Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...

[DD1]

My plan for the exhaust worked out fine. I ordered the exhaust donuts from Rock Auto and used the flange from the old manifold. I probably don't have it installed 100% perfectly, but as a friend of mine would say, "It's good enough for government work."

The exhaust pipe is installed, and I started up the engine again. It really does sound good. It's nice when it's not burning the wires on the starter.

I'll have to post a You Tube video of the engine running now that the timing is set.

I ordered a pigtail for the Water Temperature Sensor and the electric choke. It would be helpful to know how hot the engine is, and to get the choke operational.

[sduckworth13]

The floor is looking good Darien.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

The floor is looking good Darien.

Thanks, Scott. Going to try and bang it out - literally and figuratively - this weekend. The wife will be out and about Saturday so I'll be able to work without distractions.

[DD1]

Spent a few more hours on the floor tonight. Think I have it about 2/3's of the way lined up. There are still gaps between the firewall and the floor, but I don't think I will be able to get them all hammered out. I think I'll have to spot weld as best as possible, then use seam sealer for any gaps.

The drivers side is looking better than the passenger side.

Middle-ish - The lousy weld job I did on the lip is making this a bit harder.:


A bit more to the P/S.


More to the D/S:

[DD1]

Today I reinstalled the driveshaft into the transmission and on the rear axle.

I am pretty happy with the way the floor is lining up at this point. I decided to test fit the inner cowl / kick panels. The P/S will be easier to do because the pillar is still cut out. I found a thread on this forum that gives a step by step on installing the kick panel, pillar, and rocker panels.

The problem I have is on the the D/S. I already installed the pillar. I did this first because I wanted to have access to the hinge nut assembly so I could tack it to the inside of the pillar. Of course now, I can't get the kick panel to bang into place between the floor and the pillar.

Unless someone has a really good method to share, I am going to have to cut the pillar off again (below the nut assembly of course), install the kick panel, and then reinstall the pillar. I really don't want to do that...

Any thoughts? Anyone? Help. In the meantime, I am going to get some Chassis Saver paint from Magnet Paints and use it to paint the inside of the pillar. I'll use Dan's (67c10rustbucket) method of a small paintbrush duct taped to a stick.

[mattfranklin]

Glad to hear that your motor is running well. Major milestone! I have my short block mostly together. Now I need to think about using the old cam or getting a new one.

Originally Posted by DD1

My plan for the exhaust worked out fine. I ordered the exhaust donuts from Rock Auto and used the flange from the old manifold. I probably don't have it installed 100% perfectly, but as a friend of mine would say, "It's good enough for government work."

The exhaust pipe is installed, and I started up the engine again. It really does sound good. It's nice when it's not burning the wires on the starter.

I'll have to post a You Tube video of the engine running now that the timing is set.

I ordered a pigtail for the Water Temperature Sensor and the electric choke. It would be helpful to know how hot the engine is, and to get the choke operational.

[msgross]

Do you have the link to the rocker install you mentioned?

I need to make sure my pillar is in the right location, I realize now that I should have taken more measurements

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

Glad to hear that your motor is running well. Major milestone! I have my short block mostly together. Now I need to think about using the old cam or getting a new one.

Thanks, Matt! I had a new cam installed on my engine. I got one from Summit that had a bit more torque.

Originally Posted by msgross

Do you have the link to the rocker install you mentioned?

I need to make sure my pillar is in the right location, I realize now that I should have taken more measurements

Here is the link to the Rocker Panel 101: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=271066

I would also check out Scott's thread (sduckworth); I found it really helpful. Also I learned from Dan that the pillar is 7.5" from the middle of the top hinge bolt to center of the large hole at the bottom of the pillar. Here is the image from page 2, post 36 of Dan's thread (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=503533&page=2)

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by DD1

Here is the link to the Rocker Panel 101: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=271066

I would also check out Scott's thread (sduckworth); I found it really helpful. Also I learned from Dan that the pillar is 7.5" from the middle of the top hinge bolt to center of the large hole at the bottom of the pillar. Here is the image from page 2, post 36 of Dan's thread (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=503533&page=2)

Great timing! I needed that bit of information!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Great timing! I needed that bit of information!

Glad you found it helpful. Even though the information is not originally from me, it's nice to know I posted something that others found useful.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by DD1

Glad you found it helpful. Even though the information is not originally from me, it's nice to know I posted something that others found useful.

Yea I had read Rokcrin's thread a few years back but you can subscribe to it, i had it book marked but that computer fried and i couldn't remember the name of the post or author.. And the 7.5 dimension helps too.

[msgross]

thanks... I forgot about the 101 thread, and that measurement helps me too.

[mattfranklin]

You provide great information for all of us (whether the content is original or not). Really well-organized and clear. Keep up the good work!

Originally Posted by DD1

Glad you found it helpful. Even though the information is not originally from me, it's nice to know I posted something that others found useful.

[DD1]

After being distracted with a lot of home projects, I finally found some time to get back to the truck on Monday and this evening.

I decided to turn the cab around and work on the right side first. On the left side, I need to install the inner cowl panel; the best way to do it is to drop the front of the floor. I decided to work on the right side before messing with the floor.

Worked on the right side inner cowl panel. Came out okay, there is a gap at the top, but not the worst thing in the world.

The front pillar was the "great" part. I originally bought the part from Classic Parts, cut it too short and decided to get one from Tabco. So this is how it went:

1. Cut the Tabco part too low and screw it up.
2. Tack weld the cut piece from the first CP part to make it whole again. (And no, my welding has not gotten any better after not doing it for over a year).
3. Cut the CP part in a shape that is completely different from the actual shape I want.
4. Give up and order another part from CP.

I did decide that at least for this part, I like the CP better than the Tabco part. I felt that the shape of the CP part was a better overall fit than the Tabco.

Here are some pics, then I'll make a separate post about my attempt today.

This is the shape I need to cut:


This is me screwing it up. It might look like the right shape, but the center is cut too low. Thanks to Dan, I know the large hole on the bottom should be 7.5" from the center of the top hinge screw hole. It's not. So either I rebuild this one, or I get a new part (opted for the latter).



Now the mistake I made with the inner cowl I don't think is that difficult to rectify. The part lined up pretty well. I realized a bit later that my floor was not lined up quite the way I needed it. From moving the cab around, and lending my friend the lift, the back of the floor shifted up, which altered the cowl panel lining up in the front. In the end, I have a gap like this:

(Somehow the gap does not look as bad in the pics as it does in real life).



You can see the other side in the first pic above.

And here is my still crappy welding skills. (it did the job though). I thought I had a pic of the really bad cutting job I did, but I can't find it.

[DD1]

Before I go into what I did today, I have a question I am hoping someone can help with. I tried searching the forum and can't find the answer.

How high does the back of the floor pan sit? Is it supposed to sit all the way down into the lip on the back center of the cab? Or does it sit a bit higher? I am guessing a bit higher since all the way down, it does not make contact with the L/S rear pillar which I fortunately never removed from the cab.

The best way I could think of measuring the floor height is from the ridge above the floor. This is what I came up with:





I decided to work on the R/S rear pillar and I actually think I did a decent job cutting it. After I finished cutting it, I remember that I still have the original part, and surprise, they appear to be about the same.

I am thinking that I should leave the floor as it sits now, so it's touching the rear pillars. Once I determine that, I will try to tack weld the pillar in place.

Here are the pics. Totally amazed I did not screw this up.

The part has this extra piece that is not on the original (marked with X's). Will it get in the way, or should I leave it there?

[swamp rat]

I don't have any of the answers your looking for but its good to see you back at it, the best advice i can give is before something is cut out or apart take a lot of measurements and pictures.

My floor dropped overnight on me and it messed up some of my fitting as well, i came to the conclusion that when i do this the first thing is to cut the a pillar and finalize the replacement pillar, then transfer the support holes to it before any floor removal, that way you have a reference point to go back too to get the floor, support, floor and inner kick panel trimmed properly. for me it was a school of hard knocks for sure. Hopefully the other side will be much quicker.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I don't have any of the answers your looking for but its good to see you back at it, the best advice i can give is before something is cut out or apart take a lot of measurements and pictures.

My floor dropped overnight on me and it messed up some of my fitting as well, i came to the conclusion that when i do this the first thing is to cut the a pillar and finalize the replacement pillar, then transfer the support holes to it before any floor removal, that way you have a reference point to go back too to get the floor, support, floor and inner kick panel trimmed properly. for me it was a school of hard knocks for sure. Hopefully the other side will be much quicker.

Thanks! As far as taking measurements go, that ship has sailed! Measurements? What's that?

I do have pics from before I dropped the old floor, so I will check those (thanks for reminding me), and there are the holes I drilled out the spot welds with in the back of the cab, so that helps also although it's not a perfect guide.

The one thing I did do was when I painted the back of the cab with weld through primer, for the most part I stayed in the area where the old floor pan was. So I do have some guides to use for judging the height, but if someone can measure their cab floor the same way I did, it might help. (Dan / Scott, are you reading this?)

[mcbassin]

You're making nice progress on your cab repairs. It brings back fond memories of my truck build.....
You have to love all the good fitting replacement panels.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

You're making nice progress on your cab repairs. It brings back fond memories of my truck build.....
You have to love all the good fitting replacement panels.

Thanks, Mike! If I ever finish it, it will be interesting to see if it's still recognizable as a Chevy truck. It may just end up being a hodge-podge of random parts!


On another note, I took a good hard look under the bed. Man is there a lot of rust under there. From the top side, it looks solid; from underneath it looks like crap. I have to figure out how I can remove the bed, turn it on it's side and clean the underneath. I don't really have the room for it. I want to lift the bed, roll the frame into my driveway and power wash it, I just don't know what to do with the bed afterwards.

[swamp rat]

If you have any of the old floor sections that were spotted to the back of the cab you can also use them to get an idea how high the floor was to the area on the back of the cab.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

If you have any of the old floor sections that were spotted to the back of the cab you can also use them to get an idea how high the floor was to the area on the back of the cab.

That's a great idea, Mike. Of course, it gives me too much credit for having the old floor, which I don't. I really don't know how to do things the easy way; I usually end up going the harder route.

I will look through my pics though. I should (hopefully) have a photo of the floor and maybe I can get a rough idea from it.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by DD1

That's a great idea, Mike. Of course, it gives me too much credit for having the old floor, which I don't. I really don't know how to do things the easy way; I usually end up going the harder route.

I will look through my pics though. I should (hopefully) have a photo of the floor and maybe I can get a rough idea from it.

As it turns out, I don't have a pic of that side of the old floor pan, I took pics of the front, but not the back. I do have the next best thing. I took pics of the inside back of the cab before I cleaned it up and put the weld-thru primer on it.

It looks like it went very close to the end, but not actually touching the lip. It looks to me like there was a bead of seam sealer below the edge of the floor (as well as between the floor and the cab). Even though the cab has rust all the way to the end, you can see the line where the floor ended, and if you look to the far right of the photo, you can see where it angled up and reached the middle of the cab. I should be able to use these pics as a guide to setting the floor to just about the right position.

[67c10rustbuket]

Looks good D, I will try to get a measurement in a bit and get back to you. I always keep the part I cut off my truck to compare to the replacement part and verify I cut it right. I only trash them once I verify the patch was cut to match and fits the cab.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Looks good D, I will try to get a measurement in a bit and get back to you. I always keep the part I cut off my truck to compare to the replacement part and verify I cut it right. I only trash them once I verify the patch was cut to match and fits the cab.

Hey Dan, good to hear from you and see you working on your truck again! Hope the wife and kids are doing well.

I kept most of the original parts I cut off. Keeping the floor pan was a bit much. It takes up a lot of space. In retrospect I wish I had, but I'll figure it out.

The rear pillar looks to match well to the original piece so I am going to go ahead and tack it. When you have a chance, I would appreciate that measurement.

Thanks!

[DD1]

Spent a little bit of time on the cab today.

First, I checked the cab for a floor height marking from the old floor; I found one on the right side. Fortunately I did not cut away too much of the cab corner.



It's setup properly on the right side - not 100% sure on the left side, but I'll check it more later. The left side did not have the same distinct marking on it.

Then I played with the rear pillar. It was annoying me because the old part seemed to fit great, but the new part did not, and they seemed to match up to each other just fine.

After messing with it for a while, and taking a really close look I would love to say there was a problem with the part, but as usual there was a problem with my cut. It sloped down a bit too much to the left. I really can't draw or cut a straight line to save my life.

Old part - fits well:


New part - fits bad:


So I cut a small piece from the left over part and used it as a filler. Feel free to criticize my poor tack welds. I will probably end up cutting off the excess piece marked with X's on the left side of the pic. I think they will get in the way of installing the cab corner, and are not part of the original part.