1969 Short Wide

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

oh my! theose spacers are b e a u tiful! its coming alon great buddy!

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Nice job on the spacers! Suspension looks better than new!

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice job on the spacers and the suspension. It looks great!

Originally Posted by gcburdic

Awesome spacers Mike....might want to make a few extra sets...I see folks talking about it on here often

Originally Posted by JohnC

Looking good Mike! Keep it up!

Originally Posted by joe231

Yeah, What he said ^^^^

Posted via Mobile Device

Originally Posted by bjcaldwe

Great progress.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the good words.

[67chevy1series]

well whats next!

[mcbassin]

Well, I have been working really hard on the project for the last week or so. Unfortunately, I lost about 20 pics of the progress. I accidentially deleted them from the camera and couldn't undo it. anyway, it was just tearing the rear diff apart, cutting the shock mounts off and sandblasing pics.

I am ready to setup and weld in the diff perches as soon as I pic up an angle gauge/finder. I modified the upper shock mounts to gain more travel on my shocks. Thanks Scoti LINK. I still need to do the lower mounts and buy/build an adjustable panhard bar. I would sure like to find a deal on a posi while its apart. Plan is to put new seals and brakes for now hope to upgrade to disk brakes at some point.
I also repaired some holes and cutouts in the rear shock cross member. (done by the PO). I also blasted and painted (lost pics).
On to the pics that I have:

[VA72C10]

nice progress! I hate it when I lose pics...feels like you almost didn't do the work

[67chevy1series]

looks great! cant wait to see the cab installed!

[joe231]

that's a great idea on the shock mounts!
Nice progress Mike!

[STOCKISH]

Looks good Mike! Cant wait to see the cab on there!

[screaminchevypickup]

good looking project!!!!! if you need parts let me know im just down the road

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

looks great! cant wait to see the cab installed!

Thanks I can't wait either.

Originally Posted by joe231

that's a great idea on the shock mounts!
Nice progress Mike!

Thanks Joe, I can't take credit. Scoti is the man on the that one. Saved a few bucks on that.

Originally Posted by 1972SuperCheyenne

Looks good Mike! Cant wait to see the cab on there!

Thanks, I can't wait either, looking forward to getting done with the drivetrain.

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

good looking project!!!!! if you need parts let me know im just down the road

Hey thanks Screaminchevy, You really are just down the road. You have to show me truck some time. Do you have a build thread? Looks good in the avatar.

[67chevy1series]

no more progress?

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

no more progress?

Not yet, had a lot of other things on my plate the last week or so. As it warms here my priorities shift away from this project. It sucks, but this ranks lower than my other many hobbies. Cash supply is non existant right now too. I need to buy a bunch of parts too....... Hope to get back on track this weekend.

[dougminton]

Looks good. Cant wait to see more

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by dougminton

Looks good. Cant wait to see more

Thanks Doug!

[mcbassin]

Update:
Stuck some rallies on the front. Got the rear perches tacked, then welded on and primered. Next step paint install new seals and reassemble it. Here are the pics:



Set up the old rearend to figure out the pinion angle (thanks for the tip Lolife Keith!).


Leveled both sides:


Got the angle 12.5 degrees:


Set it on the new diff:


Tacked in place:


Welded solid:


Primered:

[VA72C10]

Nice welds on those saddles! Looking good!

[JohnC]

Nice job Mike!

[67cheby]

looking good

[franky69c10]

Nice I still gotta do this 2 my 73 rear end
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcbassin]

Thanks guys,

I got my lower shock mounts modified today. This mod allows for additional room for shock travel. LINK (thanks Scoti) I used a big hammer and rosebud torch to flatten out the ribs on the back side. Then I made some new gussets or ribs out of some 1/4" stock. My thinking is, these should stiffen the mounts up like the originals. I then welded it all up solid. I got them sand blasted and ready for primer. The next plan is to build my own adjustable track bar and relocation mount.

I also ordered all new seals and brake components for the rear. Hope to get the diff. painted, put back together, and mounted.

Our fishing tournament season starts tomorrow so things will slow down even more. I'm gonna try to stay hooked up on this in my spare time, we'll see how that goes. I never really lose interest just time for it. Here are the new pics:
Heated the mounts up red hot and hammered them out flat

Made some braces for the lower side

[72shymedblue]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Updatew/o pics)
Finished pulling the front suspension and rear differential. I'm looking for new U-bolts now, the originals were hammered. Moved what was left of the long bed to the back of my property. Still searching for a 350 engine (not a cracked one). I would really like to find a good used one that we can plug and play. This is probably the lowest buck restore project on here. The main goal is a safe reliable truck first. Then later we can trick it out. I also purchased a 86 model to fix up for now ( needs a motor too). I will try to get some pics this weekend. we started cleaning the shop last week! Garage sale time.....Hopefully we will be able to move inside soon.

Great pics and a great project for your son. Not only will he have a safe, COOL vehicle to drive, but working with you to build it will make him appreciate it that much more, and also lets him get the satisfaction and bragging rights of helping build it himself.
Let us know when/where the garage sale will be- I wouldn't miss it.

[brn agn]

Nice work (especially the welding and shock mount modifications). Where did you learn these skills?

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 72shymedblue

Great pics and a great project for your son. Not only will he have a safe, COOL vehicle to drive, but working with you to build it will make him appreciate it that much more, and also lets him get the satisfaction and bragging rights of helping build it himself.
Let us know when/where the garage sale will be- I wouldn't miss it.

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, he's out on this project now. He decided the 86 is what he wants to drive. Now this one is all on me. He did help a bunch with the tear down. He was all hands on with the 86, definetly got a learning experience.

Originally Posted by brn agn

Nice work (especially the welding and shock mount modifications). Where did you learn these skills?

Thanks, man!
I actually went to vo-tech in high school for welding. I started welding part time right out of high school. Mostly mig. Then, I tought myself tig welding when I got a job in a machine shop in 88. Didn't take very long to figure out my eyes couldn't take it. I started training on machines and have been in the machine shop trade since. I have access a lot of cool stuff for truck building

[Zoomin]

Did you catch anything today, Mike?
It was windy and kinda cold today, hope it was worthwhile for ya.

You might want to start making multiples of this stuff to support your hobby.

[my67chevytruck]

nicely done Mike!... when we going fishing....

[usmcchevy]

As always, awesome work!