08-22-2012, 12:09 AM | #1 |
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Red Bud, IL (Home) Newton, IL (Shop)
Posts: 301
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Cloning my own Truck
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. |
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