New Project: 1974 2WD Shortbed

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

[maxxxy]

What I did on my 81, was i used those 91 camaro 1LE rotors. I have a connection at Autozone which is where i got them from. They weren't listed as 1LE in their parts catalog, but they were the just rotors for the highest level camaro. They of course had to order them because they weren't in stock. They installed just like truck rotors, and as to my knowledge, they are the exact same minus bolt pattern.

I bought really nice adapters for the rear, but I've heard you could use a camaro reared, or possibly a 4x4 s10 reared, but I don't have any proof of either working and I don't have 1st hand experience.

[Shady Chevy]

I think I am going to try the Camaro 1LE rotors. And I think I will go with some type of drop spindle also. I haven't decided how or how much I want to drop the back.

I am looking into what brand of paint I want to use. Right now I am looking at the Carizzma by RM products. But I have not done enough research yet.

Still thinking about paint ideas. Looking for suggestions. The idea of black with some type of Candy graphics has been in my head lately.

I am planning on welding a cover on the top of the bed next month. That should be interesting to try to do. I am going to use 18 gauge sheet metal with a few braces on the under side. The tailgate is already welded shut. And I need to find a roll pan that I like. Any suggestions on the roll pan?

[Shady Chevy]

It has been a while since I have posted any progress. Here is a pic of what I am calling a bed truss. There will be three of these. This is the first. They will be welded to across the top of the bed.



I am going to weld a solid sheet metal cover on the top of the bed. The tailgate is already welded shut. These trusses will support the top. The truss is made of 1/2 inch square tube.

Since I am closing the bed in, I came up with another idea. I have not seen this done anywhere else, but I am, sure someone else has done this. I want to put a pair if 15 inch JL Audio subs in the truck. But where to put them? Since the bed will not be used for anything else......I am going to cut a hole in the back of the cab, and have it extend out into the bed. These subs require 4 1/2 cubic feet of space together, so it will be a good size box. I am excited to see how this turns out. If anyone else has seen this done before, let me know.

[Shady Chevy]

oh, and the other thing. I got a battery, so now the truck runs and I can pull it in and out of the shop under its own power. As soon as it stops snowing here in central Pennsylvania, I will take it out for its first drive.

[Gordonr1973]

Lots of metal work....looking good!

Just search 'subs in rear truck box' or something & you will find examples of what you are trying to do.

There are other trucks I've seen where people have cut an opening through the back of their cab into the box for their subs....you should be able to find it on google.

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by Shady Chevy

It has been a while since I have posted any progress. Here is a pic of what I am calling a bed truss. There will be three of these. This is the first. They will be welded to across the top of the bed.



I am going to weld a solid sheet metal cover on the top of the bed. The tailgate is already welded shut. These trusses will support the top. The truss is made of 1/2 inch square tube.

Since I am closing the bed in, I came up with another idea. I have not seen this done anywhere else, but I am, sure someone else has done this. I want to put a pair if 15 inch JL Audio subs in the truck. But where to put them? Since the bed will not be used for anything else......I am going to cut a hole in the back of the cab, and have it extend out into the bed. These subs require 4 1/2 cubic feet of space together, so it will be a good size box. I am excited to see how this turns out. If anyone else has seen this done before, let me know.

cut threw? i kinda do one so im intrested to know also. sorry i cant help with the idea. but my buddy has a 98 with 4 15"s in the bed with around 11,000 watts its crazy

[Sin7]

lookin good man. Keep chipping away at it

[Shady Chevy]

Thanks everyone. I did a google search and this is the best I could find to match my idea. Similar to what I plan to do. I will take lots of pics of what I do and share with everyone. My only concern right now is how much twist I will get between the cab and the bed. I have to leave enough room for that when I cut the hole in the front panel of the bed.

[nt30]

Cut out the front bed wall approximately 3" inside the outer edge. Measure the edge of the cut in a continous measurement. Then go to your local truck camper shell supplier and get "accordion boot" the same length. It has a metal channel on each side with rubber accordion material in between the channels. Used to use it years ago in my minitrucks days when cutting the entire areas for walkthrus. It is usually priced by the foot.

Good luck.
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[Shady Chevy]

Thanks. That is an interesting idea. I can envision how that might work.

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

So I have welded in the first truss to hold the 18 gauge cover for the top of the bed. I need to make two more of these. And I welded in 4 brackets with 1/2 -13 nuts on. I can thread in eye bolts to use as lifting points to lift the bed off with an engine hoist. I am going to try that out soon to see how it works.

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

A few pics of progress. 2 of 3 trusses done to hold the bed cover on. One more to go. Then the question of how much additional bracing I want to put between them before welding the cover on.

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

[Shady Chevy]

Working on the Pass side cab corner.......

[Shady Chevy]

Latest progress.....Tried the first basecoat clearcoat...it was left over from another project. It is a volvo silver...I would have to look to see what it is exactly. I sprayed the tailgate as an experiment to see how it went. I don't have much paint experience, so everything is an experiment to learn from. A few runs in the clear. I didn't have enough light to be able to tell when to stop a few times.

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by Shady Chevy

First test of color. This is burnt orange metallic laquer. One coat, no clear yet. Need to wet sand out, and spray another coat to start to see what it will look like. Still not sure if I want to go with a metallic orange or not. Yellow and Red are still possibilities. Must play more.

That's not the 1973 GM burnt orange metallic is it? It looks like a modern color. Your silver tailgate looks fine in the pics but it doesn't pop like that burnt orange.

[Shady Chevy]

The burnt orange metallic is just a color from NAPA that they stock on the shelf. It is laquer. It was only $20 a quart, so I just wanted to give it a try. But now that I have sprayed the base/clear for the first time....I love it. My current idea is to have silver on the top half of the truck and some type of candy apple red on the bottom. I am going to try a ford color - wild strawberry, next and see how it looks. Stay tuned.....