"my '68 chevy project - show n go".
 

Some people wanted me to post up a build thread so I thought I'd do it. I bought this truck one month ago and had it sitting for a few weeks, waiting for my dad's new shop and workbenches to get finished and to get some new tools and stuff.

I go to a private school and was taking an auto fundamentals course and did it half ways and this stuff was so confusing and me, my parents, and my teacher thought that I would learn more if I did an actual project so I thought I'd go with a truck that I had wanted for a long time and my teacher already got a guy to help me build the engine. My dad's only paying for all the stuff now, but I will have to pay for some of it once I'm out of school. I might be expecting too much for this being my first project and me being 14 almost 15 years old, but I'm determined to make this work. Any help is greatly appreciated! Don't hesitate to tell me what I'm doing wrong!

I'm going with a frame-off restoration, either c-notching and powdercoating this frame or building my own frame. Going with 22s in the back and 20s in the front which won't be possible to drop it to the ground unless i build my own frame and since i already have the wheels I'm not sure yet what I'm gonna do. The truck came with a disassembled 350 so I get to assemble it with another guy's help and hopefully put out 550 hp on a 383 and pump gas. I want to keep the interior pretty basic but with air conditioning, heating, and a stereo and maybe 2 10s behind the seat if that would fit. the exterior will probably be an arrival blue like the newer silverado ss's, the jetstream blue on the new corvettes, or just a flat black.

Please don't call me stupid for trying all this for my first project and being so young, I'm rather gonna try and fail than to not try and never know and I don't want to fail so I'll really try hard lol . I really enjoy working on vehicles, just recently put an exhaust and cold air intake on my dad's '07 6.7 cummins and I have also learned a lot on my fourwheeler so I have some experience.

Anyways, here are some pictures of what it first looked like:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...11-08_1842.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...11-08_1843.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...11-08_1844.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...11-08_1845.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...11-08_1846.jpg

What it looks like now:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...14-08_2210.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...14-08_2211.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...14-08_2212.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...14-08_2213.jpg

My Wheels, the 20s for the front:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1706-1.jpg
I did all this last week and this weekend I dislocated my shoulder so not much progress for a week or two.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Wow, nice truck! Subscribed!

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Thanks, paid $2,800 and now the frame turns out to be in not so good of condition! Will post pics soon. These pics are all from my phone.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

got some pictures of the frame:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1208-1.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1209-1.jpg

Doesn't look like the front is aligned properly
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1210-1.jpg

Crossmember missing
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1211-1.jpg

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

yfz450, hey just becuase your young doesnt mean anything about start a big project like this, and doesnt at all mean that your stupid, hey being on this forum shows your not, spend alot of time reading the forums and asking questions, that is one of the best thing you can do.
Look forward to seeing progress.
Did ou dislocate your shoulder riding your quad? been there crashed that. GET WELL SOON and get back to working on the truck.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

I started working on old cars when I was 10, so I don't think you are ever to young to learn, especially if you have a strong desire. Just a few words of advice, do some research (this board is great), ask a lot of questions (once again, this board is great :D), have some patience and finally, be safe, these trucks can bite you if you let them. Take care and good luck with your project.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Looks like a great start and a good plan if your parents are willing to loan you the money other wise it Will get part way done and sit. I am guessing that the frame was cut down from a long bed to a short bed right? What wheel base does the glove box decal say? You can buy boxing plates for the frame to reinforce were it was cut and it should be fine. I do think building a new frame for your first project is a little much and I would recommend that you keep what you have, put a DropMember in front for those 20's to tuck than a DropMember rear for the 22's and call it good;)

Also your parents sound very supportive when it comes to helping you in school, heck you had trouble in Auto shop and they bought you a truck. Might I also recommend that you also struggle with Sex-Edd abit:lol: J/K If you have any questions about your truck or any problems you run into feel free to ask.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

EDIT~ Never mind about the frame shortening I just relized it was the front that was cut off!

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Great looking project, good luck with it!

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

I dislocated it about 8 months back when I wrecked my quad doing a wheelie and the wheelie bar was too short. This time I dislocated it on one of the those inflatable slides, got a little to wild and stupid lol.

Thanks for all your support. I'm hoping to get started again next week.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

how can i get good posi on the rear axle? i haven't driven the truck to know if the it has or not but i really doubt it. does it work using a one piece drive shaft if i drop the truck to the ground? just order a custom one somewhere?

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Very little progress this last week:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1612-1.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1613-1.jpg
And got some yet unneeded parts in:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1614-1.jpg

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

looking good man.. keep it up, been there and crashed my tfz many times, good luck with the build

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

I'd almost bet the frame was cut off and replaced because of the steering gear mounting holes. Mine had the holes torn out and I had to replace that section of frame, just get it lined up and reinforce it and it should be fine. I don't think building a complete frame on your first truck is a good idea either. Not saying you can't do it(you're only limited by your imagination and determination) but that's ALOT of work and ALOT of math:D There are ways to lay that thing out with the frame you have(Dropmember is one way, or some cutting and welding like some of us financially challenged builders:lol:) just browse around in some of the build threads to see what others are doing. Any questions just PM, I don't know anyone here who wouldn't be more than happy to give their input to help you out. Stick with it and I'm sure you'll end up with a sweet ride in the long run. I think the driveshaft question is kinda split. Some of the guys are running 2 piece, some are running one. I think there's less floor work required for the two piece but I'm not positive on that one. I'm running a one piece in mine.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Not really any progress just did some practice on this frame since i wasn't gonna use it and it wasn't in all that great condition. Learned a few small things that most probably already know, but it all counts for me since it's my first time.
Some stuff I'll have to watch for:
1. Dont work too late or I'll just want to get it done and I'l get careless, lol
2. Watch for the angles on the 2x4 or they'll be partially open.
3. Do all measurements carefully and cut carefully.
4. Make sure it's all straight and level before fully welding.

Here's some pictures of the practice I did. Didn't know at first why most people didn't just do it this way until I did it, the crossmember where the arms go on goes down too low in the middle and the frame couldn't sit all the way down, otherwise I would be laying my 22s on the tires I have now for them.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...26-08_2039.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...26-08_2040.jpg

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Man I wish I had that much room to work on my truck! Oh the things I could do! Looks like you have a fun project there. Keep us posted.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

sweet build and sweet shop. just so you know, the wheelie bar you mention is actually called a grab bar!!
use that back brake for controlling wheelies! :)

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

i know i'm just used to calling it wheelie bar, i had my right foot on the grab bar, so no rear brakes when i landed on the grab bar lol

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

got ya, stand up wheelie. did you put a kickstart on it?

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

after friends having to push it to start it quite a few times and about $150 in repairs to the electric start, i put a kick start in it

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

yeah, screw batteries! my buddy had
to put one on his race motor, the starter wouldn't turn it over.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

i just learned something new about these trucks this weekend, they dont have air conditioning. is there a simple kit you can get for a/c? i was thinking if i dont do a/c why do a heater yet, it wont be a daily driver and that way i can keep it a bit more simple. what are your thoughts about this?

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

the shop just got finished and behind the stairs is a pretty cool room. it's a storm shelter/gameroom with 8 inch cement walls lol. a 52" tv, surround sound, sofas, and some other accessories to be in there soon. my dad is also building a new house like right beside the shop so i'm pretty excited about all that

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Something else you can learn today... Dont set your cab on the ground without something else under it like some 4x4s to support it or else you will be doing more sheet metal work then you need to. It looks like it is in good condition so don't make more work for yourself.

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

Put 8 hours into the truck yesterday, about 5 drawing and building the table/jig (poked a welding wire through my finger in the process) and about 3 starting to draw the frame for the truck. I think I'm nearly done drawing the outside rails of the frame for the front and rear of the kickup but then I still have to plan everything for the inside crossmembers. Here's a picture of the table, built it so the frame rails would sit just on these center rails and the wheels would sit on the outside rails just in case i was gonna want to fit some of the stuff on while on the jig.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...-08_1201-1.jpg

Re: my '68 chevy (no name yet)
 

I'm planning on running a 3 inch exhaust. How do I do this with the crossmembers? Might there just be one or two between the engine and the rear of the cab? Do I just leave room exactly for the 3 inches or do I cut 3 1/4 or 3 1/2 inch holes? If I do bigger than the exhaust, will it not knock against the outside of the holes? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, but you all told me to ask if I needed and I want to plan ahead as best I can.