Cloning my own Truck

[78bronzechariot]

I had always wanted a '67 C10 since I was a kid. Then when I was a little older of a kid, I bought a very rusty '67 that was "ready for paint" from a not so reputable custom shop. I sprayed paint on it, bought a bunch of little parts and drove it for quite a while, rattles, squeaks, leaks and all. Then 4 years ago I wanted safety,reliability and fuel economy so I was early on the LSx train and dropped a 2002 Vortec 4.8 and 4l60e in it (some things I did there I am not so proud of since pre made swap parts and information was much more scarce at the time), and rebuilt the front end with '72 disk brakes. Amongst all of those things I hated my regular job as a mechanic, I ended up as a mechanic/shop manager at a high quality restoration shop and have learned so much about proper bodywork restoration techniques that I realized how bad my truck was. Now the problems are starting to show through. Bondo Cab corners rusting, door patches cracking, every patch in the bed shows though paint and rust is starting to bubble up in places. I might as well say the only good pieces of sheetmetal on the truck are the grille, hood and roof. Soooo......enough of the sob story. Now I have purchased a truly "rust free" 1968 Jimmy half ton. The only stipulation from the wife is that it has to "look" like the '67 since I got it way back when we were first dating. The '68 is completely in pieces, so the plan is to pull all the drive train and suspension and interior out of the '67. Purchase a few '67 pieces of front sheet metal and make the '68 Jimmy a new '67 Chevy and paint it in the Same color scheme.

I know how everyone loves pics, unfortunately I only have some of the '67 don't have any of the '68 yet.

[markallen]

This is the truck you made sound like a raggedy piece of junk???

[78bronzechariot]

It doesn't look like it, but I am certain that there are 10 gallons of bondo holding it together. I wasn't kidding about every patch in the book. cab floor is made of 7 pieces, bed sides each made of four pieces. Half the bed floor is fiber glassed because of the rust holes. Nothing was properly welded, mostly pop riveted or sheetmetal screwed and bondo'd over. Drives door is cracked at the hinges so someone welded them to the door and the door can't be adjusted to so wind and rain leak in. Passenger door is larger than the opening, so it is hard to shut and hard to open (especially for the wife). When I bought it I really didn't know much about what to look for, and I bought it off ebay so it didn't look as good when it showed up as the pictures made it seem. Since I was young, had pretty much no budget and no patience, It got painted instead of fixed. And there were some less than stellar repairs that I did. The only reason its lasted this long is it generally doesn't get driven in the weather.

[78bronzechariot]

Continued from above....I hate to say it, but since I have been working at a reputable restoration shop, you would be surprised how many cars look good, even great looking cars and trucks. At least until you put them on a lift, or lay under the dash, or my personal favorite until you take it apart and have it sandblasted. We actually have two prime examples of this at work right now. We have a 69 Camaro that is going from basically stock to a full pro touring car with Detroit speed suspension a Supercharged LSA out of a new ZL1 Camaro and a t56. The car had a very nice paint job on it and looked like a car that would win a local show. When we blew it apart for the rear 4 link and tubs, it became apparent that the car was pop riveted and undercoated together, rust holes filled with bondo, and the cowl boxes and dash under the windshield rotted out and fiber glassed together. It should come back from the sadblaster tomorrow and look even worse. The other car is a 69 mustang "arizona" car even had the arizona plate and registration from 15 years ago. Got it back from the blaster. the car had been rear ended and the tailpan alone was fixed with a gallon of bondo. Quarter panels rusted out and filled with bondo, passenger quarter creased and dented. and slathered with bondo. Still a very nice mustang to start with rust wise, but it goes to show that things can be hidden and they often show up too late.

I know I have use Bondo as a four letter word. The truth is that it has its uses. When we do a car to show quality straightness, it will get skimmed with bondo from front to back and sanded on for 2 months, but it is never thicker than 1/16" of an inch. most places its so thin it is almost transparent on the car.

[78bronzechariot]

Picked up the 68 Jimmy today, it is going to be stored at work for a little while since I have a 3 hr drive from there to my personal shop, and I have to borrow the company truck and trailer to pull it. The truck is 1000 pieces, but rust repair in minimal. Bed is solid except two small areas over the tail floor brace, and the front panel is beat up from cargo not being tied down. cab needs foot well/ kick panel patches a small patch inside the top windshield frame, a few pinholes in the drivers door sill and the drivers rear cab to rocker brace. The bed sides are immaculate both inside and out. Unfortunately I was only able to snap a couple sub par cell phone pics since I had a limited amount of time for help.

[70cst]

Well 78bronzechariot ...

The picture makes your look very nice