My 1961 crew cab- XRMYCRU

[winslowgoodwin]

nice work on that cab. i bought a crew cab that is going to need the same attention that yours did. Basically all i'm going to be able to use is the pillars and rear doors.

[CHIZZLER]

Any updates? Been looking forward to more progress and pics.

[wahl4m]

im also wondering how truck is going ??????? thanks

[jonzcustomshop]

I did what I hope is the final bit of rust repair in the driver rocker, and got the final fit on the roof skin, it is now ready to weld up.

kinda took the winter off, and over the spring I slammed the 65 suburban together for something to drive, I did not get a pic, but I also got the whole underside seam sealed and painted.

[CHIZZLER]

New roof skin looks great. Im a little scared to blast the roof to see what we find on mine.

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by CHIZZLER

New roof skin looks great. Im a little scared to blast the roof to see what we find on mine.

if it is like the roof on my yellow truck, you will find a ton of lead.
not sure what sandblasting does to lead, you might want to hit it with some sort of chemical paint stripper first, before you blast.

my main hangup on my crew right now is welding up the roof, I have to just jump in and do it!

[jonzcustomshop]

well today I finally got started on the roof.
this might be a couple week process. I looked at some tips on how to do it, and it seems like I need to put down the spots by all the clamps, then grind the spot, and then put down another right next to it, and so on... I think I will try to do an hour each day after work, that should help keep the heat down and not warp it. today I laid down all the spots, pulled the clamps, and got 1/2 of them ground.

[aerotruk63]

A painstaking task. has to be done.

[66Z71]

I usually start off that way, with good intensions... then I loose patients and weld too much at once. Take your time and it will be much easier.

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by 66Z71

I usually start off that way, with good intensions... then I loose patients and weld too much at once. Take your time and it will be much easier.

me too! that's why I plan to just weld and grind one set of spots a day. hopefully that will keep me from warping it.

[CHIZZLER]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

if it is like the roof on my yellow truck, you will find a ton of lead.
not sure what sandblasting does to lead, you might want to hit it with some sort of chemical paint stripper first, before you blast.

my main hangup on my crew right now is welding up the roof, I have to just jump in and do it!

I thought you might have something to do with that pic. Glad your back on the crew.

[clemdaddy]

the roof laid out nice. I like your approach... do a little and walk away from it.
the rocker repair looks very good, nice progress.

[Bomp]

Did you pre-curve the skin or pull it down into the drip real, clamp it with vice grips?
Looks straight. Looks nice.

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Did you pre-curve the skin or pull it down into the drip real, clamp it with vice grips?
Looks straight. Looks nice.

we ran it through a roller to give it some curve, then I also rolled it over an oxygen bottle to curve it some more and fit a little better.

[jonzcustomshop]

got it all welded up!
I had a friend come by today and we did a little bit of work with a pin pull gun and fixed a couple high/low spots.
now it is ready for mud!

[Palf70Step]

Very nice Jon!

[joe231]

So AWESOME!!

[aerotruk63]

Man really starting to come together.
Have you seen any versions with a panel/suburban roof, you know domed higher at the front?

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by aerotruk63

Man really starting to come together.
Have you seen any versions with a panel/suburban roof, you know domed higher at the front?

yes, a couple, the flatter roof looks better IMO.

[Captainfab]

This is good to hear and see

[Bomp]

Great job, all nice and flat.

[jonzcustomshop]

on to making the 60-62 cab compatible with a 63-66 frame:
I cut up some mounts I had laying around from a 65 to see how they were built.
under the support washer and floor pan is a brace to keep the floor from collapsing when you torque the cab down.
these were all rusted, so I decided to just make some- I got a piece of thick sheet metal 4.5X 1 5/8 , I bent the ends at 90 degrees, then I used the vise a socket and some angle iron to bend it into shape.

[jonzcustomshop]

I took some measurements off a 65 using the seat mount holes to triangulate the inboard holes. I drilled all the way through, then made the upper hole bigger to go around the support washer indentation, then used a 5/8 hole saw for the lower hole.

since I couldn't weld the support in the brace like the factory did, I just welded it to the washer , then welded the washer to the floor.

[CHIZZLER]

Looks good. We Replaced the cab mounts so we were able to weld a piece of pipe in it. Roof looks great. CHIZZLER

[jonzcustomshop]

Getting the firewall ready so I can get the cab on the frame.
I had Captain Fab modify one of his 60-62 power brake booster brackets to work with a 63-66 pedal assembly.
I had to trim the pedal assembly a bit to fit around the provision for the hydraulic clutch on the firewall.

this fire wall (from a 60 series) did not have a provision to mount the steering column at the firewall- on a 60 series there is a bolt on piece to mount the column low, and the upper piece is trimmed off- So I cut up a bolt on piece from a 63-66, and welded the piece in place.