1969 Short Wide

[knomadd]

That sucks about your bumper... I feel your pain. I'll keep an eye out for that trim piece.

[jeh]

Mike, where did you get your bumper brackets from? I just ordered some also and was going to put mine on this weekend. That really sucks about your bumper!!!

[Bennett68C10]

That sucks about your bumper Mike, my rear brackets came the same exact way. I ground down the high spots just because I thought they looked bad. I'm glad I did after seeing that. Is there any way to pull the dent back out without further damaging the bumper?

[Dieselwrencher]

Mike the truck looks awesome! I'm sure the first drive was a bummer, but at least it died in your drive way and not half way from home. That stinks about the bumper man. Keep at it, you're really close now.

[KSWes]

Hope the snags won't hold back your progress for long.

[litew8]

WTH are those, and why are they there? I see three burrs

[Dieselwrencher]

From what I can tell, those burrs are the bi-product of the poorly made die used to bend that brace. Bad deal for sure.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Mike the truck looks awesome! I'm sure the first drive was a bummer, but at least it died in your drive way and not half way from home. That stinks about the bumper man. Keep at it, you're really close now.

Thanks Ryan. It sucked running out of gas but just getting it out of the shop on it's own power was pretty incredible.

Originally Posted by KSWes

Hope the snags won't hold back your progress for long.

Minor setback

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

From what I can tell, those burrs are the bi-product of the poorly made die used to bend that brace. Bad deal for sure.

Correct. This is why I chose NOT to use any aftermarket parts on my build unless absolutely necessary. If I had noticed the burrs, I would have just grinded them flush before install.
The good news is Classic Chevy parts in OKC where I bought the bumper and brackets exchanged the bumper for another new one. They were sold out of the crappy brackets so I just fixed them up and repainted them.

[mcbassin]

Here are the bulkhead pictures for Chip (Low Elco).

[Low Elco]

Aww maaaannn... Sorry, Mike. Glad Classic was upright about it. Thanks for the pics! I think we're gonna go stock style and run the main in from the front. Yours looks great!

[jlsanborn]

Sorry to hear about that trim piece. Hope you can find one quick. I picked up a used sport bumper that has the same treatment. I gave it a few licks with a dead-blow hammer and it'll have to do for now. Very cool that you've got a supplier that close and that they did that for you.

[litew8]

You must have really torqued them suckers down good

[KSWes]

Great news that Classic Parts is taking good care of you. Always nice when companies do the right thing.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Aww maaaannn... Sorry, Mike. Glad Classic was upright about it. Thanks for the pics! I think we're gonna go stock style and run the main in from the front. Yours looks great!

Thanks Chip, No problem. It's all good, they told me they sell a few hundred bumpers and brackets a month. I guess I was the only one that had a problem with it.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Sorry to hear about that trim piece. Hope you can find one quick. I picked up a used sport bumper that has the same treatment. I gave it a few licks with a dead-blow hammer and it'll have to do for now. Very cool that you've got a supplier that close and that they did that for you.

I found the missing trim piece in the bottom of the box he shipped them in. I have a spare lower right rear piece. Bonus.

Originally Posted by litew8

You must have really torqued them suckers down good

Somehow, that comment really doesn't surprise me coming from you. No I hadn't even finished tightening a 1/2" -13 bumper bolt takes what 30-40 ft lbs. torque. Probably no more 20 ft. lb. Inferior taiwan metal isn't the same as the American metal from these trucks 40+ years ago.
If you had looked at the same picture you posted of the deformed bracket you could see how easily the bumper would be deformed.

Originally Posted by KSWes

Great news that Classic Parts is taking good care of you. Always nice when companies do the right thing.

Yep, I hope to have the new one on tonight.

[litew8]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Somehow, that comment really doesn't surprise me coming from you. No I hadn't even finished tightening a 1/2" -13 bumper bolt takes what 30-40 ft lbs. torque. Probably no more 20 ft. lb. Inferior taiwan metal isn't the same as the American metal from these trucks 40+ years ago.
If you had looked at the same picture you posted of the deformed bracket you could see how easily the bumper would be deformed.

Yeah, my honesty and integrity precedes me. Thanks for the compliment, I think.

[67chevy1series]

Mike I'm going to agree with you those bumper brackets even though there new Taiwan made probably they could even ruin an original bumper, a friend of mine bought a used sport bumper for his 72 and he bought a set of aftermarket bumper brackets and sure enough as soon as the gap was closing it's started to tweak the bumper. On my 67 I also had the same problem with my rear bumper brackets.

[Bennett68C10]

Mike that is great news that Classic Parts exchanged the bumper for you. I feel a lot better about them now after I just ordered my headliner and door panel trim from them today. Oh and don't waste your breathe responding to that other comment.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Mike that is great news that Classic Parts exchanged the bumper for you. I feel a lot better about them now after I just ordered my headliner and door panel trim from them today. Oh and don't waste your breathe responding to that other comment.

It was actually Classic Chevy parts of OKC. Not to be confused with Classic Parts from KC. But none the less, it was cool that they exchanged it for me.

What kind of deal did you get on the headliner and trim? I bought my door panel trims from them too. I spent several hundred bucks with those guys on my build, only had one problem with a part that was sent wrong from them and they made it right and sent the correct part.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

It was actually Classic Chevy parts of OKC. Not to be confused with Classic Parts from KC. But none the less, it was cool that they exchanged it for me.

What kind of deal did you get on the headliner and trim? I bought my door panel trims from them too. I spent several hundred bucks with those guys on my build, only had one problem with a part that was sent wrong from them and they made it right and sent the correct part.

Lol my mistake, I thought you were talking about the one from KC. They want $99.95 for the headliner trim with shipping which was cheaper then everybody I saw. I already have the headliner so I just ordered the trim and the door panel trim. Now comes the fun part of making it fit since my truck didn't come with a headliner from the factory, but I like how it looks so I'll have to cut all the slots in the roof.

[68 Four on the Floor]

Congrats on the first drive Mike.

[tune_1]

Truck looks good, too bad about the bumper. Glad that you have had it out and driving. Which show do you hope to make it to now that you are this far along?

Dwight

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by tune_1

Truck looks good, too bad about the bumper. Glad that you have had it out and driving. Which show do you hope to make it to now that you are this far along?

Dwight

Thanks Dwight. Honestly, I haven't even thought about doing any shows. I suppose I could do an unfinished category. I need to focus on the inner fenders and a few minor mechanical issues so I give her a real drive.

One thing that is glaring is the gear ratio. I'm thinking 3:73 or lower will work out better than what I have. I have a little vibration that I suspect is pinion angle or tranny angle related.

The brakes are a little jenky too. The left rear is locking up on a hard stop. I'm not sure if the prop valve working right or if it needs adjusted?
Minor stuff that will drive me nuts. On the bright side the trim is done! No pics though

[mcbassin]

I'm in the market for a near OEM quality bumper. I found one reasonable at AMD HERE and another at GMC Pauls HERE Recommendations? Just need a nice straight one.

Here's why I had to take back the bumper:





Got the rear trim installed last night:

[Crash_OK]

Wow .. That trim looks great Mike...

I got some stuff from GMCPaul.. It is no different than what you can get anywhere else. So don't pay a premium thinking you are getting something better than the other guys.. Just my experience..

[Bennett68C10]

Trim looks great Mike, your truck looks awesome

I don't think your going to get any aftermarket bumper that doesn't have a little bow in it. Here's a pic of mine from GMCPauls, as you can see it is slightly bowed as well but will have to do until I can get a nice original bumper and have it rechromed.