55 TF Stretched Cab/Fleetside/LSx/Trailblazer Frame

[NEWFISHER]

Originally Posted by Bomp

You're a better man than me on working a large area.
I'd a cut out a big chunk of it and messed it all up with a patch.
Following your thread I bought that Metal Bumping book and have since re-watched all the "favorited" vids on YT.
Your build has again got me learning new things or at least a good refresher course. It keeping me keep my game up.
Thanks.

Bomp...you gonna try that metal bumping at work in the chamber? lol

Ricott-nice work!

[ricott]

Yesterday was a good day - between the rainstorms. I finished pulling the quarter out. I'm happy with the final results. You can see the flash rust from the rain. I did cheat to speed this up.

Originally Posted by Bomp

You're a better man than me on working a large area.
I'd a cut out a big chunk of it and messed it all up with a patch.
Following your thread I bought that Metal Bumping book and have since re-watched all the "favorited" vids on YT.
Your build has again got me learning new things or at least a good refresher course. It keeping me keep my game up.
Thanks.

Well Bomp, I cheated. I cut the absolute worst part out - for two reasons. I needed to get behind it to Porta power the Jam into final position, and I want this repair done with minimal filler. I have a hull of a 66 LeMans at my friend's salvage yard that I used for sheet metal when I was building the car. About the only thing left that wasn't completely beat up was this part of the Driver's Quarter - and it was slightly dented.





The door Jam came out great.



Like I said, the rain is killing me (Flash flood watches/warnings today and tonight). I have to get my 55 cab braced up to move it out of the garage - so I can move the GTO in. So today I'll be working on the Truck cab bracing while it pours rain outside. As always, more to come.

Ricky

[Baldeagle SR]

Ricott Read your thread on your corvette. I had no idea they made a new frame for them. I have been in the closet to long. I have a 95 corvette that is sweet to drive. I am looking for a 68 to 72 El camino to restore. Rich
my build
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=576185

[_Ogre]

man, that sucks, big time
on the bright side she didn't hit the door too
nice work on metal finishing it ricott

[ricott]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

man, that sucks, big time
on the bright side she didn't hit the door too
nice work on metal finishing it ricott

Thanks for stopping in. Unfortunately she did get the door, but it is really small around the door handle/lock. It will be an easy fix.



Thanks everyone else for your comments. If someone could tell me how to list multiple quotes in a response that would be great!

[_Ogre]

nice work on the door jamb, i missed where she hit the handle.
from what i see not a problem, more of an aggravation

[ricott]

Well the weather yesterday (Sunday) did not disappoint - if you like rain. We got slightly over 6 inches. While I watched it pour, I braced up the cab and made the first cut on the firewall. At least something was accomplished. I wound up switching my days off to next week (that work thing again), so when we get back Sunday (July 6) I plan to hit it hard on the GTO before I leave for Goodguys -Columbus.





As always, more to come.
Ricky
Time Sunday: 6.5
Total time: 81.5

[sqrlnts]

Man you are flying through this, keep up the great work and thanks for documenting.

[ricott]

Originally Posted by Baldeagle SR

Ricott Read your thread on your corvette. I had no idea they made a new frame for them. I have been in the closet to long. I have a 95 corvette that is sweet to drive. I am looking for a 68 to 72 El camino to restore. Rich
my build
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=576185

I bought the 58 vette in 1985 and it was a basket case. We got it put back together and running (small block, 4 speed , no power anything). My wife had a list of things she wanted in this car (power disk brakes, power steering, Power windows, AC and, gulp, an auto). A local builder let me drive his 59 with a corvette correction frame several years ago and I was SOLD! I intended to build it next, but I really wanted to do the truck first. Good luck with your next project - I really like your truck.

Originally Posted by sqrlnts

Man you are flying through this, keep up the great work and thanks for documenting.

Thanks for the kind words. Like everyone else (when working on their projects), I don't think it is going together fast enough. Once I get the GTO out the door (again), I want to hit it hard to get the sheetmetal hung.

[Bomp]

Nice work on getting all the cab supports in. How much you stretchin' it again? Think you mentioned it but now that theres pics my mind is all blown again.
Showed my dad your GTO. He said,"Lots of work, impressed."

Looked for the Corvette thread mentioned above but haven't been able to locate it. Did I miss it?
Glad you made it through the 6 inches of down fall swimmingly, lol

Cab looks great.

[ricott]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Nice work on getting all the cab supports in. How much you stretchin' it again? Think you mentioned it but now that theres pics my mind is all blown again.
Showed my dad your GTO. He said,"Lots of work, impressed."

Looked for the Corvette thread mentioned above but haven't been able to locate it. Did I miss it?
Glad you made it through the 6 inches of down fall swimmingly, lol

Cab looks great.

I'm stretching the cab a total of 8 inches - 6 through the doors, and I plan to make the "B" pillar 2 inches wider. The link to my (tiny) corvette tread is in my signature block. The 58 will be finished next! Tell your dad thanks - I like the cars you posted that he is preparing to sell, and pictures of the ones you have scattered about. Like you and your dad, I have more cars than I have time - a 71 corvette convertible that needs a complete rebuild, and a 53 Studebaker Starlite coupe to keep my busy in retirement. How much did you stretch your truck? I remember seeing 10 inches, but thought you went with less to make the ceiling ribs (or something) work out correctly.

[ricott]

Hope everyone had a great 4th - we sure did, but it is good to be back home. I was able to work today on the GTO and finished the metal work. The first picture shows the marking on the panel I made so I could remember what to do next!



The finished panels



I have approximately 23 hours in it so far, and I don't think the bodywork will be that intense. I'm headed to Goodguys Columbus Thursday morning, so it will be next week before more progress is made. As always, more to come.
Ricky

[Kim57]

Been watching the repair on the GTO from the start.
You sure do some nice work.
Kim

[dug224]

Looks great. Bought the Metal Bumping book. Easy read and the logic makes even those giant dents sound easy. I read somewhere on this site the other day...."everything looks easy until you try to do it yourself". Have fun at Goodguys. dug

[dsraven]

how did the GTO repair go? are you done? are you working on your truck again?

[ricott]

Originally Posted by dsraven

how did the GTO repair go? are you done? are you working on your truck again?

Thanks for asking. The GTO is in primer at the house, unfortunately I'm in Boston for work until the middle of August. Work has been hectic this summer and it has been hard to get the time to work on the car. As soon as I get back to Memphis I will post pictures of the car. I have almost 50 hours in it, and it will probably take 15-20 more to finish.
Ricky

[dsraven]

What kind of work do you do that takes you away for a month at a time ?

[ricott]

Originally Posted by dsraven

What kind of work do you do that takes you away for a month at a time ?

I'm a corporate attorney in Litigation. My work can be intense, and then there are breaks where I can catch my breath. Unfortunately I knew this summer/fall was going to be intense. I'm back in Memphis from August 15 to Sept. 3, then I head to Dallas/Denver until October 2. The good news is Denver/the mountains will be beautiful, and the wife will fly out for a couple weekends. I will not be able to work on the truck until Mid October.

[Bishops Trucks]

Very nice work on the truck. Hate to see what happened to the goat, you seem to have that close to good again.

[ricott]

Hope everyone had a great labor Day Holiday – we did! I took Friday off to paint the GTO. The car still needs to be buffed, but this is the money shot after the last coat of clear. I have 62 hours in the GTO, and need another 10 to finish it up.



The real reason for this update is I finally got to work on my truck – on Labor Day no less! I last worked on this on May 17th. So here goes. Early Monday morning I cut out the firewall/floorpan of the Task Force cab in preparation of fitting it over the Trailblazer floorpan. Using the measurements from the mock up firewall, I made the necessary cuts.



With this done, it was time to begin positioning the cab over the floorpan using my floor hoist.



Because of the earlier mock up using my spare firewall, this part was rather uneventful, and didn’t take a lot of extra cutting. At the time I welded the cab bracing, I also welded “feet” on my cab bracing made out of the same material as the height adjusters. This will allow me to adjust the final height of the cab in relation to the floorpan at each corner.I used my adjusters in each corner of the cab to “level” the cab to the floorpan.



Currently the cab is approximately 2 inches above the trailblazer floorpan – I need to do some final trimming before I lower it down. You can see the adjusters at each corner in this picture. The wifey was back by then and took this picture.



It appears that ride height will be in approximately 7 inches off the ground when attached to the floorpan. I'm stoked about the look of the truck. I may get to work on the truck some more before I leave for Dallas/Denver next week (didn't have to go this week), after that it will be early October before I'm back in town. The money shot!!!



Hope everyone enjoys this little bit of progress. As always, more to come.

Ricky
Time spent on Monday, September 1: 9 hours. Total time: 84

[apache200]

Your truck is going to be killer.

[dug224]

Love it. The stance feels perfect. dug

[Kim57]

Looking real nice.
Nice job on the adjusters for setting up your cab.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Very nice, stance looks perfect! Now slap a fender up front and lets see how it looks!!

[rgunlock]

That's an impressive amount of progress for a 3-day weekend between both vehicles. Sure looks like your plan is going to pay off with the Trailblazer donor. Looking great!