Project Penicillin~ 68 crewcab build up!

[Rokcrln]

Now the real fun has begun! Removal and replacement of the pass side A post. I thought it had been fixed or scabed onto before and one I cut it open I was right. In the past some PO had repaired the rust by cutting part of the post off and scabing on a new section over the old one. They left all the inner rust un-treated and now it shows. First ting I did was braced off the opening and added two alignment bars. These are set right to th einside lip of the where the new window chanel must sit. The top one is set right into the upper corner as well for a better alignment. After removing the small section for inspection you can see where the added skin was installed in the past as well as the remainder of the old section rusting away. If you look close you can see the old lips of the chanel and the new old section added and blended at the outer edge. The new post we have will be installed from the floor to the roof and accross most of the passenger upper door opening.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

And the last two for Now.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[chevyboy55]

Kevin
I have been following the project with utter amazment at your skills. Are you keeping track of how many hours you have in it? just kinda wondering. Mike

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by chevyboy55

Kevin
I have been following the project with utter amazment at your skills. Are you keeping track of how many hours you have in it? just kinda wondering. Mike

Yes and by each task as well!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[local13hutch]

Rokcrln.. Every time I see your avatar guy I stop and read whatever it is you are talking about. I cant begin to tell you how impressed I am with all of your work I have seen so far. I live in orange county cal. In garbage grove ''Garden-Grove''. I absolutely have got to own a crew cab 4x4 dually fifth wheel set up with a diesel power plant behind it. I work full time as a long-shoremen in L A harbor but I am just moving into a shop I just bought about a mile from my house. I am going to build old trucks,and and some 4x4's pretty much old stuff. I used to rent a shop a couple of years ago but it got to expensive and had to let it go. I have been building at my house but it's getting out of hand. It's taken alot to get this new place and I cant wait ,one more week and escrow will close. GOD-WILLING....Any way I have got a couple of old subs but I dont no exactly where and what to start with and I know you do. I am sure it would be better to start with an actual crew cab but dont know how easy or costly it would be. Because I want to go with a diesel I might be better off using a newer frame and running gear. But I realize that gm has gone to the independent front end and I just prefer the old dana 60 f and 70 r tried and true. In your opinion what should I collect. Maby a fully functional older gm one ton. And possibly cut up a sub like that black one on ebay last month. That did look pretty sweet, ofcourse I didnt see it in person. Then there was that wierd lookin one out of oregon that was blue and white but the bed seemed to short I think that although it was a factory truck it seemed like the length of a sub. factory wack job . I dont know...Please give me a moment of your time I would appreciate it. Maby you can point me in the right direction and possibly find or sell me something......THANK-YOU...

[Rokcrln]

Good luck with Escro it can be a pain. First off just so we are talking the same thing. 67-72 crew cabs were all custom built never came from the factory that way. People used a Burb or chopped up a few trucks to get what they wanted. As far as frames go this one is sitting on a mid 80's crew cab long bed 3/4 ton frame (you just need to put th ebody mounts were they are neded) and running gear. If you have the $ to find a new Diesel frame and motor I would start with that for the added frame strenght. As far as the front end being IFS just find a dana 60/70 from a Ford that way your driveline is on the drivers side like the chevy IFS is set up for. Then just make some spring hangers and a cross over high steer set up and you are half way their. Then take a burb and cut the back of the cab off and slap on a truck cab rear section while it is still on the stock frame. Once that is done then pull the body and drop it befind the Duromax and start lining things up to fit onto the new frame. Don't be surprised if you end up cutting out the whole fire wall in order to get the fenders to fit over the wheels and the radiator to fit behind the grill. By swaping your own straite axel into the front you can place it where you want it and lessen the fire wall clearance problems some what. I have thought about doing this with a PSD I own for a tow rig but I have one or two things to finish first. Have fun and keep us posted.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Here is my before lunch work. I have it ready to do some fine tuning on the new post before test fitting. Once it fits and all bolts go back in then I will remove the post and prep and treat everything before welding it in for good. Then this will leave a little bit of patching at the kick panel location as well as around the headliner location.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Things are looking up, parts fit well with a bit of moving and pushing. The jamb is spot welded in and ready for some small filler pieces. I had to cut out more than I wanted to due to previous damage but it still is only a small sliver when you concider what we started with. What really sucks is once this is all welded in and patched up I will need to cut it back apart to replace teh kick panel bottom and bottom of teh A post. I could have done it before installing the post but since it is in fairly good shape and has never been damaged I felt it would fit better this way. Then rocker party time! Here are a few pic's.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[extd56]

And I thought we were going to make it a convertible, cut it at the roof and make a new top for it. Not too many 4 door crew cab convertibles around here and it would not be duplicated. Not by any sane person at least. Looks good Kevin, a lot better than when I saw it this afternoon and looked like the rust had gotten the best of the A pillar. You had a big pile of rusty parts this afternoon. A now a moment of silence for the GMC truck that gave up its cab for this crew cab to get a new A pillar.

[BAD4X4]

The truck on ebay was a suburban conversion. The guy who owns Host campers and used to own a part of Beaver motor coaches in Bend Oregon built it. The truck is a 3 door with 4th as a fake. My buddy bought the truck a few months ago and learned how expensive these trucks can be. So he sold it. The frame and body all sub just chopped. Look at the back window it's bigger then stock.The roof is still sub too. My dad built a stretch cab years ago. I just wanted to say keep up the good work and you guys are doing a great job. I can't wait to see it when it is done. Thanx Dana

[local13hutch]

rokcrln...Thanks for the tips this is exactly what im gonna do....I dont no for sure but by what you said the driveline for a IFS comes out on the drivers side so ill need a axle from a ford and then a cross-over steering set-up. This sounds good but is the transfercase/ 4x4 gear box as strong as a 205.. Is it possible to use a 2-wd duramax and go with a divorced 205. Or am I gonna run into to many headaches. And what would be the best year engine to go with if I had access to any of them.I hear that some years are better than others....Guy I know your time is valuable. And I just want you to know that I appreciate your response so far. I'm not just shootin the breeze. Everything you have told me so far is going direclty into my ''baby'' I mean truck... I hope you dont mind but I have catalogged most of what you have done so far strictly for my own build reference........ THANK-YOU-AGAIN AND THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO KEEP US ALL POSTED......

[Rokcrln]

No problem and use the info for what ever you want that is why I post it. As far as engines and T-cases I have no clue as to what is better. But I am sure you can do a 2wd to a divorced case with out much trouble. All my 4x4 info is for rock crawling and we use Atlass II cases that is not needed for street use but would hold up to what you want and can bolt to almost any tranny. Check with advanced adapters for info.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Its gonna be one of those ultra rare option test vehicles that will even fool GM
Great Work
Shane

[local13hutch]

rokcrln... Thank you . And I have used advanced adapters for quite a few projects. My sister lives in the area up there. I have already started my research on wich truck to start with alot of these guys on this website are friggin ''diesel guru's'' so with there help and yours I'll be able to get a handle on this project without spinnin my wheels to much and wasting money I dont have....Thanks again.....

[sixty8c10]

wow

[72CREWCAB]

Lookin' awsome Kevin! Thanks for keepin us all updated!
After everything you've done on this cab you should be able to pound off a half dozen crew cabs in no time..!! let's see..six cabs X 20k each....

[mbgmike]

can i come out and visit you?

[Rokcrln]

Not alot but still progress is progress. I had a little over an hour to kill tonight so I got started by cutting off a perfictly good bottom B pillar I did this so I could cut off the rest of the inner rocker that runs from the front door to the back door. This also allows me to runn the new inner panel thru the B post area and have all fresh metal. Once that was cut off I trimmed the floor back to good metal and then set my new panel in place and scribed a line for a but weld. I welded that seam up and ground down the welds and called it a night. Next I will finish up the vertical returns and bend up a rear door inner rocker with plenty of extra floor metal to patch in all I had to remove back their.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Frizzle Fry]

That looks horrible Get some skills man...

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

That looks horrible Get some skills man...

Heck I wish they all looked this good to start with. If they did I might have some free time to work on my junk!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Got another hour knocked out! So now to get the pass side finished I have the rear cab corner to do a final alignment before welding at the jamb, create that door bumper mount on the pass side front rocker (burb only),finish welding in the kick panel part of the new windshield post, patch the rest of the kick panel and re-build the rain gutter above the pass side. Then smooth out the fire wall and it should be ready for blasting and body work to start!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[PBFAB.COM]

I'm impressed.

[dalbers]

this is just awesome. great work man

[Rokcrln]

Let the rains come down (after rust proofing) Drip rail is ready for rust profing and the third door is about half way done (curved window rail) and I will finish the rest after lunch. Ya I know I ate yesterday but I am still hungry

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Fire wall 101

This is one of the easiest ways to smooth your fire wall for in cab AC. EXTD56 will need to tell us what brand it is. They give you a plate that is designed to mount on the fire wall to cover up all the holes and provide mounting for the heater/cool box. All I did was took that plate and recessed it into the fire wall for a cleaner look.

Here is the process.
First remove your heater and any thing inside the cab that WILL burn.
Take your fire wall plate and remove the foam from the back side of it and clean all edges that will be getting welded.
Clamp it to the fire wall and use a sharp scribe to mark the out side of it.
Now just cut right up to your mark. The cleaner your cut is the better because you do not want much if any of a gap since that will take more welding (and we know welding= heat and that = warp city) and grinding.
Once it fits good start tacking it in place making sure it is flush before welding. If it is off a bit just take your hammer and dolly (no not your kids Dolly) and work the edge to get it straite. Once you are tacked about every inch you are ready to start welding it up. Skip about 4 tack welds each time and work your way back around. I also made a plate for the fan hole and started it the same way. Once I make one turn around skipping welds I will go to the next plate giving the first plate time to cool. Repeat untill you are all welded up. Then start grinding, I like to use a 4" .040 cut off wheel for weld grinding and then I switch to an air grinder with 3" disks (50g, 80g, 120g) and you should be ready for some epoxy primer and fill primer.

Kevin
LFD Inc.