Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Thrashed all weekend to beat the bad weather. I pulled the bed off, got it set up on stands and supported, battled the driveshaft and eventually won, and disconnected fuel/brake/wiring/exhaust. I had marked my cuts on Friday night so I double-checked them and then...
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...031_141619.jpg

I didn't take many pictures of the process because 1) I'm terrible at stopping to take pictures and 2) the process is very well documented already. I didn't really do anything differently than the Brothers Trucks kit would tell you to do. I used the CPP frame channels and I had to trim about 3" off each to fit between a rivet for the suspension crossmember and the parking brake crossmember.

I spent all morning reattaching the cab mounts, lining up the frame and drilling bolt holes. This afternoon I cut and re-flared the brake line, bled the brakes (and forgot to put in the prop valve stopper so had to reset the valve, doh!) and rolled it back out to install the bed.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...101_163722.jpg

Even before this work, the passenger rear corner of the bed sat high. Now with the shorter wheelbase and bed it's really obvious. I'm going to have to take it to a frame shop to get this fixed. The drivers side body lines are aligned. The passenger side bed matches up to to the cab but then takes off toward the sky from there. The cab is the same distance off the frame on both rear corners, so it's gotta be the frame.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...101_171813.jpg
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...101_171823.jpg

I'm waiting on my buddy to modify my new transmission's bearing retainer but I can splice the exhaust pipe back together and get the parking brake system all put back together in the meantime. And I have a set of 2" lowering blocks ready to go in...

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

I've straightened frames with judicious use of heat, or by strategic placement of weld beads.

My take on it is: "It's messed up. I can make it less messed up."

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

It is tempting to try to fix this myself but in this case I'm going to defer to the guys with experience and equipment :)

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Did you weld the Brother's kit in?

If you didn't, you could try supporting the frame at the cut/splice, loosening all the through bolts, let gravity do its thing, and re-tighten all the bolts.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

I didn't technically buy the Brother's Kit...I used the CPP frame stiffening brackets and followed the Brother's process. I haven't welded it in yet, so after I read your question I tried your suggestion and nothing moved. Those C-channel stiffeners are beefy and a tight fit in the frame. I checked the frame rails with a level as a straightedge and both sides are identically straight.

I did notice the same problem with the corner being high before I ever cut the frame. I think it's just more noticeable now that the end of the bed is 20" closer to the cab. I'm pretty confident its a twist in the frame and that the frame shop can straighten it out. The truck also has a pretty good driver's side lean, maybe the frame work will help with that too.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Nice truck and nice work!

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

I would be interested in seeing this . , . Tney have a few concepts already from what i have noticed

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

So I have to admit that I was wrong and SkinnyG's suggestion was right. I decided to try it again but go further and it straightened out. I lined up the mobile welder - seems like he did a good job, and the truck is pretty dang straight now. I'm still in the middle of the trans swap and I'll have a more detailed post on that when I'm done...but I'm happy the truck is solid and straight again!

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Yay!

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/...29/287/13f.gif

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Are you saying you should have used the brothers kit instead of the cpp c-channel stiffners?
I was impressed with how heavy of gauge cpp's were, and they are a really nice tight fit. So tight I would think they would be almost impossible to get back out even before welding.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Nope-I’m saying that the CPP channels were fine, but that there was enough clearance in the fit of everything at the joint that some adjustments were needed. I basically recreated the Brothers kit components except for the template. If I had done the brothers kit I imagine I would have run into the same issue.

If you aren’t taking the truck down to a bare frame and building a fixture, I would recommend welding the frame back together only after putting the bed back on so that the body line alignment can be checked.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Good to know. I was thinking because of how tight a fit it was, and the length, that it would hold the frame straight to where it belongs. So yeah, maybe put the bed and cab back on, straighten everything up, and tack it.
Thanks for the heads up.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Things have escalated a bit in the truck...I decided to pull the engine out now to reseal it while I have the trans out too. I cannot believe the amount of dirt and grease caked in the engine and the front of the frame. I’ve spent all day with scrapers and a scrub brush to try to clean it up. The balancer was completely packed full of gunk!
My flywheel is glazed over, so I got a new NAPA clutch and will get the flywheel resurfaced this week. I’ll need to borrow a puller to get the balancer off too. This engine better not leak after all of this or I’m ripping it out and buying a crate motor with a one-piece rear main seal!

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

The 292 lives another day! I took my time, cleaned everything really well, and apparently used enough RTV to keep the oil inside.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...E372F55AD.jpeg
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...BB5CBE554.jpeg
New clutch installed, new rear motor mounts and now it's ready for the transmission. My buddy just finished the bearing retainer and I have speedometer gears on the way. I'll finish going through the seals (I had the side cover off already and the trans looked perfect inside). Picked up my driveshaft last week...should be driving it next weekend if the mail arrives on time!

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Sweet! You did a great job on cleaning it up

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

When you get a chance, check and see if your flywheel bolts are 1/2" or 7/16".
see: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...el#post4275206

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

It’s all put back together but I’m pretty sure it’s got 7/16” bolts.

And, I drove it! Got the trans put together with new seals and gaskets and stabbed it in. Pulled the shifter apart to clean and grease it, too. Had to adjust the new clutch a little. No weird noises from the trans, shifting is smooth, it’s great! Still no leaks from the motor or transmission...hallelujah!

I’ll get to do some highway miles with it soon. Just driving around the neighborhood it feels pretty similar to how it drove with the SM420. Feels good to be driving it again.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

It's always a great feeling taking our trucks for a spin, but even more so after we've got it back together again.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Been driving the truck to work and we took it on a little trip out of town to the tree farm today. It's been running and driving great. I'm still getting used to the new shifter but the OD transforms the truck on the highway. I feel that the shorter wheelbase makes the truck so much easier to live with in the city too. Overall I'm really happy with the changes and now I'm starting to plan the next project(s) on the truck.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...53839CC37.jpeg
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...7E6F4997C.jpeg

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Been doing small stuff on the truck lately.

• I spliced a little bluetooth receiver into the radio using the instructions on the board for adding an aux input. Probably one of my favorite little mods...everything still sounds like it's coming over AM radio but it's "my" music now.
• I cut holes in my cowl to get access to clean up and reseal the seams that were leaking under the dash. I also resealed the roof skin seam. That stopped the water coming in from above.
• Rewired and replumbed the windshield washer pump (from a 60's big Mopar...the original probably failed early on)
• Put a set of 2" blocks in the rear. I'm at a 4.5/6 drop now.
• I picked up a set of the Civic door seals today and popped them on. Amazing that they fit so well.
• Milled my bed wood. I'm going to paint it black, just need to find the motivation. I really dislike painting
• Ordered the patch panels to fix the floors and kick panels.
• Found a set of 4-nub steelies, and ordered a pair of matching 8" wide wheels for the rear, right after Christmas. Been delayed twice, now expecting to ship in mid March. Gonna run 66 Chevelle dog dish caps.

Otherwise I'm just driving it when it's not pouring rain.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/.../IMG_17231.jpg

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

The last few days have been nice driving weather.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Looks great!

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

It does look great. Good to see these types of builds being done where you get to be out enjoying them 'as-is' after upgrades that better suit your tastes.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Nice truck. I love the engine.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Thanks for the kind words everybody. The attaboys feel good.

Next big project is patching up the floors and fenders. I've been dreading this because I don't want the truck to be down for long and I feel like this is where projects can snowball.

I bought a full complement of outer floors/rockers/a-pillar extensions/kick panels and made sure they arrived in good shape before I started dissecting.

The truck doesn't look bad from a distance but the floorboard holes are going to force me to peel the onion all the way back.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...0B3F86147.jpeg
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...3B723CFBC.jpeg

I made it as far as pulling off the outer rocker and drilling spot welds for the kick panel last night. there was more rust than I expected, so I'm at peace with having to dig so deep now.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...C4613083F.jpeg
That pile of rust and dirt came out of the lower a-pillar. That's bare clean metal on the rear pillar where the rocker was up tight against it. The inner rocker is actually really solid, water just sat in the wiring channel and ate it up.

The toeboard from the floor pan seam up to the fusebox is full of pinholes. i really wish there was a patch for that, too. There are some complex shapes in that panel. I'm contemplating just smearing epoxy around on the inside to fill in the holes...seems less than ideal, but it would look better than my metalforming would...

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

I'm ok with that. And it's not irreversible.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

x2.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

But you know you'd be happier buying some sheet metal tools and doing it proper :D

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

If I had your shop's square footage I'd be happy to buy those tools :)

Spent this evening cutting and fitting until I ran into quiet hours. And I need to take a break from it so I don't rush and make a mistake. Still needs some grinding to slide in further and fit flatter against the front cab brace, and I need to cut and bring the front flange out to meet the original toeboard flange.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...609EA9694.jpeg
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...291E64843.jpeg

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Spray everything inside everything with either etching primer or epoxy primer so you're not there again in a couple years. Looks good so far.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Got the driver's side mostly done this weekend. Need to finish up the pinch weld under the outer rocker and grind everything smooth. I decided to not let perfection get in the way of done - I have no intention of ever putting real money into paint on this truck, and I find inconsistent door gaps to be charming. I drilled 1/8" holes through the hinges into the a-pillar so I could get the door back to where it was and hung the fender back on it and things seemed to line up like they did before. I was pretty frustrated when I put the new rocker up and saw a big mismatch to the inner rocker, but I found where a few guys have pie-cut the front end cap of the outer rocker to bring up the bottom to match the inner rocker. I did the same and it turned out fine. And i doused everything in self-etch primer :)

Old junk:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...CCFD2024D.jpeg
New stuff:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...FF6694A10.jpeg
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...1E4F93574.jpeg

I think i'lll do the inner door bottom next while I have it all apart.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Good work..
I'm with you, I want the rot gone, but I'd rather see original paint with character, than a show queen.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Thanks! I can appreciate the work that goes into perfect trucks more than ever.

I took a photo of how I had to modify the end of the rocker, in case it might help anyone out there.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

I started on the door bottom repair. The 64-66 inner door bottom patch does not fit at all. Seems like there are a bunch of examples of the 60-63 door bottoms being replaced on here...anyone know if the part of that panel below the rib would work on a 64-66 door? I just think by the time I get this patch sorted out I'll be money ahead by buying a better fitting panel.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

I got sold the wrong door bottoms, got the 60-63 instead of the 64-66. I cut it off below the rib. They didn't fit great like most replacement panels. I made a bunch of relief cuts and added some metal here and there to make it work. Turned out just fine

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Thanks for confirming my suspicion. I stared at my mess again last night with fresh eyes and I think I see a path forward with the patch I have. I'm gonna slice and dice it, tack it in and test fit the door to be sure. I figure I don't have anything to lose but time if it doesn't work.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Door bottom is whole again. I had to section a significant amount out of it to get the skin to line up with the rocker - it looks terrible on the underside, but you'll have to crawl on the ground to see it. No photo evidence of the crime scene.

Thinking I'l bolt the door and fender back on tomorrow and cruise it - the weather is supposed to be nice-ish and I need a ride to get motivated to do the other side.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Went for a pre game cruise with my daughter and found a spot for a photo opportunity that I had seen used here before. She says snake-eye-view is the best way to take a picture.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Nice pic. Great work on your truck caseyjones.

Re: 1964 C10 Survivor
 

Thank you!

Started on the passenger side and it’s more of the same. I did poke around up by the visor a little bit and it’s bad in that corner but seems solid everywhere else. I guess I’ll figure that out later.