My 70 Panel

[jgb7038]

I posted a couple of pics of my panel on the picture thread,and a number of you wanted to see some build pics. I took most of these with a film camera,and to get them on here,I took pictures of the pictures with my digital camera,(still havent figured out my scanner yet). So,needless to say,they are not the best,but you can get the general idea at least.

My panel was originally a long bed pick up.The truck was decent,but already made up of a number of other trucks, 70 doghouse and cab,72 doors and chassis,5lug disc,etc.It was no pristine original by any means. Once the panel conversion got into by head that all there was.I found a very rusty 72 burb at the local parts yard where I had been getting some other items. Got it for next to nothing,put the peices on a trailer and drug them back to the garage I was working in at the time.

This is how the truck looked a couple of days after I originally bought it.



The donor burb,
As you can see,the burb had a hard life.....







I wanted a shorter panel,so I cut my long bed frame down to make a "factory" short bed wheel base.With that done,I reinstalled the bed,cut off the front enough to center the wheel wells and welded the front edges of the bed onto the cab corners.Removed the back cab wall,and welded the bed floor to the cab.







I needed to cut the excess length off the rear of the bed before I could start fitting the burb on to it.

[jgb7038]

One thing I forgot to figure in was the fact that the burbs have about 2" above the drip rail and pick ups dont.You can see how far off the roof lines were in the last picture in the prior post. My simplest solution was to wedge section the roof.Basically the burb roof tapers down,and the pick up roof tapers up.





With the roof panels aligned,it was time to start connecting the sides.I ended up cuttin the burb sides in a kind of a choppy way.I had to do this due to the fact of the bed side contures did not line up exactly. On the p/u.the main curve just below the bed rail tapers downward as it goes toward the taillights,and on the burb,it reamins staight across all the way back.I had to make sure there was enough of the burb 1/4 to line the contours up with the pick up.





On the in side,the inner and outer panels of the burb sat right down over the bed rails.





To finish out the rear,I reinstalled the lower sections of the pu bed.I also added the marker lights,and a late model fuel door.

[jgb7038]

The burb had a tail pan that extended out to the bumper,which was mostly rotted away,so I used what I could ouf the sill and made a simple flat tail pan.





I used 18 ga. steel to fill in the window openings.








Now,at this point I was still using it as a driver.It took about 6 months of evenings and weekends to get it from a pick up to a panel truck. This was technically first part of the build.It had a well used 454 in it by this time that shortly gave up on me. Ened up having the motor rebuilt,but punched out to 496 cubic inches.While the motor was out,I ended up getting engaged,and as a joke I said "why dont we use the panel in the wedding" Much to my surprise my fiancee thought it was a terrific idea so begain build number 2.
Thrashing day and night for a few more months,this time in secret,the panel showed up on our wedding day dressed appropriatly.

[panelguy]

WOW!!! Thats some incredible work!!! nicely done!

[jgb7038]

After being part of our special day,the panel went back to daily driver duty.





Ended up swaping the cut springs out for stockers so I didnt have as much trouble driving in the snow.



Wound up getting a "new" driver that got better mileage so the panel sat.........almost 6 years. Gathered parts as I found them thinking I would fix her back up some day....
That "day" arrived when I found a alston Chassis works full race rear clip for a price I could not refuse.So began build number 3.

The clip was a little narrower than I liked,so I split it in 2 and widened it.




Started cutting out the old making room for the new.

[jgb7038]

With the rear end handled,It was time to prep the rest of the truck.I install steel wheel tubs,and sarted rebuilding the floor.with the rear clip and tubs so far up in the truck,I made a raised floor stucture and ended up with a couple of storage compartments behind each wheel tub.

Wheel tubs. Floor framing.

[jgb7038]

One of the things to change was the headers.Bought a weld up kit and went to town.





Before and After in the truck.





After coating

[jgb7038]

Started redoing the body.Stripped the old paint and filler down to bare steel. Removed the dash pad and extended the dash.Fixed a lot of rust.insatlled the "new" doors and parts I had been gathering.







When I installed the rear clip,I rasied the gas tank.So I had to move the gas door up farther into the 1/4 panel.

[jgb7038]

Onto paint....









And interior.....

[jgb7038]

And more interior....

[jgb7038]

And a few more interior......lots to fabricate when you have a truck they did not make from the factory......

[jgb7038]

And the finished truck for those who did not see it on the other post.


















Now please keep in mind this truck was built as a weekend driver,not a show truck.There are a number of things that should have had more attention during the build.But the bottm line is I happy with the way it came out and am having a lot of fun running around with it in the summer. I just wish I had a nickel for every time some one tells me they had one just like it..........


I also just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have taken the time to look at my truck.

[kev2809]

woooooooooooow! i never would have guessed you chopped a burb in half and welded it to your truck. looks amazing! kudos to you man, looks great!

[IAFF2407]

very nice, nice build thread. thx.

[pritch]

I am just flat out amazed!!!! That is just plain awesome!

[63chevyll]

wow great job, Looks like a tone of work, we are all glad you took pictures

[wancosc356]

Super clean!

[petey-pablo]

Thats Bad ASS.. When can I drop off my truck so you can start on it Its a short bed already so you wont have to cut the frame... Wellcome to the Board from Fremont Ca.

[pmpski_1]

[Kayotic]

I like that a lot, and thanks for the pictorial too...

I would like to ask about the seats though. Are they the off the shelf seats that Summit or Jegs carries?

I was planning on using them in my C10. Have you had much seat time in them? If so, any regrets?

- Danny

[Rick Allmon]

WOW! Dedication, Like most people we tend to lose a little of that on a major project, my hat is off to you and your girlfriend/wife. I've always owned some kind of wagon,panel,delievery,burp,or blazer. At this time I own 4 blazers,4 burps,90 something pick-ups, 1 57 chevy nomad,1 56 4-door wagon 1 57 2-door hard top[needs restoring.I do sale a few parts if anyone needs something,[nomad is not for sale. GOD BLESS Rick

[jgb7038]

Originally Posted by Kayotic

I like that a lot, and thanks for the pictorial too...

I would like to ask about the seats though. Are they the off the shelf seats that Summit or Jegs carries?

I was planning on using them in my C10. Have you had much seat time in them? If so, any regrets?

- Danny

Yes,the seats are from Summit racing.I could not get my old ones recovered for what the new one cost me. They are,in my opinion,very comfortable.My wife figits alot normally,but she doesnt in these seats. They are a good seat for the price.

[suville]

Now thats a tough act to follow! NICE proportions too! Now lets stuff a big Block Caddy in that!

[67ss&99ss]

The build quality and fabrication skills are amazing! Very nice ride. Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures of the progress along the way.

[420am]

Wow. That turned out amazing. Very nice work.