Used Parts Build

[77K10Silverado]

Keep going!! Looks good

[tinydb84]

Thanks Mike. Slowly chipping away at it.

Got the bed disassembled and off this weekend. Was going to strip it all down but it was supposed to rain and made other plans.

[tinydb84]

Not going to get a lot done with this weekend. Having to puppy sit this guy and the rain.

Started stripping my frame rails and put the notched up there for comparison. I like the top better. Going to take 20 inches out of my frame to make it a short bed but taking it all out of the front to make it more like a blazer.

[DblTrbl]

So...neither way has the top rail level with the frame...is that by design?

I dig the skull fishplates.

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by DblTrbl

So...neither way has the top rail level with the frame...is that by design?

I dig the skull fishplates.

Yeah. I saw a build some where awhile back and liked the look. I could do them level with the frame (and it would probably be easier...) havent decided yet. Fighting the urge to back half it since I am already here.

[tinydb84]

Had to roll my 66 out to trim the tree. Man I want to start working on this one:

Started working on shortening my bed. Hopefully it doesnt look too funny. Took 20 inches out of the front. Will keep the rear the same:


Here is what it will look like:

Nice "Shlong" bed.

[tinydb84]

Then this guy showed up...

Dont know if you know the Cannonball C10 build from the other forum. He lives near me and had an extra set of rims that he gave me to use as rollers. Super cool dude.
LS3

Roadster Shop Chassis

Redone in stock form on the inside:


Honestly the thing is a beast. It made my lowered 350Z feel loose. It sounds ****ing amazing too. Ugh.

[tinydb84]

I felt like I am losing skill not tig welding every week so I whipped this up for practice:


Got the bed floor welded up. Man it is cold!!
Fitting up the flange;

Decided to stitch weld it:

Welded forever....

Looks pretty good (in the dark). I dont know if I want to grind it smooth or just DA it and paint it.

[Hankster]

Looks good, I seen you post on a fb page about it.

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by Hankster

Looks good, I seen you post on a fb page about it.

Thanks. I just started following you on Instagram. That FB post got more likes that probably everything I have ever posted combined lol


Redid my trans mount. I didnt want to drill anymore holes and just wanted the trans mounted so I can move on to the back (I needed the jackstand that was holding it up...)

[whiteheadcycle]

Truck looks good! Lot of hours in that frontend. We're are you at in San Jose?

[tinydb84]

Got me a new tool box:

Started sectioning the front bed panel

As soon as I cut it I thought I went to short....but whatever

Pretty happy with the fit up. Decided to try to tig weld it hoping that it would save me from grinding a ton

About as far as I got. Tons of planishing...

[tinydb84]

All done:

I might put a skim coat of filler but I am thinking that the bed liner will be sufficient.

[DblTrbl]

So, now that you've tig'd it, is there any warpage? Do you wish that you'd just used the mig instead? Seems like a lot of work using the tig...

I tried sectioning a roof one time with a tig; it took me forever!

[tinydb84]

I am happy I tig'd it. Very little distortion and now I dont need to do any grinding (I really dont like grinding).

I couldnt imagine doing a roof. Doing it on a bench was hard enough.

[tinydb84]

Got my trans cross member mocked up. The actual plate is the same angle of the mount but the side tabs make it look like it is angled down. I will add the forward and rearward tubes (for my home made chassis stiffener) later once I figure out where everything else is going.

Started to level out my truck in the driveway (which is so uneven). Going to start the rear suspension next. I'm actually kinda excited to start on it.

Spend a bunch of time organizing and cleaning my tools/garage so I didnt get much else done today.

[tinydb84]

Its been raining and cold here so I haven't been able to do any of the frame work. I want to get everything into primer but SPI says you cant shoot their primer below 60 degrees and it needs to remain above 60 degrees for 3 days after for the paint to cure....

I pulled a bedside and started laying out my cut lines. I am going to have to cut in a different area on the inside because of the contours of the panel.

Here is what I am going to take out

I like the proportions. We'll see if I like them after I actually cut it down.

[tinydb84]

Finished laying out my lines

Made the cut and check to see how far off I was....

Cleaning up the fit a bit. I am going to spend a bit more time trying to get the fit perfect because I dont have the luxury of clamping an aluminum block to the backside of it like I did for the front panel.

Kinda hard to get a good pic of the proportions in my garage but I like the way it looks so far.

[tinydb84]

Weld, planish, repeat:


Need to do some body work on it still:

Two things I need to fix. First is some issues with the body line. Any recommendation on how I should go about fixing it? Try to cut and move it or just make a new piece/


Debating if I just want to cut this all out and weld in a patch.

And side shot of the bed:

[mattcrp1]

Looks good. Do you have any pics or vids of the planishing technique?

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by mattcrp1

Looks good. Do you have any pics or vids of the planishing technique?

This is probably the best post I have seen on it: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...81&postcount=8

Basically anything the MP&C writes should be read and reread (I took bodywork classes and still go back to reread MP&C posts).

Its a bit different because I am tig welding it. Get my fit up as perfect as I can (never rush this part as it causes much more work later). I start running my bead and watch in front of where I am welding. As I weld, the panel will start to move and eventually overlap (or move up/down too far to weld). Once it moves I stop welding and planish the bead I welded until the panel has moved back to where it was before I started the weld.

Make sure every strike is on dolly otherwise you are just moving the metal and ruining your fit up.

[slotard]

I'm surprised you don't start by tacking it up every few inches to try to prevent it from doing that, why not? Then again I don't have much bodywork experience.

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by slotard

I'm surprised you don't start by tacking it up every few inches to try to prevent it from doing that, why not? Then again I don't have much bodywork experience.

I do tack but a bit further apart. I like to see how much the metal is moving as I go and with the closer tacks I end up not seeing as much movement. The metal is going to move and if I have a good eye on it I can sometimes get a good couple inch long weld before I have to stop and planish.

With the closer tacks I feel the need to weld shorter and planish more frequently because I am not as able to see the metal move.

Just my two cents though. I have seen people run a bead the whole panel length and planish after but I don't seem to have that much luck.

[cheap]

How much did you cut out of the bed?

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by cheap

How much did you cut out of the bed?

20 inches. Its now the same total length of a short bed but just all taken from the front.

I'm thinking I could call it a short long bed or "shlong bed"

Or a "mullet bed" you know short in the front, long in the back

(someone stop me or the jokes will keep getting worse...)