1970 SWB Project -

[67ChevNut]

Hey guys, looking for help! Bought my 1970 Chevy swb step side bed truck this year for $350, I later bought the fleetside bed for $400, plus about $150 more to go get it. I then spent about $200 more on new front suspension parts. I am changing it to 5 lug front disc brakes soon. I have removed the front clip recently and the step side bed.

I have the complete front suspension from a 1975 Chevy truck, planning to use most of it to convert it to 5 lug disc brakes. I also have a 6 lug Posi rear end that measures about 56 inches wide. Not sure where it came from, my guess is that it is from a blazer. It reads "W6 18", whatever that means. I am trying to find what Rearend can donate the 5 lug axle shafts I will need to change this rear end to a 5 lug Rearend. Any suggestions?

Another question, how do you remove all the surface rust from the frame? I want to prime it and paint it, but it has a lot of old grease on the front, and a lot of rust everywhere. The truck had been sitting since 1986! There are a lot of chemicals out there, but I am not sure which one is the best, or what is the best approaching method here.

Something else, currently looking for a nice 69 or 70 front grill, anybody has one for sale?

Couldn't post pics of my project here, don't know how. Keep up the good work guys, I thank you for all your replies and suggestions.
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[67c10rustbuket]

Sounds like a great project but we need pics!!

For the rear end the 67-70 were 55.5 and the 70-72 (also 73+) were 57" so you need to see what your rear end measures as '70 6 lug rear were available in both narrow and short. This measurement is inside to inside of the backing plates. If you measure outside of the backing plates you may see 58" that would be the wide (57") rear end. If your '70 rear is 57" you can swap out axles from a later rear or either way you can buy axles to convert to 5 lugs. Check out Moser for new axles. The posi carrier should swap into either housing as long as it is from a 12 bolt TRUCK housing, 12 bolt car housings are a little different.

For the frame, I had mine sand blasted for $125. Call around and see what kind of bids you can get on blasting. That price was at $100/hour. much better than me slaving over it with a wire brush on a grinder and $100 worth of POR products (or similar).

Check out the classified section on here for a nice grill and anything else you need, we have a great market for our trucks right here on this forum!

[67ChevNut]

Hey, thanks for the reply, I will surely look into that. I added some pics of my project above. It is really just a pile of rust metal, but I think I can bring it back to life. I may be crazy, lol.

I actually have other two rearends, one from a 1993 Olds roadmaster, measures 64" wide, but it is a 10 bolt. Also a 1978 Lincoln Versailles rearend, it measures 58.5" and it is a disc brake rearend. Not sure which one I want to convert to fit my truck.

I will keep posting updates of my project.