My 1967 Chevy K20 Build Thread

[Chaparralman1974]

8/1/2023 - 8/10/2023
Starting on the Cab
I have decided to start the daunting task of repairing the cab. The end goal at this point is to get the metal work done and to get the cab cleaned and primed so that I can set it back on the chassis and recover some much needed real estate in my garage.
I began by fully stripping the cab of all various components. This included the pedal linkage, electrical, and everything under the dash. I had initially hoped to salvage the wiring harness and make repairs where needed, but unfortunately, the fuse block was beyond saving. I will most likely upgrade to a harness that has modern blade style fuses, but that is something that can happen at a later date.
After completely stripping the cab, I rolled it out to the driveway and hit it with the pressure washer. There was about 100 pounds of dirt and garbage that I was able to wash out of it, but now it won’t be quite as bad when I start hammering on it in the garage. Over the years I have come to despise working on the underside of any vehicle just to have it rain dirt and rocks on me.
The pressure washer really did a good job, and I think that I have a somewhat clean work surface to mess with.
This was the first time that I really took a good hard look at the cab since buying the truck. My attention has been pretty much exclusive to the chassis and drive train, so I really didn’t pay attention to the overall condition of the cab. Of course, I knew the floor needed work and now that I have it fully stripped I can see more of the damage. Both inner rockers are trashed…that much is certain. The outer rockers really don’t look half bad and are still somewhat solid. The cab supports and cab corners are near perfect with some dents and surface rust, but it is comforting to know that I won’t have to mess with those. After making several measurements, I carefully cut out the driver side outer rocker. There was a good 10 pounds of dirt and debris packed into it. I found that the A-Pillar bottom half was rotted out, but the face of the cab support was solid as a rock. The lower portion of the B-Pillar was also solid. I did have to cut it out partially for access, but I will be able to weld it back in. I do believe that I got lucky with the floor for the most part. I have ordered a few replacement panels and will begin to graft these back in.
Regarding the lower portion of the A-Pillar, I tack welded in a piece of metal through the hole that mounts the front fender. The idea here is that when I weld in the new lower portion, I will have a reference point to ensure that I get it in the right place. Another thing worth noting is that I have researched others bracing the cab before cutting any of the floor. As I am only doing one side at a time, and my floor is fairly solid, I didn’t brace mine. It should be noted that I observed no noticeable movement of the pillars after I cut out the lower supports and inner portion of the floors as was confirmed by double checking the measurements I took before cutting anything.

[Chaparralman1974]

Driver side outer rocker removal.

[Chaparralman1974]

Inner rocker and lower pillar removal.

[Chaparralman1974]

More inner rocker and pillar removal.

[cornerstone]

Saving as much GM metal as possible.

[Chaparralman1974]

8/11/2023 - 12/1/2023
Continued work on the cab
The past four months have seen me hip deep into metal and body work on the cab. To date, I have 163 man hours into the cab and that number actually eclipses any other single work effort to date. I have actually learned a lot during this phase of the project. I have begun to realize that I have been spending way too much time focused on areas of the truck that, quite honestly, will never be seen. For example, I have spent many hours trying to make the welds underneath the truck look somewhat decent only to realize that it doesn’t matter since I have covered them up with seam sealer anyhow. I guess it is just to be seen as a learning experience.
My plan of attack was to begin with the driver side rocker replacement to learn how to graft in the new metal. Several key things became apparent during this part of the project. First off, I learned that the inner rocker / floor sections that are reproduced just plain suck! The drain channels, bolt holes, and contours just don’t line up correctly with the original floor. I made the mistake on the driver side of cutting through the contoured radius at the forward edge of the seat, thinking that the patch panel would line up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close, and this required additional manipulation of the metal to get it to mate up. For the passenger side, I cut around this contour and all was well. The stamped in drain channels in the floor (not sure what else to call them) were also way off. The stamping was not even close. I had to slice and dice quite a bit to get them to line up. They are not perfect, but it will be hidden anyway. These are just a few of the examples by the way of the things that I have spent way too much time focused on. The reality of it is that the inside of the cab will be covered in dynamat, and the bottom outside in raptor liner.
I ended up replacing the driver side cab corner as well. This was another mistake. The cab corners are formed wrong and are not even close to the original body lines. Thankfully, I was smart enough to stay away from style lines at the lower portion of the cab. I only replaced the corner because there was a dent in the bottom and a small section of thin metal that had pinholes in it. In retrospect, I would have only replaced the thin metal and worked out the dent vs. replacing the corner, but lesson learned….
For the most part, the outer rockers were easy. I did end up redoing the driver side rocker and replacing it (and the passenger side) with rockers from GMC Pauls. These rockers are definitely of decent quality, but even these required some manipulation to get them installed. I also made a few mistakes here that need to be noted. First off, I initially used spot welds close to the edge of the rockers that line up on the B pillar side. This was an issue after grinding off the welds during test fitting of the panels. I know that some folks like to blend in the seam where the rockers meet the door jambs, but I wanted a factory look and needed the seams to be visible and crisp looking so that I can do seam sealer here. It is a preference thing, but I want it to represent a factory looking truck and not a seamless show look. This is what caused me to have to rip and replace the driver side rocker out. I learned that a better option for temporary rocker fitment is with the use of self tapping screws. Once the screws are removed, then you just weld up the screw holes.
For the most part, the floor in the cab was in good shape. The only areas of rot were in the kick panels. I was able to get these cleaned up satisfactorily. I will be applying filler over the seams, and the carpet kit that I plan to install will be one that goes all the way up the kick panels anyway.
Additional metal work so far has included welding up a bunch of screw holes, and other mounting holes that were drilled into the cab over the years. This included several smaller holes in the dash and inner cab. Also there was the receptacle plug on the passenger side of the cab that had to be filled in as well. I also had to do some rust repair in the firewall where the blower motor was. Regarding the blower motor, I will not be filling in these holes. Even though I plan to install a vintage air system, I plan to use the block off plates that are designed to work with that kit. Once again, I want the metal to look factory here. This also gives me the option to just go with a heater only setup.
After getting all the metal work done, it was time to strip the cab down to bare metal. I began by gutting the dash, removing all the wiring, insulation, instrument cluster, etc. Once having everything removed, I used a combination of methods to strip the cab to bare metal. The majority of the work was done with fiber stipping wheels and the Harbor Freight version of the Eastwood SCT. This tool by the way, is AWESOME! It made short order of removing the paint down to bare metal. I also have been using various grit sand paper on a DA as well as a pressure pot sandblaster to get to the hard to reach areas.
My plan has been to start with finishing the bottom of the cab. The logic here is that if I can get the cab bottom done, I don’t have to keep flipping it on its back. As I am pretty much a solo act here, It is becoming more and more difficult to keep moving it back and forth. I was able to get the bottom of the cab completely stripped down to bare metal. I then applied an Eastwood rust encapsulator to the entire surface. The main reason for this vs. epoxy primer DTM, is that there were pits of rust all over the place that I felt would better be dealt with via encapsulation first. So, I covered the entire bottom with a rust encapsulator first, then applied 3M seam sealer over the welded areas, and then applied Eastwood Epoxy Primer over that. Finally, the plan is to top coat all of that with UPOL Raptor Liner.
Regarding the seam sealer, it didn’t quite turn out the way I envisioned. That stuff can be a challenge to work with if you don’t know what you are doing. It was difficult to get it to lay down in any kind of a neat and good looking way. Oh well, it is the bottom of the cab, and this is for functionality rather than aesthetics.

[Chaparralman1974]

Floor and rocker repair

[Chaparralman1974]

More floor and rocker repair.

[dagnabbitt]

Great pictures, and you are doing a great job: I am working on cab repair for my project 68. I too am perhaps putting more thought into it than I should and am really just taking it as a learning experience. Your cuts and welds are nicer nonetheless.

I've been thinking, if I were to do it all over again - because I will, I have a few more trucks - would I just replace the entire floor pan? I think to be honest that I might. It would be much easier, and and only marginally more expensive than all the patch panels I got going. My most hated part of my project is the cab supports, man I understand why people go with the slip ons. A new floor with those already integrated is really tempting. What about you?

I will follow your project with great interest!

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

Great pictures, and you are doing a great job: interestingly I am in the exact same stage of my project 68. I too am perhaps putting more thought into it than I should and am really just taking it as a learning experience. Your cuts and welds are nicer nonetheless.

I've been thinking, if I were to do it all over again - because I will, I have a few more trucks - would I just replace the entire floor pan? I think to be honest that I might. It would be much easier, and and only marginally more expensive than all the patch panels I got going.

My most hated part of my project is the cab supports, man I understand why people go with the slip ons. A new floor with those already integrated is really tempting.

I will follow your project with great interest!

Hi Dave!
I hear what you are saying! My thought process was to keep as much GM metal as possible. Fortunately for me, my floor was in pristine condition except for the inner/outer rockers. My cab supports were solid as the day they rolled off the Fremont assembly line. :-)

I can definitely see why doing a full floor replacement would be the best way to go in many cases.

I have almost 175 man hours in the cab now.....many of those hours were redoing stuff that didn't reall matter. I spent way too much time on stuff that will be covered by dynamat and carpet. But, like my daddy always said....anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time. However, I don't think he factored in my severe OCD....LOL!



Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

More....

[Chaparralman1974]

More still...

[Chaparralman1974]

Passenger side floor and rocker repair.

[Chaparralman1974]

More passenger side rocker repair.

[Shifty One]

Gettin' after it!

[Chaparralman1974]

I just finished putting epoxy primer on the bottom of the cab. I will try to get some more pictures posted shortly.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here are some pictures of the cab paint stripping process.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here are some more pictures of the cab paint stripping process.

[Chaparralman1974]

More cab stripping pictures...

[Chaparralman1974]

Cab is getting there.....

[Chaparralman1974]

Just about done stripping it. I still have some final touches to take care of, but I have most of the paint stripped off of the cab.

You can also see the driver side cab corner replacement as well as the patch that I made for the receptacle plug that was on the passenger side. Not my best work metal-wise, but it will be covered up with filler soon enough. :-)

[Chaparralman1974]

Taping and preparation for the rust encapsulation process on the underside of the cab. I initially was only going to get the hard to reach areas and small areas where there was rust pits, but it was easier to just spray the entire bottom of the cab. It took an entire can of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here is the application of seam sealer across the welds that were done. Ok, here is where I was not too happy with my work. I have discovered that applying seam sealer is an art form. This stuff looks like Mr. Potato Head did it blind folded.....

Oh well, it is on the bottom of the cab anyway and it should ensure that the welds are protected from any moisture that may make itself present in Phoenix, AZ.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here is the bottom of the cab after applying Epoxy Primer over the rust encapsulator and the seam sealer. I applied 2 wet coats after waiting for 30 minutes after the wet coat. Next up is Raptor Liner!

[cj847]

Man, that is a lot of work with a DA. I'm tired just looking at pics. How did you do the interior overhead? Thru the windshield/door, or did you stand it on its head?