Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[sduckworth13]

Looks amazing Vic!! You did a excelllent job on getting the frame welded up and straightened out. Sooo glad to see that the bed and cab have a even gap now after all your hard work. Holler at me if you need a hand with the front clip.

[Low Elco]

Lookin' goooooood!

[Bennett68C10]

Really nice job on the exhaust! The cab and bed look good sitting on the frame too!

[knomadd]

Looking good Vic!

[Vic1947]

Thanks everyone! Can't believe it was two years ago that I encountered the problems that led me to put this project on the shelf. Now here we are with 2016 all but played out and finally I'm back on track. Scott dropped by last night and helped us lift the clip on the front. Many thanks! With the fenders lined up straight with the doors, I held my breath and popped the hood to see where the core support was relative to the front mounts. The mounting holes were dead center. What a relief... I sure slept good last night!

Today has been mostly about adjusting things to make sure I can get the gaps where I like them before disassembling everything again. I'm probably 90%, but the remainder will be time consuming. Meanwhile, I picked up some parts at Classic and hauled the exhaust to the guy that does the Cerakote ceramic coating similar to Jet Hot. He bid all my stuff at $650 for the silver color, which is less than Jet Hot, but still (cough, cough) expensive. I just tell myself it's a one time thing and will extend the life of the exhaust system considerably.

Here's a few shots of the panels all put together and the ride height at 10%. It will go down another 3/4" or so, but would be resting on the stops at that point. This is where I'd set it for cruise-ins and etc. I know it still looks way up in the air to some of the younger guys, but it's pretty low for an old fart like me.

[Elliot949]

Look fricking Awesome Vic...

When is the big truck showcthere V in KC

[Orange67]

Wow. Absolute envy. Great work Vic. I'm 43, and yours is about perfect on the stance.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Look fricking Awesome Vic...

When is the big truck showcthere V in KC

Thanks, Dan. The Midwest Truck Nats are in September, but the AutoRama in KC at Bartle Hall is Feb 10-12. We rearranged a doctor appointment today so we can drive down to Wichita for the Starbird-Devlin show. We plan to be there on the Friday it opens. Looking forward to seeing you and the truck!

Originally Posted by Orange67

Wow. Absolute envy. Great work Vic. I'm 43, and yours is about perfect on the stance.

Thanks! I plan to drive this truck a lot, so I needed it to be a bit more practical.

[sduckworth13]

Super glad that everything is working out this time around Vic.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Meanwhile, I hauled the exhaust to the guy that does the Cerakote ceramic coating similar to Jet Hot. He bid all my stuff at $650 for the silver color, which is less than Jet Hot, but still (cough, cough) expensive. I just tell myself it's a one time thing and will extend the life of the exhaust system considerably.

Vic wouldn't it have been cheaper overall to use stainless for the entire exhaust system instead of coating it, or if it's already all stainless i'm confused why you are having it coated because stainless already has an extremely long life.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Vic wouldn't it have been cheaper overall to use stainless for the entire exhaust system instead of coating it, or if it's already all stainless i'm confused why you are having it coated because stainless already has an extremely long life.

As with most of the stuff I do, Brian, it ended up being a compromise. If you look at other builds, there are many ways to go about routing the exhaust. I decided against going thru the mid x-member and the way I chose to run the tubing meant I couldn't use a flat, wide turbo muffler which cut way down on the selection of stainless offerings. I figured since I was going to wind up with a mix of stainless, cast iron and mild steel, I'd just get everything coated.

I could probably have done more research and found the necessary components to do it all in stainless, but on average it's a little more than twice the cost of mild steel. Plus, to prevent sugaring when welding SS tubing, you need to purge the tubes with argon. And even doing that, you have bluing out a short distance from the weld that needs to be dressed to look like the adjacent metal. Don't get me wrong... I love stainless but its a PITA to work with. 20/20 hindsight, I might make different decisions, but at this point I'm pushing toward the finish line and doing what I can to deal with the evolution of a four year project.

[STAP54]

Awesome build! Book marked as one of my favorites! Thanks for sharing!

Steve

[Oregon 1967 GMC]

lookin' good dude!

[swamp rat]

Well I know one thing, your truck is kicking butt and so are you, and you will be done with this long before me!

[Vic1947]

I got sidetracked installing the one piece window kit from Brothers. Their directions are pretty complete, but there were a few minor differences... as usual. The mod to make the upper hinge clear the relocated division bar was for a different hinge setup than mine. Had to add some material to mine to make it work, but it was a quick fix. They also recommended cutting the rear window channel shorter than necessary. I ended up adding 1-3/4" back on it to better retain the felt channel that runs around the door frame. The directions referenced using three felt channels, cutting one in half and splicing them together, but they actually sent two longer felt pieces that are very nice and fit perfectly without any cutting.

Below are some photos of the installation up to this point. The arrow on the first one is where I ended up adding the piece of channel. The rest are some pics of how the front and rear channels now run and the corner piece. I'd say this is an easy weekend project if you don't have to make two trips to Classic Parts like I did to replace worn out junk.

[Vic1947]

More photos....

I just need to set the glass in the sash channel with the setting tape they sent and then remove everything and set it aside until final assembly.

[Elliot949]

Looks great Vic...

[jlsanborn]

Great work there Vic! Truck looks great mocked up too. I've been following on the mobile device, which is a PITA to post with. Looking forward to some color!

[mcbassin]

Awesome progress Vic! Looks great to see your truck assembled.

[saltynuke]

Excellent build thread Vic! I'm getting so many great ideas... if only I had a garage.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Looks great Vic...

Thanks, Dan.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Great work there Vic! Truck looks great mocked up too. I've been following on the mobile device, which is a PITA to post with. Looking forward to some color!

Hey John, good to hear from you. Latest news is that I bought enough red oxide epoxy to do the whole truck. We're gonna drive it like that for a while and then revisit the whole slick paint job dealio down the road.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome progress Vic! Looks great to see your truck assembled.

Thanks, Mike... been a long time coming.

Originally Posted by saltynuke

Excellent build thread Vic! I'm getting so many great ideas... if only I had a garage.

Thanks! I can help with the ideas a little bit, but not so much with the garage.

Bought a painted front bumper from Classic the other day and had Eagle strip it to bare metal. Picked it up this morning and bolted it on and was very surprised at how well it fit. With everything else that's gone on with the body panels and all, it was great that finally, one thing fit perfectly out of the box.

I saw a truck on HRPT in Austin that had a cool front bumper treatment. Thinking of stealing the idea for CRLS. The rear bumper wasn't as interesting, so it will probably stay more or less stock, but I'm thinking a few days of metal work and a trip to the chrome shop could make the front end really pop. Any thoughts?

[Elliot949]

I saw that truck here in Wichita on the 2016 HRPT... I agree with you Vic... I really like that tucked in look..

[Bennett68C10]

I like the front bumper idea, I say go for it.

[Low Elco]

Git it! Some cold air scoops molded in would look cool, or use just the top rail over a rollpan for a thinner look, or..... I'm gonna get us all in trouble.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by low elco

git it! Some cold air scoops molded in would look cool, or use just the top rail over a rollpan for a thinner look, or..... I'm gonna get us all in trouble.

lol