1968 GMC Shorty - Pearl

[Graham57a]

On a side note, what do you guys think about smoothing out these pinches in the factory support? They all have it and I saw someone cut that area out and put a nice radius patch in there but I don’t wanna take away from the originality.

[cleanfreak]

I've always thought the same about rounding off the rad support , but not on this truck , to original.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by cleanfreak

I've always thought the same about rounding off the rad support , but not on this truck , to original.

I agree. If this was your other truck I'd say yes definitely do it, but not on this one.

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by cleanfreak

I've always thought the same about rounding off the rad support , but not on this truck , to original.

Originally Posted by hewittca

I agree. If this was your other truck I'd say yes definitely do it, but not on this one.

Yea that’s kinda what I was thinking, it’ll stay factory. What about the dents in the grill?

[hewittca]

I usually don't mind a few dents if it's consistent over the whole truck. From what I can see in the pics though, your truck looks really clean and straight so I probably would try and knock out at least that big dent in the grill.

[Graham57a]

Finally got her turned around to start on the drivers side

[Graham57a]

...

[Graham57a]

It’s amazing how much crap can fit it one rocker

[Kronald_70GMC]

Wow that was fast! 6 minutes to cut all that out? Good work

[Graham57a]

Finally I soaked everything down in ospho to kill the rust. I did find some unexpected rust spots hidden under the bed liner paint and some bondo on the cab floor. I took a da to the floor to hopefully find all of it, I think we are clear now.

[Graham57a]

I haven’t had a chance to spend too much time on this girl lately, the orange truck is taking up all of my extra time. I did however do a little dent work on the B pillar the other night. I have also decided to get some paint stripper and clean the entire can floor down to bare metal to make sure there aren’t any other secrets hiding under that black paint. I hope to start on that next week.

Before and after

[cericd]

Looking much better. What method was used to work those dents out without damaging the paint?

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by cericd

Looking much better. What method was used to work those dents out without damaging the paint?

I ended up taking a piece of 1x2 hardwood and stuck it up in the B pillar on the inside of the cab. I took the plug out of the shoulder belt bolt hole and took a 1/4" punch and a hammer and tapped through the bolt hole on the wood to push it towards the outside of the cab. My original plan was to deflate a football and stick it up in the hole and pump it up inside the B pillar but the hole wasn't big enough to cram a ball up far enough to reach my dent so I ended up reverting to the wood and hammer method.

[Graham57a]

Also another slight development in the game plan, I am doing a v8 and 700r4 conversion on this old girl. I found a period correct 327 with all of the factory accessories thanks to Rusbuilt and I have listed the old 250 and 3 speed on the parts forum. A slight variance from original but way more power and drivability which is the whole point. I want to be able to drive this thing and enjoy it when she is done and I know with the inline 6 and 3 speed she would end up sitting there or getting sold to someone who would LS it or do a v8 swap. Wasn't it Sammy Hagar who said "I can't Drive 55"?? Should be cool and look fairly correct. Stay tuned

[preacher anthony]

Graham, missed this one somehow. Are you coming to Good-guys show in Raleigh this month?

[GAc10boy]

Heck yeah! Love the 327/700r4 idea.

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by preacher anthony

Graham, missed this one somehow. Are you coming to Good-guys show in Raleigh this month?

Hey Anthony, I will not be a Good Guys this year unfortunately. I will be at the Rod Run later this month and then the power tour deal at my Dad's in June.

Originally Posted by GAc10boy

Heck yeah! Love the 327/700r4 idea.

Yea I'm pretty excited. I think it'll look right at home in there. I am hoping to get back to work on this girl this week, now that the orange truck is in a good place I can focus on Pearl again. Finishing the inner rocker and drivers door are first in order

[preacher anthony]

Where is the Rod Run going to be?

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by preacher anthony

Where is the Rod Run going to be?

Pigeon Forge weekend of the 21st

[Graham57a]

Slow and steady, got the inners fit and tacked in last night

[GAc10boy]

Rocker looks great. My '68 GMC needs almost the exact same metal replaced on driver rocker.

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by GAc10boy

Rocker looks great. My '68 GMC needs almost the exact same metal replaced on driver rocker.

Drive her on up the mountain, we can knock it out in a weekend!

[GAc10boy]

Originally Posted by Graham57a

Drive her on up the mountain, we can knock it out in a weekend!

May have to do just that! I need you to show some of your skills. Especially since we're working on identical trucks.

[Graham57a]

I’m at a standstill on the cab currently waiting on some tools to help prep the floor for paint and kill all rust. While waiting on that to come together I started on the tailgate patch. Sucker was rusty but luckily the bottom lip is solid

[Graham57a]

Can’t figure out what caused all of the rust