Rusty, crushy, but trysty.

[makman1297]

Got the rh parking brake cable in then i started stripping the rotted metal off the cab. I cut out the rh cab corner, rocker, floor, kick panel, and also cut out the center hump and put in the 4wd one, just have some to screws in it for alignement i will be welding it in later.

[makman1297]

I finished stripping the old rot off and started installing the new cab brace, had to bend it a bit to fit better.

[bowtieguy79]

How much trimming did you have to do on those newer body wheels to fit over your hubs? Be nice to be able to run those types of wheels with out spacers.

[makman1297]

It wasnt alot of material, the wheels were around 3.1" i think and the hubs were 3.51. I just brought the hub and wheels to a local machine shop that has a big lathe and he bored them out to fit the hubs. I am not sure what i am going to use for center caps on the front yet, will see when i get the wheels on. The spacers are 1.5 thick and that pretty much puts it to the stock location.

[bowtieguy79]

Good info! Thank you.
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[makman1297]

Worked on fitting some more panels, just screwing them with self tappers to make sure everything lines up before i weld them. So far the rh kick panel is being a pain does not want to line up quite right but i will make it work. Put the cab support in place had to tap down the top it was sticking up higher than the cab brace. I started taking the floor apart that i cut out of the burban, the floor and square support under the floor are really good so that will save me buying a new floor pan. I also started putting the ends on the plug wires there a set of MSD cut to length, they seem to be pretty good.

[gshibler]

Are you going to hang the door before you weld everything to make sure it all lines up or is there some other reference you have. I would think with the door pillar cut loose on the bottom you could run into trouble on the alignment.

[makman1297]

Got some more fitting done, with the kick panel acting as it was i opted to use the one still attached to the floor pan. The section from the floor down with the tab for the fender was in really good shape. I cut my new panel to go from the floor up to the vent, everything aligned better this way. Had some issues with the floor ended up making a few extra cuts and will still need to weld in a few small patch pieces, but overall think it will work just fine considering. I also got the cab support tacked in. Supprising all the original burban panels were coated in galzanized, actully kept most of it solid Gabriel i will be putting the door back on for fitting of the rocker and cab corner, i really dont know of any other way to do it, thats is if you want your door to fit.

[gshibler]

Exactly what I was thinking, a REAL custom look, no doors needed. Just spray the inside of the cab with rhino liner real good and no need to keep it weatherproof at all. What I was refering to was wether you had to mount the door before you welded up the floor but apparently not since you already have it tacked in. I guess the door post position was still pretty solid and not moving in and out.

[makman1297]

Yeah i know what you mean, the door post was really soild, could not move it more than maybe a 1/8 inch. I tacked the cab frame in the same area that the original was in, the floor pan slid in overlapping the original dents, which helps align it, and the support just slipped in, so everything looks to be in the correct position. The real challange is the corner which can change the gap at the back of the door and the rocker which can be adjusted to match the door by quite a bit. I will stay tacked until i get the rocker and corner in, then if something is off i can cut some tacks and move it, but the other side i did pretty much the same way and everything fit pretty good.

[makman1297]

As far as the undercoating i am getting the U-pol bedliner gun kit, once i finish installing the panels it will tip the cab back. Then i finish up the welds without burning myself, seal it and then coat the bottom of the cab with bed liner material. That should give it a good water proof coating and cut down on the heat and noise.

[makman1297]

Well today worked on the sheet metal some more, made some patches and then intalled the door. Once i got the door installed started putting in the rh rocker, what a pain, that thing did not want to line up anywhere. The front didnt fit right, then it looked twisted, and then it acted like the door gap was too wide by about a 1/4 inch. I then thought that maybe the front pilar had moved and was throwing it out, but all the metal i put in the front seemed to line up pretty good and the pillar felt solid. I then took two measurements at door jamb switch the the back and then one right below the bottom hinge to the back, suprisingly the seemed to be exactly the same as the dr side, so either i messed both sides up exactly the same or its the correct size. I had read earlier that using the 81 and up doors would make you gaps bigger, that is the 81 and up doors are 1/4" narrower, never measeure it but i guess i will have bigger gaps then.

Anyways i ended up cutting some reliefs in the rocker panel and adjusting, weding hammering and eventually got it to fit, then i got the inner cab corner in, and started tacking the cab corner, all in all i think i will be good.

[makman1297]

And some more.

[gshibler]

I see in the last photo Yeungling lager finally made an appearance. I would recognize that bottle anywhere. That must have been what made it all come together in the end! What a pain, I take it the aftermarket panels are only so close and after that time to have some beers. Looking good brother.

[makman1297]

Yeah sometimes the yeungling helps smooth out the defects, or at least until you look at it again the next day. I think it will be pretty good, just dont like big door gaps. I was thinking of getting the rear door edge guards that LMC sells to help comp for it.

[makman1297]

Worked on the floor some more, welding, welding, welding. Well i finish up the top side of the floor pan, and the 4wd hump. Got the cab corner on and got the inner rocker tacked. I am planning on tipping the cab and giving the bottom a good weld, seal, and then spray with u-pol. I also pulled the seat apart, the foam looks pretty good and only one spring is broke. I plan on stopping and see if i can find some material for it tomorrow.

[makman1297]

picked up all the seat material, going with black vinal with a grey black tweed. Also picked up black headliner material, so the interior will be grey and black. Not bad everything was on sale today. Got the cab flipped up on its back, now i can get the floor welded up and sealed.

[makman1297]

Ordered my u-pol bed liner kit today, a 2" 3 hole guage holder for my after market vacuum guage, lean/rich guage, and my trans temp. I also ordered some hog rings for the seat, my wife is tackling the seat repair. I think she can make it look better than it did.

[Gordonr1973]

Your adjustments in the new panels look dead-on!

[makman1297]

Thanks gordon, i see your truck is looking very good. I still have some more welding to do, have to weld a panel and drill a new hole for the headlight switch, since chevy moved them up on the newer ones. I also am going to clean up the radio slot, weld in some support where the speaker goes in the center and then fix the holes in the firewall.

[makman1297]

Nothing done today, i ended up working late but i will have wednesday off so i can get some done. Here is a pic of the floor bottom, it will be eady to weld up with it flipped. Also the seat material the wife is working on, the headliner that needs a little fiberglass repair, and one of the seat spring that is broke.

[makman1297]

Worked on the floor, got all of the floor welded up and then i ran out of gas. Cleaned up the old undercoating from the truck and got the seams sealed up. Tomorrow i will spray the self etching primer i bought and then spray the u-pol kit on it.

[makman1297]

Well i got the cab bottom sprayed in some primer and then coated it with the bed liner, that stuff sprays great and looks pretty nice, will just give it a few days to dry. I also sprayed one of my inner fenders.

[makman1297]

Flipped the cab back up, cleaned the floor and painted it along with the area under the rear window. Also cleaned up some more of the firewall.

[makman1297]

Got some work done. The cab has been re-attached to the frame, that took a bit to get everything to line up. The cab to engine clearance is a little tighter than i remember, i had to bend the dipstick tube a bit to clear properly. I got the steering column in, the steering shaft, the brake booster and master cylinder. Also cut out the hole for the fuel tank switch. I will start running the wiring next.