67 SWB First Build

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Job well done, every step of the way!!!

Are you going to go back with the Gold color???

That gold and white cab you're referring to came from my parts rig. I'm still not exactly sure what I'll do with it. It's in fairly decent shape.

I have a couple thoughts on color, but still trying to think it through completely. One of the harder decisions to make for sure.

[Scurry67]

Took some time to disassemble my guage cluster. It was in relatively good shape. Going to order a new circuit panel for it as well as repaint the needles. While it's disassembledd, I'll prep it for paint.


Also toying with the idea of a grill insert. Ordered some hexagon aluminum mesh and cut it to fit.

I made a bunch of these washer plates to secure the mesh to the grill insert. I drilled 1/8" holes so I could temporarily secure it with clecos.

So far I'm liking the look. I'll plan on taking it somewhere to get powder coated black.

[Scurry67]

Small update. Not a lot done since the last post. Ordered a few more pieces for the pickup. Looking forward to getting to install them all.

Also moved some stuff around in the shop as well to make room for the frame. Never got it to the blaster but want to move forward with the bodywork. I'll try to assemble the cab and front clip so I can spray everything at the same time with feather fill.

[Scurry67]

Also got the hood out. Should be the last big panel that needs paint stripped!

[TA_C10]

Oh man, lots of progress man. Really like your grill idea and I'm anxious to see what that will look like in black.

Those mirrors, can you give us the details on them and who makes em? Love all the other billet pieces too, gonna look real sharp.

.

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Oh man, lots of progress man. Really like your grill idea and I'm anxious to see what that will look like in black.

Those mirrors, can you give us the details on them and who makes em? Love all the other billet pieces too, gonna look real sharp.

.

Much appreciated. I have a paint scheme in mind that I think everything will tie together well.

Mirrors, window cranks and inner door handles are ringbrothers. I saw them on Vannatta Fab's page on Instagram. They have some pretty cool pieces. I had a bunch of those VISA giftcards sitting around so I splurged a bit on the mirrors.

Outer door handles are from GSI machine and fabrication.

[Scurry67]

Small accomplishment. The 67 cab is mated with the frame for the first time since I've owned it. Used new cab mounting kit from classic heartbeat that I had ordered about a year ago. Everything fit together well. The cab lifter on my engine hoist has gotten some great use for sure.

Spent tonight starting to fit all my panels. Trying to get a good feel for how my gaps will look. For the most part everything is looking decent. I'll have a buddy over one of these nights to give me a hand with aligning them a bit closer before I spray the feather fill.

Nice feeling though seeing it look like an actual pickup

[TA_C10]

Did you shave the grill inserts where the parking lights go?

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Did you shave the grill inserts where the parking lights go?

I did indeed. I had a spare grill from my parts rig that I was able to steal the upper inner trim piece. Kicking around the idea of adding them elsewhere in the grill or get a headlight assembly that has it built in.

[Scurry67]

Real slow progress. Doesn't mean I haven't been day dreaming about it!

I ordered a new Dakota digital dash RTX. The thing is pretty darn cool looking. My wiring harness update kit from American autowire also showed up. Now I need to get going on my 383!

Not much bodywork lately. I managed to strip the paint in the inside of my fenders. Por 15 and epoxy primered them next. I have a mobile blaster coming in a couple weeks to get a few misc items. He says with the new equipment he has, he's able to strip my hoods with no worry about warping.

New goal is to have the cab and front clip in primer before summer.


Parts for blasting in couple of weeks. Also going to get OEM front bumper sand blasted.

Cowl hood.

67/68 OEM hood. Think I'll prep both as I'm having trouble with which one to use.

Clearanced fuse panel pass through to the engine bay for new harness.

[Getter-Done]

Day dreaming is good.
Sounds like you got a good plan.
After the Mobile sandblast guy finishes with the hoods,
It may help you decide which one to go with.
They will be bare metal (with no stripes).
Also you will see the real condition under the paint.
I like that you are keeping your goals Realistic.









.

[TA_C10]

Your gonna like the AA harness and the DD gauges. And the BIM module really makes the gauge setup super simple.

Are you going to be painting your bumper? If your sandblasting it now would be a really good time to shave the bumper smooth

[Tusky]

What color do you plan on painting the truck ?

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Day dreaming is good.
Sounds like you got a good plan.
After the Mobile sandblast guy finishes with the hoods,
It may help you decide which one to go with.
They will be bare metal (with no stripes).
Also you will see the real condition under the paint.
I like that you are keeping your goals Realistic.

.

That's exactly my thought. Everyone I've asked thinks I should go cowl and I'm leaning that way too. Worst case scenario is I prep them both and have two hoods that fit 🤘🏼

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Your gonna like the AA harness and the DD gauges. And the BIM module really makes the gauge setup super simple.

Are you going to be painting your bumper? If your sandblasting it now would be a really good time to shave the bumper smooth

I hope that install goes smooth! I've been trying to do some studying. I appreciate your feedback on the tools btw 👌🏽

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by Tusky

What color do you plan on painting the truck ?

Right now I'm leaning towards centennial blue. Chevy's 50th anniversary truck just looks so awesome in that color. Still on the edge about whether to two tone it or not. I go back and forth all the time!

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by Scurry67

Right now I'm leaning towards centennial blue. Chevy's 50th anniversary truck just looks so awesome in that color. Still on the edge about whether to two tone it or not. I go back and forth all the time!

That would be a great color to go with! If you do go with that I think the solid color would be best.

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

That would be a great color to go with! If you do go with that I think the solid color would be best.

That's what I'm leaning towards. Paint is probably still a little ways down the road, but it's still fun to think about.

Al

[Scurry67]

Small update. I'm still waiting on the mobile sand blaster to show up next week to get the misc panels/pieces. In the mean time I sand blasted some smaller pieces in my dad's blasting cabinet and shot them with primer.

Also been killing the time by ordering parts... More to come on those items later 👌🏽

Slash guards, bumper brackets, core support brackets and hood latch all primed

Have the exterior cab ready for feather fill. Just waiting on the hood and core support so I can piece it all together to get it all at once.



Old seat cover was trashed. A couple broken springs that I'll look into replacing and also get it blasted next week.

[Scurry67]

One of the purchases I recently made was for a new steel bed floor... It's actually two halves of one. I took the idea from Camaroguy, as it made it a bit cheaper to have it shipped in 2 pieces. Thanks for that!

Spent the last couple of evenings drilling out spot welds on the bed cross sills. Only the rear cross sill is left. In total I drilled out about 120+ spot welds

Need to get it done before Wednesday so I can have the mobile sand blaster get it while he's here.

[TA_C10]

Digging the updates man. You have a lot going on right now, plenty to keep you busy there. I'm working on bed as well.

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Digging the updates man. You have a lot going on right now, plenty to keep you busy there. I'm working on bed as well.

That is for sure... Still waiting to see that light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm so ready to get everything in paint... Seems light years away

[Scurry67]

Small update:
Mobile blaster came by this week to blast a few parts. It was a pretty sweet set up, wished I had gotten a picture. It was a dustless blaster that used cool water to keep the panel temperature down. The kid did a pretty good job. The hood has a little bit of oil canning, but that was there before he blasted it. I'll continue with the body work on both hoods. Leaning towards cowl at this point.

The sandblast finish really brings a panel back to life. I shot everything with some epoxy primer quickly to prevent that clean metal from flash rust.





Also, like TA mentioned earlier, started to shave front bumper. It takes a bit of time to cut those heads off!


The front tubs were really the only things that required a few minor patches. I'll also have to clean up the core support below the battery tray. There are a few pin holes.

[Scurry67]

Welp with the virus going around, I've been stuck working from home. It's taken some discipline to not wander up to the shop during the day

Finished the patch panels on one of the inner tubs. Just need to redrill the holes in the patches.



I spent some late nights working on the bed. On Tuesday my new bed floor pieces showed up. After getting it unloaded I realized that I had accidently ordered a long bed rear half panel. I was too motivated to wait on reordering the correct section so I dove in.

Took the recently blasted floor braces and por-15'd the interiors. They were in all pretty good shape!


While that dried, I started rolling on the body filler on the front bumper. It was already in good shape, so this should take care of any minor imperfections.



I used the old bed floor too verify measurements on the new sections. Added some tape for a guide to cut a long. Had to make an extra cut because of the incorrect rear section... Oh well, it's only my time

[Scurry67]

Continued...

Spent a lot of time double and triple checking the measurements. I used clecos at the middle joint to secure the panels together. Then I used some body clamps to hold the rear cut section in place. The total length was within a 1/16" of the original bed.



I tack welded the rear section and relied on the clecos at the middle joint to ensure nothing shifted. Then I moved it to the ground to start installing the floor braces. I just tacked those in for the time being, too.



Put the panels back on the frame and rechecked my measurements and went full steam ahead on the rear section weld. Took my time to ensure I didn't overheat anything.


Put it back on the ground to install the other two braces. Then scuffed the coating and hit all of the bottom with some epoxy primer. I verified the braces all lined up with the bed mounts prior to filling in all of the spot welds. Also sprayed the rear cross sill. I probably took the floor on and off 10 times before I got to primer. It was quite the workout.