My 5 year 68 build is pretty much done

[pat]

I figured a build thread would be cool, and yall will like it better b/c you dont have to wait for progress. Bought it my jr year in highschool thinking I would be driving it my senior year. Well I was half right, Im a senior in college now and its pretty much done.
Here goes.

Heres a couple pics of when I bought it. Looked for one for a long time, with my dad fighting me the whole way. Didnt think it was a good idea. Well, during my build he ended up with 3 classics, I think its partially my fault . Anyway, I bought it for 3100, as I learned a lot on here, I figured I got raped on that price. The only sheetmetal that I am still using is the bed, one inner fender, the grill, and the cowl panel, it was that bad. The engine was a 283 and a rebuilt TH350 with a shift kit.




I drove it for a month or so until I got antsy and started pulling it apart. Did all the disassembly under the carport at home.


thats Freckles, my 13 yr old dog

[pat]

I took the frame all the way apart, got it sandblasted and painted it with POR15, anybody doing the same make sure to get more paint than you think you will need, b/c I didnt put enough on and it doesnt look as good as it used to. It got a sway bar, 2.5" drop spindles, 2" drop springs, and disk brakes up front. In the back I put in a blazer tank, 2" drop blocks, 3" drop springs, a 3.07 posi (thinking I want 3.73s). Also did a C-notch. Id sure like to bag it one day.

[pat]

Once I found out I had a 283, I decided not to use it. I bought a bunch of parts for a 383, then ended up having a shop build it for me. Its got Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake, roller rockers, Holley 650 double pumper, and Dynamax ceramic coated headers. Engine dynoed at 380 HP and 420 ft-lbs.
old motor

new motor


As far as the body work, I got a great deal with a local body shop. Local owner who is a great guy, he let me come up there and learn everything and help out a lot, and save $$$. We started by sandblasting the cab and bed and started on all of the bodywork. Took forever, but I learned how to do bodywork.
.....Ill finish later today....

[Yukon Jack]

Looks great so far! Eager to see more pics.

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by Yukon Jack

Looks great so far! Eager to see more pics.

[msgross]

nice job...

[pat]

Oops, somehow I forgot about all the rust repair. My dad found a couple trucks at an auction in west texas, came home with them. *Correction, my dad got 4 classics. He bought the white truck in the pic. The blue one was my parts truck. Got an a/c cab that was rough but better than my current one, and a posi rear end.


Had to replace the cab corners, outer rockers, one inner rocker, some of the floor, and the dogleg thing-cant remember the name, but it sucked. I filled in some holes in the firewall, the vents inside the cab, and the gas tank hole. I cut the fuel door out of my brothers wrecked '88 chevy and put that on the side of the bed. I had some sheetmetal bent and made a cover for the neck.

[pat]

few more pics






Also, I shaved the drip rail. I dont think its as hard as everyone makes it out to be. I was pretty proud of myself b/c I did all the rust repair myself with no experience. It'll go a lot smoother next time around.

[pat]

As far as the bodywork, the PO did a number. He welded a 1/4" plate of steel to the tailgate to give it a smooth look. I bet that tailgate weighed 150 pounds. He stuffed newspaper in the tailgate handle and the stake holes and smeared bondo over them. Scrapped the tailgate and picked up a new slightly damaged smooth one and fixed it. Bought 2 new front fenders, found a used hood that was better than my destroyed one. The bed was in pretty sad shape but we got it to work alright. Aircraft paint remover is some pretty strong stuff too!

It was a close choice on paint between the similar color on the current vettes and the lighter blue on the new dodge trucks. I ended up picking the Dodge color, something like Aqua Blue Pearl Coat. more pics

[pat]

I brought the frame up to the body shop and they helped put the cab, front fenders, doors, and radiator support. Oh, anyone doing rocker panels make sure the door is on at the time. Rookie mistake. I also sprayed some undercoating under the cab while it was on a lift.




Back at home

My dad had bought a lift about 2 years ago, still sitting outside our shop, not yet installed... Hes a worse protagonist than me I think. Could have used it dozens of times.

[pat]

I ordered a couple rolls of Brown Bread and put it all over the cab floor, firewall, back of the cab, and doors. Drilled a couple holes for the tweeters in the dash, used the existing hacked holes in the doors for my other speakers. Bought some Kenwood 550ie?? component speakers and a nice Kenwood cd player. Also a 600 Watt amp and a single 10" sub. I built a battery box to put my Optima battery on the frame. Had to grind at my motor mounts a little to get them to fit. The truck came from the factory with a v6, and when the PO put in the 283 he left it in the same spot. I didnt want to mess with the driveshaft if it needed to be changed, so I left it in that location. Its pretty close to the firewall, but I guess its alright.

[pat]

Heres the shop I used. Its pretty old. Dads a packrat, so was Grandpa, so to get to the one small space in the shop that wasnt full of junk, you kinda had to walk through this little cleared path to get to it. I got tired of it one day and started hauling crap out of there. So my Dad was kind of forced to help me so I wouldnt toss something valuable. Got Grandpas antique tractor out of there, a bumper trailer full of scrap metal, and 2 dumpsters worth of trash.
We even got some wood and put shelving up on 2 walls and ran a air line from the other end of the shop so we didnt have to run a hose 40 feet every time it was needed at the other end of the shop. I sure wish I had some previous pics of the inside of the shop.




This is the other side of the shop that still hasnt been cleaned yet, LOTS of wasted space filled with junk that hasnt been touched in years. And this side is WAYYY cleaner than the side that we cleared up. Somewhere in there my Dad and uncle bought a 48 Chevy 2 door. Then he bought a 65 Caddy Sedan de Ville (its awesome). Right now, my truck has been pushed into the barn, so he could fit his and my uncles latest purchase, a 78 vette. Yup, I think Dad caught it

[pat]

Got the bed put on and the tailgate. I got rid of those giant noisy tailgate links and used Ranger cables. Usually you have to grind down on the bolts that you use, but I found some of the bolts that are used to level cabinets and things, they have maybe a 1" head size but they are really low profile and they worked perfect.




Then I brought the truck back up to the body shop for more paint. Getting more excited....


This is one of my favorite pictures showing the color.


Got my wheels in and tires mounted. Torque Thrust IIs, 17x8 in the front and 17x9.5 in the back. Tires are Nitto NT450s, I think 255 50s and 275 50s.


The seats and door panels were a nightmare. The guy quoted me about half of what he charged me. Took him a shade under a year to finish the seat. Id call him one month and he would tell me he's starting on it next week. Call again next month, same story. Over and over. Finally got the seat done, and had some door panels made to match. They turned out great, but next time Ill go somewhere else. Bench seat is from the same wrecked '88 Chevy.

[pat]

I gave the bed wood dimensions courtesy of GMC Pauls website to a friend of mine. He cut out the oak for me. I stained them and then put 6 or 7 coats of varnish on them. If you plan on putting about that much varnish on your bedwood, go ahead and get the boards planed maybe 1/16" of an inch or more thinner. I had to beat in some of the boards that went into the corners. Also used stainless strips and bolts from MarK.




I bought a big sheet of particle board stuff from Home Depot and cut it to fit the back of my cab. Got some really strong velcro from work to attach it to the back of the cab. Then I glued the rear cab carpet to that and put it on the back wall. Mounted my amp to that and stuck the sub back there.


I got some textured paint and painted the seat frame, turned out pretty nice.


I cut some holes in the frame (try and do that without the whole body on there) and welded some pipe in there. Got Flowmaster Delta Flow 40s dumped right before the axle. Sounds great, suprisingly quiet in the cab.

[pat]

Thats most of it, probably left some out, this took a long time. Its got power windows, power locks(screwing with me right now), alarm, keyless entry. I put in a Vintage Air surefit system and a hidden hitch,


Grant steering wheel and shifter handle we made at work, matching lock knobs in process. I cut up a tach to fit in the middle hole, looks like it belongs there.









I hope that was enough pictures....

[pat]

Dont anyone buy those Proform grey valve covers. Mine went to crap, the paint is all faded in splotches and they are pretty much ruined. And I havent driven it 100 miles yet.
Ive gotta fix my lock problem, address a couple small leaks, charge the a/c system, and get new valve covers and air cleaner, thats probly about it.

[shifty]

you did a sick job, i'm impressed.

not trying to nitpick but looks like the read driver's side of hood is misaligned.

[toomanytoyz]

You Did a Great Job, Thanks for Sharing............

Rick

[68c-10]

Your truck is beatiful, That is almost exactly how I want mine to look when it is done. What kind of drop did you use?

[BigShoe24]

Great work!!! Looks excellent.

[71swb4x4]

Nice truck!

[sergio rios]

good job ,,,,,,,,,

[Frizzle Fry]

Well done!

[pat]

Originally Posted by 68c-10

Your truck is beatiful, That is almost exactly how I want mine to look when it is done. What kind of drop did you use?

2.5"spindles, 2" springs front, 3" springs, 2" block back

Originally Posted by shifty

you did a sick job, i'm impressed.

not trying to nitpick but looks like the read driver's side of hood is misaligned.

Yeah, its misaligned. The gap widens from left to right, and the back of the hood is sticking up a little too. Needs a little attention.


Thanks everybody!

[n2billet]

So, what does your Dad think now? Very nice truck, my son (junior in high school) is starting his build or should I say I'm starting the build and your truck will help him understand it doesn't happen overnight.