Re: My 63 Project
 

About four hours with that air file in my hands is about all I can take. It will wear you out!!

Re: My 63 Project
 

I picked one up today Murph. I will post pics as I take them out.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Nice work! Yer doing great! :chevy:

Re: My 63 Project
 

If you never used one before, here are a couple of tips:
A light hammer and a sharp punch will usually give you enough of a indent for the weld cutter to ride in until you get a good circular channel started.

But not always, so keep another drill handy with a bit in it that is just a tad larger than the spindle on the weld cutter. This will give your weld cutter the stability over uneven spots to get the job done.

On the back of the cab be very cautious when cutting else you will be plugging holes you didnt need to (I tried using an air chisel and learned the very hard way).

Remember the spot weld cutter is sharp, and fast, if you are not paying 100% attention you will cut dime size holes clean through both layers of steel. In my tiral and error learning I found that it was better to under cut it, and tap tap tap with a chisel between the two welded pieces, than it was to cut all the way thru.

I hope this helps you (hopefully you read this before you get hands on the project) and good luck !!

Here is the build I was looking for, a great fellow doing an awesome build:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=513377&page=6

Re: My 63 Project
 

Great advice Murph... and if I had actually read your reply before I started.. then we would have been thinking exactly the same way.... See the following Pics....

Re: My 63 Project
 

Like Murph says. Center punch or in my case, drill a "Pilot" hole, not very deep, but just deep enough for the center guide pin to ride in.

I also used a screwdriver that I wedged in from the top in order to put some pressure between the two pieces of metal. It worked great.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Here is the drivers side out.

Re: My 63 Project
 

And you can see my little mistake, where I thought there was a spot weld and there wasn't. So I will have one hole to repair, but no distortion of the back of my cab.

Re: My 63 Project
 

And the passenger side.

Re: My 63 Project
 

And passenger side out.

If anyone needs these, they are in great shape and not bent at all. Hit me up.

Re: My 63 Project
 

And some more work on the drivers door. This door was all caved in when I started and pulling it back into shape caused a bunch of waves and such, so it took more filler that I would have liked, but it is very thin.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Nicely done :metal: .... sorry about the user advice being late.
I dont give that sort of tips and tricks, and when I do, it is as an afterthought because I am no expert by any stretch !!

Yours came out way better than the hack job I did on mine with an angle grinder, even though I ended up covering mine with a back wall panel....

Re: My 63 Project
 

I will also be putting something back there.... Dynamat or something for sure... and getting the gas tank mounts out gives me more room for speaker cabinets if I decide to go that way.... Thanks for the advice though.... Any help is useful!!

Re: My 63 Project
 

Time to do something about this ugly thing!!

Re: My 63 Project
 

Little bit of welding.

Re: My 63 Project
 

After grinding and a thin layer of plastic filler. Not bad. I will have to touch this up just a bit though.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Eastwood sound deadener in the doors.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Now to finish IP the skins on these doors.

Re: My 63 Project
 

You have been busy!

Re: My 63 Project
 

Keep up the great work! What you've done so far looks awesome.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Time to pull the rearend....

Re: My 63 Project
 

So we pulled the rearend... and it's ready to go to the shop to be checked, add Posi and to put the 4 bolt square ends on the axle tubes... I pulled the cover and counted 41 teeth on the Ring and 12 Teeth on the pinion.... Simple math.... 3.73 to 1 gear ratio. So I won't need to buy a new ring and pinion gear set.

Re: My 63 Project
 

So now I need some advice. I lowered the front about 3 and a half inches and the back 4. I am planning to use a single piece driveline, since my Muncie is so much longer than the old stock four speed, and the front driveline would be about 18 inches if I used a two piece. Since I have lowered it, should i flip my trailing arm crossmember in order to gain the inch or so of travel for the driveline?? Anyone have thoughts about this?? It would be so much easier to do it now rather than later.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Nice job on the metal work. Did you find a 17 spline posi or are you converting to 30 spline in the rear end?

Re: My 63 Project
 

I am going to take it too my local rear end shop and see what I can do with what I have without spending a crap load of money. So this could be a core, or it may be the seed for something really nice. I need to discuss it with them. I will let you know.

Re: My 63 Project
 

The 63 & 64 12 bolts were 17 splines. They went to 30 spline in 65. The 12 bolt 17 spline posi's are out there, but will take some looking. Took me 2 years to find one. Most guys w/63 & 64 trucks convert to the newer 30 splines since parts are readily available as are the 30 spline posi's. Both are stil 8.875"

Let me know how it works out though.

Re: My 63 Project
 

So this little "facet" on the front of my hood was driving me nuts. So it's time to fix it.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Looking better.

Re: My 63 Project
 

I like that.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Next job is too pull this crossmember, repair it and roll it over.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Progress=:metal:
Nice goin! :chevy:

Re: My 63 Project
 

Little bit of paint on the trailing arms.

Re: My 63 Project
 

And of course new bushings.

Re: My 63 Project
 

And boy howdy getting this cross member out is a *****!!

Re: My 63 Project
 

Hmmm....That means I ain't gonna even attempt to pull mine! LOL! :chevy:

Re: My 63 Project
 

I won't lie, it sucked, but mostly because I was by myself, trying to get the rivets out laying on my back. If you have a really good air chisel, it shouldn't be as bad. And I had to pull mine as the PO had welded that angle iron piece in for the carrier bearing. And by pulling it, I was able to get it all cleaned up and now I can flip it which will help with the pinion angle and also to give me more play for the driveline.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Ok, so some grinding, clean up and a coat of paint. Trailing arm cross member ready to go back in.

Re: My 63 Project
 

Finished up the back of the cab, for the most part. I have a couple of small spots to address.

Re: My 63 Project
 

"flip it" do tell...I thought moving the trailing arm mounts was the hidden secret. Did you pull the whole enchilada to clean it up and paint it vs. flipping the brackets?

Re: My 63 Project
 

This picture is about the best way to really show. The clearance from the frame to the top of the driveline opening is about .5 inches stock. As seen in in this picture.