1971 Stepside LS Build

[siggyfreud]

Looking great! I still ogle that frame and motor almost daily.

[1971Stepside]

Thank you for all the positive words. I'm about to attempt the door repair. This is a little intimidating for sure. I've measured about 20 times, made templates of the original, now to actually cut it off. Wish me luck.

[1971Stepside]

So far so good. I will get the back side repaired and see how the final product looks. Have a couple low spots at the weld seam.

[TA_C10]

Did you say why you had to replace that door skin? Looks really good man. Lot of slow welding I bet. Using .023 wire?

[1971Stepside]

Did you say why you had to replace that door skin? Looks really good man. Lot of slow welding I bet. Using .023 wire?

The bottom outside of the door had really bad pitting. Didn't want that to show up later. The bottom of the inside was tin foiled and had about a 3/4" of putty in it. I'm using .025 wire currently.

I got the inside bottom tacked in last night. The dip on the outside at the weld is a bigger valley than what I want. Not sure where to go from here. May be starting over on this door.

[MDPotter]

I know the struggle - we tried to do that lower patch on my dad's 64 and the whole area just caved in and ruined the outer skin. We ended up buying a new skin that ran up just below the bottom of the window. One of us made the cut with a cutoff wheel while the other kept air blowing on it and then we would tack, cool, tack, cool, tack, cool, dozens of times and then had to grind, cool, grind, cool, grind, cool, dozens of times. It was a huge time consumer. What was helpful was using the butt weld clamps - they hold the two pieces flat with eachother and perfect gap for welding so you don't have a big weld to grind down.

That's why I bought the full outer skin for my 68 - it is held on by a few spot welds around the edges and one at the bottom of the window opening. No 3 foot welding or cutting required. Wish that type of skin was available for 60-66 trucks as it would have saved us a ton of time and struggle.

[1971Stepside]

That's why I bought the full outer skin for my 68 - it is held on by a few spot welds around the edges and one at the bottom of the window opening. No 3 foot welding or cutting required.

Driving up to KC to pick up a new skin this weekend. I'll spend too many hours trying to correct this thing. Now to figure out how to pull them apart.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

Driving up to KC to pick up a new skin this weekend. I'll spend too many hours trying to correct this thing. Now to figure out how to pull them apart.

How deep is the valley? There's nothing wrong with a little bondo, but I understand the frustration of this repair and not wanting to have to use much filler.

Here's how I removed my skin: Take a flap disc and grind the door edges down until you see 3 layers of sheet metal then stop, drill out one spot weld at the bottom of the window frame, and the outside should come off. Then you'll be left with a narrow strip of sheet metal around all 3 edges on the inside - I was able to cut between the spot welds and twist the shard that's left until it broke loose. There were actually a couple places where the spot weld that was done from the inside melted into the outer skin at the factory and I had to drill those spots. Then I had both sides of the doors blasted to get all the rust out and epoxied both sides.

[1971Stepside]

So you would recommend this route over spending the big bucks for a whole new door?

[MDPotter]

To me it was a question of time vs money, and I like to think I favor one over the other about 50/50. I've never bought a new door, but if you don't mind spending the $450 on it vs $100 for an outer skin, it will save you time. Especially if you still have damage to fix on the inside or rust to fix on the bottom. I decided to reskin my doors rather than pay almost $1,000 for new doors. It's not that big of an undertaking, you just have to take your time in folding over the edges and probably end up having to fill a few spots around the perimeter. At least I had to because I'm not a professional.

Someone else can speak up if they have any experience with repop doors.

[1971Stepside]

Thanks for the advice. I here you on the time vs money. My passenger door is solid and needs no work. The drivers still need the bottom of the inside replaced. A skin is $70 and a whole door is $345. It just delays other things I was planning on next, but would for sure save me tons of time and effort. I'm just nervous about how well they fit.

[cornerstone]

In these parts of Texas I see clean original GM doors every now and again up for sale for $150. and under.... just stay on the hunt for parts continually, and keep a running list of what you may need. You can always sell them later if not needed. Good work by the way.

[1971Stepside]

A little update. Went to Classic Parts in KC on Saturday and picked up a new door. I was pretty nervous about spending that much only to find it wasn't going to fit that well. From what I've read here the reproduction doors are terrible. Maybe I got lucky, but this door is as heavy and solid as the original and fits very well. These shots are after about 10 minutes of adjusting. It isn't perfect, but it is as close to an OEM fit as the door I had. The weld at the top needs some work, but otherwise I am very impressed with the Tri-Plus metal.

The best part of the trip was meeting beaterku and getting to go for a ride in his truck!!

[MDPotter]

I'm glad to hear the new door fits well! I've been watching beaterku's videos and it makes me so eager to hear mine run as we have very similar powertrains.

[TA_C10]

Looking good. Hopefully it doesn't take too much work My passenger side bottom bolt holes are stripped out so I am trying to figure out how the heck I am going to re-thread the plate behind the pillar....

Are you going to grind that weld down and re-do it, or is the weld ok, just not ground down?

[1971Stepside]

I'm glad to hear the new door fits well! I've been watching beaterku's videos and it makes me so eager to hear mine run as we have very similar powertrains.

That is one of the reasons I wanted to ride in his truck as well...it will be a blast when we get there.

Are you going to grind that weld down and re-do it, or is the weld ok, just not ground down?

That weld will be ground down and made pretty

[beaterku]

Glad you could make it by. Always nice meeting like minded people. That door fits quite well. That weld is strange, but an east fix. I wonder why they would weld it like that?

[1971Stepside]

Four days off. I expected to get a lot further than I did. Rain just never seems to stop this year.

By last night I finally wrapped up the metal work on the cab (probably just jinxed myself), put some POR15 on the cab floor. I'm now ready for the new seam sealer and start with the filler and sanding.

[TA_C10]

Nice work. Always feels good to get past a milestone and you just did with metal work. Now your ready for your next milestone. Body filler and paint.....


.

[1971Stepside]

Continuing to apply filler and sand. Ended up taking a 2x4 to this door to get the contour to correctly match the cab. I still have some adjustment to go, but getting close. The gap is a little larger than I would like, but it won't go back any further without hitting at the top.

[TA_C10]

Body work looks like mine on that cab corner. Glad to see that lol. I really had to slice and dice mine to get it to straighten up halfway decent. Yours look nice and straight. That door almost looks bent in the corner, no wonder you needed to beat it into submission...

[1971Stepside]

That door almost looks bent in the corner, no wonder you needed to beat it into submission...

It really does in that photo. From the back looking forward the door finally fits the cab shape, but when you run your hand over it you can tell it is bending in on the corner. If you pull the corner out then it doesn't fit the cab shape. Gaps are good, but still working on this corner. It will get there, but it is a lot of work. I'm scared to death to take these doors back off!! LOL

[bikertim]

What an awesome build! Like you I have had my truck for many years (30 last month) and have dragged it all over too. Its an illness we have!

Anyhow, I used a different mounting setup in my 1970 c10 (CPP stands with DD sliders) and found my engine/transmission angle to be 6 degrees which is higher than I want. I noticed you used the POL stands and different mounts, which I am considering using to lower the engine in the front. If you don't mind me asking -- How far is your engine from the draglink and crossmember, and how many degrees down is the engine transmission?

Thanks for any information you may have -- and know I love the build!

[1971Stepside]

[QUOTE][How far is your engine from the draglink and crossmember, and how many degrees down is the engine transmission? /QUOTE]

Pic may be sideways because I’m using my phone. Here is a shot of the drag link. I’m using the CTSV pan. Not 100% on my angle but mocked up drive shaft and all is well. I appreciate the positive feedback. Baby steps. Let me know if I can help in any way. We look to be at about the same point in the process

[bikertim]

[quote=1971Stepside;8565999]

[How far is your engine from the draglink and crossmember, and how many degrees down is the engine transmission? /QUOTE]

Pic may be sideways because I’m using my phone. Here is a shot of the drag link. I’m using the CTSV pan. Not 100% on my angle but mocked up drive shaft and all is well. I appreciate the positive feedback. Baby steps. Let me know if I can help in any way. We look to be at about the same point in the process

Thanks for the response. Your oil pan appears to be about 1/2 inch or so closer to the drag link than mine, so not that big of a difference. Not sure it would be worth the expense and effort to change them out. We will see.

FYI -- I am going to mock the whole truck up and then going to disassemble for all the paint. My gut says if I painted everything ahead of time I would be needing to cut and weld something already painted. With that being said you are way ahead of me. I have a goal of Dec 2020 though!