65 LWB Fleetside

[Patina]

Hey guys,
I have been working on my 65 for about a year and a half now. just thought I would share some pics. I'm restoring the entire drive train and probably going with a small block with a single power adder. I havent decided yet! Im going to be trying to maintain a nostalgia stocker look. The body will stay in the original "rust" accented paint. Will keep you posted. Here are some pics.

Here are some pics of when I found it.





And then the tear down began!




I will post more pics as I can...







[IMG][/IMG]

[Captainfab]

Welcome to the forum

That looks like a decent truck to build. Are there any rust issues besides the front fenders and the rockers?

[McC_65_91]

long fleets are the best

[Rich 5150 69]

Cool another build thread and welcome.....notice his garage guys, he has a floor pit under his truck.....cool

[kalirodding]

Yeah I seen that. Love to have something like that. Keep us updated.

[irish1966]

Welcome. The truck looks really cool. Nice progress too.

[Patina]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Welcome to the forum

That looks like a decent truck to build. Are there any rust issues besides the front fenders and the rockers?

Um... yeah! Where do I begin. Obviously the fenders and rockers are gone. After further investigation I discovered that the Cab is pretty much beyond my skill to restore so I located a donor cab. The front and rear floor supports along with the toe boards, inner kick panels, front and rear door pillars and parts of the bracing that runs along the bottom of the cab from the front to the back are totally gone so this cab is going to get the hook. I actually am a lot further along on the project than the pictures show. I just need time to upload all the pics... Ill keep everyone posted.

Thanks!

[Patina]

Here are some more recent pics. I have the truck off the frame and started dismantiling the interior to restore and eventually transfer to the new cab. The frame is at the blaster right now and will be getting painted this weekend. I will definately post up before and after pics for you guys. here you go...

Here is the rocker and floor support situation... pretty grim!







I also made a little make shift stand to work on the cab out of 4x4 and jack stands... pretty rudimentary but it works!



New cab and pictures of the frame and suspension. before blast







Here is the cab... I love the heater delete plates... it was from the southwest so the ordered it with nothing...




So that's what rockers look like? who knew...

[Red Ron]

Originally Posted by McC_65_91

long fleets are the best

Thats RIGHT!!

[creep]

These are the only bodystyle that I like the longbed just as much as the shorty.

That's a really clean cab! should make the project much easier.

[Rich 5150 69]

You sure wouldn`t know those two cabs came from the part of the country..

[Captainfab]

That new cab is very nice. Hopefully the blasting doesn't uncover anything hidden. Is the upper portion of your original cab in good condition? If so there is often someone looking for a roof or the section above the windshield. You might be able to make a few bucks from selling parts of it.

[Patina]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

That new cab is very nice. Hopefully the blasting doesn't uncover anything hidden. Is the upper portion of your original cab in good condition? If so there is often someone looking for a roof or the section above the windshield. You might be able to make a few bucks from selling parts of it.

The original cab is fine from the bottom of the doors up... the floor and the rockers took the brunt of the abuse... I had thought about cutting it up and selling it but I had also thought about taking some time after I get the truck together and trying to patch and repair the cab as an exercise in body work... Right now I just want to get the truck back together...

The new cab is not from the Northeast it was from the lower Midwest... maybe Oklahoma or Kansas so that is why its so clean. It has some pin holes in the driver side inner rocker and the passenger side cab corner has a couple areas but nothing bigger than a dime so I'm not too worried about surprises... you guys would probably kill me if I told you what I picked it up for

[Patina]

Frame is back from blasting and paint... came out alright for my first time I think?

Pics are after first coat of primer.

[Patina]

The frame is back home in the shop. Now I have begun disassembling all of the suspension and drive-train for blasting and restoration. I will update as I can. Its getting to be too cold to paint so I'm pretty much relegated to small projects for the next few months.

[Patina]

So after a long wait I am finally getting some work done on the truck. I just sent a bunch of stuff to the blaster. Here are some pics of the stuff before blasting. I will take some after shots when I get it back. It has been raining here quite a bit so the blasting is taking a little bit longer due to the humidity. Should be work the wait when it finally gets done though! Here you go.
Rear axle housing stripped:

Pile Of suspension and chassis parts:

In the truck and on its way to the blaster:

here are some detail shots I took of the spindles after I cleaned them up will use the photos to replicate paint marks:





More to come!

[Patina]

Update:
I pretty much have the entire suspension painted and ready to re-assemble. I have sent out all my original hardware(that I could salvage) to be media blasted. When I get it back I will be refurbishing everything with some Eastwood products. Here are some pictures of the parts after blast and after paint Hope you guys like.




One cool thing I found out, I have a factory 4:10 Rear end! Pretty pumped about that.

[Patina]

Making VERY slow progress, here are some new pics. I have my bed apart finally so I was able to salvage my cross sills and get them blasted. I am attempting to salvage every original bolt and washer that I can so all of the hardware you see has been restored with a wire wheel and fast etch and then painted.


The rear cross sill is going to be a project, I will have to straighten it and patch some pretty sizable holes.


Also started test fitting suspension and chassis components.

[pdxhall]

Your progress is looking great so far. I have a long fleet also that I am doing frame work on right now. A lot in common with yours but I've went with front discs and a mild static drop. I'm also reusing as many original parts as possible. If you decide that you don't want to tackle the rear cross sill Mar-K sell new ones, made in the USA, for $135. I've heard nothing but good things from builders that have used their parts. I'll be keeping in touch with your build.

[nomrlz]

this thing is going to be a killer ride. keep up the good work

[Patina]

Finally a roller!

[Patina]

Motivation!

Cab and Chassis back together...

[Ta2Don]

New to this one...

Please be a 409...

[Patina]

348 for now...409 later.

[Bomp]

Diggin the clean build ya have going on here.
Sub'd