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!

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Thanks, but as always I wish there was more son in the father - son project. Between football and girls there doesn't seem to be much time for this project anymore, but he does still join in when he can.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Santa Claus in brown and white trucks dropped off some presents for me this week!!! My plan is to re-use as much stock as possible but replacing all bushings, bearings, hoses, brake components, etc. I was thinking I would do with a 3.5/5 drop but I didn't realize that was low enough that I would need to do a C-Notch in the rear so I may do a 2.5/4 drop now but I will have to swap my 1" drop front springs.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I'm lowered 5 inches in rear . No c notch needed

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Looks good. :chevy:

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Thanks for letting me know that 69moneypit. I think I will stay the course and stick with the 3.5/5 drop. I hope to get some assembly done this weekend but the honeydo list is pretty long after being out of town 2 of the past 3 weekends.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

looking really good keep it up.
i started a truck with my son about 3 years ago it seems like it will take forever but it is good times when you get to spend it with your son.
here is a pic when we started and one of what it looks like now 3 years later.
Attachment 1585388

Attachment 1585389

went a little crazy but it was a fun time for my son and i

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I know the feeling. My son plays travel baseball, takes up a lot time and money, but you have to support their interest.

Frame looking good. It is fun when you start putting them back together. I'll be watching along.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Haven't made much progress with suspension assembly but I did receive my rear springs, shocks and misc HW. Dropped off the cab and rear end to get media blasted a few days ago and in the mean time I started building the Tip and Flip Cab Dolly:

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I will be following too. The painted frame looks nice and clean.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Finally finished up my tip and flip cab dolly. It almost strattles the frame, but my casters hit just a little. Still a good place to put it out of my way until I get my cab back from blasting.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Just read your whole thread. Looks like a great Father/Son project. I know the feeling of the more Father than Son feeling :) My son is 21 now, and don't see him much.

What did you do with the frame at the steering box area?

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I know the feeling but I did spend some time yesterday teaching him to weld.

I have been distracted building this cab dolly so I haven't fixed the frame yet. I did start another thread tonight seeking opinions on where to cut the bad part of the frame out.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I was having a real hard time trying to figure out how I wanted to do the vertical cuts around the bad area so I decided to just replace the whole frame piece. I will definitely be cleaning up the entire piece and looking for cracks before I weld it to the frame. I will also put a fishmouth piece on the inside to reinforce the joint.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

That will work! Looks like you are going to be back on track after welding that new horn on.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I'm really enjoying your build thread. Even if he doesn't have the time to help as much, your son will never forget this. My father and I rebuilt a 2000 Dodge Dakota 4x4 the summer after I graduated high school many years ago (so don't feel bad about buying him that either), and we're collecting parts for a rebuild of my Grandfather's 72 now.

Keep plugging along.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

I'm going through this as well. Between sports, his friends and now girls his interest level to be in the shop is at an all time low. It's probably been one of the hardest things I have went through being a parent. We have always been inseparable but lately he would rather be with his friends. I hope it's just a phase.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Thanks for the encouragement on the Father - Son side of this build. I also remember those days when I was a teenager and now I really understand more how my dad must have felt. We were still always very close and he was my best man in my wedding. He passed away in 1998 at age 58 so I'm sure that has something to do with my desire to get my boys in the shop with me.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

You're more than welcome. My son is a bit young (8), but I'm getting him involved in our current project. I figure he'll end up driving it at some point.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Got my cab and rearend back from the blaster. Nothing real surprising on the cab other than one cab corner has been replaced at one time or another. My boys and a few friends gave me a hand with unloading the cab and getting it on my freshly built dolly. While we were working on getting the cab off the trailer i slipped on the wet trailer deck and slammed my shin into the cab. It swelled up like a cartoon knot on somebody's head after getting hit by an anvil. Not the first injury on this build and won't be the last...

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Holy cow..ouch, I feel your pain! Good progress on the truck.

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Making some progress on the frame repair. Lots of clamps, levels, and separators to get the frame back in the exact position as it was before the surgery.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Got it welded together and ground smooth on the outside and welded a reinforcing plate to the inside. Then this morning I cleaned everything up and hit the whole front end with a heavy coat of primer. I am off from work until Jan 3rd so I really hope to make some progress on the frame over the next couple weeks.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Some more cab shots. The majority of the floor pan is in great shape with the exception of the foot area near the side walls and the rear corners. I plan to tackle this after I get the frame on 4 legs again.

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couple more

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Subscribed

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

This whole not working for a couple of weeks is awesome. I have plenty of family time and still making time to work on the truck. Got the trailing arms bushings in and bolted in with the 5 inch drop springs and shocks. Also got the 1 inch drop front springs and 2.5 inch drop spindles in. This is pretty freaking exciting for me!! My goal was to have it standing back on its own 4 feet before New Years and it looks like that may actually happen!!!

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Just went through the whole thread. Looking good!

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Thanks YJ. I actually greased up the bearings and put both rotors and calipers on tonight. I might even put the wheels and tires back on tomorrow and roll it out in the driveway for some fresh air!!

I really like the 3rd picture. Looks like it is floating in the air.

Re: Father n Son 71 Short Bed
 

Very good looking chassis! Third pic is cool...chassis so nice it floats...:)