My first project... 1968 GMC lwb fleetside

[Sicksty8]

The floor is finally out! Now I know what a PITA drilling spot welds is. It came out nice and easy lets hope the new one fits in just as nice. I also picked up a 72 rear end housing with shafts and the trailing arms for $100! I can finally make it a rolling chassis

[Sicksty8]

The evening went pretty good. Copperwelded the flanges before test fitting the floor. What a PITA! oh well it fits but not well. The firewall flange doesn't fit well at all. It's gonna need to be totally cut and reshaped. I'm gonna be putting a high hump in so the hump not fitting doesn't matter to me that much. I'll post some pics of the bad fitment at another time.

[kjdolphins]

I'm in for this. As an early 20's guy myself, I really respect your skills and how far you've gotten on this mostly by yourself. It is very admirable and makes me want to learn even more.

Keep up the great work and I'm here for the ride!

[Metaldoc]

Originally Posted by Sicksty8

The evening went pretty good. Copperwelded the flanges before test fitting the floor. What a PITA! oh well it fits but not well. The firewall flange doesn't fit well at all. It's gonna need to be totally cut and reshaped. I'm gonna be putting a high hump in so the hump not fitting doesn't matter to me that much. I'll post some pics of the bad fitment at another time.

I used the galv spray between all my sheet metal work, it's a great rust proofer. I found out don't put it on too heavy as it will blow the spot welds out in the welding process.

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by kjdolphins

I'm in for this. As an early 20's guy myself, I really respect your skills and how far you've gotten on this mostly by yourself. It is very admirable and makes me want to learn even more.

Keep up the great work and I'm here for the ride!

Thanks! That means a lot to me. I'll just say that if I knew what I was getting into, I probably wouldn't have started what I did but if you set your mind to it then you'll be surprised what you can achieve.

Originally Posted by Metaldoc

I used the galv spray between all my sheet metal work, it's a great rust proofer. I found out don't put it on too heavy as it will blow the spot welds out in the welding process.

Thanks for that because I would've thought that heavier is better. I just used the copper stuff instead of the zinc because of the fumes that welding galv makes. My shop isn't that well ventilated so better safe than sorry.



I couldn't get any good shots of how badly the floor fit so that's why the lack of a post. Anyway, picture the firewall flange being too low around the tranny tunnel, and on the sides it sat 3/8" too high along with the holes in the inner rockers not lining up at all with the original holes in the a pillar. The passenger side was about 1/2" too far back with the flange where it was I was never going to get it into place properly. The driver was closer but still not where I'd like it to be.

So I cut the front flange right off the floor and now I could get the floor sitting in the right spot then deal with the firewall flange. I will be going to a high hump tranny tunnel so that area isn't critical that it fits nice but the sides are. Now the problem I'm running into is that the passenger side is still giving me trouble. The holes still don't want to line up. The pics are after the surgery. I'm especially concerned with the passenger side.

For those of you that have done this, how close would you say it should be to fitting the original a and b pillar hole locations? I need a bit of help on this one.

[swamp rat]

Most floor replacements i gave seen have some gap going around the hump area, nobody that i have read mentioned the holes at the a pillar being shifted back.

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Most floor replacements i gave seen have some gap going around the hump area, nobody that i have read mentioned the holes at the a pillar being shifted back.

Yeah thats the same with me. The ones I referenced all had a bit of trouble around the hump.


I ended up wrestling with it today and got it really close to where it has to be. Strangely the driver's side fits real nice but the passenger side is giving me trouble. I'm within 1/4" on the passenger side and I'm right where I want to be on the driver's. Also shaved some of the unneeded holes on the firewall to clean things up a bit. Also painted my rear end housing. The last pic is how I tried to pull the floor into place on the passenger side.

[Metaldoc]

Modify the floor to the cab, don't modify the cab to fit to the floor. Bolt the doors back on to fit the openings between posts and the rockers. After market parts come pre-bent to fit someone else's truck, they all need adjusting.

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by Metaldoc

Modify the floor to the cab, don't modify the cab to fit to the floor. Bolt the doors back on to fit the openings between posts and the rockers. After market parts come pre-bent to fit someone else's truck, they all need adjusting.

Yeah I know what you mean. I didn't use my clamp thingy there because I ended up measuring the holes because when I moved the floor forward there was a big gap between the back of the cab and floor. Anyway I ended up measuring and the holes on the passenger side were 1/4" out so theres why the floor holes didn't line up. Ended up leaving it where it sit best and burned it in. Everything seemed to fit real nice so I hung the doors, checked the gaps and then I started on the cab corner.

Got the b pillar supports in real easy and they fit surprisingly well. Then it went all downhill from there. It started with me cutting off too much and figuring out the new corner didn't match the style line. Then I had to weld a piece of the old corner on back and cut off just under the line. Then I began welding the new corner on and checking the shape, hung the door and the corner didn't match the curve for sh*t. It looks so bad and I've got no clue how to try and fix that.

That was Mondays debacle. Yesterday, I started on the a pillar and footwell. everything came out nice and I had just a few cuts to make one the footwell but it fit very nice. K so then the a pillar had to come out which was pretty easy and the new one was a very nice fit after fitting it up really nice. the only thing is on the side of the pillar patch that faces to the back has a big gap where there wasn't even any metal to cover it so I guess it'll need a custom patch.

Now onto this evening. I finished the a pillar filling in all the relief cuts I made. Then started on the rocker. Put it on temporarily aaaannnndddd, it didn't fit at all. It seems like the floor pan moved up like a 1/4" meaning the rockers hit the doors in the front and they didn't sit down on the a pillar support like it should. Soooo let the surgery begin. I cut the inner rocker on the line where the rocker will weld up to and hammered it down to try and clear the rocker. Lots of trimming and test fitting, then more trimming then test fitting. I ended up getting it pretty close with lots and lots of trimming. Anyway it fits and the gaps are pretty nice on the bottom of the door so I'll be welding it on tomorrow after work. Then I'll be able to forget about all the sh*t that went wrong on that side and learn a little from it then do it better on the passenger side.

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by Metaldoc

Modify the floor to the cab, don't modify the cab to fit to the floor. Bolt the doors back on to fit the openings between posts and the rockers. After market parts come pre-bent to fit someone else's truck, they all need adjusting.

Yeah I know what you mean. I didn't use my clamp thingy there because I ended up measuring the holes because when I moved the floor forward there was a big gap between the back of the cab and floor. Anyway I ended up measuring and the holes on the passenger side were 1/4" out so theres why the floor holes didn't line up. Ended up leaving it where it sit best and burned it in. Everything seemed to fit real nice so I hung the doors, checked the gaps and then I started on the cab corner.

Got the b pillar supports in real easy and they fit surprisingly well. Then it went all downhill from there. It started with me cutting off too much and figuring out the new corner didn't match the style line. Then I had to weld a piece of the old corner on back and cut off just under the line. Then I began welding the new corner on and checking the shape, hung the door and the corner didn't match the curve for sh*t. It looks so bad and I've got no clue how to try and fix that.

That was Mondays debacle. Yesterday, I started on the a pillar and footwell. everything came out nice and I had just a few cuts to make one the footwell but it fit very nice. K so then the a pillar had to come out which was pretty easy and the new one was a very nice fit after fitting it up really nice. the only thing is on the side of the pillar patch that faces to the back has a big gap where there wasn't even any metal to cover it so I guess it'll need a custom patch.

Now onto this evening. I finished the a pillar filling in all the relief cuts I made. Then started on the rocker. Put it on temporarily aaaannnndddd, it didn't fit at all. It seems like the floor pan moved up like a 1/4" meaning the rockers hit the doors in the front and they didn't sit down on the a pillar support like it should. Soooo let the surgery begin. I cut the inner rocker on the line where the rocker will weld up to and hammered it down to try and clear the rocker. Lots of trimming and test fitting, then more trimming then test fitting. I ended up getting it pretty close with lots and lots of trimming. Anyway it fits and the gaps are pretty nice on the bottom of the door so I'll be welding it on tomorrow after work. Then I'll be able to forget about all the sh*t that went wrong on that side and learn a little from it then do it better on the passenger side.

I've learned so much so far on this project and even with all the problems I'm very happy with the work that I've accomplished thus far.

[Sicksty8]

I cut out the footwell thingy and then cleaned up and copperwelded the a pillar before I welded it in. I noticed that this copperweld DOESN'T WORK AT ALL!!! I couldn't weld through it. The weld just layed on top of it and didn't stick for beans. Pissed me off so much. Then I had to scrape off the copperweld where it was to be welded in order for it to stick properly. Only later did I remember that you cant weld to copper in the first place. I'll never use that stuff again. I'm gonna give the galv spray a shot tomorrow and see if it's any better. I'm hoping the passenger side goes a little smoother and gives me a few less hassles. Last pic is that a pillar gap I talked about in the last post. sorry its sideways

[Sicksty8]

heres the clearance and rocker install problems. I had to hammer the inner rocker lip down to fit the rocker nicely.

[Sicksty8]

Heres the gaps. The first pic you can see a slight angle from the floor to the top of the weatherstrip seam on the rocker but it's minimal I think at least. The gaps are pretty good for turd polishing I had to do.

[Sicksty8]

The trailing arms were done last weekend. I ended up not doing my own because I couldn't seem to get the bushing hole square and tight. Welded them up and coated them this weekend. Ready for install after I get the rear end back from the shop that's rebuilding it.

Back to the rocker. Fixed the hole between the a pillar and kickpanel easy patch. THe rocker install turned out pretty well all things considered. Minor tweaking but it fits and looks pretty good. The second pic is of the door bottom. It sticks like a 3/16"- out from rocker and cab corner. thats the only part of the door that doesnt fit nicely and now I'm a bit stumped as to what to do. I'm thinking of shimming the top hinge out because the body line just below the window doesn't fit right with the back of the cab line either it could definitely benefit from shimming as well.

Little side note, the zinc weld thru primer worked perfect! WAYYYYY better than that copperweld crap I tried before.

[Sicksty8]

Yesterday evening I got the passenger door back on and cut the old corner and b pillar. The new one went on so friggin nice I felt like I was in heaven! No mods, no cut and massage just fit and weld. The corner fit just as nice. The gaps are the same as the other side. The door fits the same on the vertical as the driver side. It looks like it needs shimming on the top hinge to fit right with the back of the cab just like driver side.

So far this side is going way better than the last.

[Sicksty8]

The last month or so has been pretty slow thus far. I got the passenger side all welded together and looking good just have to do the door bottoms yet then we're good. Hopefully... Also had a local shop cut me an accessory drive I designed. Looks alright and should work pretty nice. Alos picked up a new toy... Square wave 200. What a beauty!

[Sicksty8]

Slowly but surely it's moving along. Pretty well finished up the cab rust repair and finish mounted my dbw pedal. fits good and feels so good I had to throw a seat in and make motor noises

[Sicksty8]

Made some firewall patch panels and finish welded all my joints on the cab. also filled a few holes in the firewall to finish the cab off. Also picked up a set of key parts fenders yesterday and hung one of em. I almost forgot it was a truck! Should be off to paint by may hopefully.

[Sicksty8]

This weekend went pretty well, got the bed supports painted and shaved all the unneeded holes in the firewall. Also started fixing the core support.

[Advanced Design]

Wow, nice work on major repairs!

[t300]

Originally Posted by Sicksty8

I picked up a pair of 0 mile ls3 manifolds on the cheap today from a local LS swap shop

Great work on this project! You're really making progress, and good to see another Manitoban on the forum. Where is this 'LS swap shop' place? I'm looking for a couple things, mind PM'ing me?

Matt

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Wow, nice work on major repairs!

Originally Posted by t300

Great work on this project! You're really making progress, and good to see another Manitoban on the forum. Where is this 'LS swap shop' place? I'm looking for a couple things, mind PM'ing me?

Matt

Thanks guys!

Guess who found more rust?! It almost feels never ending. One spot above the glove box insert and by the fresh air inlets. I was trying to fix the laminating rust on the a pillar when I discovered a huge spot of rot where dirt collects in the fresh air thing. Starting to drive me up the friggin wall!!! I think I've got most of it covered now. The glove box one doesn't have to be super pretty but I still did the best I could. Still not completely done but getting closer. Also picked up a set of rallies for a pretty good deal.

Also I need some help on selecting the right tire for a 15" rim. Not sure what size to get to fill the wheel well but not look like a mud tire with a ton of sidewall.

[Sicksty8]

Also a little passenger door rot. Nothing quite like using my leg as an english wheel

[Sicksty8]

I think I found the absolute last stitch of rust on the cab. Got er done with now its onto just grinding then blasting hopefully to the body shop in a couple weeks.

[Sicksty8]

Hit a big milestone today in the fact that all the welding and grinding on the cab. Time for bodywork and paint. In the middle of finishing the core support up, I ran out of mig wire so I'll just finish that tomorrow.