Lucy - My 1968 SWB

[Jvsapp]

sounds good. i'm sure it'll look sweet.

[tdave00]

This is what I am gonna do for the upper plates.

[Jvsapp]

Originally Posted by tdave00

This is what I am gonna do for the upper plates.

welding on or bolting on? i know there is a kit that uses plates that bolt onto the front crossmember. that's the route i would go....

[tdave00]

I can't wait for them to get here. Thought I had some bought local but they wouldn't work for me. It's 1/4" plate - same as the kit. Just doesn't cover as much area.

[tdave00]

I had a few hours tonight after work to work on the truck. I had been thinking about this all day, so to heck with it. I did it. Call me lazy and cheap, but I am tired of drilling holes.

[Jvsapp]

Originally Posted by tdave00

I had a few hours tonight after work to work on the truck. I had been thinking about this all day, so to heck with it. I did it. Call me lazy and cheap, but I am tired of drilling holes.

are you going to be able to get in there and attach the nuts/bolts for the bags?

[tdave00]

Yeah, I checked that before I did it.

[Jvsapp]

cool then i don't see a problem with it... cleaner too, hidden plate.

[tdave00]

Originally Posted by Jvsapp

cool then i don't see a problem with it... cleaner too, hidden plate.

Yeah, and it probably get's me another 3/4 of an inch. I welded the *^# out of it. Almost hated to grind those beads, but I thought it needed to be smooth in case the bags touched any of it by chance.

[Jvsapp]

hehehe i hear you. if the beads were nice i would have maybe cleaned them up with a roloc disc. i've used those gasket cleaning discs to clean up welds so there's no sharp edges but keep the bead for strength

[tdave00]

I left the majority of the bead. Just tried to make a smooth transition from the plate to the crossmember. Didn't take very much of the weld off.

[LooseCannon]

Your build is looking good!

[tdave00]

Thanks. Should be rolling again by the end of the weekend.

[tdave00]

Took me all day off and on to get the holes drilled and bags mounted to the crossmember. Cross member is ready to be bolted in.

[tdave00]

Made my cups today.

[tdave00]

Got my crossmember on tonight and got the upper control arm balljoints in. The airlines I bought at Ace stretched on me...didn't realize they were that cheap. So, I have to take the bags back off and get more line. Didn't wanna take the bags off with the lower control arms on so I just decided to wait til I get the line tomorrow. Depending on how much time I have tomorrow I should be able to get the front end back together, or at least close.

[tdave00]

Had some help for a few minutes tonight. I was gonna take the cab off and clean up the frame and get it ready to paint under the cab, but I had a few things to do to get that ready and my help couldn't stay long. Instead I took the rearend off of the jackstands and put a jack under the front and rolled it closer to the front of the garage. That will give me some room to set my cab in front of the truck.

I mocked up one side of the front suspension tonight.

[tdave00]

Had 3 of my cousins friends in the garage the other day, plus a guy that works for me, so we unbolted the cab and set it off the frame. I rolled it out of the garage that night and pressure washed it to get the grime off. I still have a bit of hand cleaning to do, but plan to get the rest of the frame painted in the next few days, get the cab bushings and set the cab back on it. I have been granted a little reprieve in my time schedule, but still need to get this thing put back together in the next week or two.

[71'tahoe]

Looking good Trai!!

[Jvsapp]

progress looks good. i love the shop shots

[tdave00]

Thanks guys. Hopefully really soon I can get most of it back together and get you a stance shot outside of the garage.

[tdave00]

[Jvsapp]

looking good. now sit it on the ground

[tdave00]

I just decided to make this piece. I bought 3 washers and just bent one of them in to give it a similar shape as the spacer. Then I welded them all together.

Got my rotor on the other side now. I need to stick the brakes on and I can put the front wheels on.

[tdave00]

I have four 8" rally wheels. I know there is a problem with the front when trying to use 8's on the front because they stick out too far.

Check the tire size that I came up with below and tell me if you think it will work.
http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

The tire size on the left is the tire size that's on the rear. I tried to play with this calculator and find a tire that was alot narrower but kept the same sidewall height. What do you guys think?



The 225/70R15 is 2 inches narrower than the rear tires, so just wondering if that will work and look right, or if I am gonna have to go with a 6 or 7 inch rim.