Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I dunno why but for some reason I thought you were getting rid of this truck. This has been a fun build to watch.

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I saw a company on eBay that makes a bracket to install a recessed cadillac third brake light on a tailgate or trunk lid. The bracket and wiring run $175.00 without the light. So I hit up my local LKQ junkyard and snagged a trunk lid, third brake light and the harness for $40.00. The plan is to put it above the back window on the 67 cab. The wiring harness in the truck is from a 2004 gmc van, and it already has the wiring for the third brake light. All I have to do is find the pigtail end and route it up the back of the cab.

Also, before the rain set in, I pulled the bed off the truck to make the cab swap easier.

The last picture I thought was cool, just having all the old truck stuff parked at the end of the driveway.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I had it up for sale twice. Once to get money for a down payment for a house. But the house deal fell through.

The second time, I put it up for sale because I have a 2001 gmc sierra, and I didn't really need 2 trucks. But it didn't even come close to my reserve on eBay, so I might as well keep going, right?

Right after it didn't sell, I found the cab and front clip 15 miles away. The cab is leaps and bounds better than what I've got, so it gave me a renewed vigor to make the truck a nicer driver. I might even get inspired to actually paint it instead of just aerosol flat black.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

Well its a neat truck, I do miss those slotted mags you had on it though.

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I never noticed that the cab you got was a 67! Very cool, glad you got it and are swaping it over. The third brake light will be slick and the 67 small window should give you a little more sheet metal to work with. I am not sure I have the guts to cut the top of the cab like that. How does the curve of the brake light and the cab curvature match? I might want to do that to the 67 C50 if it works out for you.
Never did get a date for a C10 party, just to many things in the way, I think Ill call Bruce and see if he can pick a date and we will just work around it.
We got my son in laws 68 cab on the 71 frame a week or so ago and getting the glass in now. He's getting pretty excited about his build too.
The 6.0 in my red 67 is so much nicer than the 350. I had a little accident with it though, a wheel fell off a shelf in the shop and dented the top of the tailgate. Oh well best of luck with your cab swap. Can't wait to see how you do on the the brake light install, should be a good complement to the rear tail lights. Whats next Cadillac head lights?

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

ME too, but one of them was cracked in three places, from lug hole to slot opening. They make the gambler in a 15x10, but I have yet to get my hands on a set. I'd probably just get a pair for the rear.

-Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

So, I tackled the third brake light job today.

First, I dipped the trunk lid into the pool to define the curvature of the lid and where I'd need to trim to fit the back of the cab.

After trimming the excess of the part I needed, I made a template of the third brake light. I drilled three holes and connected them with an air bubbler.

I started pie cutting the sheet metal on the back of the cab to bend it out to match the trunk lid.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

After pie cutting the back of the cab, I tired bending the metal out. The problem was, if I stretched the left side, it would pull on the right side, and vice versa. So i took a 1x4 and made some wedges to keep everything in place.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I ground the cab and trunk lid edges to bare metal and tacked everything together.

After I got everything together, I had muy dad use a power pro to put power to the wiring to make sure the light still worked.

I was planning on drilling access holes to the back of the light in the cab so I could remove Ann's install the brake light later, but there was too much structural material in the way to make it possible. I put the wiring harness through the dome light access hole in the cab.

When I wire up the cab, I'll find the third brake light wiring and fish it up the the dome light.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I also tackled the fuel tank access hole. If you've never dealt with this, the piece you can buy pre-cut is $15 and fit perfectly. It is also bent to match the body lines of the cab. It's very thin metal and it warps a bit when you're tack welding it, so pay attention as you go around.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

First off that thumb nail looks like it hurts.
The brake light looks pretty slick, can't wait to see it in primer to see it all one color. I forget where did you put the gas tank?

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

That thumb nail was a blood blister from when I first moved into the house about 7 months ago. I was too chicken to drill a hole in the nail to relieve the pressure, so most of the nail detached from the skin. I cut off most of it to prevent it from catching on stuff while I'm turning wrenches.

The fuel tank is a 21 gallon Poly tank behind the rear axle. The fuller neck is inside the bed at the back of the driver's side.

I thought the tail light would be more flush mounted to the back of the cab, but the radius of the trunk lid wouldn't allow it. I started doubting how it would come out, but my Dad helped me brainstorm the bottom of the light bracket. I had to hammer and dolly a rolled lip below the light to help the two surfaces mate and keep the tail light from facing upward. The LED lights are directional, and if they aren't facing straight back, they aren't very visible.

-Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

It's not finished, but i wanted to get it in primer to take some progress pictures before the sun went down. It's definitely coming along a lot better than i thought it would, so that makes me happy.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

That is much better :mm:

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I like it .

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I found a set of 2015 gmc canyon stock wheels on Craigslist for $550, so i picked them up. I was thinking about a darker silver color for paint on the truck, and i think these wheels have made my mind up about painting it gun metal grey.

-Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

Well, after trying to test fit the new wheels, I've found out that they changed the bolt pattern from 6x139.7mm to 6x120 mm. So it looks like these wheels will go back on Craigslist.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

When did GM do THAT!!
I have 2015 rims Yukon rims on my 2002 Yukon and I am pretty sure they are 6x139's
Unless they came off of a smaller GM ....

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I'm guessing the GM mid sized chassis went to the smaller bolt pattern. Full size trucks are still 6x139.7.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

Yes, all the mid sized had the same bolt pattern as the cars like camaro, firebird and such. They do offer conversions where you could run those or a spacer that converts from 5x5 to 5x4 3/4 :chevy:

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

These are 6-lug. My dad's 2005 Colorado has the 6x139.7mm bolt pattern, so i assumed the newer trucks did as well. I could buy adapters, but that's not what i wants to do. If they don't sell within the next couple of weeks, I'll look into adapters that change the bolt pattern from 6x139.7mm to 6x120mm. I have 2 inch spacers from when i put Silverado factory rims on, but they don't alter the bolt pattern.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I bought a new hood for the captain, so i used the old hood as a test panel to try out paint ideas. One side will have a blue outline, the other is red. I've done flames with negative flames before, but I've never done flames with negative scallops before. I thought they'd be too busy or the different patterns wouldn't look good together.

The blue side got Sunburst yellow, popsicle orange, Chevy orange and safety red for the faded flames. Since the other side is safety red, it's only got the yellow and both oranges.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

After the initial reveal, i was surprised how much i actually liked the scallops. I think the body style of the truck works well with them. But i didn't like the red outline as much as i like the blue. Also, the scallops weren't menacing enough being the same graphite metallic, so I painted them black. I like the black scallops with the blue outline best.

- Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I started replacing the cab corners and rocker panels. I found out the inner rockers were wasted, so i had to order them.

-Josh

Re: Captain America 68 short/fleetside
 

I got busy patching holes and weak spots in the driver's side floor board. Since the passenger fender is being replaced, i figured i might as well use it for patches.

-Josh