Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

Guess since i never did the intro thing, sorry, name is elwood and I live in Fayetteville, NC. Been working on this truck for around 2 years now and pretty much went in a little debt with her at the end. Anyways all work was done by me or Tim Bradham (as i call it, parental supervision!) at TBC hot rods and bikes in Fayetteville. Paint by Robbie Lynch at TBC.

Just want to add, i have been looking at this forum for the past 2 years reading and getting ideas from all of you, so thank you with the knowledge you have passed on to so many lurkers out here.

When i got the truck it was running with a 350/3 on the tree in her but rust was everywhere, so did what i thought was right and tore her apart, not just a little, but all the damn way apart. All the usual places. I think i bought every sheet metal repair part i could from LMC. And if you have ever used one you will know they dont fit, EVER. So that was a headache in itself. I would post the pics but the damn phone decieded to go swimming while being drunk and lost all those photos but you have seen them all before, weld weld, grind grind. So just start most of the way in to her. Any questions just ask.

Now she sits about 3-4 inches in the front and a little more in the back. engine is bored .60 454 with a built 700r4 behind and 3.43 limited slip. cruises at 70mph at 2000rpm. coil overs in the front and regular shocks in the rear. She rides like a caddy.

So funny story just so you know, i have been doing 16 hour days for the past 6 months getting this truck ready to go to Lone Star Round Up in Austin Texas this past weekend. Well we put the last bolt in her at 7 am on wends day the 3rd of April and took off for Texas at 9am the same day. True damn story. Only test drive she did was 2 mile round trip to the glass shop to install the rear window. That is it!! I was nervous as hell but She rode great all the way there and almost home when I hit a bad pot hole and cracked the weld on the front shock mount, so trailered the rest of the way home. Fixing her this weekend and hope to drive her to Wilmington, NC this weekend for their show.

Its been a labor of love and lots of $$ but once its done, well, its working on her more!! haha

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

more during the build..

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

more....

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

paint starting... with the frame.. when in doubt lace it out.. (thanks alex!!)

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

more frame....

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

frame and suspension. This was late feb 2013. started on the small stuff also. time was ticking quickly..

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

Wow I dont have anything on you thats one bad ass paint job on your frame...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

started putting the frame back together.. while robbie was doing alot of paint prep work on top of my trying to weld the cab back into 1 peice truck....

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

more work, and the gf getting her hands dirty on some welding...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

we used the tintable raptor liner in the bed so it still had the green shade to it.. works pretty good.... inside the cab and under we used straight black raptor liner...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

engine sat for about 4 years so we replaced the vavle springs, etc. also rebuild the holley. started plumbing it all in... beginning of march...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

more...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

got the idea of the coolers and fans from a customer at the shop that had it done. Didnt know where to put them so tim said showcase them in the bed. At texas i think i had a 100 people ask me what they were for.. I dont run the fans unless i am in traffic.

The tires i have on the rear in the pic were 285/60/17s. and were 31 inch tall tires.. MOUNTAIN climbers!! i messed up my order from diamond back tires in conway SC. and within a week i had a different set for the rear/front. so the tires in the pic are not whats on the truck. the tires in the front are on the rear now... front- 235,55/17(26inch) rear 255/60/17 (28.2inch) tall

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

back to the cab...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

started the paint on the truck... after doing the door jambs and inside, we came in the next day and started what was to become a 22 hour straight paint fest..

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

the 22 hour paint fest... left at 7 am the next day.. still was more to do but the rough cut was in... we wanted to do something different.. It was the gf idea of the shamrocks cut out in the bed to allow the coolers to breathe so we just continued the 4 leaf clover throughout..

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

didnt like the plain white as the background. so we wanted to paint it gold, well something happen (as always) and it came out orange-ish.. so what do you do at that point? ADD METAL FLAKE!!! always helps the situation!

still had the large tires on at this point.. still beginning of march, pull out to texas in less then 30 days....

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

cab getting mounted for the first time in a year and a half... not enough drop in the rear. think 5? inch springs in the back. still the wrong tires on...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

then fast forward to the trip to texas when she first rolled out...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

some pics of on the way and what not.. will get better pics of the interior for you all...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

interior seat colors picked out...

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

Killer truck and skills....exact same story of my truck..."Its been a labor of love and lots of $$ but once its done, well, its working on her more!! haha "but mine took 8 years on the build:lol:

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

Hey Elwood, Welcome from another Fayetteville NC member. Where are you at in Fayetteville? The shop looked downtown. Great looking truck you have....looks like chris's old 61 from the early pics. Im also doing a big block swap and would like to check out the truck. Also see that your with the Road Devils..Ive seen alot of your members rides at local events and you guys have some killer stuff.

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

OUTSTANDING! thanks for the pics.
What did you use for the front suspension?

Re: Another build thread. 61 stepside frame off
 

Great build and truck! Thanks for sharing it. The frame is over the top. Love the stance, what are your drops?
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