my "71 C10 project

[RexDodge]

It's time to get back to work on my truck. I've decided to shorten the frame and go from lwb to swb. I'm a glutten for punishment and it looks like a fun job. I just wish I had thought of this before I did the body work and paint. Most of the work was on the cab. I pulled the gas tank out (did the blazer tank between the frame rails) and removed all the trim/filled the holes. While I'm at it I'm installing a c notch kit. I'll post up pics once I get her all torn down. I'm sure I'll be posting up for some help at some point.

[RexDodge]

Well I cleaned the garage enough today to get started. I will be using tips from a few threads on this site and want to give props to the authors. The bed shortening tips goes to Rockrin and the thread is here, http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=509442. The tail light gas filler tip goes to Hugger and can be found here, http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...ht=tail+filler. I took a few pictures after the layout. Using Rockrin's tips it really was very straight forward and seems to have laid out square. I used a piece of cardboard as a flexible straight edge on the inside of the bed to mark the cut lines on the sides. I found a cruddy mess (surface rust) behind the taillight but that will get removed. I am picking up a supply of cut off wheels this week and will get to hackin next weekend. I hope to have all the layout done (front and rear) and do both cuts and some fab work on the tail light gas filler assembly by the end of next weekend. I'll post up pics of the mayhem. Have a good week all...

[RexDodge]

Today I decided I couldn't wait till the weekend to get started. I got all the rear bed cuts done, rear frame cut (8") and the rear section remounted and mocked up. Tomorrow night I will dress the seams as needed and weld it up. Here are some pictures. Oh, total time tonight was about 3 hours start to finish.

[nuke1]

Very nice so far, you are gonna love the shortbed

[RexDodge]

Thanks James. I noticed the link for fabricating adjustable trailing arms in your sig. I think I can build new trailing arms for not much more than rebuilding the stock arms. Another lil project to add while I have it apart. Now I'm anxious to get the bed done so I can get to the frame and trailing arms...so much more fun doing it yourself!

[RexDodge]

Got in a couple of hours tonight in the garage. Spot welded the back half on, finished the seam on the outside/drivers side. Man that is some tedious work! It turned out well. I also filled in some holes on the cap and made up some plugs to fill in the stake pockets. I am out of town for a few days so may not get any more work done until the weekend. See ya!

[RexDodge]

Tonight I sliced the 12" out of the front of the bed. Of course I found a few other things to take care of while I have the bed off. I plan to shorten the frame Saturday and do a few other misc sheet metal repairs. Next week I'm going to re-route my exhaust (3") through the cross member and tuck it up under the bed. Details, details...

[RexDodge]

Here is a picture of the first seam I completed. This is after I dressed the weld. I used my little Lincoln wire feed buzz box with flux cored .035. Just kept my cordless drill with a wire brush handy. It can be done but you really need to watch your heat and penetration. If not you'll blow the heck out of the metal. It has been pointed out in other threads but take your time lining up the back half! It is narrower at that point. Just use the seam clips, adjust as needed and recheck the entire joint before you start tacking. At the very bottom you will need to shear away just a bit to make this edge match but who is gonna get on their back and look at that, right?! I will get some more pics and post. Checked with a straight edge after I was done. It will only take a light glaze to prep. Very happy with that one. Now on to the rest. Power to the garage based builders!

[RexDodge]

Ugh, finally got the frame cut. There is alot of prep work under there. I am cutting the frame without taking the cab off. I just took the 4 cab mounting bolts out, jacked up the cab (careful blocking job so I didn't crush anything), blocked it up with 2x4's between the frame and cab slid far enough ahead to stay out of the way of my cuts and then on to the lay out. After removing the 2 forward box mounting pads and removing the fuel/brake lines I cut the rivets that attach the rear cab mounts and moved them back 12". Mark a center line on the old mounting point and measure back from there 12". Once I had those mounted I fabricated some stand up braces (4) to support the front and back of the frame, welded those on close to my cuts but far enough to be out of my way. I also blocked the frame with some blocking just to be safe. After all that I finally got to cutting. All that set up took a few hours and the actual cuts took maybe 20 minutes. I just put my small floor jack under the cross member that the drive line passed through and rolled the two half together. Tomorrow I hope to dress the joints to match/weld and put it back together. I will take pictures before I remove the bracing and post them. Man, it will be good to get the frame tacked together so I can put truck up on jack stands to make room to get under there and do a proper job of finishing the welding. What a pain it was to make those cuts (with my 4" angle grinder and cut off wheels) with the truck at ride height. I hope the hard part is behind me. Pics tomorrow, I promise.

[PHAT TONY]

Looks really good so far, love that you're not sacrificing storage for this (box full of stuff).

[YBNORML]

Nice work! I have done the same thing to mine. However, I took the easy route, sold the long box and bought aftermarket shortie stuff.

[RexDodge]

Originally Posted by PHAT TONY

Looks really good so far, love that you're not sacrificing storage for this (box full of stuff).

Yeh, working in a small 2 car garage in one stall. Room is definitely at a premium.

[RexDodge]

Originally Posted by YBNORML

Nice work! I have done the same thing to mine. However, I took the easy route, sold the long box and bought aftermarket shortie stuff.

Thanks! I checked out your build thread, WOW! Very nice job and I really like that rear c notch and suspension.

[RexDodge]

Ok! I finaly got into the garage to get at the frame. The top pic shows my stand up bracing I spot welded onto the frame before I made my cuts. It also shows a piece of stock I c clamped to the frame (on both sides) to help align the frame after removing the 12" section. I did scribe control lines at 20" on center on both sides but the picture does not show it. The second picture shows the gap under the stand up bracing after I put my come-a-longs on (both sides) and pulled the to halves together. I was wigging out when I measured the floor to frame on each half and each side. Not one measurement of the 4 has the same! After laying there on the garage floor contemplating why the heck I stated this I decided to add the flat stock that is c clamped (to align the side to side). Added the come-a-longs and pulled the two halves together and presto! Checked the frame with a 4' straight edge, did some cross measuring and it worked! The third picture just shows the spot welds and the bottom right picture is the results after pulling the bracing, jacks and blocking. The bed is not bolted down but it shows that it all worked. I picked up new mounting pads today for the cab and bed. I am happy with the results so far. Next weekend I will put the truck up on jack stands and finish the welding on the frame. Maybe even work on the cross member so I can run my exhaust through there. Always something else...later all.

[lolife99]

Very nice work!

[RexDodge]

I need to find some 2.5" drop spindles and a set of coil springs. Looking for around a 3/5 drop. Any local (Oregon) guys to buy from? It would be nice to keep the $$$ local. I thought about going with a set of Chevelle coils but the drop you get seems to be inconsistent. Lots of wisdom on the board and I am listening...

[nuke1]

Looking great!!!!!!!!!!!!! you have gotten quite a bit done in a short time, gotta love progress and the new shorty look to the truck, the best feeling in the world! in my opinion. As for the trailing arms, if I was to do it again, I would go with DOM tubing and build the rear diff holder, these are perfectly fine, nothing wrong at all, I had the metal hence the reason I went with this stuff. either way works just fine thou. In the end, it is stronger than original and works better!

[RexDodge]

Originally Posted by nuke1

Looking great!!!!!!!!!!!!! you have gotten quite a bit done in a short time, gotta love progress and the new shorty look to the truck, the best feeling in the world! in my opinion. As for the trailing arms, if I was to do it again, I would go with DOM tubing and build the rear diff holder, these are perfectly fine, nothing wrong at all, I had the metal hence the reason I went with this stuff. either way works just fine thou. In the end, it is stronger than original and works better!

Thanks James. I have always wanted a swb and these trucks are hard to find with little or no rust. I thought I'd be way ahead just shortening mine. I bought this truck about 20 years ago because it had factory a/c and little rust. I actually worked this truck for 8 years (landscape contractor). I have pictures somewhere with it loaded and riding on the bump stops. That coil suspension isn't exactly a heavy hauler. We didn't use it that way much. I dropped in a new engine 6 years ago and went through the transmission. Life got busy and it has sat since then. I oiled the cylinders and rolled it by hand once a month. It has never been started! That is driving me nuts. I did some porting and massaging on the heads to make it breath. It should be stout, somewhere around 450 hp. I have a guy that worked on my drag car back in the day that has a dyno. I'll find out what I have once I get it moving. I have always wanted a swb and these trucks are hard to find no (or little) rust. Thought I would be way ahead just cutting mine. With all of you on the board it have me the "courage" to jump in and do it. Thanks to you all! I will brainstorm the trailing arm project. I really like the ability to do a thrust alignment. I built a 4 link set up for my drag car and it worked great. I may modify what you did to get some pinion angle adjustment. Hmmm, another project.

[nuke1]

Always another project! lol. And my truck use to haul everything also, farm, logging, ranch truck back in the day! she has history

[RexDodge]

Ok. Somebody needs to convince me why this won't work on my truck. I fabricated this on my drag car and it worked great. It was so adjustable. I could adjust my pinion angle, control the rear roll and get my alignment nuts on. For those "quick trips to the grocery store" it pulls nice and straight when those front tires don't have any weight on them .
From my to do list...which grows ever time I am on this forum...

Fabricate tubular trailing arms and panhard bar.
Front mounting brackets with multiple mounting options (pinion angle correction).
Tubular trailing arms to be A arm style and mounted to brackets on rear end.
Brackets on rear end to be welded on and will have multiple mounting options.
Panhard bar will mount on (frame to) trailing arm to allow for thrust adjustment.
Coilover shocks mounted on adjustable brackets to detail travel/ride height? *may not be possible due to trucks weight

[RexDodge]

Got home and jumped right into the garage. Cleaned up and organized first. I tend to make quite a mess. It's best for me to just shut down, clean up and put things away. After clean up I finished my frame welds and did some clean up on the frame rails. Prep, prep, prep.
Here is a picture of my bed empty just before I hung her on jack stands.
Tomorrow I'll make my reinforcing plates and weld them in behind the frame rails where I spliced them. I hope to roll her outside Saturday to pressure wash the frame. Then it's time to pull the rear end and suspension and get to work.
Note: In this phase I will not be replacing the bed floor or wheel wells. I want to play (drive) this summer and then next winter I'll pull the clip, cab and box to get into all that.

[RexDodge]

Most of my schedule has cleared up today so I will have a little more garage time than I thought . On my way home I'm stopping off to pick up materials to fabricate my c notches, shock relocation brackets and some strap material for re-doing my gas tank mount. Should be a fun weekend. I'll post up some pics Sunday night. If things keep moving along I may have a driver by (maybe) April. Well, maybe not. Just remembered I have to re-install all my glass. I still need a windshield and all my glass seals . I'll be replacing all my door seals, felts and runners too. Time and money, time and money...

[RexDodge]

Guess what I did today. The first picture is your clue. I try to get all the use out of my cut off wheels I can! The second and third show the cuts I made to the frame to allow clearance for the gas tank. I intend to mount it with the mid flange up against the upper edge if the frame rail. I have some 1/8" strap stock that I will form to support the tank. It will look like a factory installation when I am done. At least that is what I am shooting for. I will be fabing up a receiver that will box in the frame at the rear and add strength. The last picture shows the filler necks current location. I will need to get creative with the frame at that point to allow clearance to get to the tail light filler. I had to cut a little of the top rail to allow me to drop the tank into place. I will re-install all that I can to have a spot to bolt the bed securely. Tomorrow I hope to pressure wash the back half so I have clean metal to work with. I will be fabing my c notch's and shock relocation brakets and moving my shocks. Onward!

[RexDodge]

Aurgh! I am really frustrated with my gas tank project. With a c notch and gas tank back there I need to relocate/move my bed floor up. I need 6" more than I have with the stock floor. I am also considering an access panel to service the sending unit/tank if I ever needed to. Easier than dropping the gas tank. I don't find a thread specifically addressing this. Any wisdom out there? I know there is...

[RexDodge]

I think I have the gas tank mount figured out now. I have to add "landing pads" on the outboard side of the frame just in front and just in back of the gas tank mount location. I am removing the cross sills from the two sections of bed I removed when I shortened it. Those sills will get attached to the bed and allow me to bolt the bed to the landing pads I am adding. It may be overkill but I want to avoid any "canning". I will not be hauling anything, I am just after a clean and solid build. My reasoning for adding the two sills is because I have to cut away all but a half an inch of the sill that crosses over the gas tank location. For my straps that run underneath the tank I picked up some 1/8 X 1 strap stock. I have some hinges that I will mount in front and will install some all thread in the back to allow a "clam shell" type of mount that should be very solid. I also have come up with a great idea for modifying my original panhard bar to run from the original mounting point on the drivers side to the trailing arm on the passenger side...and be adjustable (without using any farm implement parts ). All for a grand total of around $15 bucks if you have the tools. I will lay out the parts with pictures sometime this weekend. Onward!