back side of the roof. Details below.

As you will see below I can put the fiberglass away for a while. :cool:
Attachment 1097873
Attachment 1097874
Attachment 1097875
Attachment 1097876

So now the roof. As you can see, we did try pulling it and shrinking it. Still wobbling like a drunk sailor. The red area below is the problem. Unless there is some other good idea, I am going to break out the welder tomorrow and put in a patch about 42" x 7". I have both 16 and 18 gauge sheet stock so will check the roof thickness and try to match it. I may just go with 16 gauge for strength. Not like the difference in thickness will be seen inside the roof.;)
Attachment 1097877

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

I feel your pain!
My roof was a real Pain in the rear!...
Something had fell on my roof prior to me owning it, and it was kinked across the ridge.
I played hell trying to get it flat without oil-canning.
All this time, I was working on the roof while the cab was on it's nose!
When I finally had everything flat & straight, I set the cab back upright, and noticed that the rear drip-rail on the drivers side was 3/8" lower than the passenger side....You had to study it a bit to see it, but once noticed, it was like a bad accident, you didn't want to stare, but couldn't help it!
I soon after spent a great deal of time with a sledge-hammer, while my dad held a 2 x 12 that we had ground to a contour that matched the shape of the rail, that allowed me to strike 50-60 times with great force to drive the drip-rail upward to match the other side...And while doing all of this, ALL of the filler that I had worked so hard to get flat & straight was flying around the garage!!...Needless to say, It is CORRECT now, but if I woulda left it the way that it was, not many people would have noticed, But I would have saw it EVERYTIME that I looked at it!
Even though nobody knows that it was even there, I am so glad that it is fixed correctly.
Take pride for making it right!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Nice job on the speaker delete patch. I just learned the hard way about to much heat when welding then I read your post about going slow. A little wave in the door skin, But a lesson well learned. The roof looks like a pita. Have you thought about a new roof skin, hemifalcon has one for sale and he's in the area. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=565686

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

That story confirms what comes across in you build, don't stop until its right. It must have been tough seeing the filler flying around while hitting the roof. Will get the welder back out today and get after it.
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Thanks! Seems we all have to learn the heat lesson the hard way!:devil:

Hoping to not have to take the roof skin off. Way too many spot welds. Will try to patch it first. If that doesn't work I may have to.
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

I have the same problem with my roof and was thinking of the same thing. You do it first so I can see if it comes out good... :haha:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Was going to wait until I was further along but will get this posted before I head out. Promised my daughter 4 years ago I would take my grand daughter to Disney and now that she is 4 (almost 5) that time is next week. Gotta do a bunch of chores for my wife tomorrow and then head to Orlando Sunday for the week. So here is the update.

As you can see below, the roof patch was successful. We used 16 gauge for the patch just for the extra strength. Wish I would have taken a picture when the patch was cut out since there is a rubber support between the inner and outer roof in the center rear part of the roof. The rubber was worn so I added some door weather seal on the top to get it to support the new patch. While it was a big patch, it is one of the easier ones just a big square. We still have to finish welding it and grinding but it conforms very nicely to the roof line.

Attachment 1098844
Attachment 1098845
Attachment 1098846
As you can see, the old metal we cut out was very weak. It warped as soon as it was cut. Very glad we did this.:metal:
Attachment 1098847

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Good job. Just be patent when you finish welding it. That's all you need is another warped panel :uhmk:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Looking good so far, hope you enjoy Disney !!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Be there and don't want to go back.:metal:

Thanks! Should be a blast. I always have fun tormenting the family on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride belting out the song as loud as I can. They all pretend to not be with me.

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Quick update, the Jefferson WI swap meet turned out productive for me. Been needing to pick up some parts to finish out the motor. As you can see below, got a chrome alternator, thermostat housing, electric fuel pump and filter filter. My best score was getting a chrome booster and master cylinder. The MC has a ribbed top which will go great with my ribbed valve covers and air cleaner. I also got a proportioning valve with the MC/Booster.

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

BLING !!! :metal:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Good save on the roof repair, looks good, will be nice when you finish the roof so you can start playing with all those other goodies

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Exactly!

Thanks, going nice and slow on the welding:metal::metal:
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

man you have done a ton of nice work,congrats!

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Nice Job, cab looks great

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Thanks guys! It is very nice to get the positive feedback. I have definitely learned this is a journey and not a race.:lol:
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Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Things are looking great!! Nice work on the roof patch. :metal:

Re: [B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]
 

Wow, not post for a little over a week and my build was on page 3. Just shows how much effort everyone puts into their builds.

After taking a week off to take my grand daughter to Disney we got back at it this week. Basically took a whole day to finish welding the patch on the roof. We went nice and slow so we did not warp anything and it was a 9.5" x 44" patch. Then had the wonderful distraction of a root canal yesterday morning (which they did not finish:waah:). We then got to working on filling and sanding. We got the roof patch filled and it turned out great.:metal:

Next is work on pulling out some dents, more filling on the outside of the cab and firewall. Probably have a week's worth of work to get ready for priming.

Very nice to be back at it!
Attachment 1104398

Sorry the next pic is a little fuzzy, the camera was focused on the front side of the roof.
Attachment 1104399