It’s Just A Pickup

[jay-dawg]

Awesome build thread! Subscribed.

[my67chevytruck]

Im in the process of doing that now. I had to do some dash repair as well because of the seam issue... Nice Work.

[heavy71chevy]

way to pay attention to detail! good job so far

[Bruce88]

Clarification/correction for build post #7

I have received two private messages regarding the spark plug wire brackets on the back of the block

Sorry if my post was somewhat misleading, as a lot of times in my builds I modify or make custom parts and did not mention this in that build post, the aft wire loom stands on the back of the block falls into this category you will not find them in the R&M wire loom kits.

The stand was made from some 1 inch x 1/8 inch thick x 36 inch long aluminum stock I picked up from Home Depot. Made a paper template where I wanted the wires to run and clearing the automatic trans dip stick and on the other side made a separator bracket to have two spark plug wires go under the throttle cable and two go over the top so the wires would not ride on the throttle cable. As far a bending the stands I used two 45 degree bends to get the joggle in the stands (recommend not bending this aluminum stock more than 45 degrees with out proper brake that can radius the bend, this aluminum stock will crack at the bend)

The only place that I know of to pick up individual wire separator blocks the same that are used on the R&M wire loom kit that I used on the stands is from Enos Custom Components http://www.enoscustom.com you can download there catalogue and find the individual separator blocks on page 35. You will need to find some longer alien head bolts to use with the blocks if you want to attach the blocks to a bracket or stand.

Here are some closer pictures of the brackets.



Hope this helps anyone interested in where the brackets and blocks came from.

[hgs_notes]

Simple, but effective and looks good. Nice!

[ERASER5]

I had forgotten just how much this is NOT "just a pickup." Way cool detailing.

[Bruce88]

Things are not as they appeared
More work than was expected will be required

A number of years ago when I bought the truck I knew that the original cab was in real bad shape and the previous owners thru in a stripped cab for nothing. The spare cab has been sitting in the corner of the garage taking up space and gathering dust until the rebuild was started in earnest and that day has come.

Looking around this forum’s builds I’ve seen others using stands that they made or acquired to support their cabs for working on and I liked this approach. Not wanting to build or buy a stand I looked around my shop to see if I might have something that would work and getting more use out of my equipment than what it was bought for is a benefit for me. I have some movable scaffolding 6 foot long x 2-1/2 foot wide x 6 foot tall rated at 500 pound load capable. Not knowing the weight of the cab, I might be over loading the stand some what but I think it will work and make working on the cab a lot easer. Just used my cherry picker, engine hoist, and some angel iron attached to the seat mounting holes to lift the cab on to the stand (it’s a two man job but went smoothly).



With the cab off the ground and making it easer to inspect it for damage and work needing to be done I found what I would call a failed repair to the driver’s side rocker panel. I new that the rear corner panels (both sides) and fwd floor corners where going to need repair but the rust has penetrated more areas, inner rocker panels up to the floor and fwd lower pillar. The use of foam by the previous owner, I would say was not of benefit and may have added to the problems. I can see foam and rust on the passenger side fwd lower pillar, the rocker panel on this side looks to be from the factory but just my guess that this side is in just as bad shape as the drivers.

Repair panels for both sides are on order from Wess at Classic Heartbeat Pickup Parts and will write and show them later.



The additional work not foreseen at the beginning of this build is starting to add up but I’m not going to start cutting corners now just to get the truck done and have to deal with it later on. Hope you have the time and resources to make your build right the first time. Yes I can remember my younger days when I was building my primary driver and needing to keep it on the road or get it back on the road as soon as possible. Good luck on your builds

[glimmertwin01]

ive seen "Great Stuff" used in many applications...now thats a new one on me...!!!!!

[Bruce88]

Making the modifications work with other parts

If you have read this complete build thread up until now you should know that I’m building a 72 Chevy short box step side ½ ton pickup. The reason I’m stating it again is to clarify the pictures below (bed cross sills are located in different locations on short & long box models)

As I take a few days off from working on the truck for rest and recovery, I some times use pictures that I’ve taken to work thru projected modification problems for a solution that meets my requirements. Thought you might like to see the pictures that I’m using to solve one of the problem areas.

I’m going to be installing a Blazer stile gas tank under the bed (gas tank from Classic Heartbeat Pickup Parts). I’ve seen where others have just removed the bed cross sill that is normally positioned over where the gas tank is going to be installed or cut the cross sill shorter in height to clear the tank. Doing this is probably fine if you’re not going to put any heavy loads in the truck bed. But I want the support for the floor boards to carry any load I want and get as much clearance for installing the fuel filler tube to the tank.

From the factory this short bed did not have a short cross sill installed just fwd of the gas tank location at the stock floor fastener location. I will be installing one there as well and moving the one cross sill to just aft of the fuel tank edge where it dips down and adding a 16 gauge steel sheet to attach the sill to the stock floor fasteners. Doing this the only holes in the floor bed that will not be in the stock location is the fasteners that attach the bed to the frame thru the sill.

Before I get the question, yes the cap over the sending unit hole is from a mason jar and it fits pretty good to keep dirt out of the tank (HA HA)





Some times this method of generating modifications help me prevent other problems before I start cutting and fabricating metal. May all of your modification go smoothly with out problems.

[VA72C10]

Nice work. Thanks again for the pictures and detailed explanation. Your build, when completed, will be one concice FAQ about how to restore a truck to be used....the right way...

[Bruce88]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Nice work. Thanks again for the pictures and detailed explanation. Your build, when completed, will be one concice FAQ about how to restore a truck to be used....the right way...

Thanks VA72C10 for the comment
I can’t say it’s the right way, it’s just my way, that is building on past experiences and I’ve made may mistakes in the past and learned from them I hope and try not to make them again. Every new build is a learning experience for me and trying new thing some times and hope they work out good.

[Bruce88]

It was suppose to fit but it didn’t
Making it fit and improvement

A neighbor of mine did welding for a living and was laid off two months ago. Wanting to improve my welding skills (they could definitely use improvement) we struck a deal where I would do all the fabbing and set up along with the finish grinding and he would show me how to weld it for pay by the hour. This is what I would call a win win arrangement, I get a one on one instructor to improve my welding and he gets a few dollars to help him between jobs. You can see some of his welding in the pictures below.

When I bought the seats for the truck from Discount Van-Truck-SUV-RV I also picked up their seat frame that was made for the 67 – 72 Chevy pickups. The slotted holes did not line up with the holes in the floor so I fill welded them up and located them where they needed to be. I also added two steel plates to give added support to the frame legs, this is probably over kill and could have just added a smaller gusset angle to the legs but the steel was just laying around the shop looking for a home (HA HA).

It seems to me that when you relocate your gas tank on the forum build thread you need to show you’re filling of the filler neck hole in the cab. Not wanting to brake with what seems like a tradition I’m showing mine. I did find that cutting the filler plate with a 3-1/4 inch BiMetal hole saw is a perfect fit for the hole. Now all that left is a skim coat of bondo to bring the slight curve to the surface and no will know that a hole was there.



Still learning aft many years, keep learning and enjoy your builds

[SCOTI]

I can't thank you enough for that seat frame pic. I've been trying to figure something out in my head & sometimes seeing a pic of something triggers the thought you need. That pic just did it for me!

I love your thorough updates. This is going to be better than an OE designed truck because of the attention to the little details that make all the difference.

[1964C10]

Awesome job on this build!! Thanks for all the pictures, I am subscribed now

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Dude you are awesome and very modest...

[Bruce88]

Breaking News – Older trucks have rust (LOL)
Or maybe it should be a question – do I have more or less rust in my panels than you?
Sometimes a question not stated but thought when acquiring used panels for your build.

I did make a mistake. No, not cutting the panels back to inspect for all the rust before having the patch panels in hand to prevent cutting to much metal away (more than the patch panel will cover). All metal removed would have to be replaced regardless, I did have the patch panels in mind, not to cut more than was absolutely necessary (more cutting and fitting will be needed to install the patch panels)

The mistake was placing the order for the patch panels before seeing what I really needed. I had to add items to my order. The previous failed repair was done very stealthy, the rear cab support was filled with foam and the holes thru it was covered over with undercoating. It’s a good thing that I found this before going to pickup the panels and not finding this in the middle of replacing the panels. I always prefer to have all the parts needed on hand before starting plus just having one order for parts is preferred by me and I think by the supplier as well.

Both sides of the cab’s rocker panel areas are just about the same in the repairs that will be required. This being said I would say this cab is still in a lot better shape than the cab on the truck from the floor up. It will be nice not having to be concerned about where to put my feet on the cab floor or watching the ground pass by thru the floor when driving (HA HA)



There’s plenty to keep me busy until the panels come in and updates should continue fairly uninterrupted. May your build have less rust than mine.

[my67chevytruck]

nice progress.

[Bruce88]

Some want it with nuts and some don’t
If I remember correctly this was a commercial for a candy bar but could also apply to this installation.

Positioned the head liner in the cab and drilled all the mounting holes. This head liner is where the four radio speakers and CB will be installed. In the picture below the head liner is shown being temporarily held in place with cleckos.

Next the head liner will come down and all the mounting holes will be drilled up to the size for rivet nuts. All the rivet nuts will be installed after stripping and painting.

A lot of people would install this panel with sheet metal screws, I prefer to use rivet nuts and machine screws. For those of you that might not know what a rivet nut is I’ve included some pictures of the installation tool and steps to install one.

Rivet nuts come in many sizes and threads as well a steel and aluminum. I use steel ones when installing them in steel panels and for this installation will be using a 10-32 rivet nut. The rivet nut is kind of like a pop rivets but puts a nut on the back side of a blind fastener hole, a special tool is required for installation.



Some times there’s more than one way to do a installation and I like having options. There’s plenty out there for you to chouse from, in joy your build.

[VA72C10]

Very cool tool. Those could be useful in lots of applications. Thanks for the writeup.

[Hottrucks]

any pics of the headliner done ??

never mind found them what do you think of it?? I just wish it was a compartment instead of a cb mount

heres a link to the head liner for those interested
http://www.ioffer.com/i/67-72-chevro...shell-62810236

[Bruce88]

Originally Posted by Hottrucks

any pics of the headliner done ??

never mind found them what do you think of it?? I just wish it was a compartment instead of a cb mount

heres a link to the head liner for those interested
http://www.ioffer.com/i/67-72-chevro...shell-62810236

Hi Hottrucks

My headliner did come with a cover for that area of the headliner (see below picture). You could cut a hole and make it a small compartment to put things but I think it was with the thought to put the radio in the headliner and it would be covered by the cover and give a place to drill the holes for the radio mounting (see installation picture below).





I know that a CB seams out of date today by many but I wanted one and this was where it worked for me. There was two problems with using the cover with the CB. (1) The CB is longer than a radio and mounts differently. (2) The speaker for this CB is in the bottom of the CB case and the cover would cover it.

I did modify the headliner a small amount to be able to use the CB in that area. I did place a 3 inch x 8 inch peace of sheet metal on top of the plastic headliner to spread the load of the CB mount, CB’s are generally heaver than a radios and with two screws going up into the plastic I didn’t want the CB falling down. On both sides of the area I drilled some holes to be able to install the screws from the CB mount to the CB case and then covered the holes with some plastic caps. I also put a hook between the speakers to hold the mike cable out of the way. Ref back to the install post #500 on this build thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...318544&page=20

Another one of those modification I didn’t talk about or show, sorry about that I just didn’t think (smile). For me I liked the way it turned out everything is up and out of the way.

[Hottrucks]

thanx I'm Oh to familair with CB's hanging from the ceiling I drive a BIG truck everyday ...they now make a zip cord that pulls back in for the cb cord check your local truck stop they work well to keep the cord from slapping you around

thanx for the info
Jeff

[ivanuf2]

Subscribed. The best built on the forum
Posted via Mobile Device

[Palf70Step]

Very nice!

[ERASER5]

Again I must say this is NOT "just a pickup." This looks like it will be a work piece of art, not a trailer queen. I'm digging it.