How do yall set yalls body lines?

[frog210]

Okay let me start of with the truck
74 c10 stock height 8 leaf springs in rear so it has a angle

How do yall set the body lines, I want to get the line straight from front to back, is it more reliable to follow the lines on the cab, then do the front clip then the bed?
My bed is 1/2-1 inch lower than the cab line on the drivers side(I was just thinking of shimming it

(By body line I mean the one line that runs front to back, under the door handle)
Thank for the help
Frog
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[spencer_41188]

that sounds odd

is your frame bent

the fender and the front door is the tricky spot but when i put my bed on it lined right up with the cab then i moved to the rear doors on my crew, then the front doors and thats where ive stoped because the guy i bought it from wreaked it and pushed the fender into the door poping the welds and beding the door soooo

i would make shure all the sheet metel underneth looks right and the bed side is bolted on you may be able to tweek it there some

the problem you may run into you may have to shim that hole side of the bed then the bed will look croked from behind

get a quote from a frame shop if it dont look right who knows could be a free quote and they may find something

[frog210]

Frame ain't bent, all the sheet metal and everthing looks good
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[johnnyclack]

In the past when I have been concerned with setting a horizontal line I have started at both ends, making sure they are exactly where I want them.

Next proceed by stretching a "tight" string line between these two points. Then adjust your body lines’ to match the string line, shim as needed according to the space/gap you have created at the mounts

This may be more work than you wanted, but your lines will match.

Good Luck

[gchemist]

Align the doors first to the cab. Next, move forward fenders, cowl, hood and bumper. You can adjust the bed with washers, leafs, and springs.

[frog210]

Okay well i have my cab and doors already lined up, I'm do my front end next, then use that string technique for the bed,
I want to be one of the owners with a straight lined truck
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[ElGracho]

Normally the cab is sagged and the line is lower than the bed because of bad cab mounts. That's the first place to start with an old truck. After that it's just like Gerardo said. Doors to cab, fenders to doors, then the grill and core support and hood. The bed normally doesn't need much to line up to the cab. An inch low would tell me there is something way wrong with the frame or cab mount crossmember.

[frog210]

I don't think my cab is sagging but then again I could be wrong, how would be the best way to check this, tape measure or any other special tricks, maybe measure from the ground flat level, to the body line?
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[andrewmp6]

How old are your cab mounts?They are just a rubber bushing when it wears out can cause the cab to sag or lean one way.

[Boostaddict]

I have the same problem I think. Here is a picture from last week. The body lines are perfect on the passenger side, on the drivers side the bed looks like it sits an inch high. I took the bed off recently for frame rustproofing and did a visual on the cab mount bushings which looked fine (you can sort of see them in the other picture below. I was told on another forum that I simply have "frame twist" which is typical of these trucks, but not sure I believe it on mine which only has 30k original miles (single family owned). I'm thinking I should probably buy new cab mounts and then shim the left-rear cab mount to get the body line straight if the mounts themselves don't fix it?

[cmyc5575]

What did they say would cause the frame to twist? besides a wreck or being on an uneven surfaced road. my cab sits about half inch lower than the bed line to but i think that my cab mounts just need to be reshimed.

[spencer_41188]

your post said "My bed is 1/2-1 inch lower than the cab line on the drivers side"

now that i see the pics you can most defintly tell the cab is sagging i would replace with poly cab bushings or just ship it. this is not frame twist because it dont look like its been mudding or crashed its caused by someone loving there truck and driving it by themselves alot (driver .... drivers side) i think theres 6 bushings just shimming the 3 on the drivers side or just the 2 under the cab will bring it up but shimming it ... thats alot of shims and its still a weak bushing ... hit a hard bump and the cab will jump

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by spencer_41188

your post said "My bed is 1/2-1 inch lower than the cab line on the drivers side"

now that i see the pics you can most defintly tell the cab is sagging i would replace with poly cab bushings or just ship it. this is not frame twist because it dont look like its been mudding or crashed its caused by someone loving there truck and driving it by themselves alot (driver .... drivers side) i think theres 6 bushings just shimming the 3 on the drivers side or just the 2 under the cab will bring it up but shimming it ... thats alot of shims and its still a weak bushing ... hit a hard bump and the cab will jump

Agreed, I would replace with poly cab bushings. Some on here say that it will cause increased vibrations but until my engine crashed I drove mine with poly bushings as a daily driver and I cannot say I noticed any change. There might have been some change, but not enough for me to notice. Poly bushings WILL raise you cab. After I had installed on one side it sat around 3/4 to 1" higher on that side due to the bushings sagging.

[frog210]

Heres a few pictures
everything is original and looks good
original bed
bent dosnt look bent or twisted
frame dosnt looked like nothings wrong

[cmyc5575]

Originally Posted by frog210

Heres a few pictures
everything is original and looks good
original bed
bent dosnt look bent or twisted
frame dosnt looked like nothings wrong

well it looks like your passenger side is below the bed line where as you driver side is above the bed line. lets say that the passenger side bushing is rotted away which would explain that cab being lower than the bed line on that side, what would cause the driver side to be above the bed line, unless there are bushings that are under the bed connected to the frame that are also rotted that caused this. but i thought they did not set these beds on bushings all it is, is metal on metal or am i wrong? I am confused! if i thought correctly it looks like that frame was twisted. Unless in this pic are you on even ground or on a hill which would also explain that your frame is twisting to one side making it look like that driver side is higher than the passenger side.

[frog210]

Originally Posted by cmyc5575

well it looks like your passenger side is below the bed line where as you driver side is above the bed line. lets say that the passenger side bushing is rotted away which would explain that cab being lower than the bed line on that side, what would cause the driver side to be above the bed line, unless there are bushings that are under the bed connected to the frame that are also rotted that caused this. but i thought they did not set these beds on bushings all it is, is metal on metal or am i wrong? I am confused! if i thought correctly it looks like that frame was twisted. Unless in this pic are you on even ground or on a hill which would also explain that your frame is twisting to one side making it look like that driver side is higher than the passenger side.

I never thought of that, that might be the problem, i feel so dumb now, gonna check this out tomorrow( 2 days of work lol)
report with yall tomorrow

[cmyc5575]

Originally Posted by frog210

I never thought of that, that might be the problem, i feel so dumb now, gonna check this out tomorrow( 2 days of work lol)
report with yall tomorrow

Please get back with us on this! Very interested in what you find out! Something you may consider doing is driving to one of the flatest and most even parking lots in your area that you can find and then possibly re-examine the lines again (from cab to bed) and see what the levels are. I have done this and it seems that my cab is below the bed line evenly on both sides, so I may just have to put new bushings under my cab to raise it a bit and make it straight. Then once you do that take some pics of what the lines are like on both sides when you go to the parking lot.

[frog210]

would these be it?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php


part number CCC898200

[spencer_41188]

this half the price you get 4 body mounts and 2 core suport mounts there polyurithane and come with hardware
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ENS-3-4109G/
they come in red or black and there the same price with or without hardware

[cmyc5575]

Originally Posted by spencer_41188

this half the price you get 4 body mounts and 2 core suport mounts there polyurithane and come with hardware
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ENS-3-4109G/
they come in red or black and there the same price with or without hardware

I would also go with the summit racing kit to seems to be a better price. Plus i have heard alot from my friends when they have redone their trucks with these. Awesome product.

[frog210]

Dam* if only i had seen this a while ago
I dont have a credit card and borrowed a friends and bought the one's i put in the previous post, both for $40(gonna buy the other two the other check, gonna do the passenger side)

A bunch of people told me about rockauto
well there already paid for so nothing i can do now
also bought me a 16 gallon tank, driver and passenger side gasket, 2 door strikers, 2 cab bushings came out to like $180
the first two are of the passenger side bushings
and the last 3 are of the drivers side
as you can see my passengers were shot and deformed
drivers are used but will last me till another payday lol

[cmyc5575]

Originally Posted by frog210

Dam* if only i had seen this a while ago
I dont have a credit card and borrowed a friends and bought the one's i put in the previous post, both for $40(gonna buy the other two the other check, gonna do the passenger side)

A bunch of people told me about rockauto
well there already paid for so nothing i can do now
also bought me a 16 gallon tank, driver and passenger side gasket, 2 door strikers, 2 cab bushings came out to like $180
the first two are of the passenger side bushings
and the last 3 are of the drivers side
as you can see my passengers were shot and deformed
drivers are used but will last me till another payday lol

I would be curious as to how your going to lift the cab to you can mount all the hardware? i have heard of people using cissor jack to wedge between the frame and the bottom of the cab for the support, but would like to know the correct way of doing this or most pefered way of doing this.

[frog210]

That was what I was thinking if doing, but let some more people put the opinions in

[cmyc5575]

yeah i agree with that one.

[spencer_41188]

i would take all the bolts out so it dont bind and bend the sheet metel but a 2x4 the lenth of the cab and lift one side at a time just lift it high enough to do the job because of the brake lines/cable and steering colom