1968 Gmc ground up restoration

[tim's68gmc]

Well sense it has been raining the last two day's i decided to bring in a bed side to work on. We welded up all the trim holes and made a patch to cover the old gas door.

[tim's68gmc]

Did a skim coat of bondo to fill in a few little low spots

[LPoole]

this has been one of my favorite ground-up restos to follow. you guys are doing awesome work. giving me a lot of good ideas. that boy is loving helping you, you can tell. he's a good helper. reminds me of mine when he was that age.

[tim's68gmc]

Originally Posted by LPoole

this has been one of my favorite ground-up restos to follow. you guys are doing awesome work. giving me a lot of good ideas. that boy is loving helping you, you can tell. he's a good helper. reminds me of mine when he was that age.

Thanks Lpoole we are having a fun time working on this truck.

[swamp rat]

Ok, it looks like your able to get about 1/4" long weld beads on sheetmetal, curious what kind of wire, brand/gauge and heat/feed settings your using? Also assuming 25/75 gas mix??

[tim's68gmc]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Ok, it looks like your able to get about 1/4" long weld beads on sheet metal, curious what kind of wire, brand/gauge and heat/feed settings your using? Also assuming 25/75 gas mix??

The wire is L-56 it is .025" and i have my temp and feed set at A for temp and 4 for speed. And yes i am using 25/75 mix. I was pushing my luck with the longer welds i did get a little warp that i worked out.

[tim's68gmc]

More cab sand blasting today getting closer to finishing the blasting.

[OlSmokey]

Great work. Loving this thread. Keep it up!

[swamp rat]

What type media are you using? i keep hearing stories of warpage due to blasting.?

[tim's68gmc]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

What type media are you using? i keep hearing stories of warpage due to blasting.?

I have been buying media from Mclendon's and it has white sand and glass. haven't had any warping issues so far plus i try not to stand in one area to long.

[swamp rat]

Thanks, i bought some stuff at Tractor Supply in Puyallup on River Rd, they carry fine and medium grits.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...ing-grit-50-lb

[tim's68gmc]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Thanks, i bought some stuff at Tractor Supply in Puyallup on River Rd, they carry fine and medium grits.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...ing-grit-50-lb

Another place that has all kinds of media is Kleen Blast in the Tacoma tide flats.

[tim's68gmc]

Spent the weekend on the Oregon coast and on the way home came across a fenced off parking lot full of old cars.

[tim's68gmc]

Did a little work today, I rebuilt the heater box. All i need now is a new heater core and it's ready for install.

[1956cameo]

Nice project! It's gonna look great once its done.

[tim's68gmc]

Well took Tuesday off work and spent it building a rotisserie for the cab. It did work but will move the engine stand plate towards the firewall more due to the weight in the front is more than the back, I didn't even think about that when i put it together. Here are some pictures. After i rotated the cab i sandblasted the bottom until my last tip blew a hole in the side.

[tim's68gmc]

More pictures. I did find a bunch of pinholes in the passenger side rocker panel and back corner of the cab once i got a better view. So i guess i will be replacing those.

[swamp rat]

Wow! With the engine stands upright post being at a slight angle i didn't think 2 of them would allow for the ability to turn, you proved me wrong..

[tim's68gmc]

Saturday I Cut off and moved the engine stands 3" closer to the front of the truck so now i can roll it with out help. Today i cut off the right side rocker panel due to the holes in the bottom and found a rusted out lower door pillar. temp clamped in the new rocker panel fits pretty good will have to do some fine tuning later.

[tim's68gmc]

More pictures, Turned the cab onto its side made it easy to drill out the bottom spot welds

[tim's68gmc]

I chose not to attach the rocker panel till i set the cab back on the frame and Aline the door and fender. So we prepped and primed the underside of the cab then applied raptor liner to the bottom.

[tim's68gmc]

More pictures

[swamp rat]

Nice progress again, at least someone is making headway.

[karphan]

Very simple idea with the engine stands for the rotisserie. How did you attached the square tubing to the body? Spot welds or bolts? I'm at the same stage you are with doing the underside and am always looking for simple solutions. Thanks, Dan

[old Chevy guy]

Just found this thread. Great job your doing and I love that your doing it with your boy, for your boy. Its a great bonding experience , I helped my son do a frame off on a first generation S10 about 5 or 6 years ago. The best part is when its all done your Son will have so much more appreciation for the truck and will take better care of it. So many people I've known just buy their kids nice stuff and don't make them work for it at all. Then all you get is the majority of them beating the crap out of the vehicle and having no remorse when it blows up or gets crashed. Nice job and great lessons learned, Life and trades experience.