68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

So most of you on here know me by the 75Dually that I have been building. Well that truck is far enough along that I wanted to finally start my 68 GMC.

Some brief history; I got this truck a year ago and it has been sitting ever since. I sold the V6 and trans out of it a couple of days after I brought it home. It is an original Lubbock truck with no rust, OK there is some surface patina, but no cancer... So thankful for that!

For this build I will be cutting down the bed to make it a short bed. I am going to be laying rocker. I have also recently purchased a 2003 Tahoe which will become the donor for, well everything below the body shell. I'm going to be using most of this donor and body dropping the 68 on top of it. That way I don't have to reinvent the wheel on all the sub systems. I bet that a lot of you have thought about doing this very thing, and I hope this build helps both of us figure out all the issues. I know I will need some expert help along the way so I hope this is going to be a good discussion. I picked up the seats last night, they are in amazing shape (Thanks Cody Anderson!), and I have always liked the 60/40 split seats from the OBS Chevy/GMC trucks. They are super comfortable and look amazing in my opinion.

I have some basic ideas on what I want to do, but I've built enough vehicles to know that plans laid down now always change, so hold on this is going to be a fun ride!

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Looks like a great start to an awesome build!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Thanks! I certainly hope that this is an awesome build. I was starting the tear down today on the 68, bagging and labeling all the parts. Lots of tedious work, but in the end it makes all the difference when you go to put it back together.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Keep us updated, lots of pics!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Tonight I pulled the front clip off, along with the hood and the front bumper. One great thing about Lubbock vehicles is they are preserved really well. One bad thing about Lubbock vehicles is the dust!!! It is in everything!!! Everything!!! Cough, cough, cough... :lol:

At least I got that part done tonight.

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

I love Texas, except the dust!
I lived in a little town 50-60 miles out of Dallas called Union Valley, where I gained my love for these trucks, they were all rust free but dusty as hell.

Keep up the good work! Making me jealous I haven't done any work on my '72

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Lot's of hard work tonight! Got the cab off the old frame. Let me tell you that was zero fun... However it did come off and we got it down on the roller frame I made over the weekend. So now it is on to the bed. I'm looking forward to making it a short bed, should be very interesting to say the least...:lol::lol:

BTW all the brown you see on the cab is West Texas dust, acres of it, but zero rot!

I want to say a huge thank you to my neighbor Aces Carroll for helping me out! Could not have gotten it all done this evening without you!

Stay tuned... ;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

To bring everyone up to speed, one of the things I am going to be trying with this build is to incorporate the firewall and some of the floor board from the donor truck into this 68 GMC. The reason for this is so I don't have to figure out what GM already spent millions of dollars designing. Simple things like the gas pedal, the brake assembly, the heater core and AC cores, etc.... You get the idea. It is a serious pain to try and relocate all that stuff in a vehicle that was never designed to house those parts, not that it can't and hasn't been done before, but because I don't want to spend all winter making mounts and everything to hold and connect all the stuff to the existing cab.

If it is done correctly, and it will be trust me, this will save me a ton of hours of fab time and allow me to get this project on the road a lot quicker. Also it will have the benefit of looking and working like an OEM product.

That is the plan for right now at least...

Stay tuned!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Tuned in- looks like a great project!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Thanks! This should be a good project.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Looks like you got it coming along good!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

I'll watch.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Subcribed

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

You have probably seen this build, he should be getting close to the finish with it. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=731246

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Thanks! I'll check it out.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Im in .

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

subscribed.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Today was a very busy day in the shop. I worked on taking the long bed and making it into a short bed. Lots of measuring and then laying the tape out.

The reason for the zig and zag on the passenger side is that there was some rather large past body damage, and taking out the section the way I did took most of the damage out. Now I can just tack it back together and keep moving forward. The drivers side was a lot easier compared to the passenger side...

I used cut off wheels to cut the sheet metal, and I used a sawzall to cut the bed floor. Speaking of the bed floor I will not be keeping it. I plan on putting in a wood bed. This metal bed is so tore up and dented it is just not worth the time to do anything but throw it away.

Tomorrow I will finish cutting out the front bed floor and then begin tacking it all together. Tons of fun!

Note all the dirt on the floor, every time you touched this bed it rained dust and dirt. Like I said before, no cancer, but it is well preserved in all the Lubbock dust!

Stay tuned...;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Can't wait to see how it comes out. A friend of mine did the same with a 63 truck and a trailblazer.

Wade

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Thanks Wade!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

In order to lower the truck you most likely will have to raise the height of the bed floor anyways.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Very correct. On my 75Dually I had to raise the floor too in order to clear all the components. This truck will be a ton easier than that project.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Tonight I got the rest of the floor cut out, and then spent the balance of the evening cutting and notching the rear piece to fit over the frame rails. Had to break out the plasma for that little bit of fun. :lol:

Don't mind the fit right now I just clamped the parts together to get a rough look at what needs to still be trimmed to get the proper gap before welding everything up. So now I have some body work to do, and the passenger side will be the bulk of that. However the zig and zag cut I made was actually really tight and even gave me some slight trimming material to make everything lay correctly in the end. The gap that you are seeing right now on the drivers side is only there because the bed floor needs to be trimmed up so it will fit correctly.

One thing I thought was interesting was the scratch on the lower front on the passenger side matches up perfectly! How in the world did that happen, oh well I take it when I can get it...

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Subd

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Looks to be coming along great!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Tonight the mosquito's were trying to carry me away! So I had to stay on the move all night, can't wait until they all die off for the rest of the year!!!:metal:

However I did get a lot done. I got the rest of the gaps down to 1/16" and then mocked it all up and measured for square, and I was right on the money the first time! So happy for that result!!

After that I got to grinding off all the old paint so I could start tack welding all the cuts. As you can see I got the drivers side front tacked up. I did the easiest one first. The rest of the are just as straight forward, ok except the passenger side front, that one will be a bit more difficult. Speaking of that, I got the panel pulled out where the big dent was and then started body working the entire area. I still have the lower portion by the wheel well to finish, but that is for tomorrow and the weekend.

I should be done tacking everything up by tomorrow night, and then I can start doing all the finish welding.

Stay tuned...;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Got so more work done tonight. I got all the tach welding done on the passenger side. Still need to do some hammer and dolly work on the front lower portion of the wheel well, but all in all it is coming along.

Tomorrow I will try and get the balance of the drivers side finished up. Might even get both sides welded up so I can move on to other parts of this build. That would be very nice in my book...

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Well I did get the drivers side rear cut all tached up today. So now I have a short bed! Forgot to take any pics, but it was not that exciting... You've seen one tach, you seen them all...

So next is a little bit of body work on the seams. I've been thinking about running a thin coat of body filler and then blending it in with some paint work to match the rest of the bed sides. At first I was going to leave the seams alone and just etch prime them or something lame like that. However I think it would be good fun to try and make it look like the short bed was originally that way. This is still all in the air, so it has a good chance to change...

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

So while I let the, now short bed, sit for a while I pulled the doors into the shop. Both of them are in good shape. However they both in need of an extensive going through. Thanks to my good friend Cody Anderson I have all the replacement felts, rubber, and vent window parts. Super big thanks Cody!

I am going to tear down both doors and all the small parts. Both of them are chocked with Lubbock dust, and it has gotten every where. The lock actions, the window regulators, and the door handles are just gummed up with the stuff. This is one portion of a build that most folks don't like, but I think of it as a challenge. I will be cleaning and restoring all of the parts so they work like new. Some of it might need to be replaced, but we will cross that bridge when it comes.

One of the other things that I really like about these doors is the place where the previous owner had their business name plaque. I plan on doing something with that white area like a hot rod shop name or something like that. I'm sure that I will find something cool to do with it, but first this ride is going to have to be close to finished before I do anything with a door sign.

Stay tuned!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

The doors look very solid- you're making good progress!

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Trying too! See the below post on taking them apart. They were nasty!:lol:

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

So I got the drivers doors apart tonight. Thank goodness for YouTube! This was my first time taking a 68 door assembly apart, and there were some steps that needed some assistance from the video. In the end it all came apart, and yes there was 50 plus years of Lubbock dust caked in the bottom! Cough!!:lol:

There was one quarter sized rust hole that will need to be cut out and filled, but that is an easy job. So my assumption of a cancer free truck is no longer in place, but hey what I have found so far is not going to take long to fix.

As far as the components go, all of them just need a good soak with some penetration fluid and then a full restore on each part. The good part is that for the most part they are all in decent shape and just need time and attention. That's what I'm here for!

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

So I got the bad metal cut out and a patch panel put in place where the cancer was. I put some body filler over the repair and will get it sanded down tomorrow evening.

I also got the door hardware sitting in a vinegar bath to take off the rust. I watched some really good videos and the results were amazing. So I going to give it a try. The bucket had tiny bubbles coming up already tonight. So I'm going to leave them in it for a couple of days and then give them a good scrubbing. I'll show the results when they are done.

Brother's Trucks got some of my hard earned dough today. I ordered a bunch of small parts for the doors like new handles, lock pulls, and other minor items. I also got my new LED tail lights along with some new side markers. So I can't wait for that box to show up.

Stay tuned!;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Got the bottom of the door finished up and sanded. I then I shot a coat of etch primer on the entire door bottom. Not even worth a pic, but just know that the door bottom is now a very nice shade of olive drab!

Tomorrow I plan on getting the other door torn down and then getting both of them and the door panel cleaned up for paint.

BTW I checked on the parts that are sitting in the vinegar bath and they are doing really great. Lots of bubbles coming up which means that the rust is being dissolved. I'll take them out in a couple of days and check the real progress and report back.

Stay tuned...;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Great idea with the bath. I need to do the same for my door parts.

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

A really good day in the shop. My wife and I went and saw my youngest perform in a band competition this morning, and then when I got home I got to spend the rest of the day working in the shop. Life is good!;)

First I want to give an update on the parts soaking in the vinegar solution. I pulled the parts out and they just needed a quick brushing which knocked all the remaining rust off. They were super clean after the brushing. Go back up and check out the original pic of when I pulled it out of the door and compare it to the pic below. A VERY IMPORTANT POINT! Glad I now have your attention! This process takes the parts all the way down to the base metal, which means they will start to rust very quickly if you don't get a good coat of WD40 or something similar on them ASAP. You can see some slight rust on the big gear portion of the window mechanism in the below pic. That part started to rust right after I got it cleaned off, so make sure you coat your soaked parts right after you take them out of the solution. The solution BTW is 1 gallon of vinegar and 1 cup of sugar. That's it. Super simple, but I have not ever found anything that takes so little work to get rid of all that rust so easily. I recommend it! The passenger door parts are soaking in it now.

I got the passenger door all torn down today too. I coated the bottom of the door like I did the drivers side with some etch primer after I sanded everything down. I do have some body work to do on lower portion of the kick panel where years and years of feet striking it have taken there toll. Other than that I will have the doors in paint fairly soon. I will be doing the interior of the doors in white. They should look really nice when completed and reassembled.

The interior door panels for both doors got sanded down and a coat of etch primer was laid down. They should be dry by morning, and when I get back from church I will spray them in silver.

Thanks for checking in on my build!

Stay tuned...;)

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Today after church I got the door panels painted. As you can see the color is now silver, to more exact Case IH silver. From what they started out as they look a whole lot better.

I also started the body work on the lower kick panel on the passenger door. There were just a bunch of small dents and dings from 50 year of abuse. I could have left them and just painted over it, but no my OCD kicked in and I know that I would have seen them every time I opened the door, so yeah I started the body work on them...

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

so what are your plans for the tahoe? What all are you keeping? Is it 4x4?

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

So that's a really good question. First it is a 2X4 which is perfect for what I want to do. I hope to lay the pinch on the shop floor when it is all done.

As far as the plans for the Tahoe go, this is going to be a long list... Basically I'm going to be pulling the body off the frame and using the chassis of the Tahoe and putting the GMC on that running gear. I will be trying to use most of the firewall and about 4 feet of the floor pan from the Tahoe and replacing the GMC firewall and floor plan. The reason for this is so that I don't have to make all the mounting points and figure out all the stuff GM spent millions of dollars perfecting. I will retain the GMC wipers and upper cowl (I was doing a lot of measurements today!) and possibly the stock GMC dash, but the jury is still out on that for now. I might use the Tahoe dash, but it is 6" wider than the GMC dash, so something somewhere will have to give in order to make that happen.

At the beginning of this post I showed the seats I would like to use, but I might use the rear leather seats out of the second row in the Tahoe (I cleaned them up this weekend and they are in decent shape, yes they need some leather dye in some spots but all in all they are in really good shape).

I would like to use the dual zone AC from the Tahoe, but I have heard from other guys who have done this swap and they say the unit is huge and takes up all the under dash room, so I might have to buy a Vintage air system and forgo that.

So far that is my main list. There is going to be a hundred more things that I need to figure out and come up with solutions on, but those are the challenges I really like.

Hope that gives a clearer idea of what I plan for this project.:lol:

Re: 68 GMC to a 2003 Tahoe chassis
 

Nice progress and planning! Staying tuned in