Project...praise the lowered

[(joey)]

so i guess its time to start a build thread.

grab a beer because im writing the history of the old gal and updating on what i have and hav not done in the past 2 years

its a 1967 lwb i bought two years ago.it came with a 327 that had been well built to make decent hp and a 350 turbo trans.the truck swapped through 5 owners since it had a body resto in the early 80`s..the next four owners had intentions on fixing it up but instead it sat year after year rotting away.so then i came to the rescue.i bought it with intentions of fixing it up with some bondo and some flat black from a rattly can then driving it as a second vehicle.well then i found this site.and after surfing around i found out how much potential these trucks really have.so i was going to weld in a couple patches,paint it,lower it and drive in pride.i then dug into it and discovered it was a mess.so much body rot so i stripped it apart and turned it into a cab off resto.after buying parts here and there,spending hours on the cab which warped all to f@*k, i kind of lost interest.so i set it to the side.before it was set to the side,i bought 2 new fenders,cpp slotted drilled 6 lug rotors,bags,drop spindles,all new ball joints ,verious performance parts,ez wiring kit and i know im forgetting more.while it was set to the side i came up with the idea of swapping my body off the old girl onto my 01 seirra swb frame using the power train,a/c,and some other newer goodies.so i then sold..the rotors,spindles,ball joints and gave the 327 and trans to my father for his t bucket project. i have now been back at it full tilt.


for the cab people would think i was nuts for even attempting to make it look good enough to set it back on the frame.i started by building 70% of the floor,patched the fire wall,dash,installed new door sills,bought cab corners,built the inner front windshield panel,built the whole upper channel the top of the windsheild sits in,built the front of the roof and the list goes on.i then shaved the drip rail and brought it in to meet flush with the upper door.after the drip rail was shaved,windshield channel was built,inner and outer roof was patched the windshield wasnt even close to fitting.the top warped so bad it was over an inch away to where it was supposed to be.this is when i lost interest.since i got back at it i have installed a new inner roof patch panel,cut out the whole front of the outer roof and built a new patch,built the channel and so far the windshield fits great.now to finish up shaving the side drip rails to meet the tops of the doors then on with a custom floor pan and a 2 inch body drop.

here are some pics of before,then the mess and where it sits now.







[IMG][/IMG]

[(joey)]

and now back at it....






my english wheel haha

[(joey)]

i made a custom grill a while back.i cut the center out of the gmc grill then patched where the ends were located against the outer and inner frame.i then patched the blinker light holes and installed clear flush mount blinkers.i then ordered a billet grill off ebay listed to fit a 77 chev.i trimmed it to fit around my headlight buckets and used a press to get the right bend in the center.





thats it for now.i have 2 years of pics floating around on 2 different computers so i will update as i continue the build or if i find more pics from the past.

[bigguy69]

i like it!!!

[(joey)]

thanks guys.its good to be back at it.i got a little more done.finished welding where i shaved the pass side drip rail,stripped the doors,tacked the rockers in place and started a cab corner.soon i will be making a custom floor raised 2 inches then on with the fun stuff like the custom dash.cant wait

[(joey)]

the cab corners are now welded in place,door sills completely welded,door jambs stripped now on to building a new firewall.im also including a couple pics of my donor truck.its a shame to say i will be stripping and selling the body off this perfectly good truck but thats hot rodding.cant wait until the day i mount the cab to the new frame.

[Putter]

Is that the 'frame donor'? Wow. I guess you can sell the body parts to recoop some of the funds!?! Good work on that windshield frame.

[(joey)]

yes sir it is.thats the plan.sell the body parts to make decent cash to put into the truck.as soon as i buy another truck to take its place i will strip it down and start setting it up for air bags.

[spike38]

Originally Posted by (joey)

yes sir it is.thats the plan.sell the body parts to make decent cash to put into the truck.as soon as i buy another truck to take its place i will strip it down and start setting it up for air bags.

Sounds like you got a plan!
Should be a nice reliable build

Spike

[(joey)]

Originally Posted by spike38

Sounds like you got a plan!
Should be a nice reliable build

Spike

it should be a decent driver.im building it to show/haul/work and to destroy tires.

[(joey)]

today was a big day.i was able to cut out,fab and start to weld in a smooth flush custom firewall and upper floor.looks 110% better.

[VA72C10]

nice work! love shaved driprails!

[(joey)]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

nice work! love shaved driprails!

thanks man.when i did them i sectioned out about 1/4 inch all around the top inner door jambs and brought them in to match flush with the door frames.

[VA72C10]

Nice job on the patch!

[(joey)]

thanks.just got my steel today for bracing the cab square then on to hacking out the floor wed night.

[(joey)]

after all the hard work of patching the floor last summer i still wasnt happy so i did a cut N drop.kind of like the Flintstones look.

[McClinton527]

Lookin awesome man.. Great metal work. And way to make something out of a truck that was truly a goner! I commend your efforts.

[(joey)]

thank you Mr McClinton.seeing build threads like yours is what got my a$$ in gear to get back at mine.headed over today to build a new floor skeleton.should have some pics later today

[bobbo]

Looking great. Very nice sheet metal work. Getting ready to remove drip rails on mine today, well, the start of it anyway. I really like what you did on the grille, that looks sharp!

[(joey)]

thanks bobbo.i think these trucks look good with shaved rails.do you have a build thread?
after a day of cutting some more floor and support garbage out it was all cleaned up and ready to start.after spending alot of time with a tape,level,square and help from a buddy, we determined exactly how much i had to channel the floor to lay the sills on the ground,where i needed to run the new supports for the cab mounts on the new frame and how much i have to hack off the new cab corners.after this i managed to run my back support and came off that with the supports for the cab mounts.should be smooth sailin now.

[bobbo]

Originally Posted by (joey)

thanks bobbo.i think these trucks look good with shaved rails.do you have a build thread?

Click on the link in my siggy for the 69 GMC...

[(joey)]

back at it.but this time with my build partner.straight from the office into the garage.what a gal.today we welded the floor supports,drilled spot weld holes in the floor then did some bead rolling to the tunnel.

[(joey)]

got a little more done to the floor supports tonight.i ran some more 2x1 along the front of the floor and came off them with some 1x1 along where the tunnel is going to run.then i ran a couple pieces of 2x1 to tie together the outer and inner support which will act as a good mounting point for the seat.because i plan on laying on the sills, i bent up some 1/8 inner door sill plates with the right angle to run my sheet metal to the new supports.now a couple more braces then i can lay some sheet metal.

[(joey)]

back at it today.i got a couple more side supports in place,patched up the kick panel area and cut and shaped some sheet metal.instead of plating straight up to the floor from the sill like most body drops i found on the web,i angled mine for a more smooth transition.turned out well.i also had a chance to mock the seat up.looks like i will have to chop a hole on the roof for my head to pop out or chop the legs off the seat.think i will mod the seat.this week i will do some bead rolling for strength then on with the tunnel.im having a blast.

[67chevy1series]

wow