Re: Rat repair.
 

Sounds like too much toe in, but uneven wear on one side of the tire could also be related to an incorrect camber setting. If the wear appears to be equal on both sides, I'd suspect the toe in is the culprit, though. On older vehicles, manufacturers didn't build much caster into the front suspension. That, plus the fact most vehicles were equipped with bias ply tires instead of radials, meant it was common for the toe in spec to be 1/8" to as much as 3/16". The increased toe in kept the car from wandering.

On modern vehicles that run radial tires and have several degrees of caster built in, the spec is more like zero to 1/16" max. The best approach on our trucks is to try to get as much caster as possible without compromising the camber. I like zero degrees of camber on the driver side and negative 1/4 degree on the passenger side to help keep the truck straight on roads that are crowned. Then set the toe in to 1/16" and you should have minimal scrubbing on the tires and decent handling. This is just my personal opinion and I'm sure there are guys who might have different thoughts on it. If you purchase aftermarket suspension components that increase camber, alter the spindle height and etc., you should follow the vendor's recommendations.

Re: Rat repair.
 

My best guess is the outsides show wear more because the way the axle geometry is set when you corner. It's pretty normal, so long as it isn't a large discrepancy. The angle of the ball joints and the positive caster setting forces the inside tire very hard on the outside edge. The same things act on the outside tire, but it tends to flatten out the effective camber instead of pushing it very positive. Then the truck pushes the outside tire through the corner so it the inertia forces that outside edge into the road harder. The effect is more pronounced with a wheel that has less back space. I don't mean to over explain, just here for reference. If it seems too heavy Vic has good advice.

Vic, these trucks with the 4x axle and leaf springs don't have much camber adjustment. It's set by the axle and it's usually(hopefully) zero. You can pretty easily mess with caster, and they like 3-6 positive.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Dang! 4X4! How did I forget that? Getting old is the pits! :dohh:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Tell me, i'm a 55 year old in a 100 year old body! LOL!

No sweat Vic i look at it this way, when its time to work on the 67 i have a place to reference for the front end geometry.. :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

I was debating on if its worth it to go to a front end alignment place to just measure my caster and toe in to let me know what i got.. Question would be who would ya trust with a 44 year old truck... :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

The wheel polishing place called on Friday and said my wheels would not be done this Saturday as originally thought but should be done by Tuesday, glad he called to let me know so i didn't make the drive up there yesterday.

In the mean time i did remount the door and worked the frozen lock and got it turning again so i can make the drove to the place so he can mount my tires for me.

The new door panels are not here yet, i guess i better call Monday and see about getting status and a tracking number..

Once the wheels are done i'm going to go ahead and cut the door skin off and ready for the next go around.


Can anybody lead me to a good replacement timing cover for an SBC 350? even a stock one would be fine, the one i put on the engine when i built it is a cheap Cal Custom unit, i noticed it seemed like the seal would not want to sit flush with the cover and i suspect it could be a bad stamping so time to get rid of it. Wish i had kept my stock one.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Geeze what was suppose to be a "few" days to swap out some dies is now a week and a half, still no new door skin's shipped out the last time i checked, i called him on the 23'rd and he said he was just getting ready to load the dies so i hope something shipped today..


I have been sitting patiently not wanting to cut anything else up because i have to drive the truck to the tire polishing place to have my tires swapped to the slots, about an hour drive, They were suppose to be done about a week and a half ago too, but i just talked to him again today and he is honistly saying that the tin shack he polishes in (i have seen the equipment and shack) gets over 100* to 110* really fast in the kinda weather were having as soon as he starts up the machine, i guess i can understand that being as its the hottest june on record. He said he's gonna try and get there early get them done early next week.. Hopefully

I may have to give in and start cutting some rot out of the other door skin soon just to get busy. :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hello there Sir, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to read my thread, and then to respond. I had already tried what you suggested with the 1500 to 2000 paper. I wasnt pleased with the result. I have now completely resanded all the boards back down again (4th time) your posts about the door skins reminded me Im not the only one who has to do things multiple times to figure things out. Im almost afraid to apply the stain again (and get the same result) Funny thing, the only other piece of wood I have ever really worked on was my kitchen table. My ol lady wanted to stain it, and I told her it wasnt worth the time and effort. Well, as usual, in my house, she got her way. We spent a day sanding this crappy old table down ( I rented a belt sander from home depot to make the project faster. It made it faster alright, but I also burned through the "wood" on top. Anyway, long story short, I didnt care about said table, still did it right, but not meticulous. That table came out beautiful, and each night I sit at it for dinner, I hate it so much. Im so sure that an experienced wood worker could tell me what Im doing wrong, if they were here watching. My next step is waiting until late at night when temp is down around 80-85 and apply stain then. We did that kitchen table in November, it was much cooler out.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Something like Proform should be fine. They're licensed by GM. link

Re: Rat repair.
 

So i obviously haven't posted for a while, its not been a good summer for getting any work done on the Rat for various family and other reasons, mainly my legs and feet, I want you all to know i haven't given up on the Rat but have had to take a step back for a bit.

On a brighter note i had a visitor today, an individual whom has been both a mentor and inspiration when i need help and been good enough to answer many emails, you may know him by his work on the following threads, a 57 ford 2 door sedan named Mabelline, a truck named CRLS, or a truck named Silver Streaker.

That's right I had the pleasure of meeting Vic Cook and his Brother in law today, we had a great visit and it was a pleasure to get to know Vic on a more a more than email and forum level. Thank you Vic for taking the time to stop by while you are in the area, i know it was a bit of a drive for you guys to get to my place but ya made my day! Had to grab a picture of Vic with Swamp Rat before he left. :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Good to hear your doing better and hope to see you back wrenching again soon.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for the hospitality and the nickel tour today, Mike, we had a great time! The Rat looks even better in person than in the pictures. I know you have a lot going on right now, but things always calm down eventually. Looking forward to seeing more progress when you do finally get back going. Take it from a guy that took 25 years to finish a project, the only person you need to make happy is yourself. ;)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well, my little break is over and its time to resurface, just in time for rainy season. :)

Went out and did a little space organizing again and am ready to start digging into them pesky rocker and kicker panels, got the hood and cowl off today, tomorrow i need to get the spare tire carrier and bumper off and hopefully the driver fender off.

What i'm not sure of is if i need to totally remove the grill to get the fender off? or if i can maybe pull a couple screws only and leave the grill in place?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Good to see your back at it! With the core support extending into the fender and the fender extending into the grill surround IMO I'd plan to pull the surround and grill as a unit to minimize any damage. We pulled the bumper also to get better access to all the attaching screws. Here is a pic of what remained after removal.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thank you for the tip on the grill, it came out nice as a whole unit. Yea the bumper had to come off irregardless as it has a couple dents in it, i have a stock chrome one in good condition to go on but i may just straighten the one i took off and repaint it, not sure yet.


I do have a question tho, if i remove the center bolt at the firewall harness does that plug or fitting split in half so i can feed it thru the driver fender? or do i have to start labeling and unhooking the harness at the core support?

My plan also includes permanent removal of the front spare tire carrier, the bolt holding the tire and wheel was stripped out apparently by the tire company when i had my last set of tires mounted because the last time i removed the tire it was fine, i have a spare tire bracket for the bed that i need to install.

I did have to make a dump run with the truck today, i already had the hood and cowl off yesterday, first time i drive the truck that way, it was kinda odd staring at the engine going down the road. I started disassembly of the bumper, grill, and running boards, and i must say the boards made it easy to get in and out of the truck, now i have to learn to how to step high being as i'm 5'7" LOL!

A pic of my temporary seat while i parked the truck back under its car cover, not enough room on the side of the house to pull the seat after parking.

And a sneak peak of what lies ahead.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Glad to see you back on the Swamp Rat.
Yes, the plug does split in half. You can work it through the inside of the fender if you need to. There might or might not be a plastic retainer inside the fender holding the wire. I'm not sure if that is standard or not.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Man those slots look good!

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Thanks, it also dawned on me late last night that being as i'm removing the inner fender that once separated i didn't need to remove the plug. :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks! there is a little surface pitting in them and they need to be hit with the polisher again but they sure look better than the old directional mags i had on.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well didn't get quite as far as i wanted today, i got the inner fender and driver fender off, naturally there were a couple bolts that froze solid in the fender clip nut thing a ma jiggers so i had to get out the torch and the cut off wheel, naturally i nicked into the inner fender a little with the torch.. But it has some rust so i need to decide of i repair or replace.

I'm really happy that hidden under the fender was much less rust than i was expecting on the cab/cowl, pretty much looks like i only have to do inner/outer rocker and inner kick panel and a portion of the floor. I'll inspect the rear cab corner closer but i think they are both fine, maybe minor touch up. i hope the other side of the cab/cowl will be the same!

I had hoped to have the bracing cut and welded in but maybe tomorrow before work.

Pictures aren't cooperating today, have to keep track of how i'm holding my cell when taking pictures, don't strain your necks. :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Not looking too bad so far. Hope your luck holds on the other side as well. Good to see you getting after it.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Got the back two corners braced, used a couple of the gas tank mount holes on each side rather than weld to the back or floor of the cab, do the fronts tomorrow.

Was just going to weld on a couple simple cross braces (front one side to rear on the other side) but i thought the bracing may get in the way when doing the work. wish i would have saves bracing pictures to plan ahead.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Bracing done passenger door off as well. I have the complete rocker off now but pictures don't show it. The rear 5" of the inner rocker looks pretty good but not sure how far back i should cut yet. The A pillar lower will have to be chopped, not sure if i can get away with cutting the very bottom portion or if i should go further up about 1/2" lower than the bolt holes. flipped the kick panel pic for easy viewing..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hi Swamp rat
good to see your back on it. you can get patch panels for the bottom of the A pillar I replaced both of mine. As for the rocker panels drill out all the spot welds and replace the hole thing not worth patching part of it.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for the reply!

Yep, I have a set of Key parts A pillar repair panels already, but i was reading one of our local guys posts (30 years of body experience on these trucks) and he said Tabco makes the best A pillars and cab corners so i decided to order both today and will wait for a comparison.

The whole rocker, inner and outer plus a section of floor and kick panel are all getting cut out and replaced, still have to investigate the rear cab corners but they look pretty good. I got a section of floor out today but not all of it yet, ran out of time today so no pictures.

The bad news: We had a few gusts of wind last night and about 1:30 am i heard a crash.. well the wind tipped my hood with a stack of 1/4" plywood behind it over and it smacked my trailer pretty hard and put a couple dents into it, sigh, it was a perfectly good hood, but at least its reparable.. :smoke:

No pic's today.
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Re: Rat repair.
 

That's too bad about the hood SR. I know exactly how you feel. I spent a LOT of time repairing dents in my cab roof that I created with my original method of lifting the cab. Glad to hear its repairable.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Heres a couple pic's of the destruction, i mean de-construction LOL!

Unfortunately the front driver cab support is going to have to be replaced so i got to get on line and order them.

Still undecided how far back to take the cab floor, i should have blasted it before i braced the cab, but i did do a quick blast just to get the scale off, right now everything passes the ice pic test but there is some pitting. i traced out the possible cut line and roughed the support plate around the cab bolt. But still considering only going back far enough to do the support.

Anybody that's done this want to chime on i'm listening.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Gotta work today so nothing much done, made a couple floor cuts today is about it, but i was able to find this long lost thread late last night and its gonna be a lotta help

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=607099
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Re: Rat repair.
 

Well more cutting and fitting today, nothing seems to go fast and i'm learning now un-accurate the stamped A-piller lower replacement sections are. Still have to spot drill the support plate out then get the front cab support out. Really glad the cab corner rust was minimal. And school of hard knocks, when i braced the cab i forgot about test fitting the door so i'm going to have to come up with some more bracing and weld it to the inside then cut out the stuff that is in the way.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Got new bracing welded in and the bracing that was in the way cut out on the driver side. Did a little work on the area just below the high beam switch. Waiting for a couple tools and the repair parts.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Looks like you are fully committed now! Just be very patient about the fitting and cutting and you'll be fine.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Still whittling away little by little, i have seen the inaccuracies in the floor pans in other builds. when i align the cab mount dimple this stiffener bead is not aligned. But the dimple in the picture is getting cut out thankfully, right now its just for roughing and alignment purpose.

Not sure who makes this floor pan thanks to sticker on sticker on sticker....

I guess just get all the mismatch in the as close as possible and weld it up, but i'm nowhere close to that yet.

Biggest confirmation i need right now is i am assuming i need to cut the outer flange off the floor pan and butt weld or flange weld it to the inner rocker? Because the floor pan flange is not even close to being square or at the same angle as the floor support flange..

To confirm the order of assy from outer cab support:
Outer cab support flange, Inner rocker, kick panel, then outer rocker.

I'll be reading more threads tonight as i get time.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Haven't had much time the last couple days, today i found a bit of a problem with the inner rocker i'm trying to decide how to address, i posted a thread in the body section.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=697074

I have been slowly cutting the panels down to get them close, now i'm trying to decide if i should flange in some of the areas, assuming the flange would go to the underside of the floor then i know i cant flange the whole thing (unless there is something i'm missing)

I'm still waiting on my two Tabco orders, i thought one of them would show up today but no dice..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Creating a flange around the edges is the best way to go. I learned the hard way after watching Sky finish my metal work. It helps prevent warping and makes a stronger connection.

Re: Rat repair.
 

figured I better sub up since Ive been reading your thread for a while. I really like the new wheels, those are my favorite for this body style.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks DWilbur and Skyjgmc, Thanks!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well here's something i fought getting the stock front cab support free from that channel at the cab mount, there are 3 small spot welds right below the little strap loop that i think is a bolt guide? anyway it took a long time to get that little piece out but i got it, i donno maybe i should have just cut that little strap off to save some time.

Before i started removal i measured the angle of the inner channel and its about 5 degrees to the cab support.

I position one of the cab supports (universal from Tabco) into place and held my inner rocker, A-pillar and inner kick panel all together , i have the outer support flange nested to the rocker and this is the space at the inside.... wow what a gap!

Anybody know if the Tri-Plus supports fit better?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hi swap rat, like what you done so far, keep up the good work. I'm excited but waiting patiently to see more.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Boy that was fast :lol: