Project First Car '68 Shortbox Fleetside

[68_Shortbox]

Hi, I'm finaly starting my build thread for my '68 shortbox. I bought this truck March of 2010 and it's my first car. I plan on making a decent driver out of it. I'am not expecting it to be perfect at all, just a nice looking daily driver. So far my dad and I have have done some brake, exhaust work, and a bunch of little things to make it safer to drive. Currently we have the motor pulled so we can change the clutch, paint the motor, change engine seals, and paint the front of the frame. We also have to fix a crack in the frame where the power steering box is. This spring/early summer we will be swapping the '70 cab and front clip for a '68 cab and clip. The '68 truck that we will be using is a factory big block, air conditioned, and bucket seat truck. My '68 already has a disk brake conversion from a '71 suburban. My truck is a custom, it currently has a 327 out of a '68 impala and a truck 4 speed. I'am thinking about painting it blue with the grill painted black. I'am also considering painting a black hockey stick stripe like some of the '69 camaros had on the side. Thanks for looking and I will try and keep this thread updated as I work on the truck.

[68_Shortbox]

Some more pictures of it this summer and some of the way it is now.

[67chevy1series]

what color are you gonna paint it? you gonna keep the 70 nose or give it that slant hood! hahah the 68 front clip? stock? custom?

[too much stuff]

Glad to see you are working on it!

[Patsfan34]

Awesome man, enjoy it!

[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

what color are you gonna paint it? you gonna keep the 70 nose or give it that slant hood! hahah the 68 front clip? stock? custom?

I'm thinking about painting it Le Mans Blue, Marina Blue, or Cortez Silver with the '68 grill painted black. I'm going to put the '68 cab and front clip on it. It will be alittle of both (stock and custom) so I guess you could call it a very mild custom. I will either get or make a hood scoop and I'm thinking about putting some SS emblems on it but that is still in questioning. I'm trying to use photoshop to make a mock up of it.
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[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Glad to see you are working on it!

I'am too, but it's a real bummer not driving it. But atleast it will look better and it will be safer to drive.

Originally Posted by Patsfan34

Awesome man, enjoy it!

Thanks.
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[MikeJones16]

Where Can i order that Air cleaner?

[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by MikeJones16

Where Can i order that Air cleaner?

LMC is where I got mine and it was reasonably priced too.

[68_Shortbox]

I'm still working on cleaning up the frame rails and engine. For my birthday my parents bought me a factory tilt steering column from a 72 chevy. It is slightly damaged but it should be fixable.

[68_Shortbox]

I painted the motor last night. I still have more engine parts and the frame to paint. I still have to fix the crack in the frame and do some brake line work. I will try to get some pictures of the motor up tonight.
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[68_Shortbox]

[mstrav1973]

Just as quick thought, those tall valve covers might not fit. Do you have a body lift on the truck? It seems some trucks they fit some dont, just thought I would throw that out there before you tried sliding it in without confirming you have the clearance.

Matt

[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by mstrav1973

Just as quick thought, those tall valve covers might not fit. Do you have a body lift on the truck? It seems some trucks they fit some dont, just thought I would throw that out there before you tried sliding it in without confirming you have the clearance.

Matt

It has 4in. blocks in the rear and a extra leaf spring on each side in the front. I can't see anything that they would hit. Thanks for the warning I will have to make sure they fit.

[propanemudtruck]

Originally Posted by 68_Shortbox

It has 4in. blocks in the rear and a extra leaf spring on each side in the front. I can't see anything that they would hit. Thanks for the warning I will have to make sure they fit.

I think he's referring to the valve covers hitting the fire wall. With a body lift it would help space the engine away from the body.

[68_Shortbox]

Its been awhile since I've done a update so here its goes. I jacked my truck to take the wheels of so I could clean up the rims and my dad noticed that the u-joints were worn out. So we tore the hubs apart on the passenger side and replaced the u-joint and put in new bearings and seals in the hub. We also painted up the hub housing, caliper, and part of the axle tube on the passenger side and put a new rotor and brake pads on. We still have to do the same thing on the driver's side but we are gonna do that when we get it back together. We are almost done with welding the crack in the frame and will hopefully have that done soon. We still have to paint the front of the frame and do some more brake work. I'm hoping to get the frame painted in a couple days.

[Conroe trucker]

Looks good.
Just take your time and do it right.

[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by Conroe trucker

Looks good.
Just take your time and do it right.

Thanks! We are definitely taking our time haha.
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[68_Shortbox]

Its been too hot out to work on it this past week. I did get some of the paint stripped off of the frame and will hopefully get the front of it painted soon.
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[silver7]

Nice progress 68 shortbox. Glad to see another of these fine trucks are getting the attention they deserved. Looking forward to seeing this come together.

[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by silver7

Nice progress 68 shortbox. Glad to see another of these fine trucks are getting the attention they deserved. Looking forward to seeing this come together.

Thanks! I can't wait to drive it again its been way too long.
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[67chevy1series]

engine and front axle look really really good! keep it up!

[68_Shortbox]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

engine and front axle look really really good! keep it up!

Thank you!
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[68_Shortbox]

I decided that it would be easier to pull the front clip off and paint the front of the frame. I got all but two of the bolts out that hold the front clip on and I disconnected the wiring. If everything goes as planned we will pull the clip off today. While the clip is off we might just go ahead and do the cab swap too. I'm also considering taking the 4in. lift out and bringing it back down to stock ride height.
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[68_Shortbox]

With the help of my dad, brother, and a friend we got the front clip off. It wasn't as heavy as we thought it would be. I will try to get some pictures up soon.
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