Project “Learning as I Go”

[oldblue1968chevy]

nice..wish mine did that

[bigguy69]

lookin good man

[VA72C10]

don't worry bout the spindles....just keep looking for a good deal on some drop spindles and paint those up and swap them in.....kills two birds with one stone....gets you clean spindles and more air in the bags when riding low...

[gopokes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

don't worry bout the spindles....just keep looking for a good deal on some drop spindles and paint those up and swap them in.....kills two birds with one stone....gets you clean spindles and more air in the bags when riding low...

Drop spindles would be great, little high for my budget though. That's why I cupped the lca's. Maybe someday, right now I'm trying to stretch every dollar I have on this truck.

[gopokes]

The ADD hit me and I decided to go ahead and start cutting her down to a shorty. Got the back 8 inches cut out, I left my sawsall at my brothers house so I didn't get the frame cut. Hopefully I will get the front of the bed cut in the next couple days, get it welded up and get ready for the frame cut. Not too much progress but I did snap one pic, just the look of the back cut has me pretty jacked!!

[scotts62]

Very cool! Its going to look good!

[JohnC]

Sweet!

[gopokes]

I got the rear section welded in and laid down the tape for the front cut. I'm back to the "Learning as I go" part of the build, body work is brutal. I ordered my new cab mounts from GMCpauls, they only took a couple days to get in the mail. They will definately be getting my business again. Here are some more pics.

[VA72C10]

Looking good....

[scotts62]

Looks good! Ill have to swing by sometime and check it out

[19723DR]

Just checking in, good work.
I took mine to a cruse night this week it was awesome driving around. I don't regret shortening mine one bit.

[gopokes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Looking good....

Thanks!

Originally Posted by scotts62

Looks good! Ill have to swing by sometime and check it out

Sounds good, hopefully I will have it back on the road soon and we can all cruise.

Originally Posted by 19723DR

Just checking in, good work.
I took mine to a cruse night this week it was awesome driving around. I don't regret shortening mine one bit.

I cant imagine regretting it, I have looked forward to this since I bought it.

[gopokes]

Got the front section out and tacked in last night. Did a little better on the cuts. I used the painters tape method to lay down my lines, since the tape was exactly two inches I ran a sharpie line on the outside and then cut the inside of that line. Worked perfectly, exactly 12 inches with only a couple wide gaps all the way across!! Practice makes perfect I guess. I am going to try to get it all welded up, and ground down over the next couple nights. Then hopefully I can get the frame cut this weekend. Here are some pics.

[POPO1984]

Looks nice man. Good job on cutting up the bed. Im just glad that I didnt have to cut mine up

[JohnC]

Looking good for learning as you go. You're looking like a pro!

[bjcaldwe]

Coming right along.

[gopokes]

Thanks guys. I have to admit, I probably would have never had the guts to try something like this if it weren't for this website. I have read over every long to short thread out there multiple times. Rokcln's low buck build is the one that gave me the most confidence to do this. It is awesome that guys on here take the time to write out such detailed information on this stuff. It's crazy because after I got to this point I realized that it wasn't as hard as I was expecting it to be. As long as you take your time I think about anyone could do it. That's easier to say now sitting here in the AC than when I was in a 100 degree garage cussing and sweating...

[LEEVON]

very nice work, another shortbed being born brings a tear to my eye!

[gopokes]

Spent most of the day yesterday welding the bed up, never thought I was going to be done. I got the outside welds ground down so I can see where I need to go back and weld up the small holes. My brother had some time to help me out today, so we got the bed pulled back off so we could get it ready to cut the frame. We got all the fuel lines and brake lines out of the way, removed the driveshaft, and cut the old exhaust out. Had to do yardwork this evening so that's all the further we got. No pics of the bed off, doesn't look much different than before. Here are some pics of the welds. Going to try to get the frame cut some night this week.

[scotts62]

Looks good man nice work!!

[19723DR]

Good work. That's good you've got your brothers help.

[JohnC]

Nice work man!

[gopokes]

Thanks guys! I worked on the frame the last couple nights, hit the back end with the wire wheel and sprayed on some black paint. Doesn't look too bad but it's not permanent. Hopefully someday I will get it back apart and blast the whole frame. I got the frame cut in half last night. I know that most people on here do the 45 degree cut or the step cut but to make it a little easier I decided to go straight 90 cuts. I am going to cut the section I remove in half and slide it in the frame as a reinforcement. So now i just have to get the section cut out, finish knocking rivets out of the cab supports and bed support, clean the rest of the frame up and start going back together. I still have to get my driveshaft shortened as well. Got a price of $160 cut balanced with new u-joints, and carrier bearing. Here are some pics.

[gopokes]

Well I got the rest of the frame cleaned up and painted. I removed the twelve inches from the front of the frame and am ready to go back together with it. Gotta get the rear end and trailing arms cleaned up a bit.

[JohnC]

Looks good man!