Project Big Orange (70 to 67 ~ long to short)

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Vex,
Just wanted to say that I think you are doing a great job with this build. There are many complexities involved with this project and it is comendable to even attempt such a huge undertaking. Looks like your son is enjoying the process as well, these are the things he will remember for the rest of his life. Are you going to switch to a one piece drive shaft or just shorten the two piece shaft.
Mike

Mike,

Thanks for the encouragement. The quote at the bottom of your entry says is all. It has been a lot of work and I am learning a ton! I am working on getting everything back together and safe!

I have a one piece drive shaft from another 70 C10 SWB. I have not completely installed it yet but it looks like once I change out the transmission yoke it is going to fit perfect. That is good news!!!!

I also need to refit the break line and do a few more things before she will be back on the road. I hope it will be soon. I also plan to clean up the entire back half of the frame and suspension with some GUNK and a wire brush, then shoot it with a coat of rattle can black before i drop the SWB bed on it. I bought all new bolts.

Pics coming soon.

Vex

[vexvader]

Here are some pics.

I still have a few things to do before it is "road worthy", but it is 90% done.

I need to get some drop springs for the back because it is way to high.

Thanks for all the help from you guys!!

Vex

[74chevy454]

Great job, so was it out of square bad and was it alot of work finishing the z cuts. Cant wait till you get a test drive.

[PHAT TONY]

Originally Posted by vexvader

The Long Bed is gone!!! I sold it.

I cut the frame and welded it back, so it is not a SWB. I am working on getting everything buttoned up and and safe. I will post pics soon.

It was a big challenge and project and not over yet but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for all those who have helped with encouragement and advice!

This post and the above pics don't seem to get along together.

[STOCKISH]

Trucks looking good so far. Cant wait to see it finished.

[Mike Bradbury]

Looks good, Now you have all kinds of experience for the one you have been dreaming about. I am still thinking about what to start first. What I need to do, is carve out some time to start working it. My question to you is; would you ever do a mod like that again?

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by PHAT TONY

This post and the above pics don't seem to get along together.

I meant to say "now it is a SWB". I fixed the post. Sorry for typos

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Looks good, Now you have all kinds of experience for the one you have been dreaming about. I am still thinking about what to start first. What I need to do, is carve out some time to start working it. My question to you is; would you ever do a mod like that again?

Mike,

Thanks for the note. Yeah I did learn a lot! And "yes" call me crazy but I would do it again. Here is what I would do different:

I would realize that it would take more then 2 days like I originally thought. Expectation may not be everything but it sure is a lot. I thought I was going to be able to do it in one weekend and it took me about 5 days all in all, over about a month. Part of that is that I had to make several trips to the store for things like grinding disks, bolts, etc. The other reason it took so long was I have never attempted something this big before and I tried to really take my time (and still made a few mistakes). Now that I have done it once, I am sure it would not take as long, and I would definitely do it again!

My advice to you bro is "jump in" it was a lot of work and a few times I said to myself "What was I thinking." But...WOW is it rewarding to finish the job. I have walked out in the driveway several times and just stared at it and felt proud. I love the SWB trucks so much and for 8 years I have dreamed about having one, so now I have that "new truck" feeling even though it is the same truck I have had all along. Like I said, I am proud of myself. I made some mistakes but that is how I learned. Thanks for your help and advice. I will keep putting pics up and stay in touch.

I have a friend who used to paint cars for a living and now works for an auto paint supply company and he is going to paint it with me and teach me as we go.

Vex

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by 74chevy454

Great job, so was it out of square bad and was it alot of work finishing the z cuts. Cant wait till you get a test drive.

Yes it was a lot of work finishing the z cuts.

It was and still is a little out of square. It was before I started and still was when I finished. I guess that means I did it right, because it was the same amount out of square as before I did the mod.

The truck hit a guard rail on the front driver side fender before I got it and the driver side frame rail is pushed back almost an inch farther then the passenger side. If you look at the driver side pic you can see the bed gap between the cab and the bed is a little off. The passaenger side is perfect.

The truck drives great. I have done 80 mph in it and is drives straight and does not have excessive tire ware. I have put close to 80k miles on it since I have got it 8 years ago, so I know it drives good. Since I made it a SWB I have driven it about 20 miles and up to about 45 mph and it rides pretty much the same as it did. It is a little bit bumpier because of the shorter wheel base but still straight as a whistle.

What I plan to do is take the bed off, loosen the cab mount bolts, loosen the trans cross member bolts and the radiator support bolts (basically every bolt that attaches to the frame, even the motor mounts). Then I will anchor the passenger side frame rail. Using a 4 ton come along to pull the driver side rail forward. I will try to pull it about a 1/2 too far. Then I will tighten everything back down and release the "come a long" Then I will check all my measurements and check for squareness.

If that does not work, then I will unbolt everything again and pull it again and then weld the rear spring support cross member, the trailing arm cross member and the front cross member that is under the radiator support, bolt it all down and check it.

If that doesn't work then I will just forget about it. Like I said, it drives straight with no tire ware and from what I have heard from most people, these trucks were never perfectly straight from the factory. A 1/2 inch out of squareness is within tolerance by most peoples books.

What are your guys thoughts on this?? I love hearing from other people on the board.

Vex

[vexvader]

Here is a rough time line for those who are interested:

Day One - Preparation (8 hours)
I removed the long bed. There were 8 bolts and 7 of them had to be cut off. I am pretty sure they were the original 39 year old bolts. A cut off wheel and a “saws all” did the trick. I used a “one man cab and bed lift” that I built and an engine puller. Then I pressure washed the frame. This made the rest of the job much cleaner and easier.

Then I drilled out the rivets and removed the front bed mounts that are not needed. Cut off 8 inches on the rear of the frame. Put the frame up on level jack stands, dropped the drive shaft, remove emergency break cable, remove the rear break line and wiring harness, and unhooked and plug the fuel line. Then I unbolted the rear cab mounts, jack up the cab about 3 inches and placed a 2x6 on the frame to hold the cab up so I could cut the frame.

I also had to remove the entire exhaust system. The mufflers were right next to the frame where I was going to cut it.

This took about a whole day because things always take longer then expected and because I was keeping an eye on my 3 year old son during most of that time. He thought he was working on the truck and dad was helping him. I also was not trying to hurry but just enjoying the day as I worked. One guy who really knows what he was doing could probably knock this out in about a half day if he did not run into any problems and worked fast.

Day two – The Big Cut (8 hours)
This was the point of no return. I marked the frame buy painting it primer gray and then used a sharpy. I did the “z” cut right under the cab. The cutting only took about 30 minutes with a good saws all, but then I had to dress all the cuts and clean up all the area that I was going to weld. This took a good hour or so.

After cleaning everything up, I got some ratchet straps, “C” clamps and vice grips and pulled everything back together. It lined up pretty good but I had to play with it some and then measure over and over. This is where things really got slow. It took about 30 mins to pull everything together and then about 30 mins of adjusting and measuring. I had to do this about 3 or for times before I felt that I had it as straight as I could get it. I also used a “come a long” cross tied to the frame rails to try to square it up good. So by the time I did this and tacked it back together with a mig welder another day was gone.

Day Three – Buttoning in All Up (8 hours)
I started by measuring everything again and believing that all was as good as I could get it, I committed to welding. This was a long slow process of welding, moving location, welding, waiting on my welders duty cycle, etc. By the time I did all this and the fish plates on the inside of the frame rails another day was gone.

Day Four – Boxing and Do Dads (8 hours)
After touching up the welds a little more, I they begun the process of fitting in the “frame rail stiffeners”. I bought them from CPP and they were great! They are solid and fit “tightly” in the frame rails. I had to really work to get them in because they were so tight. A 4 pound hammer came in handy. It took about an hour for each one to get it in and fitting right. About 30 mins each side prepping the rails for welding as well. I had a friend with more welding experience come and weld them in good and tight for me to make sure everything was good and tight. Again, we had to wait on my welder a lot and that took most of the day.

Then I hooked back up the break line and bleed the lines.

Day 5 – Done
I hooked back up the fuel line, cleaned up the frame a little more and put the new SWB bed on. Swaped out the yoke on a single drive shaft and installed it. I had to drill out the rivets and remove the old center support for the old two-piece drive shaft.

Installed new mufflers and tail pipes, cranked it up and drove it around the block.

[franky69c10]

looks good, did u cut the bed down also...

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by franky69c10

looks good, did u cut the bed down also...

No, I did not cut the bed down. This was a SWB bed I bought about a year ago. I have seen the posts where people have cut them down and that looks good but is a lot of work. I got this bed for practically nothing so I went that route. It made things a lot easer as well.

Vex

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Vex,
Just wanted to say that I think you are doing a great job with this build. There are many complexities involved with this project and it is comendable to even attempt such a huge undertaking. Looks like your son is enjoying the process as well, these are the things he will remember for the rest of his life. Are you going to switch to a one piece drive shaft or just shorten the two piece shaft.
Mike

Thanks!!

I used a one piece from another 1970 C10. I did not have to shorten it. It fit perfect and works great. It came out of a SWB with a 3 speed and a I6 motor. I have a 350 small block and a 700r4. I fit perfect. Man I love Chevys.

When are you going to start on yours? I can't wait to see it!

Vex

[vexvader]

What are your guys thoughts on my "frame straighting" idea?

Vex

[a1953mdl]

Your idea on straightening the frame is right on.
The problem is "anchoring" the side you don't want to move.
I have chains anchored in the slab of my shop. they work great on jobs like this.
You may have to use other vehicles to move and keep yours from moving.
For instance, park a pickup in front of yours and put the passenger side you don't want to move up against it - in the area of the bumpers right in line with the frame. Then take another pickup and push from behind on the drivers side. Just a thought, never tried it that way.
Another way my be to use a "cable puller" and hook it diagonally across the passenger front to the drivers rear frame area and pull it into square. Never tried this one either and you may have already thought of a better way.
With every thing loosened up, this should move reasonable well. I think you may have to weld to keep it that way.
Hope someone else will jump in here, there is always more than one way to skin a cat.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[a1953mdl]

Vex, what did you do on the brake lines and emergency brake cables to shorten them?

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by a1953mdl

Vex, what did you do on the brake lines and emergency brake cables to shorten them?

Thanks for your thoughts on the straightening plans. I plan to anchor the passenger side frame rail to my father in laws tow hitch on his Ford F250 crew cab with a tow chain. Then I will use a 4 ton come-a-long on the driver side anchored to another big truck. I think this will be enough to pull it. I will let you know what happens.

I tried the diagonal approach and it didn't do much, but I did not loosen every thing first. Like I said I will post the progress and results.

Does anyone know of a thread that dose something like this?

As far as the brake line I just cut it, bent it and flared it. I have not hooked up the emergency break cable but I plan to just buy a new one from LMC for a SWB.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[vexvader]

I drove it about 20 miles on Sunday and got it up to 65 mph. It drove straight as a whistle. Just like before I cut the frame.

Like I said before, it seems a little bit bumpier because of the shorter wheel base. Is this my imagination or is it physics?

Have any of you guys who cut your frame experienced this?

It is not terrible but I can feel a difference. I can't wait to do a 2/4 drop, some new shocks and put on some sway bars. I am not looking for corvette handling, just a better look and a little better ride.

vex

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by vexvader

I drove it about 20 miles on Sunday and got it up to 65 mph. It drove straight as a whistle. Just like before I cut the frame.

Like I said before, it seems a little bit bumpier because of the shorter wheel base. Is this my imagination or is it physics?

Have any of you guys who cut your frame experienced this?

It is not terrible but I can feel a difference. I can't wait to do a 2/4 drop, some new shocks and put on some sway bars. I am not looking for corvette handling, just a better look and a little better ride.

vex

I've always heard that the longer the wheelbase, the smoother the ride especially with trucks.

[vexvader]

Quick update...

hey guys I am still work on it. I will post some pic soon. I painted my sun visors and arm rests with some dupicolor vinal dye. They were cream colored and now they are black. WOW they look brand new.

Pics coming soon!

VV

[vexvader]

Hey guys. Mostly I have just enjoyed driving my SWB C10. It is hard to remember the days of the LWB. I have really enjoyed it. Coming up soon, I need to finish the drives side rocker and replace the passenger side. I also have to patch a small hole in the cab corner on the drivers side. I have tons of pics, I just need to take the time to up load them.

More soon… VV

[kev2809]

nice work man, cant even tell it was a LWB

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by kev2809

nice work man, cant even tell it was a LWB

Thanks, it's been a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

[nuke1]

hey, looks really good, great job on the frame, and the way you straightened the frame works, i do bodywork and frames for a living, you just have to always check and recheck you measurements and tweak as needed, it will come. if it is still out, there is ways to straiten it. anyhow, nice job and we need more pics.

[my67chevytruck]

nice project. keep up the work.