Father n Son 71 Short Bed

[71chebbysb]

Thanks, but as always I wish there was more son in the father - son project. Between football and girls there doesn't seem to be much time for this project anymore, but he does still join in when he can.

[71chebbysb]

Santa Claus in brown and white trucks dropped off some presents for me this week!!! My plan is to re-use as much stock as possible but replacing all bushings, bearings, hoses, brake components, etc. I was thinking I would do with a 3.5/5 drop but I didn't realize that was low enough that I would need to do a C-Notch in the rear so I may do a 2.5/4 drop now but I will have to swap my 1" drop front springs.

[69moneypit]

I'm lowered 5 inches in rear . No c notch needed

[JD'S 69]

Looks good.

[71chebbysb]

Originally Posted by 69moneypit

I'm lowered 5 inches in rear . No c notch needed

Thanks for letting me know that 69moneypit. I think I will stay the course and stick with the 3.5/5 drop. I hope to get some assembly done this weekend but the honeydo list is pretty long after being out of town 2 of the past 3 weekends.

[69chevytrucker]

looking really good keep it up.
i started a truck with my son about 3 years ago it seems like it will take forever but it is good times when you get to spend it with your son.
here is a pic when we started and one of what it looks like now 3 years later.




went a little crazy but it was a fun time for my son and i

[OLDYELLOW]

Originally Posted by 71chebbysb

Thanks, but as always I wish there was more son in the father - son project. Between football and girls there doesn't seem to be much time for this project anymore, but he does still join in when he can.

I know the feeling. My son plays travel baseball, takes up a lot time and money, but you have to support their interest.

Frame looking good. It is fun when you start putting them back together. I'll be watching along.

[71chebbysb]

Haven't made much progress with suspension assembly but I did receive my rear springs, shocks and misc HW. Dropped off the cab and rear end to get media blasted a few days ago and in the mean time I started building the Tip and Flip Cab Dolly:

[mitchell72]

I will be following too. The painted frame looks nice and clean.

[71chebbysb]

Finally finished up my tip and flip cab dolly. It almost strattles the frame, but my casters hit just a little. Still a good place to put it out of my way until I get my cab back from blasting.

[Dustmaker65]

Just read your whole thread. Looks like a great Father/Son project. I know the feeling of the more Father than Son feeling My son is 21 now, and don't see him much.

What did you do with the frame at the steering box area?

[71chebbysb]

Originally Posted by Dustmaker65

Just read your whole thread. Looks like a great Father/Son project. I know the feeling of the more Father than Son feeling My son is 21 now, and don't see him much.

What did you do with the frame at the steering box area?

I know the feeling but I did spend some time yesterday teaching him to weld.

I have been distracted building this cab dolly so I haven't fixed the frame yet. I did start another thread tonight seeking opinions on where to cut the bad part of the frame out.

[71chebbysb]

I was having a real hard time trying to figure out how I wanted to do the vertical cuts around the bad area so I decided to just replace the whole frame piece. I will definitely be cleaning up the entire piece and looking for cracks before I weld it to the frame. I will also put a fishmouth piece on the inside to reinforce the joint.

[Dustmaker65]

That will work! Looks like you are going to be back on track after welding that new horn on.

[fecklessgadfly]

I'm really enjoying your build thread. Even if he doesn't have the time to help as much, your son will never forget this. My father and I rebuilt a 2000 Dodge Dakota 4x4 the summer after I graduated high school many years ago (so don't feel bad about buying him that either), and we're collecting parts for a rebuild of my Grandfather's 72 now.

Keep plugging along.

[MMcMasters]

Originally Posted by 71chebbysb

Thanks, but as always I wish there was more son in the father - son project. Between football and girls there doesn't seem to be much time for this project anymore, but he does still join in when he can.

I'm going through this as well. Between sports, his friends and now girls his interest level to be in the shop is at an all time low. It's probably been one of the hardest things I have went through being a parent. We have always been inseparable but lately he would rather be with his friends. I hope it's just a phase.

[71chebbysb]

Thanks for the encouragement on the Father - Son side of this build. I also remember those days when I was a teenager and now I really understand more how my dad must have felt. We were still always very close and he was my best man in my wedding. He passed away in 1998 at age 58 so I'm sure that has something to do with my desire to get my boys in the shop with me.

[fecklessgadfly]

You're more than welcome. My son is a bit young (8), but I'm getting him involved in our current project. I figure he'll end up driving it at some point.

[71chebbysb]

Got my cab and rearend back from the blaster. Nothing real surprising on the cab other than one cab corner has been replaced at one time or another. My boys and a few friends gave me a hand with unloading the cab and getting it on my freshly built dolly. While we were working on getting the cab off the trailer i slipped on the wet trailer deck and slammed my shin into the cab. It swelled up like a cartoon knot on somebody's head after getting hit by an anvil. Not the first injury on this build and won't be the last...

[Advanced Design]

Holy cow..ouch, I feel your pain! Good progress on the truck.

[71chebbysb]

Making some progress on the frame repair. Lots of clamps, levels, and separators to get the frame back in the exact position as it was before the surgery.

[71chebbysb]

Got it welded together and ground smooth on the outside and welded a reinforcing plate to the inside. Then this morning I cleaned everything up and hit the whole front end with a heavy coat of primer. I am off from work until Jan 3rd so I really hope to make some progress on the frame over the next couple weeks.

[71chebbysb]

Some more cab shots. The majority of the floor pan is in great shape with the exception of the foot area near the side walls and the rear corners. I plan to tackle this after I get the frame on 4 legs again.

[71chebbysb]

couple more

[Seventy Two]

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