'69 C20 Rebuild

[MarineChevyDriver]

#7 - Time to make this baby look pretty. Chevy Orange!

[MarineChevyDriver]

#8 - The machine shop had a nice set of used Sealed Power pistons ready for a 383. The guy sold them to me for $225. A steal of a deal!

[MarineChevyDriver]

#9 - Restore the instrument panel. My original plan was to reuse it, but I have since decided to buy a stainless steel panel and put all new gauges in. So, this one will be for sale. Crossed 318,000 miles on the clock when blew the engine. Those were body miles as there was an 84 GM block in when I bought it.

Before



After

[MarineChevyDriver]

#9 - Body work begins on the truck bed.

[MarineChevyDriver]

#10 - Front end removal and body work.

[litew8]

Originally Posted by MarineChevyDriver

#8 - The machine shop had a nice set of used Sealed Power pistons ready for a 383. The guy sold them to me for $225. A steal of a deal!

Nice brand! Same as mine

[MarineChevyDriver]

#10 - Cleaned the frame at the car wash. Then stripped it with a spinning brush, primed, and painted with rustoleum.



Cut off the old farm bumper with a cutting wheel so I can put on a nice chrome sport bumper and maintain the trailer hitch.



Sawzaw'd off some excess weight from the trailer hitch.

[MarineChevyDriver]

Can anyone tell me if the twist in the frame is going to pose any serious issues?

See picture above.

[litew8]

Why do you think it is twisted? Not sure which picture to look at.
Was it due to the hitch install (which is pretty cool looking btw)?

[MarineChevyDriver]

How about now?

[litew8]

Looks like mine -



or am I not seeing it

[MarineChevyDriver]

Originally Posted by MarineChevyDriver

How about now?

Originally Posted by litew8

Looks like mine -



or am I not seeing it

Ya, they look the same. It doesn't look strange to you? I've had other people say they noticed without saying anything to them.

[MarineChevyDriver]

Maybe it's supposed to be that way...

[litew8]

Yep, supposed to be that way. And like everyone else, it looks twisted but evens out.
You can search these forums and find others with the same concern.

[Grip]

The cross member is not square, to make room for the track bar. It's okay.
Posted via Mobile Device

[MarineChevyDriver]

Originally Posted by Grip

The cross member is not square, to make room for the track bar. It's okay.
Posted via Mobile Device

Oh no way! That makes me feel a lot better. So you hook it up, the weight settles and everything sits even 90 degrees off?
Posted via Mobile Device

[litew8]

No, the cross-member sits at an angle by design. Don't take my word for it though, Maybe I shouldn't have used the words "evens out" earlier. What I meant was - when you put the bed back on, the cross-member sitting at an angle isn't visible and the rest sits true. The cross-member is installed further UP on the left rail (where it is higher), thus giving the illusion of the frame being twisted. It is not! Forget about it, post more pics

[MarineChevyDriver]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info.
Posted via Mobile Device

[litew8]

np, you can measure the distance between the last cross-member and that one - you'll see the difference. For whatever the science, I think it's actually engineered to PREVENT the frame from wanting to twist.

When you go to reassemble, you'll see - everything aligns/bolts right up level/straight, just like when you tore it apart.

[MarineChevyDriver]

Originally Posted by litew8

np, you can measure the distance between the last cross-member and that one - you'll see the difference. For whatever the science, I think it's actually engineered to PREVENT the frame from wanting to twist.

When you go to reassemble, you'll see - everything aligns/bolts right up level/straight, just like when you tore it apart.

Great. Thanks for having this pic too. I've been debating about disassembling the bed completely. I want to paint those support beams the same as the frame before reinstalling. The decision is made. The bed is coming apart! I need the garage space anyways. Getting ready to buy those engine parts soon!!

[MarineChevyDriver]

Originally Posted by litew8

Forget about it, post more pics

Done!

I'm out of town, but I'll be taking advantage of the three day weekend coming up to get some work knocked out!

[MarineChevyDriver]

For those who are watching: Are A/c compressors vehicle specific? I'm looking around on craigslist at parts and wondering if I can use compressors from newer vehicles on the engine that I am building. Any help is appreciated.

http://yuma.craigslist.org/pts/3521507300.html

http://yuma.craigslist.org/pts/3512853004.html

[litew8]

Don't know much about A/C equipt models. ttt

[gdavis]

Keep asking questions. Only dum question are the ones that are not ask. Keep up the faith and good luck my friend.

[MarineChevyDriver]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...185856&page=10

Post #231