My first project... 1968 GMC lwb fleetside

[Sicksty8]

Boom!!

First time the cab is on the chassis in just over a year. Looks so friggin good and it doesn't even have color yet. Brand spankin bridgestones. I just went with the stock 235/75/r15 tires but I'm not sure about them on 8" wide rims but for the price I paid I ain't mad. The most important thing about this test fit was to see if the coils would clear and yeah they clear by a long shot! So if anyone wants to steal that idea go for it. It will for sure clear with the holley 0.5" forward brackets. Anyway, at this rate it should be in paint by the end of the week. One step closer!

[Steven R]

Wow just finished reading your build, nice work man. I hope that hood you bought from me does the rest of your project justice. With the welding skills you have I might have to call you and get you to help me on mine. Can't wait to see what our painter come up with and what is work is like. good luck with everything and keep having fun.

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by Steven R

Wow just finished reading your build, nice work man. I hope that hood you bought from me does the rest of your project justice. With the welding skills you have I might have to call you and get you to help me on mine. Can't wait to see what our painter come up with and what is work is like. good luck with everything and keep having fun.

Thanks! With a bit of massaging it should be just right! Cant wait to see it in color as well.

I finally started on the bedside repair and this is what I started with. I kinda stole the idea from Metaldoc to add about 2" of clearance for tires but it needed to be fixed anyway so why not right?! I'll have it welded in tomorrow. These bedsides are rustier than I thought but what else is new. I've learned to not be surprised anymore. Not much has happened since last time moslty just waiting for parts to show up to finish off the drivetrain and all the plumbing.

[Metaldoc]

Nice they look great

[swamp rat]

Nice work! your leaving me in your dust!

[Sicksty8]

I haven't posted in a while but the work hasn't stopped. Now rust repair has been driving me up the wall so I did the unthinkable and bought a full repop bed good thing I'm single otherwise I'd probably be dead lol. Almost anything reopop has fitment problems so tailgate hinges needed some work, the front panel some holes line up and some dont, it also needed some massaging to fit like the original with no gap between it and the bedsides, and the curve around the tail lights wasn't pronounced enough to match the tailgate so It needed to be pulled out and welded back up. Everything fits really nice now.

Also I pulled my dented driver door skin off and fixed the door bottom, fitted the door to the cab and put the new skin on. That door bottom patch absolutely sucks!! Not even close to being anything like the factory but whatever I guess who ever learned anything from proper fitting stuff.

[72 tigger]

Very nice- you're doing this right!

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Very nice- you're doing this right!

Thanks! At least that's what I'm trying to do.

Anyway, More door pics, and the tail light bedside mod. Sorry for the sweet low light cell pics. Also I mocked and built some brackets to mount the accessory drive I designed and cut a while back. Who would've thought finding 130mm stainless bolts would be so hard! I got so lucky, the power steering pump clears just like I didn't measure for and the alternator doesn't hit the valve cover All the lines will clear the frame, block and anything that may get in the way. Life is great when that happens Bonus, I think it looks good too.

[swamp rat]

Its only money!

[Sicksty8]

This past month has been tight with not much time to do anything. Finally after a month of staring at my MSD kit I got the plug wires done. Also figured out an idler pulley for my accessories as well as a custom transmission dipstick tube. Still waiting on a few parts to finish up the fuel system and 2 months after I ordered a radiator it still hasn't arrived! Who does that?! The cab is slated to come home early next week so, fingers crossed, I might actually get this thing wired before the snow starts to fly.

[knomadd]

You've done quite a bit of rust repair... Nice work! I'm in to see how this turns out.

[MMcMasters]

Mn, you have come a long way..looks great!

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by knomadd

You've done quite a bit of rust repair... Nice work! I'm in to see how this turns out.

Thanks! I hope I don't have to see any rust for a while now.

Originally Posted by MMcMasters

Mn, you have come a long way..looks great!

Thanks!

Pretty big things in store for this week I can hardly contain my excitement!

[Sicksty8]

A little cell pic quality teaser for ya till i figure out how to get it home lol

[Sicksty8]

The sun is starting to go down earlier now now so the pics look pretty dark but I got the cab and doors and fenders home from the painter today. Ill bolt the rest up when I have the time. Going to school is not conducive for projects on the side. Regardless, It's wiring time!! I want to get that LS running before the winter sets in here in the great white north they call Canada eh! Better pictures on the way when the sun comes out.

[t300]

looking good!

[Metaldoc]

You had better hurry up on that before winter thing, it's almost here. It was 27degs yesterday and will be up to 20 today. The next week looks cold which means you guys should get snow. Keep at it and nice green.

[IronHaven]

subscribed

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by t300

looking good!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Metaldoc

You had better hurry up on that before winter thing, it's almost here. It was 27degs yesterday and will be up to 20 today. The next week looks cold which means you guys should get snow. Keep at it and nice green.

Yeah I wish it was as easy as just working on it but I've got little to no time now that I'm and engineering student. I'm hoping this next weekend I'll be able to get some things started. Up here it's still relatively nice sitting right around 5-8*C and it looks like it'll last for the next week. Looks like snow in the next couple of weeks tho

Originally Posted by IronHaven

subscribed

Thanks

[Sicksty8]

Here's a bit better pic of the way the color pops in the sun

[Twisted78SS]

Nice!
Not a color you see a lot these days, (well me anyway) I like it.

[Sicksty8]

Originally Posted by Twisted78SS

Nice!
Not a color you see a lot these days, (well me anyway) I like it.

Thanks! That's what I was going for!

Got my parts back from the laser cutter so I started dropping my fuel pump into the tank. Fit good, I just have to work on my sheet metal tig work. We'll see how this tank works considering it has no baffling.

[Sicksty8]

So I decided that since this project will be going through the winter, I'd do the small things I've been wanting to do to clean it up. I hated the original latch system because of how rough it closed and to me it's just a bit archaic so I grabbed a set of bearclaws off of a 99-06 chevy tailgate. Also grabbed the cables that hold the tailgate up. Pretty straight forward install. Only a bit of cutting on the gate and I drilled and tapped a 3/8" plate for the bedside side of the latch. Seems overly beefy for what it is and I'm pretty happy with the performance and the feel of the system.
P.S. I will clean up the grinding on the gate but I just had to get it to work first

[Sicksty8]

Also, my radiator finally came in and it's HUGE!! It's a performance world LS swap rad meant for a 68-77 chevelle. The core is 2 1/4" thick and overall 33" wide tank to tank. It just just fits in the rad core support but it will need completely new mounts.

[Run Away]

Sweet!

The colour is awesome, dark greens always look good on trucks.