Halfbreed - GMC Z71 + IH Extd Cab

[sparkydog]

Yeah the basic tradeoff is:

Cab forward means I HAVE to section the hood and fenders and find a shorter steering column and change the brake pedal distance. The benefit is I get a longer bed, the "cooler" look that I want and less work to the back of the cab bottom (where it will hit if I slide the cab back).

Cab back means it looks OK with the stock IH fenders and hood. Don't have to mess with the steering column or brake pedal. DO have to mess with the bottom rear of the IH cab because it will hit the frame/fuel tank. Also means the bed will end up at 6.5 ft or so.

And on the sectioning of the nose - I know what and how I would do the hood but the more I look at the fenders and their funny little IH swoop thingy, the more I don't know a clean way to shorten it up without rebuilding the whole side.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Yeah the basic tradeoff is:

Cab forward means I HAVE to section the hood and fenders and find a shorter steering column and change the brake pedal distance. The benefit is I get a longer bed, the "cooler" look that I want and less work to the back of the cab bottom (where it will hit if I slide the cab back).

Cab back means it looks OK with the stock IH fenders and hood. Don't have to mess with the steering column or brake pedal. DO have to mess with the bottom rear of the IH cab because it will hit the frame/fuel tank. Also means the bed will end up at 6.5 ft or so.

And on the sectioning of the nose - I know what and how I would do the hood but the more I look at the fenders and their funny little IH swoop thingy, the more I don't know a clean way to shorten it up without rebuilding the whole side.

I was looking at the fenders too wondering how you figured on doing that.

I'd also add to your list of having to change in the forward position: seat mounts for the front seats and I'm also wondering how you'd fit heat/AC under a dash if it's that far forward...

I wonder if another way to achieve the look you're after with the front would be to kinda do the opposite of what chopped top guys do with the windshield. Instead of laying the top back, what if you would lay the bottom forward, and shorten the hood as you've planned. That way your fenders could stay stock, your hood could be shortened, and the nose would look "stubbier"... Maybe you could take the "kick" out of the front of the door that way, and have the leading edge of the door be straight. Think 61-63 Chevy truck vs 64-66 Chevy truck. Hope I'm conveying what I'm thinking.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Yeah the basic tradeoff is:

Cab forward means I HAVE to section the hood and fenders and find a shorter steering column and change the brake pedal distance. The benefit is I get a longer bed, the "cooler" look that I want and less work to the back of the cab bottom (where it will hit if I slide the cab back).

Cab back means it looks OK with the stock IH fenders and hood. Don't have to mess with the steering column or brake pedal. DO have to mess with the bottom rear of the IH cab because it will hit the frame/fuel tank. Also means the bed will end up at 6.5 ft or so.

And on the sectioning of the nose - I know what and how I would do the hood but the more I look at the fenders and their funny little IH swoop thingy, the more I don't know a clean way to shorten it up without rebuilding the whole side.

In my personal opinion, I think the shorter 6.5' bed would would look better, especially with the crewcab. But its your truck and you have to do it like you like it. Either way, I'm a big fan of your truck!

[sparkydog]

I have a little diversion tonight. A guy from the IH forum where I am also posting this build wants the remnant of the 67 pickup cab that is left over from the mayhem. So I got to use my bed dolly a little and wheeled things out of the way and brought the cab down from it's loft. Now we can all see the junk in my trunk.

[sparkydog]

This sketch/photoshop is sort of my rendering for my project. In this photo I got the shorter nose and the longer bed look that I liked. In order to pull these proportions off on the real truck I will have to position the cab about where it is in post #62 and shorten the nose about 3-4". When I did the crude chops on the photos I sort of screwed with the swoosh thingy on the fender.

It's really going to come down to how aggressive I want to go after my dream and what am I willing to compromise on to manage risk and keep the build moving along.

If I leave the cab in this location - let's call it the most extreme forward I would want to go, then the bed only need about 6-8" taken out of it in front of the fender wells. For every inch I slide the cab back in order to make things easier, another inch comes off the bed length. To get the cab far enough back so that the wheels are in the center of the stock fender, that's about 6" back so that means 12-14" comes out of the bed.

[sparkydog]

I guess this is about as close to a rendering of a stock fender length. Even in this one I have the front wheels 1-3" back from centerline of the fender well. And to me, at least in the photo's perspective (which isn't the same as 3D real world) the truck just starts having the "peculiar" IH look that... well it doesn't do it for me.

[383Ram]

I am intrigued by pulling the cab foward and shortening the nose. I think your on to something there, but obviously you have already seen some of the issues your going to have to deal with. I like the cab foward modern approach. I say do what ever you have to do to keep the cab foward and worry about the rest later (although i know you need to keep the whole project in mind to do this.) The sorter bed does,t really matter to me, but it almsot souns as if you want the long bed so you can haul stuff---unless i missed something along the way. Looks good though.

[ERASER5]

2 questions.

1. Is the rubber chicken Bonney's cousin?

2. How do you lift and move stuff like that cab? I have not seen a hoist in pictures.

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by 383Ram

I am intrigued by pulling the cab foward and shortening the nose. I think your on to something there, but obviously you have already seen some of the issues your going to have to deal with. I like the cab foward modern approach. I say do what ever you have to do to keep the cab foward and worry about the rest later (although i know you need to keep the whole project in mind to do this.) The sorter bed does,t really matter to me, but it almsot souns as if you want the long bed so you can haul stuff---unless i missed something along the way. Looks good though.

Here's the tradeoff in a nutshell: