1969 GMC.. right off the farm

[yuccales]

That's a lot of work in a short time. Looking good. Don't forget that pop-rivet on the Z bar.

[jasinger01]

Originally Posted by yuccales

That's a lot of work in a short time. Looking good. Don't forget that pop-rivet on the Z bar.

Thank you! Feels like it has been a long time with a long ways to go..

[jasinger01]

Did some body work to fill in around the cab corners. Used bondo glass, then regular bondo, primed, sanded, glazing putty, then some paint. Found 'banner red' in krylon to be close enough for now on the cab corners and rockers

[jasinger01]

I also spent some time refinishing the 15x8 steel wheels. They were pretty scared up from the trim rings, so I had to do quite a bit of sanding to get them smooth. Used a variety of different sandpaper grits and some stripping pads. Then rustoleum auto primer, 'antique white' gloss paint, and then a crystal clear top coat.

I grabbed some cheap chrome lug nuts from Amazon for now, I would really like to do the 6 lug spider caps one day or bullet caps.

I know push in caps would not work on the rear wheels without some grinding, as these wheels are hubcentric and are pretty much line on line with the rear axle hubs

[rodstored-72]

nice job!! I really like the wheels!!! the color is a great choice

[jasinger01]

At some point in my truck's life, someone painted over the inside of the glove box and therefore the options sticker. I never cared much because about half of it is cut out but I figured I would try my best to scrape off some of the paint to see if anything was legible below.

I used my heat gun and a razor just to scrap away a little at a time, it does not really work well because the sticker underneath is very fragile but a couple things are almost legible.

From what i've seen in other pictures, the last code on the right column is typically the paint code. I've always assumed my truck was 514 red because it is red, but has probably been resprayed numerous times.

Anyway, what I can make out on the bottom right of the sticker is 'ED CUSTO' which i'm guessing is 'RED CUSTOM'. My initial thought was this is an interior code for either a seat color. But I am confused because I thought the exterior paint code should be the last one listed. I can also see what looks like a 'DE' in the option column next to 'RED CUSTOM'. I don't see any numbers there though

The original color on the inside of the glove box door is definitely a dark red/maroon because i can see it where i scraped through the whole sticker. Not sure if that helps decode anything?

[jasinger01]

Otherwise, I've been busy working on the interior metal. I grinded the welds for my kick panel patches and the floor pans. Body worked the kick panels and got them ready to paint. I seam sealed the floor pan seams with Eastwood Brushable sealer and then used a caulk tube style sealer for the back along the seam of the new cab corners.

I also wire wheeled and power washed the rear portion of the frame. I then coated it with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. Really happy with how that came out.

I also recently scored two extremely solid fenders and a GMC hood!

[jasinger01]

Couple quick things I tried to get done recently:

My power steering box leaks a little from what appeared to be the input shaft seal. Was pretty beat up so I grabbed a seal kit. Ordered both Edelman PN 7095 and 8525 because I found both on Rock Auto and I am not sure what year my PS box is from. Ended up being the 8525 kit that worked. Went in super easy as described in this thread. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=619634

Also my rag joint was pretty beat up so I wanted to rebuild it per this thread: https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=614332

I ordered the Dorman 31000 kit and then easy took apart my rag joint. Bolts came right out and then just ground off the studs and tapped them through. Was pretty excited that this was going to be a very cheap and easy solution however the rubber disc in the 31000 kit is not correct. The 4 hole pattern is much smaller dia for the hole centers than the one in my steering coupler. The dia of the rubber disc is the same but the hole pattern is more inboard on the rebuilt kit. Couple pics to show how it wouldn't line up. Guess I'm going to try to return this kit and find out what complete rag joint assy that I need.

[jasinger01]

Since my steering box input shaft seal kit ended up being Edelman 8525, that leads me to believe that my steering box is from 1988+ (On rock auto, 1970-1987 are Edelman 7095, the one that did not fit in mine)

If I follow this logic, then the rag joint PN I should get is Lares 205. I will have to measure my input shaft this week and count the splines

[jasinger01]

The correct rag joint ended up being Lares 200.

While the bed is off, I also replaced the rear axle brake lines and the 'front to rear' intermediate line. I used Inline Tube so that the set would match the front brake lines that I replaced last year. I ordered the 'front to rear' line for a 1969 GMC shortbed with rear leafs and it was about 16" too short. The bends/general shape looked the same as the original line I pulled out, but just was way too short. This first PN was CTB67M1. The team at Inline Tube were extremely helpful in getting me the correct line to match what I pulled out of my truck which ended up being PN CTB71M1. I'm not sure what the mix up here was but make sure you double check the lengths if you are ever ordering these lines.

The rear axle lines were very close to the original shape and went in easily.

[jasinger01]

I also removed my old cracked and delaminated windshield. Cleaned up the pinch weld and glad to see it is in decent shape. I didn't know what to expect since there is rot on the front edge of the inner roof panel. Glad it didn't make it all the way to the pinch weld.

While it is out, one of the next major projects will be patching that roof panel.

[nicklear36]

I've got the same windshield rust on mine. I'll be watching to see how you do yours!

[jasinger01]

Originally Posted by nicklear36

I've got the same windshield rust on mine. I'll be watching to see how you do yours!

I'll keep the thread updated. Still unsure if I am going to try to patch it out of sheet metal or go for the replacement panel
https://www.autometaldirect.com/body...ck-p-4692.html

[CKfan]

Tackling it pretty good.

Nice truck, hope you can figure out a way to get that SPID cleaned up without too much damage.

[jasinger01]

Over the winter I also degreased and wire wheeled the back half of my frame and coated with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Plus. I've used this product before and really like it. Planning to do the rest of my frame whenever I get to the engine swap.

Also, picked up some really solid doors this week. One has had the lower portion of the outer skin replaced already and one has had the bottom of the inside replaced. My doors are a disaster in many different places, so made sense to start with these rather than try to salvage mine.

[jasinger01]

Progress on the inner roof repair:

Purchased the patch panel from AMD

Cut out the rotted section

Translated this to the new panel

Welded in place

Overall, panel is very nice and high quality. Need to finish grinding and then body work the seams

[jasinger01]

Did some bodywork on the seams and then hit it with a red rattle can. Far from perfect on the body work, but i'm not exactly sure what the final color/state of this interior will be, so I just wanted to get it all covered up and painted so I could get the windshield in.

Picked up a nice windshield locally and ordered a new Precision gasket

Windshield wasn't horrible, the new gasket was a bit of a wrestling match, especially with the stainless trim. But it's in. I need to spend a little more time making sure the trim is perfectly seated down in the gasket

[68Gold/white]

Dad gum!!!
I hope you are getting close to the finish line!!!!

Job well done!!!

[CKfan]

That is a difficult position to do body work on (neck killer). Well done

[jasinger01]

Thanks guys, progress has been slow the last month or so. Was a big feat to patch the roof and get the windshield in. Bodywork is definitely not perfect there, mostly because of the ergonomic discomfort lol.

Have some last chassis stuff I want to button up, but then on to more bodywork and interior work.

[Dieselwrencher]

Great work on the truck and good work on that roof patch. Every parts cab I have has that same problem.

[jasinger01]

My new (to me) doors are both really solid, but both have had weld repairs completed so they needed some bodywork at the seams. Driver side had a lower portion of the outer skin replaced and the passenger side had the lower portion of the inside replaced. It was worth it to me to buy these rather than try to fix mine, which have rot problems all over. I considered buying reproduction doors but its not really the look I'm going for and like the idea of the truck being mostly original sheet metal. (I will probably buy a new bed)

I fitted my rockers using my old doors, so things aren't lining up perfectly even at full adjustment. Going to need to work on some shims or opening up the adjustment slots wider on the hinges to get a little more tilt. Door is hanging outside the rocker in the front. Looking forward to solving this and getting the rest of my new front sheet metal hung. Dug out my 'new' fenders from the shed to start to see how things are lining up.

[jasinger01]

After getting sufficiently frustrated with the drivers side, I moved to the passenger side for some motivation.

Even though I haven't finished body working and priming the door, I hung it just to make sure the metal fitment was better at the rocker. So far so good, I will pull the door off to finish the body work. I barely adjusted this door, but I don't think it will be an issue to get it hung and fit well. Also leaned up my other 'new' fender just to get an ideal of how it will all come together.

[jasinger01]

Change of plans on the driver door, I brought the one I had back to my parts guy and swapped it for a different one. He had this one which appears to be a reman. He said he thinks it is NOS but it feels lighter. I am fine either way, it is in great shape and fits nicely with the rocker. This is very roughly hung, I have not done any hinge adjustments yet

[jasinger01]

Got some more bodywork done on the pass side door this weekend and put down the first couple coats of primer.

Also gutted my original doors to see what is salvageable.. not much.

Most likely will go with new regulators and controls in both doors as I put them back together