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The weekend has arrived.... wonder what I will get done in the next 2 days?

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You can get a 2 or 4 bolt small or big block. :uhmk: clear as mud ;)
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Ok this weekend suffered from late starts and lack of get it started. But some progress none the less.

Lifted out the center of the bed, good thing I read these boards and saw where chevy_man5 had notched the top of the carriage bolts with a cutting disk, that little tid bit helped with most of the stubborn ones. There were still 2 that I just had to cut out of there.

Got the new fuel tank lifted up into place for a mock up look-see and got the measurements I will need for the straps. Took out the overly complicated sending unit and am modding my original one to fit, more to follow on that.
That was yesterday.

Today I took my spare guage cluster apart and rolled back the odo on it. Going to fart around with that the rest of this week. Fun stuff. It isnt that the original builds or designs were "bad" but it is tons of fun to think, "What can I do to make this better..." or "How would I have done this, or how would I like it like this..."

I am sooooo going to rob some of you all's ideas.
Hopefully I will remember who I am stealing ideas from so I can give you credit in this history thread.

Pic #1 is the fuel tank mock up.
#2 is my guage cluster apart and odometer rolled back

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Hello all,
It was a busy weekend for my truck.

Saturday got the camper, wheel wells, and the bed off the truck. Sadly I had to cut some bolts, and one of the steps is still connected to the wheel well because of a naughty bolt that was more stubborn than me at the time.

Sunday got going on cleaning the frame, fuel tank, and the tow hitch. Cleaned and painted.
Yesterday I had to plow some snow when I got home and the ATV wanted to be a slug so I had to stubborn it into life. An ATV with a snow plow is a hoot, and probably the most fun I have ever had pushing snow around ~chuckles~
Today I started with a minor mock up of the tank and hitch to see where I would be standing with them.

Is nice to think I am getting to a point where I can start putting things back together too...

Pic #1 is the general mock up
#2 is a closer shot
#3 is a close up of the d-side corner, this shows my frame to be about 3.75 inches too short to complete the hitch mounting. The ideas I am kicking around is adding 4" of frame straight off the back end ~or~ some sort of stiffner that runs the full length of the hitch mounting inside the channel of the frame which would be bolted in using the tank mounting strap bolts as well as the hitch mounting bolts. (This solution would be easiest I think, though I fear not the best or strongest) A donor frame would be ideal I think for the metal alone....

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After work today I am going to look at a 84 Camaro Z28 that was parted out (no engine/tranny).
I will be looking particularly at the steering gear box, and brake system. The question I have at this time is if anyone knows if I can just swap out the front cross/steering member. I am curious to see if that can or will bolt up and save me the trouble of drop spindles and all that.

Dude only wants $300 for this rolling Z28 husk, so I am hoping there will be many a part and piece I can cannibalize for my truck.

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looking at your truck.. great start.. FYI I know someone sells a flat clear for the hot rod folks.. I seen it at the local NAPA paint store I think.. Check with Eastwood they may have it also. I'm with everyone else. Hard to believe that you don't have more rust to content with... But my 57 had very little also.

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Just for giggles is it possible to move the cross member forward or replace with something different to gain the four inches you are needing. I forsee a lotof problems/fun times with the four inch extension. Depends on how you look at it. LOL longer bed to comve the extension. means longer that normal bed boards and strips... just to name a couple of areas that would need attention if the frame was extended.

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If you want to stay with the frame you have you could always drop in a frontend including the cross member from a later model 5 lug truck or 6 lug if you want to stay with the 6 lug look, such as a suburan and get bigger brakes and front sway bars and better sterring and only have to enlongate a couple of holes to mount the whole thing up.. The stovebolt site has a complete thread on how to do the change over... I will go and see if I can fine it if you are interested...

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http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/forumdisplay.php?f=6 this is the link to the build

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Thanks for taking a look Truckguy!
I am not going to go with a conventional truck bed on this bad boy, so the length of the wood isnt going to be much of an issue. I want to bring the bed frame back in from the cold now and set it up on there to see what I am looking at for clearance and fit so far.
Right now everything is just bolted on, I have not fired up the welder yet because when I do, I want to be sure that what I am welding is going to be there to stay and I am not at that point yet. Still putzing around with it. The longer I dink around, the more solid my ideas become and the clearer the plan of attack gets for me.

Will post pics from this weekend later, or tomorrow.

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McMurphy, Im the same way. Being new to this sheet metal replacement and body work I think I over annalize everything. I fit everything like 10 times and keep adjusting and thinking about it over and over. It seems to take me forever to get something just perfect where im happy to weld it in.

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Cool find and an interesting story. What are you going to do about the engine?? I take it its still dead?

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Great build McMurphy.

I had a lot of the same questions just a little while ago. Just note that the 4 bolt main is stronger than the 2bolt main, but most people wouldn't notice the difference unless they are hot-rodding.

I will be interested to see what you do with the drop and power steering.

Shoot me a message if you have questions about some of the stuff I have gone through. The knowledge is still fresh.

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Do I need a pully puller to get that Pitman Arm off the bottom of my steering gear box?
I have soaked it in WD40 and beat the snot out of it with a BFH but not one budge on getting them seperated !!

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Thanks Chevelles, it is good to know that there are some other look before you leap types around here.

Hey Protrash,
The original 292 threw a rod while hauling a boat from Anchorage back up to Fairbanks 9-10 years ago and has a gnarley hole in the d-side of the motor just forward of the motor mount. For my vision I am going to get a crate engine SBC 350 that I am hoping will bolt up to the transmission that I posted pics of a few weeks ago.

Later when I post pics you can see my engine bay and the transmission cross member that has been cut out. I guess someone wanted that original tranny pretty bad to whack it out of there like that.

Me too Kevin....
LOL
I lost out on a 78 Chevy pick up that I could have snagged for $700 that would have had a lot of the stuff I need. So now I am keeping my eyes peeled on CL for a donor rig.

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just checked out your build, sweet truck love the camper:metal: first off i would like to thank you and your wife for your service in the armed forces and hope your build turns out great, stay warm and dont sweat the small things they will take care of themselves.

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Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.
My wife and I are both proud to serve. I personally feel it is an honor to serve the American people and our Nation. As the oath says "Bear true faith and alliegence to the same...."

I guess it is time to post some pics now.

First pic is that doggone steering gear box. How the heck do I get that off the pitman arm?? Do I need a pulley puller?
#2 is a stacked toolbox I got from a local guy and I transformed into a welding cart. So far I like it, though it is a cheap-o it is working out fine so far, only complaint is the wheels are smallish and also cheap...
#3 is my rearend gears.... for the life of me I could not spot the ###-### numbers to find out my ratio. Guess I should know what ring gears are before trying this again....
#4 is my fuel cell and two hitch mounted and bolted in
#5 is a close up of the corner showing the angle iron I used for the 4" extension to the frame to fit the tank. I am pretty sure that with snugging the rear bumper up closer to the frame, and the 3-4" raise to the truck bed, I am not going to have too many issues with the tailgate.

But more to follow on that.

If it does mesh well, then I will probably drop the tank one last time, brace and weld that angle iron in for the added strength. Last thing I want is that set up to fail at 70 mph and flip my Tempest into a ditch off I-90....

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awesome progress, i like that that you are working with so many diff years of vehicles to get the finished product you want. good luck on the rest im tuned in.

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Yes you do need a pitman arm puller to get that thing off. You can do it with a crow bar and hammer plus muscle but the tool works best. The way I have checked rear end gears in the past is to mark the tire at 12 oclock and have someone turn it 1 full rotation while you count the number of times the pinion { or where the drive shaft connects to the rear end} turns. so if it turns 3 and 3/4 truns that means its a 373 gear set, or if it turns just over 3 times its probally a 308 gear set.

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there should be some numbers on the ring gear which is the big set of teeth like maybe 41-11 which when you divide the little number into the big you would come up with a 373, but one thing for sure its a posi unit:metal:nice progress.

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Trans x-members are easy for these trucks. Lots of aftermarket and some stock stuff fits just fine; I think from the 73-87 squares. Dont sweat that part.

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Thanks Will... sometimes I have that old Johnny Cash song in my head about the cadillac the guy stole from the factory one part at a time...
I just have a vision in my head of what I want, and I am not shy to go against convention to achieve it I guess.
Either that or I am just a dork...

Thank you Chevelles, I will prolly have to try that. I am posting a pic of the only numbers I found on the gear, but I cannot see them as helpful.

First of all, I gotta tell you, I am not a math guy...I cant even paint by numbers.
I looked but could not tell any numbers that fit that description but am posting a pic.

Yeah Protrash I was just telling the wife that, and explaining the difference between the mid mounts and the tail mounts for the tranny.

So a few more pics and I am gonna call it a night...

#1 is the back side of my ring gear (thanks you guys) and the numbers I found there that still look like Egyptian to me...
#2 and #3 is two different heater box parts. I am not sure why they are different. The one on the right is the original and has what I am guessing is a fresh air omit plate, the one on the left is from a junkyard donor and has the cable and vent. I can only guess this is a climate control of some sort to allow more fresh/cold air in ? I also hooked the donor blower motor up to a car battery and it spun like a demon, and I checked the donor heater core and it seems solid (barely used actually) so I am in business there!! Yay

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The numbers are on the ring gear itself not the carrier which it bolts to. Look along the outer edge where all the teeth are. ;). They are stamped numbers not raised.
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hey i can help with the rear gear ratio! here two options for you, just take that posi unit out send it to me and i'll send you a non-posi rear unit in either 3.73 or 3.08 which ever one you want, lol! or the numbers should be along the edge like between the edge on the carrier and the lip on the gear, along that little black 1/4" or so strip in post 62 pic#1! if i'm not mistaken, i like my option #1 lol!

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Nice work McMurphy. I'm thinking about doing some work on my rear soon, so this will help a lot.

Also, I'll beat Chad's offer and throw in a case of Mnt. Dew. :)

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Sorry flips, meant to say that I am thinking of restoring that too. I have some really cool ideas for it as well.


Thanks Alan, next time I have that off I will look, prolly take a pic too...

Ok shipping it COD to ya, but it may hurt coming from Alaska. Hope it thaws out before you get it too, it is -37* out there right now.

Ok this many guys making offers on my rear end is starting to make me nervous.... and a case of Mt Dew to sweeten the deal too? Hrmmmmm
I am going to look into the little breather filter for the gear case too like I saw in someone else's build instead of that hose set up.
If you need the part # let me know. I will have to post it later when I am home, that is where the info is.

Thanks for stopping by with the info and advice guys, I appreicate it!!

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Ok not ot beat a dead horse but you will need a pitman puller to get the arm off the gear box. Almost never comes off without it. I borrow mine from the local autozone or O'rileys which ever I'm at at the time... Still think you should consider the 70's Surbanna upgrade... just saying... I would have went that way if I'ld have know about it when I did my front end... I'm not unhappy with what I've got... but it sure would have been cheaper.. I've got a 89 Dodge Dakota front end under mine.. Using the 4 cilinder springs and all stock OEM parts.. drives like dream. much better than the axle it came with.. 12 inch disk brakes, rack and pinion stering, power stering, choice of drop spindles, and all OEM parts for repairs.:flagw::m5: I'll get off my soap box now and leave with my pride. LOL

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LOL no worries about dead horse beating with me, too many people I work with dont just beat it, but then drag the carcass around for days!!

Today I am calling off Craigslist to look at a couple of possible donor rigs.
in order of choice:
1. 79 Chevy truck, no details provided other than it is for sale and has to get out of the yard, and the price is very right for me.
2. 85 GMC good looking and running truck, would almost hate to part it out, but the price is almost right for the amount of parts I would get off it.
3. 80 GMC the price again is almost right, but no engine or alot of other parts I would want/need. But I am going to take a look at it anyways for the brake system.
4. 75 Monte Carlo... has the right engine, and probably all the right brake stuff, just want to be lazy and unbolt/bolt on the front cross member ect...the price is in the ball park to play with, but I would hate to part out such a good looking car (though up here I doubt there are many low riders and would be hard to sell off the shell when I am done)
5. 83 El Camino, same as the Monte Carlo, but the guy wants an absurd amount for it for no title...

I read where someone did the part by part, piece by piece brake up grades and said if they had it all to do again he would have just gotten a donor and did the whole assembly swap. (and it may have been your thread too 57truckguy, I will go look here in a minute) So that is what I ~think~ I want to do .... I would just have to beg my neighbors to use there side of the garage for a week to do it. When it is -30* outside you get limited to what you are willing and can do outside.....

Otherwise this weekend I decided to service my torpedo heater, and was going good until I accidentally broke my hot surface ignition for it. You would figure that up here in the land of 9 month winters there would be every part of every heater ever made just falling off shelves... but no.
Thank goodness for Amazon.com :smoke:
I got about half of my heater box tore down, cleaned and primered after the heater debacle, but did not want to suffer in the 40* garage yesterday to finish it up.
I will call this my bye-week and have another cup of :mm:

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hey McMurphy are you going to lower your truck using drop spindles or just leave it stock hieght?

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I am at the mercy of the parts I use for the disc brakes right now regarding the spindles I think.

I was just thinking of only dropping it as much as the 2.5" springs in the front and 4 or 5s in the rear.
I dont want stock height though, these trucks look (and probably ride) so much cooler closer to the ground. IMO

I dont know at this point, is there a wisdom behind your question I could benefit from?

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you can if you want.. cut one coil off the spring and get 1 1/2 more drop and no problems in ride. or sterring... or use the 6 cylinder springs and get about 2 inch drop.
I used the 6 cylinder springs and worked wonders.

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id you ever figure out what gear you have... >>> ???? look on the pinion it will tell you. you'll have to look around the posi but it is possible to see it you can get you head up there.

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STOP STOP STOP. there is no need to re-engineer these trucks front end too much. Do you want to switch to a 5 bolt pattern for the wheels? if so the easiest thing to do is to find a 73-87 C10 pick up or 73-91 R10 suburban.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=444823
once you have found one of those you will want the whole front end (suspension, steering, everything)
The General did not change very much over the years. you can take the whole crossmember with suspension and steering and transfer it to your truck. It will gain rubber control arm bushings, disk brakes, power steering, all the goodies.
you will need a bracket for the steering box to mount properly to the frame, if you get the booster,master cylinder and brake proportioning valve of the donor you will need a bracket to mount it to the firewall.

the best way to do the swap is find someone that will sawzall a frame right behind the shock mounts and take it home. transfer parts, good to go.

check out the FAQ's on the 67-72 boards also there is a ton of good info about these mods, and the 62-66 are as I said basicly the same under the skin.
also the FAQ in the 60-66 boards.http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=450021

Also check here for lots of answers http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...splay.php?f=92

Enjoy lots of fun ya got there.

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all i did to mine when i changed to disc brakes is found a set of 72 spindles and changed ball joints and outer tie rod ends, did like 57truckguy said cut 1 1/2 coil off my six cylinder springs you can buy new rotors and calipers for practically nothing easy evening job then re moved rear axles and drums had them re drilled, ta da five lug disc brakes.

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57truckguy: This truck came stock with a 6cyl, so more than likely it has the springs for that. And no, I have not pulled my rear diff cover off again to look at the gears for the ratio again. Busting my heater on Saturday put a damper on doing things in the garage right now. You can only bundle up so much to fight the coldness, but if you have to wear thermal gloves, then there isnt going to much wrenching going on....

Rooster's 67: thanks for the links, I will start reading those here in a few minutes! I was actually looking at an 85 Sierra last night as a donor rig. It has all the parts I am wanting, to include the 350ci, which the fellow says is a crate engine with only 20k miles on it.... It does sound good though, and no smoke, ticks, pings, squeels, or whines.
Once I secure the parts or a donor rig, I plan on hitting CapFab up for the adaption plates for the Master Cylinder and the Power Steering Gearbox. I figure ordering both at once will be better than one at a time.

And by the way Rooster, I absolutely LOVE that quote of yours!!


flips72: Thanks for the input, I will probably wait until I get the 350 in the cradle and see how low it sits. Then if I want it lower, either order the drop springs or cut the ones I have.

Thanks for all the replies guys! The more you all tell me the more I learn and the less boo-boos I make. This way if it all doesnt go according to plan, I can claim it was all according to prophesy!
:metal:

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Ur making good progress on your truck! I wish i could have found that truck before you did! Where did u get it and where do u get your parts from?! Let me know if u need help getting your pitman arm off i got the tool. same with your gear ratio. I can show u how to count the ratio its very easy!

Ron from Fairbanks

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Oh thank God, finally someone from this area!!!

It was sitting in the lot behind Alaska Electric Rebuilders off Cushman and VanHorne. I know where there are a few more in the area. Are you looking for a fleet or step side?

Shoot me a PM with a phone number or you can call me at the Bassett Army Hospital Operating Room Monday thru Friday. Would love to meet you and talk classics shop one day over coffee or beers!

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So....
My weekend was, and was not....

Thursday I met a fellow for a 1985 GMC Sierra and we settled on a price. I pick it up on the 1st and it will be a donor rig for my 66. Kinda sad to part out such a good looking truck, but I am willing to bet there are more of them around than there are 66s.

Then the rest of the Thanksgiving day was spent putzing around with my heater box.

Pic #1 is my heater core retainer bracket. It had been wrapped with duct tape, which padded the core, but also retained water and rusted the snot out of my retainers. This photo is after I had wire wheeled it down to shiney metal, primer, and painted.

#2 is my adaptation to provide the cushioning, but not trap so much moisture. I hope this works better. It is vacuum/wiper fluid hose with a slit down the side and then just seated on the bracket. If you do this, remember to cut the hose along the outside of the natural curl of the hose or it will fight you to seat right.

#3 is all my heater parts after I had tinkered with them. Who knew that a ATV battery was perfect for testing electrical stuff like the blower motor? I cut gaskets for the cold air intake and heater box assembly, as well as one for the blower to the bottom of the heater box. I have to check for either some 1/8" thick gasket materiel, or some smaller hose to make seating gaskets for the fresh/recirculation vent flapper so that they sit tight and diminish as much cold air infiltration as possible.

#4 is all assembled. I will have to tear it all apart again to do the second set of gaskets I mentioned above, and to replace the delux heater core. Not sure if I broke it, or if I just made an existing leak more noticable...none the less it leaks now where the large pipe meets the heater core body. So far prices seem to range between $75 and $110 for replacements.

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So then came Friday...

I had no clue the metal that is the back of the cab was so thin.

Pic #1 is the upper fuel tank strap anchor points.
#2 is after I air chiseled one off and cut the crap out of the backside of my cab.
#3 is what it looks like from the outside after I polished it up for a better look.

I should have either left them alone, or just cut the threaded part off like I did on the d-side. They are going to be covered with sound deadner anyways, but now the back side of my cab needs repair.

#4 is what looks like an old CB atenna mounting hole in the dead center of the top of my cab grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Time to learn how to weld this stuff up I guess....

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Saturday reminded me of a quote:

Q: "How do you sculpt a horse?"
A: "You start with a large block of marble, and chisel off everything that does not look like a horse"

So in reality, How do you sculpt a truck?
A: You start with a slab of bondo and chisel off everything that does not look like metal....

Gentlemen I present you with my rear p-side cab corner;