The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network







Register or Log In To remove these advertisements.

Go Back   The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network > 47 - Current classic GM Trucks > The 1973 - 1987 Chevrolet & GMC Squarebody Pickups Message Board

Web 67-72chevytrucks.com


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-19-2005, 09:03 PM   #1
bluex
Registered User
 
bluex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Posts: 1,963
Long to Short bed How-to:

I've answered quite a few questions about this, but I didnt want to write the how to b/c I lost all my pics to a virius.......

Here it is though, vague as it can be. When I get my truck down here (its still in SC) I'll try to take some pics so you can see what I'm talking about...

First get your '6 bed. It will help immensely and no guess work will be necessary. Start in a place that is a close to level as you can get.

Next, take off the '8 bed and put the 6' on, yes it will look very funny. You can then see exactly where you need to cut. Around 5 3/4" must come off after the axle. This will be very close to your shackles. If you want to run a bumper, you will need to switch to the SWB leaves as well. You will have to relocate the shackle bracket about 5" towards the cab. Its easy to see b/c the holes are already in the frame.

Now the rear of the bed should be sitting flat on the frame. The rear most holes of the 6' bed will line up exactly with what was the 2nd holes from the tailgate on the 8' bed. use this to get your correct front to back alignment. You can now measure and mark where to cut the front. I took 14" outta mine. I went 1.5 or 1.25 off the rear cab mount, and the same off the first bed crossmember.

Now disconnect the brake line, park brake cables, fuel lines, driveshaft and remove the fuel tank. Make sure all lines and wires are out of the way of where your going to cut. Use a 4x4 or a good size piece of channel long enough to fit between the bottoms of the frame rails. You need two, one to support each side of the frame while you cut. Use a good jack to support them, dont put alot of pressure on there, just to hold it up. As you cut you may have to jack the cab up, it will have all the weight on it and you dont want it to fall. You need to keep it as level as possible to make the cutting easier. I did all this with one sazall blade!

Before you start cutting, block BOTH front tires on the front and back side. You do not want the cab/front end to move AT ALL! Double and triple check your measurements and that everything is out of the way (gas,brake,wires etc...) Now you can cut, take your time, leave just a small place at each cut, like an 1/16" before you cut all the way through top and bottom. Cut those last. You really need someone to work the jacks and make sure the cab isnt going to fall on you or move.


Ok so now your done cutting and if your like me you stood there for a minute or so realizing how crazy you are realizing you just cut your pride and joy in half! Get over it, its too late now. You can do the cut however you want. Somepeople say to make them overlap, i did mine pretty much like this ] 14" [ pushed them together ][ and butt welded them. Then I put a 1/8" plate on the inside of the frame and welded all around it as well. Good penetration and patience is the key here. A good weld will be just as good if not better than it was before.

Thats pretty much it, put your new 16 gal tank on, your shortened driveshaft, shortbed brake line and cables. I got the cables from LMC, the line and gas tank from a salvage yard. I still have the LWB springs and no bumper. I plan to get some SWB springs so I can run a bumper in the future.

I'll post what few pics I have next......
bluex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2005, 09:15 PM   #2
bluex
Registered User
 
bluex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Posts: 1,963
pics.......
Attached Images
   
bluex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2005, 09:17 PM   #3
bluex
Registered User
 
bluex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Posts: 1,963
Last ones..........


If I can locate this thread in about two months when I get my truck here I'll try and put up some better ones then, I need to work on my gas tank anyways.....
Attached Images
   
bluex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2005, 10:47 PM   #4
1FaastC10
Account Suspended
 
1FaastC10's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Elkhart, IN
Posts: 6,400
the best advice to anyone who is doing this type of swap... sell your truck and buy a shortbed. been there, done that. its way more of a PITA than it looks.
1FaastC10 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2005, 04:03 PM   #5
milehightoyz
AttentionDeficitDisorder
 
milehightoyz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: COLORADO
Posts: 600
great write up....this is really not that hard a conversion to do i did this on my 82 crew cab to make it a shortbed as they were onyl available from the factory as long beds. with 2 guys from first cut too finish was less than 5 hours. just be sure to mark your reference points and get your cross mesurements dead nuts so you know everythings going back togetehr square.
milehightoyz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2005, 06:27 PM   #6
bigblock73
yeller
 
bigblock73's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Twin Cities
Posts: 13,826
Great write up Blue...thanks for sharing it again with us! I have bookmarked the thread, so if you can't find it when you are ready, PM me and I will help out.

I really admire the work you did on this conversion. Sure, you could have sold the truck, went out and bought another...but then you wouldn't have had the fun of doing this conversion....or had the opportunity to help tose who are considering doing the same thing. With the right tools, knowledge, and time, there is no limit as to what a person can or can't do.
bigblock73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2005, 07:30 PM   #7
BowTieMan
Registered User
 
BowTieMan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Glendale Arizona
Posts: 747
Off topic but what kind of rims are those?
__________________
"A true hotrodder wouldn't be content untill he had created a car so violent, so hairy, so totally sick that the very act of dropping the hammer would result in instant death. Anything less results in the need to go faster." - Tony DeFeo
BowTieMan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2005, 09:33 PM   #8
bluex
Registered User
 
bluex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Posts: 1,963
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1FaastC10
the best advice to anyone who is doing this type of swap... sell your truck and buy a shortbed. been there, done that. its way more of a PITA than it looks.
I disagree, I accomplised mine in about the same time as milehightoyz. I cant take all the credit. I had a former co-worker help me and he really knew his stuff.

Dont be intimated by this at all, as long as you take your time and double and triple check all your measurements before cutting and welding you will be fine.


I will NEVER sell this truck. My father gave it to me and taught me basically all I know about working on cars or anything mechanical. Now that hes gone its basically one of the only things I have that we did together. This is the main reason I cut it up. Ya I could have bought a shortbed and sold, but then it wouldnt be mine and I couldnt enjoy the looks on peoples faces when I told them I had it cut in half. Future plans call for a shortbed frame so I can start a "frame off" before I take it off the frame.


The rims are Pacer five stars very similar to Weld Pro Stars. The only difference is the lug nuts are recessed into the hubs. Much cheaper to, also polised aluminum.
bluex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2005, 12:55 AM   #9
milehightoyz
AttentionDeficitDisorder
 
milehightoyz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: COLORADO
Posts: 600
looks good blue, keep it up, your truck is looking great. here is a few pics of the truck i mentioned, in case you did not see it yet. started much the same way yours did. still aways awy from beeing any where near complete but i keep gettin sidetracked on other projects. im 23 years old and have far too many projects (over 40 cars). im like alot of guys here i see potential in almost anything. its beocme addictive. im waiting for my family to suprise me with an intervention program.







milehightoyz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2005, 10:13 AM   #10
BIGT05
Registered User
 
BIGT05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Silsbee Tx
Posts: 72
that looks like thats ^^^ gonna be one sweet ride we you get done man
__________________
1982 Swb Gen 1 350 forged trw racing pistons 265 edbrock cam and lifters with a 4bbl edel brock carb sitting on 295 50 15s = RIP it throw a rod a few actually

i fought the law and i won i fought the law and i won

94 ford ranger -granpas old truck can anyone say chevy smallblock

a man and his truck ahh its a beautiful thing

Ive got an idea Lets just poke it!!
BIGT05 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2005, 08:29 PM   #11
bluex
Registered User
 
bluex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Posts: 1,963
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've wanted to tinker with it here lately, but its 400 miles away.

Looks good milehigh. I'm only 25 and I know what you mean. I got sidetracked with my S10 for about 4 yrs. I sold it, mainly so I could live comfortably while renting an apt here in montgomery and pay for my house in SC.

I wanted to do my frame like you did yours. My friend used to build car haulers out of 3500 and F-350. They would add something like 15' to the truck so you could put a car up on it and then have a trailer as well that holds two more. He said they just butted the frames together there and that it would be strong enough. I suppose I will see in the long run. I have no idea how long it will take before I find a decent SWB frame and start restoring it. One day it will be as nice a some on here.......

Last edited by bluex; 08-21-2005 at 08:30 PM.
bluex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2005, 09:27 PM   #12
milehightoyz
AttentionDeficitDisorder
 
milehightoyz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: COLORADO
Posts: 600
yah, if you do your cuts simlar to the way i did mine and you box the inside in with 1/4" plate you should be plenty safe for most normal uses.
milehightoyz is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:03 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 1997-2022 67-72chevytrucks.com