Daves new 68 chevy swb

[GR8-68]

Progress is looking great, you have done some nice clean work

[Woodnears]

Thanks guys for the compliments. Does anyone have any recommendations for mufflers? I plan to have a pretty short exhaust system, as in it exits pretty much behind the cab within the frame rails. ill attach a picture with the circled area. Basically i am looking for a good sounding exhaust that doesnt attract too much attention. I know thats asking a lot. I have never built a vehicle before let alone chosen an exhaust system. I do have 2.5" pipe routed off the manifolds and back a foot or so to start with. I am open to suggestions.

Also does anyone know who makes this bed alignment piece shown here in the pic? its one of the board members but i cant find the for sale thread i saw many moons ago.

[GAc10boy]

The airlines look sick! Nice to see you're doing as much of the work yourself with simple tools. Killer truck!

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

Thanks guys for the compliments. Does anyone have any recommendations for mufflers? I plan to have a pretty short exhaust system, as in it exits pretty much behind the cab within the frame rails. ill attach a picture with the circled area. Basically i am looking for a good sounding exhaust that doesnt attract too much attention. I know thats asking a lot. I have never built a vehicle before let alone chosen an exhaust system. I do have 2.5" pipe routed off the manifolds and back a foot or so to start with. I am open to suggestions.

Also does anyone know who makes this bed alignment piece shown here in the pic? its one of the board members but i cant find the for sale thread i saw many moons ago.

I'm not sure about that alignment nut you have pictured?

I used magnaflow mufflers on my truck with 2.5" exhaust HERE
I'm very happy with their mellow sound, no droning in the cab and you can tell it's V-8 when you step on the pedal.
How I routed my exhaust :HERE

You can hear them: HERE

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

... I plan to have a pretty short exhaust system, as in it exits pretty much behind the cab within the frame rails.... Basically i am looking for a good sounding exhaust that doesnt attract too much attention. I know thats asking a lot. I have never built a vehicle before let alone chosen an exhaust system. I do have 2.5" pipe routed off the manifolds and back a foot or so to start with. I am open to suggestions.

Just a word of caution, from experience...

Having had a short exhaust system that dumped under the cab and moving it to just in front of the rear axle, you should know that the shorter the exhaust, the louder it is and the more likely it will drone/resonate inside the cab. It was awful with my Flowmaster Original 40 series mufflers. They sounded great from outside of the truck, but anything more than 15 minutes in the cab made my ears ring. After stretching it to put the mufflers under the bed mad a huge difference in the drone in the cab. They're still aggressive sounding, but not as obnoxious inside.

With that said, a milder muffler on a short system might not bee too bad. I haven't heard a short system that sounded mellow, but everyone I've seen and actually heard had an aggressive muffler on it.

Your truck is looking killer!

[Woodnears]

Here are some random photos for everyone. i even put one in thee of myself and what I do for a living these days. Did y'all know a battery fits almost perfectly in between the cross sills? I am really trying to keep this build moving but damn its expensive. I need all the words of encouragement i can get from you guys. You guys will have to keep bugging me for pictures or i will forget to put them up here.

Well something is not working so i will upload the pictures tonight.

[Woodnears]

why am i having so many issues with pictures? ARGH!

[Woodnears]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Just a word of caution, from experience...

Having had a short exhaust system that dumped under the cab and moving it to just in front of the rear axle, you should know that the shorter the exhaust, the louder it is and the more likely it will drone/resonate inside the cab. It was awful with my Flowmaster Original 40 series mufflers. They sounded great from outside of the truck, but anything more than 15 minutes in the cab made my ears ring. After stretching it to put the mufflers under the bed mad a huge difference in the drone in the cab. They're still aggressive sounding, but not as obnoxious inside.

With that said, a milder muffler on a short system might not bee too bad. I haven't heard a short system that sounded mellow, but everyone I've seen and actually heard had an aggressive muffler on it.

Your truck is looking killer!

What you are describing is exactly what I am trying to avoid! I just need to figure out how to get mufflers out behind the cab i guess. its tricky with all the porterbuilt components in there. Thanks for that piece of advice! Nothing is ever easy is it?

[Woodnears]

Since the whole point of this truck is do build it in a small garage. I'm gonna show you guys how I strip large parts from rust. I'm in the big inning stages of building a new bed and needed the cross sills. You can buy new ones fairly I expensively but this was only about 20 Bux. To strip the sills I use one of my favorite techniques. It's cheap but requires some time. I built a troph out of 1x8 and some scrap oak pieces I had laying around. Then line it with a plastic drop cloth folded over a few times. Put the parts in and fill with vinegar. I just put them in the bath. Each day I like to scrub them with a wire brush and repeat in the bath. After a few days they will look brand new. I made the troph big enough to bath two sills at a time. After these first two are done I'll put in the rear most sill.heres a few pics

[Woodnears]

Bath

[Woodnears]

Rust stripped after a day in the vinegar bath. Sorry for the late follow up here

[Woodnears]

Started cleaning up the fire wall. Tig is tricky on sheet metal but I'm improving so whatever. I'm gonna go pick up a mig tomorrow. Thinking the Hobart 140 will work better.

[Woodnears]

Took a photo the other day with sheet metal on.

[swamp rat]

Absolutely set the welder up with .023 wire. I like the vinegar troth too.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

Took a photo the other day worth sheet metal on.

Looking good!

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

Took a photo the other day worth sheet metal on.

Awesome Job!

[Woodnears]

Guys, What the hell am i going to do as far as doors? I would rather just buy new ones but have heard horror stories as far as fitment goes. Anyone want to give me some insight? I do not want to spend the time to repair my rusted doors just to have a set of repaired doors. ill post pictures of them so you guys can see whats going on but they are pretty typical. I have searched for a few years trying to find the best doors i can. These dont have any spots that are rusted through but you can see the early signs on the exterior of the lower skins where they are starting to bubble a bit. I have a feeling a lower skin would be fine for the exterior but im afraid of what the lower bucket flange looks like under the skin.

[Woodnears]

What a crazy day. Got home from work early only to be paid with my garage door slipping a spring and getting jammed in the track. Headlight burned out on the way to work this morning. Went to oreillys to grab a new bulb reached under the hood and as I touched it it started working. Drove back towards home, stopped by tractor supply and grabbed a Hobart handler 140. I worked on the firewall a bit. Does anyone have a good way to grind down welds in an inside corner? Don't laugh at my welds! I just got this damn thing and am still dialing it in. In the coming weeks I'm gonna order some Esab easygoing wire and an .023 roller for the welder.

[Woodnears]

Welds

[Woodnears]

New toy

[Woodnears]

OH and I got some renderings done too! Al in all not a bad day.

[Woodnears]

Yes sir

[Woodnears]

I think it's gonna be sick!

[Woodnears]

Is there a way for an admin to change the title of my build thread?

[Elliot949]

That is looking GREAT!!!