Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Continued the prep work on the two halves today and finally got all the rivets out and the cuts made. I have a couple of issues to address on the driver side rail. Being old and slow and forgetful, I failed to measure the width of the rails at the bottom. Top is right on the money, but the bottom is about 3/8" too wide. I'll have to cut the x-brace loose and draw it in for the side to line up properly. According to the "N" measurement shown in the chassis service manual, I also left the donor frame a tad too long on the driver side so I'll have to trim it back a bit. That will help the overall alignment as well. The preliminary laser line indicates the front needs to go to the driver side. I hope the tooling they used to punch the holes in these frames was somewhat consistent between plants and years. Wishful thinking!

Thanks go out to Scott Duckworth for coming over today and hauling off the scrap frame pieces. It made a big difference in the available space in the shop. He PM'd me to say someone had already loaded it up and hauled it off from where he set it out in front of his house.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

nice job!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Looking good Vic! Powder coating will be super tough too.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Wondering if this will require a reinforcement plate on the back side of the frame? Or are you of the school of thought that the weld is stronger than the surrounding metal? Guess I'll find out soon enough. :)

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Looks great Vic

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Nice work Vic. I knew you'd get it sorted.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thanks!
Hey John, since this whole thing has morphed into another dimension, the powder coat will fit right in.
Yep, reinforcements top, bottom and inside. Too risky to depend on just the welds, IMO.
Thanks, Keith!
Wish I could say it's sorted, Duane, but I have a ways to before it's ready for the powder coater.

Today I gently tweaked the driver rail on the donor frame to pull it in where it needed to be and re-welded the brace to hold it. Then I got busy trying to get it all aligned. To make a very long story short, the issue may have been more in the rear section than the front. To get everything square, I'd need to remove about 3/8" from the donor rail on the driver side. This made the laser happy, but screwed up the other measurements.

So I went back to basics and measured the X where the bed mounts to the frame. Way off. Now mind you, this has been to two different frame shops and both specifically stated the X measurement was on the money. By my reckoning, one leg is 77-5/8" and the other is 76-7/8"... a full 3/4" difference over a very short span. If I could squeeze it back to square, the 3/8" I need would be right there. Now the $64K question is how to do that, if it's even possible.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Whats the chance that the angularity of one or both forward bed mounts are off?

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Vic, you are a man of skill and patience!!! I would of went off the deep end by now.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I thought the same thing, Mike, so I measured from multiple points. All were off by more or less the same amount. If the rear section is tweaked like the measurements indicate, it would fit what I'm seeing elsewhere.

I'm starting to wonder how much of either I possess, Jason. I've chased this for over a year and a half and seem no closer to a resolution than when I started. This latest development seems promising, but I've convinced myself I had it figured out before and been wrong. We'll see.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Yeesh so it's still has a diamond shape after two shops measured it and swore it was right on the money, nice.
I guess 3/4" passes for on the money these days and here we thought the 1/8" that GM let slide was bad.
So one side needs to be pulled forward to take the diamond out of it, ok sounds simple enough, now where did I put that tractor and log chain, lets show them what an imprecise pull looks like, I mean hell if you are going to do it do it right! :lol:
Seriously though you have a lot more perseverance than I do, I'm pretty sure I would have junked the frame by now.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thinking out loud here...
I'm sure you've already checked this, but does your overall length match on both sides of the frame, and width of rear and front? What about the rear of the frame rails to the bed mounts where you've measured the diamond? If all of those are equal, it sounds like you might have some binding/bent cross members pushing the frame to unequal positions (one rail further forward than the other), causing the tweaked diamond shape.

It might be good to pull the cross members out and fix your rails, then put the cross members back in with bolts. I seem to remember hearing the rivets aren't exactly tight in there anyway, so cutting the old frame may have allowed the back half to relax, giving you the skewed measurements.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

You know, that's a really good idea, Duane. The factory measurements out of the chassis manual agree perfectly with the cuts that I've made. If I removed the x-members and welded the frame rails to the front half, they would be exactly where they need to be. As it sits, something has shoved the left rail forward (or the right rail back) and the x-members are holding it in a diamond shape. You're also right about the rivets not being very tight. When Scott was over the other day, I showed him how flexible the rear half was compared to the front. There's only a couple of x-members left that are riveted anyway, so what's a few more cycles with the cutting wheel and air chisel? ;)

We'll give it a shot and see what happens... what the heck, Columbus took a chance!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I like it- kinda float the whole thing till you get it where you want it, then lay a bead on the crossmembers so they don't walk.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

:agree::gi: Your on the right track now by just making it work, you can do it Vic! :devil:

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

If you put a come a long diagonally across the long side and pull it shorter that will take out the diamond in that section. I wouldn't think the height would get messed up, and if it didn't work you could always proceed with cutting out crossmembers. I do find it weird that the frame shops had such a tough time with this job, I have several years experience using frame equipment on truck frames though.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Way past that now! :lol:

Here's a shot from last Friday before we headed out of town for a three day weekend. As you can see, all the rear x-members are out and the rails are mocked up getting ready for final measurements and welding. Just got home, so will be back at it tomorrow.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Just a quick update this evening. I've made some progress over the last few days, but don't have much in the way of photos as I accidentally deleted them from the camera card. :banghead: They wouldn't have been all that educational anyway, as I had to abandon Plan A and Plan B.

Turns out the front half of the donor frame was slightly twisted and resisted my efforts to get it square. So I ended up cutting all the support tubing out, removing the rivets from the manual trans x-member and loosening the bolts in the front suspension x-member. At that point, it settled down and came together perfectly. I was able to level the frame side to side at a half dozen places from front to back and level both sides lengthwise. I had to trim just a small amount off both rails to get my 70" measurement between gauge holes.

I measured the "X" in the front and the back and both were right on. Using eight of the vertical measurements end to end out of the chassis service manual, I determined I needed to shim the rear of the frame up 1/4" higher and I'd be right on the money. Setup the laser on both sides and the intersect points on the front x-member were exactly the same side to side. So as the old saying goes, there was nothing between me and the next step but fear and thin air. I tack welded both sides, checked my measurements one last time and then ran a solid bead around the outside of both rails. I let it cool down and removed the front suspension x-member and took an overall "X" measurement from the front to the back. It's only off 1/8" and I'm pretty sure when I bolt all the cross members back in, I can hold it to even less than that.

So long story short, I think we're the downhill run. I just need to weld out the inside seams and then grind the welds flush.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

That's awesome news Vic! Glad you got it worked out.
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Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Glad your getting it done! Man i haven't done vertical welding in such a lone time, not sure if i could have succeed.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Vic,
Glad you have some progress going on. Not much going on here, let me know if I may be of service!
Ben
:metal:

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I knew you would get it right on the money Vic, you'll be laying black marks with that Ls before you know it!!!!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Congrats Vic! Should I be at your house Saturday with the trailer?

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Wish I could say yes, Chip, but not likely. My Dad took a couple of nasty falls this week and broke his left wrist the second time. We've been in and out of Urgent Care and the ER at Liberty Hospital and have appointments the rest of this week for follow-ups. We may not even be able to attend this year. Will keep you posted. Current status is that all the welding is complete, but no grinding as yet...

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Chip, when is the Nats? Coming up soon I'm guessing.
Ben

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Vic, Hate to hear of the problems that your Dad is having. Hope he is better soon. Glad to see that you are making progress and see a end to the frame troubles. Looking good.

Dwight

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Vic, sorry to hear about your father. Hope he heals soon.
Take care!
Ben
:metal:

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Hope your Dad improves quickly... great news on the truck...

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Sorry to hear about your dad Vic.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad, Vic. Anything you need, let us know.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

It's this Saturday! Yaaay! Hope to see a certain beautiful black truck there!

http://www.alltrucknats.com/

our guys-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=710064

As they said in the 70's- BE THERE!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Went out to the Midwest All Truck Nationals this morning... what a beautiful day for it!!! We've had some rain recently, so the ground was a bit soft, but the Chevy/GMC club folks are no dummies and had a plan to minimize the damage by judging all the trucks in place instead of queuing them up in lines like they usually do. Saw several of my forum buds but had to leave early to help at home with Dad. All in all, though, even if only for a couple of hours, it's the best show I go to all year.

I've started grinding the welds on the frame rails and have the driver side finished. When I get the passenger side done, I'll fabricate the reinforcing plates and drill all the holes before sending all the parts out for sandblasting. I'm on the clock a little bit. I'm scheduled to have the pterygium removed from my right eye on the 20th. Finally found an eye doctor with lots of experience that can fix me. Since it covers about 60% of my eye on that side, he'll do an amniotic membrane transplant to cover the area and use a chemotherapy drug to help prevent me ever getting it again. Once I've healed, he'll do the left eye. I'd like to have the frame at the powder coater while I'm recovering since I probably won't be doing much in the shop during that time.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the best wishes for my Dad. His arm is in a hard cast (purple!) for the next 5 weeks. Makes it difficult to do everyday tasks, but he's adapting very well.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

I'm happy to hear your dad is doing better.
Your welding skills never cease to amaze me, I can't even tell it was welded.
I bet you are feeling a lot better about the project now that you have the frame situation under control and you can breath a sigh of relief and move forward.
I know you don't need to be told you are doing a good job because you already know you are but I'm gonna say it anyway, good job! :metal:
Good luck with the surgery, we need those eyes nice and sharp so you can keep doing beautiful work and inspiring us.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Thanks, Brian. I've always thought I was an average welder with above average grinding skills. ;)

The last of the welds are smooth and the few remaining rivets that didn't want to come out of the x-members are history. We're ready for the sandblaster, so I hope to load all the pieces up tomorrow and haul them to George at Eagle Auto Stripping. I decided to blast everything first so the turnaround at the powder coater will be shorter. Plus, I can weld a couple of tabs that were on the original front section to the donor rails and not be fighting the "crust".

While the parts are at Eagle, I'll fab up the reinforcing plates so they'll be ready to use as templates for drilling the holes in the frame. I also have a small side project to make some mounts for my buddy Jay down in TX for his fine little red Chebbie truck.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Seems like a few of us are paying the piper a bit this year, I did a little reading and it sounds like the recovery time should be relatively short for you, good thing. Glad your dad is doing well too!

I could use some of them sanding skills, i always seem to under sand the weld a bit. :)

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Glad it is going together well. Good to see you Sat.!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Eagle Stripping called yesterday afternoon and said my parts were ready. Luckily, we had a dry morning today so I was able to pick them up without having to dodge any rainstorms. They look great and all I need to do now is some welding and hole drilling before they go to the powder coater.

My trailer situation came to a head this week. Got a letter from the HOA saying I had five days to move it. So my brother will haul it back with him tomorrow and we'll have to figure out the best way to get my parts to Sedalia when the time comes. Maybe have to shuttle the trailer back and forth a couple more times. I can't complain, I guess. We really haven't had (or needed) a HOA in our subdivision since we first moved in. Our original builder went belly up and the new builders never got the residents on the HOA dues gravy train. Not sure who's funding the current monitoring agency, but I reckon that shoe will drop in due time. Anyway, enough of that. I'm just happy I can now move forward again.

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

It's good to see you moving forward now Vic, should be a "fun" truck when you get it finished!!!!

Re: Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step
 

Man HOA's have their place but sometimes they just piss you off being rediculous... Glad to see you are rolling through...

I hope your Dad continues to improve...