Mike's 66 C10 Short Step Build

[Ta2Don]

Nice welder, picked up the same one last year...

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Front end is off now. Doors are next then I'm going to brace up the cab before I start repairing the rust.

[Captainfab]

The floor sheet metal is closer to 18 gauge. The 16 gauge is thicker.

If you need to replace part of the A pillar higher up than the lower patches, you will need to get that from another cab.

Originally Posted by Mikes66ChevyC10

Nope not doing a back to factory build or a show truck. We just want a nice driver that we can take to cruise nights and things like that. Do you know what gauge metal I would get to repair that section that slopes up into the firewall? I think 16 gauge would work?

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Got the bed off the truck finally. Noticed the driveshaft isn't centered in the cross member. Not sure if this is normal or not. Cut out the rear cross member because it was twisted up from pulling things. Also got the gas tank out.

[McMurphy]

Have you checked to see if your rear end is centered on the frame, or if the frame is square?
I am pretty sure your driveline should not be that far to one side.
So, something is not right....

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Have you checked to see if your rear end is centered on the frame, or if the frame is square?
I am pretty sure your driveline should not be that far to one side.
So, something is not right....

I've measured from different points on the frame up near the cab to the rear frame rails and get the same measurements on each side so the frame appears to be square. I've also measured from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear axle on both sides and get the same measurement. The weird thing is the rear end seems to be off center by about 1 inch with the pass side wheel being closer to the frame. So if I tried to center the rear it would move the driveshaft even closer to the pass side of the cross member.

[tinydb84]

With the bed off the rear suspension would be more unloaded and because the panhard bar is short it would cause the rear end to shift. May not explain why it is so far off though

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Ok I remembered the original owner telling me he put a mid to late 70's 3 spd trans in so I went out and measured to see if the tail of the trans is centered and it isn't. It's off the pass side which might be part of the reason the driveshaft is too far to the that side. It still has the original trans cross member up by the bell housing. Could that throw it off? The front of the frame looks perfect with no signs that it's been hit or pulled so I can't imagine it's been hit but I could be wrong.

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Here's some pictures of the floor's and rockers. Picking up some square tubing tomorrow to start bracing up the cab before cutting.

Drivers Side

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Pass Side

[TJ's Chevy]

Knock knock? Who's there? Mr patch panel!

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Knock knock? Who's there? Mr patch panel!

Yes Mr Patch panel has shown up at my door a couple times now!! LOL

[Gumby]

Member you don't want a dead center straight drive line, everything is off a little on purpose, needle bearing in driveshaft joints don't work right if so. They would just sit in one spot and wear fast.

Made things esier for GM since steering gets in the way often if you try and dead center everything.


My motorcycle is ashaft drive bike, similar, pushes the rear tire over to the right, its not dead center of the frame, but makes no difference, both tires just need to track straight, not be inline.

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Got the cab all braced up and the doors off. Found some more rust higher up on the Pass side A pillar. Going to try and cut out the bad and weld in some patches. Looks like a difficult fix for sure. Drivers side A pillar is solid above the lower door hinge area. Still believe I can fix this cab instead of trying to find another one.



Pass side a pillar/ cowl rust

[bj383ss]

Mike your bracing looks good. The bottom brace you have going across the door might be to low though. When you go to put the inner rocker floor patches on it may get in your way.

I measured my door openings and they are both the exact same. I didn't use any bracing and after cutting out both floor pans I had no movement but it is still bolted to the frame for the time being.

Good luck with the rust repair its not that hard just measure about 10 times before you cut. They do sell that cowl piece but not sure how far up it goes.

Bret

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Mike your bracing looks good. The bottom brace you have going across the door might be to low though. When you go to put the inner rocker floor patches on it may get in your way.

I measured my door openings and they are both the exact same. I didn't use any bracing and after cutting out both floor pans I had no movement but it is still bolted to the frame for the time being.

Good luck with the rust repair its not that hard just measure about 10 times before you cut. They do sell that cowl piece but not sure how far up it goes.

Bret

Thanks for your reply and the good luck! My cab is also still bolted to the frame and my door openings also measured the same but I added the bracing just to make sure things stayed the same. I'm going to have to unbolt the cab though because all of my cab supports are shot.

I have the cowl piece and it doesn't go high enough unfortunately. I think I might try and locate a junk yard down south that will cut out the pass side A pillar and pass side cowl area for me.

[bj383ss]

Sounds good man. Only advice I have is do the passenger side first. The driver side will be easier and look better as your second attempt and that is the side you will see the most. I started on the driver side first mainly because it was the worst and I wanted to knock it out first. Should have followed my own advice as the passenger side came out much better.

Bret

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Sounds good man. Only advice I have is do the passenger side first. The driver side will be easier and look better as your second attempt and that is the side you will see the most. I started on the driver side first mainly because it was the worst and I wanted to knock it out first. Should have followed my own advice as the passenger side came out much better.

Bret

Thanks for the advice! I will be starting on the pass side.

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Started on the Pass side of the cab. Got the inner and outer rocker panels off which wasn't difficult considering there wasn't much left of them. LOL

[TJ's Chevy]

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

A little more progress. Mocking up the new A pillar on the pass side I bought from a member here on the forum. Going to tack it in then continue on with the floor supports and rocker panels.

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Working on the pass side cowl. Patch panel didn't go high enough so had to make some patches. Luckily the Drivers side is solid! Some more welding and grinding to do on the cowl and it will be done. All this work for a part of the truck that will never be seen! LOL

[Ta2Don]

All that work may not be seen, but Solid nonetheless...

Great work!

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

All that work may not be seen, but Solid nonetheless...

Great work!

Thanks!

[Mikes66ChevyC10]

Picked up a nice pass side floor brace from a member here on the forum LT1 Burb. Getting it all cleaned up before I weld it in. Work on the truck has been very slow with my job being so busy but it's still moving along.