New project! The "Red Herring"

[FarmerSid]

Nice work! Why the extra under dash brace? The pedal one not enough? Sucks that it took so long to get that parking brake brace and then had to modify it. Just wondering but what made you think the brace was out and not the sheet metal?

[Advanced Design]

Nice work, again. Donor truck frame?

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

Nice work! Why the extra under dash brace? The pedal one not enough? Sucks that it took so long to get that parking brake brace and then had to modify it. Just wondering but what made you think the brace was out and not the sheet metal?

Oh it's the other way round! I know the sheet metal is out. I'm not sure if the truck got hit at some point in the past, or if the quality control was really THAT bad, but this cab is definitely longer on the passenger's side than on the driver's by about 5/8". I've had to modify or adjust every piece of metal that's gone into the driver's side - I had to section down the outer cowl, I had to tweak the rear of the rocker to get the inner cab corner to fit since it was too far back, and the pillars didn't want to sit in the same places as the other side. And it means the door gaps are nice and tight on driver's but not so much on passenger's. Just weird!

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Nice work, again. Donor truck frame?

Yessir. Way back on maybe page two we were talking about how I decided to go from the S10 swap to a hybrid frame - the donor is a '68 C10 longbed coil sprung truck. Once I get it in the garage, I'll drop the bed on, situate the cab and then splice in the Olds stub. I was originally going to use a shortbed frame, but one reason and another than didn't happen - I think, though, for getting the rake I want the longbed frame may actually be better for me in the long run. We shall see!

[JJorgensen52]

Oh Sid, I forgot to answer your other question! If you look at the S10 pedal assembly, back in post #166, you'll notice there's a welded nut on the underside of the bracket right above the pedal pivot bolt. In the S10, the pedal assembly is tied to the windshield frame by a stamped brace with an M8 bolt right there - so I felt it wise to keep a brace for that reason. As well as that, even with the pedal bracket installed, there isn't much separation between the base of the column and the booster on the firewall (meaning the triangle is narrow), so over time if someone pulls on the wheel getting in and out, say, it flexes the firewall and can cause damage to the metal.

I guess it's more peace of mind for me than anything. I want this to be 100% a get in and turn the key truck, my parents aren't the most mechanically inclined so I feel better knowing it's solidly (over?)built.

[FarmerSid]

Understood... Keep on keep'in on.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by JJorgensen52

Yessir. Way back on maybe page two we were talking about how I decided to go from the S10 swap to a hybrid frame - the donor is a '68 C10 longbed coil sprung truck. Once I get it in the garage, I'll drop the bed on, situate the cab and then splice in the Olds stub. I was originally going to use a shortbed frame, but one reason and another than didn't happen - I think, though, for getting the rake I want the longbed frame may actually be better for me in the long run. We shall see!

Very interesting!...I forgot about that...looking forward to it. Rob at NoLimit just came out with a swing arm rear for AD trucks.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Very interesting!...I forgot about that...looking forward to it. Rob at NoLimit just came out with a swing arm rear for AD trucks.

I'll have to check that out! The frame is here, although the seller pulled the front spindles and drums off it so my plan for being able to roll it with a jack has kinda gone out the window ... still scratching my head on that one

[JJorgensen52]

Alright, well it took me a bit to get the frame moved with a jack and my engine hoist, but it's where I needed it (which it isn't in this photo )


I spent a little time this afternoon getting the 228 cleaned up and running again, since I'm hoping to yank the frame out and list it as a roller in the next week or so. Anyways, it was making an awful lot of lifter noise and I vaguely recalled something about spare pushrods ... so I dug them out and pulled the valve cover. I think "bent" might be the understatement of the year!!

It's a LOT quieter now. Didn't fuss a bit though, started right up with fresh fuel.

Got the rest of the park brake setup installed to make sure everything fits and functions as it should with the new metal alignment. I don't think the pedal is too incongruous


Forward progress, hung driver's sheetmetal:



I have two questions. First, how in the heck are you supposed to do this once the truck has been painted???? I tried six ways from Sunday and I couldn't get it on there without scraping something.

Second, I think I've read a bit about this problem occurring, but is a gap this wide at the cowl normal? It's probably 7/16" or so at the widest.


It looks like the other side will be a little better. I have to fix the rear flange of both fenders anyway, so I'll probably adjust it a bit to compensate.

Also thinking I may need to buy new inner fenders - I found a bunch of soft spots along the top of this side, and this is the better of the two. Which is kind of a shame since they're going to get hacked up to fit the stub, anyway.

Last thing, preliminary rendering came back for my gauges today - thought you guys would like a peek. We're making a few tweaks here and there and adding one more warning light (for brakes) but otherwise, this is pretty close.

[Chevy-49]

I had also problems to find the right way to get the fenders on. Let us know what the best way is without scratch the paint. Greets Richard

Originally Posted by JJorgensen52

Alright, well it took me a bit to get the frame moved with a jack and my engine hoist, but it's where I needed it (which it isn't in this photo )


I spent a little time this afternoon getting the 228 cleaned up and running again, since I'm hoping to yank the frame out and list it as a roller in the next week or so. Anyways, it was making an awful lot of lifter noise and I vaguely recalled something about spare pushrods ... so I dug them out and pulled the valve cover. I think "bent" might be the understatement of the year!!

It's a LOT quieter now. Didn't fuss a bit though, started right up with fresh fuel.

Got the rest of the park brake setup installed to make sure everything fits and functions as it should with the new metal alignment. I don't think the pedal is too incongruous


Forward progress, hung driver's sheetmetal:



I have two questions. First, how in the heck are you supposed to do this once the truck has been painted???? I tried six ways from Sunday and I couldn't get it on there without scraping something.

Second, I think I've read a bit about this problem occurring, but is a gap this wide at the cowl normal? It's probably 7/16" or so at the widest.


It looks like the other side will be a little better. I have to fix the rear flange of both fenders anyway, so I'll probably adjust it a bit to compensate.

Also thinking I may need to buy new inner fenders - I found a bunch of soft spots along the top of this side, and this is the better of the two. Which is kind of a shame since they're going to get hacked up to fit the stub, anyway.

Last thing, preliminary rendering came back for my gauges today - thought you guys would like a peek. We're making a few tweaks here and there and adding one more warning light (for brakes) but otherwise, this is pretty close.

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[Advanced Design]

Looks like the fenders need some work to fit the cowl. Bummer, always something more.

The gauges look good haven't seen that company. How do the prices compare to using Dakota Digital?

[FarmerSid]

How's the bottom of the fender fit where it wraps around under? The fenders contour fit good to the recess in the outer cowl?

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Looks like the fenders need some work to fit the cowl. Bummer, always something more.

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

How's the bottom of the fender fit where it wraps around under? The fenders contour fit good to the recess in the outer cowl?

I know it! They actually fit better underneath the cowl than I expected, and the contour (at least on this side) fits nicely with all the holes lining up easily (once I figured out that the bolts at the bottom of the inner fender need to be loose to line it up) - it's just that section in the center that kicks out a bit. I also don't have my rear cab mounts bolted up (this just occurred to me this morning) so maybe if I'm really lucky, it's just that the back of the cab is scooted over a little bit and getting it centered would help with the angle.

Since I have to cut out the flange in this portion anyway, it shouldn't be too bad just to tack in a little extra metal there and match the curve. Hopefully going to get the other side hung tonight, and then work up my game plan and start cutting and welding!

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

The gauges look good haven't seen that company. How do the prices compare to using Dakota Digital?

If you buy one of their off-the-shelf packages, the price is pretty comparable. For what we're doing here... maybe not so much . Since this is a one-off set, there's a chunk of money going into the design side of it. This is one of the few things I'm willing to pay a premium on, because I really wasn't a fan of any of the ready made packages and you stare at them THE WHOLE TIME you're in the truck. I'd rather have it just so, because otherwise I'd be perpetually annoyed by it

[JJorgensen52]

Alrighty. So the passenger's fender fits better, but the inner fender not as well?? I've given up on figuring out why it is the way it is, I'll just fix it .

Nice, tight gap at the cowl (the lower brace is missing on this side, so it's not bolted at the bottom but it pushes into place nicely)


And dropped the hood back on:


I have a couple hood related questions:


Both sides are like this - like the cowl is too wide for the hood. Is there an adjustment for that? It's popped up at the center of the rear edge and too narrow at the sides; seems like maybe the cowl seal would help? I figured out how to get it to come down and back to line up the fenders, so otherwise the fit is decent.

Second question: Has anybody ever had to extract a broken pivot bolt? My lower driver's side bolt snapped off ... off course it was about 1/2 a turn from bottoming out so there's NOTHING to grab onto ... figures.

On a different subject, I got a whole pile of boxes today - I had a 20% off coupon for one of the vendors so I grabbed a whole pile of weatherstripping, trim, glass, etc.

Two highlights:

Name the vehicle of origin! They should fit nicely on the rear panel above the bumper and below the tailgate.

Also, I'm toying with the idea of installing TF style V8 badges on the truck, and I was hoping to use the fender either behind the front wheel or behind the headlight, but there is too much curvature so it won't sit flat against the panel. I tried a couple different arrangements on the hood:
1.

2.

3.


I think #3 is probably my favorite - I'd just move the 100 badge directly up, so it's the same distance above the GMC as it used to be below.

Thoughts? I'm not set on using them at all, but in my mind I thought it might look good so I figured I'd try it out. If not they'll make nice wall art

[FarmerSid]

Cool! Would the V8 emblem work above the GMC badge? Also, howdid you figuredout how to get the hood to come down and back to line up the fenders?

[Advanced Design]

Nice work! I struggle with aligning hood and remember I found a really good process online....somewhere...I just dont remember where. Maybe Stovebolt.

I like Sid's suggestion for the V8 emblem. Maybe above and a bit right of the GMC emblem if that will work.

The light...hmm...Ford something?

[JJorgensen52]

I tried the badge above the GMC when I still had the hood off the truck and thought it looked a little goofy, but I didn't once I had all the panels on - I will try that out later on today and see what's what. I'm not sold on it being on the hood, because it looks a little busy to me with the three emblems right there in close proximity.
I had a thought this morning, that maybe I use it where I wanted it to go on the fender anyway, and just make a plastic shim/wedge to make up for the curvature of the fender and get it to sit flat.

As to the hood alignment - in my factory shop manual, it said to do the alignment with the hood closed and tightly latched in the front, but I found I couldn't get it to move like that, really at all.
I actually did it with the hood open - with the hinges loose, I used a piece of 1"x2" wood strapping to lift the front of the hood up, which pivoted the hinge end on the springs and took the load off the hinges, so I was able to shift them down and back. When I first installed it, it was about 2" up at the cowl. Yikes!

My alignment on driver's side is all goofed because I don't have the one pivot bolt in there that snapped off - going to order some new ones this morning, so hopefully I can get that taken care of, but I'm now confident that everything WILL fit the truck, so I'm going to fix the fenders and get that sorted out, then move into swapping the cab/doghouse to the new frame.

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

The light...hmm...Ford something?

Ford??? Gosh no! It's in the family, at least

[JJorgensen52]

Just found this:

http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/AD_hood_alignment.htm

And the same thing is posted on Stovebolt, and also apparently in one of the original shop manuals (not the GMC one I can tell you that ).

Of most interest to me, there is an adjustment for the width at the back of the hood, so hopefully I can get all of that sorted out quick-like

[Coldshot]

Pretty sure that light is a mustang reverse light would be my guess

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by JJorgensen52

Just found this:

http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/AD_hood_alignment.htm

And the same thing is posted on Stovebolt, and also apparently in one of the original shop manuals (not the GMC one I can tell you that ).

Of most interest to me, there is an adjustment for the width at the back of the hood, so hopefully I can get all of that sorted out quick-like

That's it! Good find. The light...glad it is in the family..Grand Prix back up.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That's it! Good find. The light...glad it is in the family..Grand Prix back up.

I think they actually use the same lens as the GP does. Repops of course, but optional 60-66 pickup (fleetside) is the origin.

[junksaver]

On your pivot bolt problem, find a flat washer with the same diameter hole as the bolt. Weld the washer to the bolt, then weld a nut to the washer and back it out. If you need better detail then give me a shout.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by junksaver

On your pivot bolt problem, find a flat washer with the same diameter hole as the bolt. Weld the washer to the bolt, then weld a nut to the washer and back it out. If you need better detail then give me a shout.

This is genius. I would never have thought of it, either, even though I've used it to get broken fasteners out of engine blocks and such

Spent a lot of time today mucking through wiring diagrams and so many different GM part numbers for connectors and terminals I'm about to go cross-eyed!

Sid, is this what you had in mind??

It's a little hard to tell with the hood mounted, but I think there might be interference with the hinges / support mounting it there.

I happened to find another V8 emblem (As it turns out, those ones are Chevy and GMC had a different style), which is narrower and taller, but I think may fit on the front of the fender where I had originally envisioned it going. I picked up a grungy one on ebay for cheaps to try out, so the jury stays out on this one for a bit

[FarmerSid]

Ya, that's what I was thinking. Looks a bit busy I think. What about putting the smaller V8 one above the GMC and the 100 emblem over on the cowl above the vent?

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

Ya, that's what I was thinking. Looks a bit busy I think. What about putting the smaller V8 one above the GMC and the 100 emblem over on the cowl above the vent?

Yeah, the more I look at it the more I think three emblems in one area is too much.

I thought about moving the 100 emblem back onto the cowl, but the problem becomes that while I can install it on this side, I've got no access to put the screws in on the other side. I could thread some studs in and use push nuts, maybe??

I'll have more renditions when the smaller V8 emblem arrives .. looks like I ought to see it Monday or Tuesday.

[JJorgensen52]

I was on the road Saturday, but today was a truck work afternoon. Unfortunately, it was one of those sorts of days when I felt like I was going backwards, rather than forwards. I did make some progress with the hood, adding some shims at the center brace bracket did push my edges out to line up with the cowl, so that's good.

This I knew about before, but I found two other rust spots and two large dents in this fender that were cleverly hidden:


This, however, I did not know about. They did a REALLY good job of making this disappear and yet not be visible from inside the door.



So inner door bottoms are in order on both sides, it looks like.

On the progress side, I did make the driver's fender fit better:



I still need to do more cleanup and stitch up a few holes I found in the joint, but it's looking up. I found several large dents that were hidden in this one, too.

Anybody have some good fenders they want to sell??