Penny

[ekgguy]

As the title says, I have a "Vision" of what I want the truck to be when it is done, but I have very little experience and just enough knowledge to make me dangerous.

I bought this truck 6 months before my youngest daughter got her drivers license in March of 2012 and the intent was to have it ready for her Senior Year. Needless to say, that didn't happen, but life did. Today, she is a Sophomore in college, with a little economical gas saver car to get around with and she has no interest at all in the truck.

But I do..... I have putzed around with it over the last few years, going this direction, changing this, changing that, but never have had a real direction in where or what I was going to do.

A couple of weeks ago, I found a thread that Elliot949 started about a board member here named Chad "Hellaflush3d" that did 3D renderings of our trucks.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=661301 I contacted Chad and through several emails, tried to give him an idea of what I was wanting, and the vision I had for my truck.

Here is what I started with. This is the day that I brought it home.




and with a little input from me and a lot of Chad's magic computer pen, this is what I am hoping for in the somewhat near future




I hope that I can come even somewhat close to these renderings.

I am going to go through some of the things that I have done.... whether they are the good, bad, ugly, right or wrong. It is all a learning experience for me.

[mandojunior]

I like the renderings. Im sure itll turn our great. Are you doing a complete restoration?

[ekgguy]

Originally Posted by mandojunior

I like the renderings. Im sure itll turn our great. Are you doing a complete restoration?

It will not be a complete frame off like some do, but it will be a work on it as I can, drive it sometimes until it gets to a point of needing to do suspension type of restoration.

[ekgguy]

The first thing that I did was to give myself a little extra room in the cab, so that when I wanted to, I could drive it. I am a pretty big guy, 6'-4" and about 320, so fitting behind the steering wheel was a chore at best.



So we slid the steering wheel back closer to the dash about 4 inches and this is what we ended up with...



Then we removed the bench seat and installed a couple of buckets from a 2004 Chevy truck...



My nephew had to make sure they worked... We also relocated the shifter from the column to the floor with a Mr. Gasket shifter and removed the column shifter lever

[Elliot949]

Looks great... It doesn't look like what you are wanting to do wouldn't be real difficult... Just take it slow and the guys here on this board will be a HUGE help with direction and spending your money... LOL...

Also be focused... Make a list of what you want to do and a budget then stick to it... I didn't do that with the 67 "3 Deuces" and it has spun completely out of control... On the 71 "Haulin" I have a budget and a vision and I WILL come in on budget...

[ekgguy]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Looks great... It doesn't look like what you are wanting to do wouldn't be real difficult... Just take it slow and the guys here on this board will be a HUGE help with direction and spending your money... LOL...

Also be focused... Make a list of what you want to do and a budget then stick to it... I didn't do that with the 67 "3 Deuces" and it has spun completely out of control... On the 71 "Haulin" I have a budget and a vision and I WILL come in on budget...

I completely agree. I have been on here for a while now and the board members have been ever so helpful with their knowledge and ability to recommend ways to spend money

[ekgguy]

I finally found the rest of the pictures I was looking for, now I can add them.

Left off on the seat installation and installing the floor shifter

[ekgguy]

Next, time to address the bed. There was some damage to the back of the passenger door and pretty much the whole passenger side of the bed.

I looked at just replacing the bedside and part of the floor that was rusted, but I found this bed in Oklahoma when we went up there to visit relatives




It had a nice solid floor and just a little damage from sitting like it is (I wish they had stored it upside down... but oh well). We struck a deal for $100 and I figured I could do some bodywork for that price.

I didn't have a way to bring it back at that time since we were in the wife's car, so a month or so later a buddy of mine and I made a road trip to get it.



Now comes the fun part

[ekgguy]

I have always loved the Pro-Street look. Great big steamroller tires on the back, regular sized on the front so it doesn't wander. Once my daughter decided she wasn't interested in the truck, I pretty much knew that was the direction I wanted to go.

So before putting the new bed on the truck, I figured it would be prudent to make the necessary adjustments to allow for the installation of these.



I took a lot of measurements and cross-referenced actual tire size and where the frame rails came into play and started cutting




A couple of cutting wheels and a few beverages later, I ended up with two great big holes in the floor

[Elliot949]

Gloss!!!!... By the way... here is the rendering Chad did for me... you are basically doing the same thing with the wheels I am doing...

[ekgguy]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Gloss!!!!... By the way... here is the rendering Chad did for me... you are basically doing the same thing with the wheels I am doing...

Thanks Elliot... it is your fault (I mean your thread) that got me looking for Chad to do this..... I kind of like the wide whites, but not with the copper truck.

[Elliot949]

Thanks... yeah some things work better on some things...

[ekgguy]

I didn't get anything done on the truck this weekend, but, since Father's day is coming.... the wife gave me her Credit Card and said have a good time.....

So.... I have a "new to me" upright Craftsman Air Compressor



A new 220 mig welder



and the pleasure of trying to figure our where in amongst all of this stuff I am going to put everything, plus, she wants me to bring the truck to the house so I can work on it here.




Happy early Father's Day to me....

[swamp rat]

LOL! You have more room in that garage than i have in mine!

[Justin@EntropyRad]

kudos for wrapping...note: the gloss will last much longer due to the clear laminate, and wont get all wonky if a bird doops on it

[ekgguy]

Originally Posted by Justin@EntropyRad

kudos for wrapping...note: the gloss will last much longer due to the clear laminate, and wont get all wonky if a bird doops on it

I had that same thought... not about the bird stuff, but about the gloss finish making it last longer so I sent an email to 3M and asked them. Their reply was that the matte finish also has a clear laminate on it as well that protects if from dirt and fading due to the sun. Here in Texas, the sun will definitely be an issue.

[ekgguy]

Today I finally plumbed and wired up the 69 gas tank under the bed. It is so nice to have a working fuel gauge now. I also removed the old gas tank from behind the seats. Since I have early 2000 Chevy bucket seats, it actually gives me a little more room.

No pictures, but we all know what the gas tank in the cab looks like.... and what it looks like when it isn't there.

A little progress is better than none.

[ekgguy]

Got a few things done today that I am really excited about. I finally finished 1 wheel. The spacing is correct and it is fully welded and runs <1 all the way round on the dial indicator. I still have plenty of room behind the wheel, although the bump stop will have to be relocated somewhere, and I am going to need to move the emergency brake cable a little.



A shot down the side... nothing sticks out past the fender



There is plenty of room behind the wheels





Aaaaannnnndddd I threw my spare hubcap on just to see how it was going to look.... me likey



The backspacing to the part of the wheel that meets the hub



Front lip from the outer lip of the rim to the outer lip that fits the hub

[ekgguy]

This was an afternoons worth of work... If I ever find the person that put that white strip down the center of the bed....





Tomorrow... start filling in the divits and finish pulling the bottom of the bed.

[FRANKENSTEINC10]

Wow. The wheels look awesome so far!

[ekgguy]

Originally Posted by FRANKENSTEINC10

Wow. The wheels look awesome so far!

Thanks. We ended up getting them trued up to within 0.010, so they should balance out pretty well. They are plug welded and seam welded so they should be strong enough...

[ekgguy]

I put the first coat of filler on the passenger bedside after pulling as much of the dents as possible.

Unfortunately, I have to work night shift 6 out of the next 7 nights, so it will have plenty of time to cure.

[ekgguy]

It has been a long couple of weeks at work... 15 out of 17 days, but I managed to carve out some time today to do some sanding and priming. That is a pretty good transformation if I do say so myself.

[Xeen]

The used bedside you picked up is a great starting point to making that side right again.

If you pick up a stud welder, a slide hammer and a box of pins you can get that bedside all straightened out to within the thickness of a dime which will make it so all you need is a skim coat of filler to make it perfect.

A few tips a friend of mine taught me about pulling dents, if you have a straight on dent make the first pull in the center and attempt to use your body weight to pull it slowly while stopping occasionally to check if it's close to flush with the original surface, once you get it close check for irregularities in the dent and place pins accordingly and pull again until you get it close everywhere.
If you have a crease start at the deepest part of the crease and work your way out to the most shallow part.
Most of the time there is no need to slam the weight into the butt stop to get the metal to move but occasionally if the dent is directly over structure you will have to do it.
It is important to get the angle right while you pull you don't want to cock your slide hammer at an off angle or you will cause more problems for yourself, always try to pull as straight and level as possible.

[ekgguy]

Originally Posted by Xeen

The used bedside you picked up is a great starting point to making that side right again.

If you pick up a stud welder, a slide hammer and a box of pins you can get that bedside all straightened out to within the thickness of a dime which will make it so all you need is a skim coat of filler to make it perfect.

A few tips a friend of mine taught me about pulling dents, if you have a straight on dent make the first pull in the center and attempt to use your body weight to pull it slowly while stopping occasionally to check if it's close to flush with the original surface, once you get it close check for irregularities in the dent and place pins accordingly and pull again until you get it close everywhere.
If you have a crease start at the deepest part of the crease and work your way out to the most shallow part.
Most of the time there is no need to slam the weight into the butt stop to get the metal to move but occasionally if the dent is directly over structure you will have to do it.
It is important to get the angle right while you pull you don't want to cock your slide hammer at an off angle or you will cause more problems for yourself, always try to pull as straight and level as possible.

Thanks for the advise Brian. That is the same bedside as what was on there, just a lot of bodyworking and a little bit of filler. Still some work to do.

I have the stud welder attachment for my mig welder and you are correct, it works wonders. I have already gone through a box of pins on the side you see and the other side. Best $35 ever spent.