WinDancer Build 69 GMC swb

[WinDancer]

Here is the latest-
Finished the prep and sanding in the engine compartment, will paint that tonight.
The new windshield is in and fits perfectly- wasn't sure after all the changes to the frame with the 4 inch top chop.
The new t400 tranny is in and the cross member fit and bolted in place.

[WinDancer]

Got the holes from the C10 insignias welded up, painted and the holes for the new 396 insignias done. Still need to buff them out before installing the new ones.

[WinDancer]

Got the Blazer tank cleaned up and all new hoses and brackets. Finally got the filler question resolved [Thanks, John!] and the filler neck installed. Used a marine filler neck, welded up a piece of pipe and welded a vent tube to that, and fitted up one of the motorcycle vents to prevent air locks. This forum is a godsend!
Will post more pics after the tank is reinstalled.

[WinDancer]

These are the new stainless cowl trash guards from Brothers, hoping to eliminate some of the rust problems until TriCo sells me their new shaved cowl
They are just sitting in place for now- will get more pics when they go in for real.

[WinDancer]

Here is a new quick pic of the front, and an old one of the 396 ready to go in.

Adding new Ceramic headers, the spreadbore carb, HEI ignition and full-length 3 inch exhaust and a cold RamAir intake.

The new cowl hood is here and painted to match the truck, pics to follow when installed.

Hard to see now but I reran all the wiring [with soldered lengthening splices] in the from up under the main core support, and combined all the firewall wiring that crosses the firewall and am hiding that in the little channel.

Still need to make a decision on the grill- replace the chrome, replace it with the original GMC grill or build one out of an old Buick grill or design one from scratch.

This is a 69 GMC with a 68 Chevy frontend. My mechanic was distressed by the second set of headlight wires....

Looks like I may be able to drive it again soon- this is my daily driver

Thanks for looking!

[GREASEMONKEY72]

thats some good progress there, cant wait to see it done, keep up the good work

[LUV2XCLR8]

Looking good

[sleepyboy]

Sweet ride..Isn't it IMPOSSIBLE to get glass for a chop job?? I was always wondering that?? Do you cut existing glass? Have to pay big $$$ for a custom job?? Do TELL>>>>>

[WinDancer]

The main driver behind all this work is the way the PO had the chop done.
When you shorten the top and drop the top the windshield no longer reaches the top- too short.
The 'regular' procedure is to add a strip the width of the shortage.
In this case they cut the top off, then cut the windscreen frame loose on three sides and sloped the windshield back to reach the top. I love the look of the windshield with the increased angle, one of the reasons I bought this particular truck.
The problem is they didn't include the bottom channel in the angle change- so the bottom angle was no longer square with the glass/gasket, so there was no way to get even a bad seal.
I didn't do enough of a check before I bought it, since I work with the previous owner, who told me the ONLY problem was the drivers door collecting water because the weatherstrip didn't go to the edge of the glass after removing the wing vent.
The first time it rained dumped at least 5 gallons of water straight down onto the dash, then down through the radio, speakers and the other wiring and then onto the new carpets.
After nearly three thousand dollars and many, many hours removing the entire cowl area under the window and adding clean steel and hammering, adding steel and hammering, and adding more steel and hammering.... you get the picture.
The new factory windshield and new rubber now fit the windshield better that a factory fit and is dang sure watertight. I left two hoses run for 24 hours after the install and not even a single drop came inside.
The short answer is that the factory windshield fits this truck because they left the entire channel the original size- they just didn't stay true with the lower angle.
So no, the glass wasn't a problem.
We have a little local hot-rod club here in Tenino. The fella that owns the restaurant where we hang out is a member and knows everyone who ever even thought about building a hot rod. Went there for breakfast and asked everyone there who the best glass guy in the area was, then contacted him to sit and talk, then go look at the truck. He ended up making five separate trips to the shop and then a final one for the install.
When that windshield slid down in the channel it sound going offed like a .22 short going off!
I love my truck again and can hardly contain myself waiting for the last few things to be done.
One summer of driving before the rude shock wasn't nearly enough time behind the wheel.
I love this old truck and can't keep my hands off of it while we finish the work.
I hope you guys feel the same way about your trucks-
I will post more pics as we finish it up.
Thanks,

[Chevyholic]

Well, I am totally intrigued by the adjusted angle of the front glass. Make sure you get a good side angle picture of the cab when you get her done, I'm dying to see it! Keep up the great work!

[WinDancer]

here are some of the latest changes...Engine Well

The paint is finished except for final touch-up after the new cowl hood is on;

most of the wiring is cleaned up, still need to snip off loose ends, also after the hood;

the engine is running, had a two-minute speed run on the highway before the secondaries stuck open Carb is removed and in the hot tank, rebuild kit coming today; ram-air taken back down to work on the carb;

New 4-core in, power steering hooked up, basic exhaust hooked up, fuel system hooked up, no leaks

Everything is filthy from three months inside a working shop---

[AR15DEFENSE]

Lookin good!

[WinDancer]

Exterior
The botched job the PO left me for a fuel filler, behind the new, open fuel cover;
The new cover for the fuel filler line [marine rubber], another with the cover partly open, painted after these pics; I plan on keeping the jumper cables here in this cover area, too;
The mounted and final position of the filler cap from the driver rear bed rail;
the rubber and everything else is now installed and the cover is painted to match the rest of the truck

[WinDancer]

Misc changes
Dash is complete, including shortening the steering column almost 5 inches to increase the room for the driver;
The interior is complete except for removing the Pioneer stereo system and replacing it with the old-style AM/FM/CB unit
The new kick-panel speakers;
The driver's door upholstery

[WinDancer]

The steering column; shortening it right up to the dash as far as it would go required removing and discarding the neutral safety switch. The detentes are all still working and the pointer points to the correct gear after the new shift linkage was fabricated/adjusted/installed

[WinDancer]

The cowl cover has been reinstalled and fits up to the corrected windshield mounting perfectly. Also installed the stainless steel cowl strainer from Brothers that prevents all but the very tiniest of particles from getting under the cowl to rust things

We managed to lose the tach wire from the back of the dash- anyone remember what color the tach wire is ? We removed several hundred feet of house 12/2 wire with all the included house wiring twist connectors, guess we got a little over-zelous.

Another board member is coming this weekend to move my truck back to factory stance and clearance. The new headers stick down and are the lowest thing on the truck now- they clear by less that 1.5 inches, so the stance has to go because of our driveway.

The quick drive got the fever going again- am anxious to finish up this episode and just drive it for a while.

You guys are the greatest!