If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

In January I purchased this beauty from a gentleman in Oklahoma. It didn’t stay together for long. I immediately started ripping this thing down to the bone. I had a vision for this truck since the day my dad let me drive his 69 when I was 15 years old. I felt I should keep a record of the process and what better way than here with peers that have a passion for the same thing! Here’s the progress so far. Please feel free to voice your opinions and or constructive criticism. I’m all ears!
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Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Interesting. If grasshoppers had red and yellow stripes, the birds wouldn't mess with 'em, either, 'cause they'd be poison, like Amazon tree frogs. Cool truck!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

First was tear down!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

.... and more tear down.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Next came the fun stuff. I wanted a short bed so I decided to cut the frame down. I cut 12" from the center and 8" from the rear. With a little welding help from a buddy, I think we got this thing pretty solid!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Sorry for the sideways pictures. I will learn this interwebs thing one day.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

After dipping my toes in the chassis cutting pool. I decided to learn how to swim. Yup, I decided to step notch the rear. I get a little ballsy when it comes to what I think I am capable of. But hey, a wise man once said, "If your gonna get into some ****. You might as well get it all over you."

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

A few more shots of the step notches and boxed the frame a little bit. Shortly after coming to a stopping point the rear axle showed up. Went with a narrowed 9", eaton true trac 35 spline, 389 gear. Plan on putting a built 4L80E in front of it.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

While working on the chassis I ran into a little treasure. A 400 sbc setting in storage container of my friends father. 100 bucks later she was in the bed of the truck on the way to the machine shop. Local guy named Kim Barr can build a mean one!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

I know alot of yall are probably saying "LS THE WORLD!" but the sbc has that sentimental value from my teenage years while driving my fathers 69. With that being said, the ol' sbc wasnt about to be no driving miss daisy engine. With the expertise of Kim and a little pocket change she's larging and chargin like Katlyn Jenner before the nut cuttin :jest: Here are a few pics of what she looks like now.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Took a break on the rear end and moved up front when the Porterbuilt dropmember came in. Cant say enough good things about the Porterbuilt guys. Took care of me and didnt mind droppin some knowledge on a newbie such as myself. Oh did I mention, this is my first frame off/custom build? This forum has helped tremendously!!!! I am still learning things daily from here. THANKS TO ALL THE AWESOME PEOPLE ON HERE!!! Anyway back to the front end. This was not a task I wanted to try to tackle so I was more than happy to dig deep for some quality craftsmanship from Porterbuilt. Here's a couple pics.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Nice project! That will be a mean truck when you’re done

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

hey looks good. Do you have the engine specs?

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Good progress. That looks nice. That is an interesting rear bumper on the truck.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Looks like fun, the right tools and space make all the difference in the world.... and Ill play.

If frogs had wings they wouldn't bump there arses when they hopped...

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Thank you sir.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Welcome aboard neighbor. For a custom truck I believe you are doing it right! Thems some right purdy welds there. How about a side shot to show us your wheels? Keep the pics a comin' man!
Brian

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Haha. I like the poisonous spin you did there. Thanks.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Engine is stroked 3.75 and bored .040 to make it a 422. 598tq / 595hp

Attached a picture of the break in on the dyno.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Haha! Learned a new one with the frog quote, thanks! As far as tools and space, I’ve found there’s never enough. Lol. Doing everything out of my “2 car” garage. Let’s just say I’m a Tetris master by now. Lol

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Thank your, sir! I appreciate the welcome. I plan on posting more pics of the process until I catch up to where I am now. Gonna try to get those up tonight.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Thank you, sir! Man, that bumper was SOLID too! Still have it hanging around. Kinda like it. Lol

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

I had Kim Barr build me a big block for my 72 and ended up selling it 10 years later and just now getting back to doing something with the 72.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Looking forward to the pictures. Great thread.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Kim really knows his stuff. Glad your finally getting back around to it. Good luck!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

After getting the front end mocked up and the frame setting at ride height I moved to the rear triangulated 4 link. This was a fun learning process with lots of tedious research. Everything is still tacked in until I can test full articulation.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Next was to get the air bag and shock brackets installed. In order to do this i needed to get the pinion angle nailed down. To make this a little simpler I went a head and set the engine and transmission. Ran into some problems with the transmission crossmember and had to modify it to get the intake manifold setting level. Lots of measurements but I finally got it.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Here’s what the wheels look like. 9.5x22 in front and 11x22 in the rear.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

I used this evening to get the step notch cross supports put in place. Next up is shock tab and bag brackets.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Nice work! I wish I had the time to invest in this type of work. It's good to see that someone picked this truck up. I actually exchanged a few messages with him and tried working on a deal on both trucks that he had, but it never came about. Glad you picked it up and can't wait to see the end results!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Thanks Eagle Chief! The time is definitely an investment. I try to squeeze in as much as possible on nights and weekends. Not to be rude, but I am glad you didn't get it. lol! small world when you think about it.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...98&postcount=4

Is that a Carter Thermoquad sitting on that engine? If not, what carb is it?

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Not rude at all. I'm glad somebody picked it up. Funny thing - I picked up my truck in Texas, so we traded, so to speak. I found mine just south of Tyler.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

No sir, that was a Demon 625 carb. Previous owner had installed it.

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Man, talk about jumpin in wth both feet!:metal:
Great lookin truck you got there, and will be waiting to see it finished.
Any ideas on what color you’re going with?
I too got “bit by the truck bug”early in my life.
My dad had a 68 GMC that I learned to drive in, when I was ten years old.
If I ever come across a 68 GMC w/6cyl and 3OTT, in Red, it’ll be a slam dunk! :metal:
BTW, here’s another quote:
“If Frogs carried Hand Grenades, Alligators would mess with them” :lol:

Just out of curiosity, how did a 69 end up with a “Hand Lever” Park Brake?

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Yea I tend to forget a life jacket when I jump in sometimes. Lol. I like quote! Haha! I’m thinking of going with a Acura NSX Nouvelle Blue Pearl or a Toyota grey. Still up in the air on that one and will most likely decide the day I drop it off for powder coat.:lol::lol: I am also curious about the parking brake being a hand lever. I thought that it was a foot pedal by this time but I just wasn’t sure. The previous owner didn’t mention anything about it so I’m still interested in knowing more about that. Thanks for the support!

Re: If grasshoppers had machine guns the birds wouldn’t mess with them.
 

Alright guys, looking for some help here. I have read a lot of threads on here discussing the need for additional frame stiffening/support. I want to know what y’all think about my situation.

The truck will not be ran on a road course or anything of that nature. I do plan on taking it down the strip a couple times but won’t be a usual thing. I will drive this truck to any event that I go to... not a trailer queen and I plan on having fun while I’m on the roads.

Will have a 422 sbc 600hp/600tq.

Is there a need for more cross support of this frame?

If so, here are a couple of my thoughts so far.

The Yellow lines represent where I would place an x brace type system tied into the transmission crossmember with a bolt up system to allow for removal of transmission if needed.

The red line would be a crossmember with a driveshaft loop built in somehow.

The blue would be a crossmember underneath the existing 4 link mounts. Probably with some fancy metal work/cnc plating to cover it up and add style.

Thanks for any opinions and reading!