Project: Recycle

[SCOTI]

I thought I would create a build thread since I have enough parts & should have a rolling chassis pretty soon. I picked up this 64 a few weeks after the '08 FtWorth TX Good-Guys show.

I really love Dino's & C10Addict's rides & drooled over several different 64-66 BBW trucks @ that GG's show. I'm always surfing through Craigslist ad's & came across this truck (I've been wanting another since the one I had in high school). There were no pics w/the ad so I figured it would be a turd but it's actually in decent shape. I really didn't need another truck but . ..... Well, you guys know how it is ......


So the list of acquired parts goes something like this:
Porterbuilt Dropmember
ART a-arms w/Slam RE-7's & Bilsteins
ECE Truck arm C.member
Porterbuilt Dropped Truckarms w/RE-6's & Bilsteins
Porterbuilt Panhard-bar
Ride Tech manual fill air mgt system (after all, 60's trucks had primitive options )

The stuff I did:
68 LWB to 64 SWB frame conversion (includes 3" rear frame Z that's plated & boxed)
Built & boxed c-sections
Relocated rear axle C/L back 1.5"
Fabbed adjustable Panhard-bar bracket
Fabbed/modified upper shock c.member
Modified PHB triangulation c.member
Modified/relocated cab mounts
Fabbed front bumper adapter 'brackets'
Blazer gas tank (relocated between the rails vs. under)
Raised bed floor

Motorvation:
350 from N2TRUX's 77 w/rebuilt heads, mild CC hyd cam, lifters, timing set, oil pump, & intake
Retro valve covers, air cleaner, & exhaust
700r4 w/a 2200 convertor
5-lug front disc conversion w/master cyl firewall bracket (from Captainfab)
68 12-bolt 3.73's & Moser axles

Acquired 'seasoned' parts:
15” steelies
Buddy Buckets (from Superchevy)
van tilt
Camaro steering wheel (from Lolife99)
Radio delete plate & front frame horn (from LilRed66)
High-hump trans tunnel cover (from Joe231)
6x-72 GM powder-coated accessory brackets (from Primer_69 & TxFirefighter)

Still to go:
BBW conversion
Interior cab paint
Vintage Air
Modify front/rear wheels tubs

[lolife99]

Signing up for this one,...

[816allen]

Your just sick SICK i tell you
Man that truck is already nice and man i cant wait to see the outcome!!!
Nice parts you got there!!!
Signing up also

[LEEVON]

What a surprise that you're building me a truck! I'm so honored!

need more pics though...

[ksbrktracer]

I got my subscription......!

[joe231]

I'm most certainly in!!! (FINALLY)

[VA72C10]

Watching this build...going to be an awesome truck!!!

[Captainfab]

I've been waiting for you to start a build thread. Now we need some more pics.....

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I've been waiting for you to start a build thread. Now we need some more pics.....

I've been waiting for a 6x-66 specific 'Projects/Build' section .

I'll start putting up some pics. I had the camera @ the shop when I started the thread & most of the build pics are on that card.

[Alan's Classic]

Just had to do it.

Subscribed.

[my67chevytruck]

bout time SCOTI.... need to swing by and check it out in person.......

[SCOTI]

Here's where it started. Like I mentioned, Dino's & C10addict's trucks have been favorites of mine. I checked these 2 trucks out @ GG's Ft.Worth & the hunt was on.

[SCOTI]

I already had a lwb frame that I used for 'practice' mods. I had thought about 'Z-ing' the rear end of the frame. After consulting, it was suggested I purchase a rear frame kit from Art Morrison or make templates & build my own rails. Not feeling that confident in my 'fab-from-scratch' ability, I decided to tweak what the generals engineering staff had originally designed.

I picked up some steel & adjustable stands that were destined for scrap & built a temporary frame table. It's not high-tech, but it's solid & level & that's what a novice needs to make the work legit.

I then x-braced the rear section of the practice frame to keep things as square as possible....

[SCOTI]

With the frame securely in place (nice & square), we commenced to cutting!

[SCOTI]

With the rear frame 'clip' welded (fixed) in place, we loosened up the front frame section that was held in place on 3" square tubing w/rachet straps @ the 4 cab mount corners.

I relocated the front frame section by removing the 3" square tubing & pulling the front rear back together again. I welded the splice to keep things square while I made the gusseting plate (fish plates).

[SCOTI]

I wanted to make sure things remained intact worst case scenario since I'm not a certified welder. So this frame Z is over-built.

The outer frame is plated w/plug & perimeter welds....

[SCOTI]

The inner frame is also plated w/plug & perimeter welds. I plotted the plug welds to be staggered as well as each of the plates so I wouldn't be welding directly on metal that was already heat worked (I figured too much heat concentration is just as bad as not enough)....

[SCOTI]

I started making the inner boxing plate trying to keep the gaps as consistent as possible. One thing I didn't like was putting the plate against the frame 'as is' would not allow it to be square. I wanted the boxing plate in square, so that required trimming the bottom lip of the frame rail slightly.

I also had to figure a way to do the bed mounts. I considered welding them in place but ultimately decided to weld some nuts in place under the frame....

[my67chevytruck]

looking good bro!

[VA72C10]

Looks good. Like the fact you're doing extra bracing. see too many unsafe Z's...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Looks good. Like the fact you're doing extra bracing. see too many unsafe Z's...

If I welded for a living, I would have fish plates & boxed it. Since I'm just a hobby guy, I figured dbl fish plates was the better choice.

I got the nuts aligned & welded, then moved forward w/the boxing....

[SCOTI]

In this pic, you can see where I over-lapped the boxing plate where the C/L of the splice for the Z was. It was plug welded & lap welded each side.

Once that was done, I capped off the upper portion of the Z....

[SCOTI]

So.... Up to this point, this was just an excersize in "if it's done, how well would it work". I stashed the lwb frame in storage figuring I could/would shorten it for a future low-buck project.

At the same time I got the lwb frame, I had also purchased a swb 65 frame for this project. My intent was to do the rear frame Z on that frame (you improve on the 2nd from the miscues on the 1st), add the Dropmember, & build a rolling chassis to swap the 64's body over to so that I could keep the truck 100% intact until the last possible second (I have more than 1 disassembled project & did not want to add a 4th). I started mocking the 65 swb frame on the 'table' & when trying to set it square, learned the frame was not right.

A trip to the frame repair/alignment place relieved my pockets of cash but the frame was still .500" off on the diagonal measurement from the rear cab mounts to the ends of the rear frame rails. After contemplating my choices, I decided to bring the lwb frame back to the shop & cut it down to a swb.

This has been covered before on the board & I merely followed some excellent instruction from a fellow board member w/his FAQ thread on frame shortening. It had a gusset/fish plate plug & perimeter welded to the outside of the frame only because I wanted to be able to remove & install the truck arm c.member (you can't swing the c.member out the back side because of the boxing plates)....

[SCOTI]

For this project, I wanted the rear wheels centered in the wells w/the extreme drop. This meant I couldn't use an off the shelf bolt-in style c-section kit. I also didn't want to do the step notch thing as my intent is not to plant the frame rails, but to drive this sucker low (all the time) but have more ground clearance.

This necessitated building my own c-notches. Using measurements from my old 68's CPP notches & ART's new rear Strong Arm kit, I had some plate bent up mimicking PB's front R&P notches (for F/R visual consistency).

Installed, they are approx 1.5" rearward of the OE axle C/L when the housing is bottomed against the frame. I made some boxing plates for these as well since they are pretty deep into the frame. The boxing plates again were welded in square to the rails & the frame rails trimmed where necessary to get proper gaps....

[SCOTI]

Once fully welded, I trimmed off the excess metal leaving a small .250" max lip. Those 3" square 'blocks' represent my suspension travel. I used them to mock my ride height & establish the proper dimensions for shock brackets. You can also see the OE style truck arms & home-made lowering blocks that I started with....