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Old 08-13-2019, 06:48 PM   #138
71CHEVYSHORTBED402
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Nevada
Posts: 7,094
Re: Build that 71 402 already

Thanks Pete.

Three guys showed up Saturday and we slapped the cab on. Then the primary body/paint guy (Josh) and I spent the next 13 hours building the truck body. Turns out my truck was broadsided on the passenger side, it bent up the pillar, lots of door bondo, and they replaced the rocker too. They did a nice job on the rocker, but we spent 4-5 hours on the RH side cab and door. It finished better than the drivers side. I suspect the original owner got rid of the truck following the accident. I say that because of the $300 paint job it had when I found it, back in 1989. It was parked on a car lot. The original owner was an old man.

The body lines are fantastic, we're ecstatic. There's just one area that might use more attention, he's bringing some contraption to do it.

IMO we improved on the original doors. He took a 2x4 and hammer to the lower front doors to blend in with the fenders and rockers. We bent the ears of the cowl panel to blend as well, it's going to be slick. Josh is real good. I could spend a month on it and still not close, but what do I know.

Next run we drop the bed, fit moldings and inner fenders. Then we get to blast it apart for paint. Three guys are going to do the paint/body. Josh's brother and a friend, they all work at the same shop. The bed is mostly done, including body color. I may actually finish this by spring 2021

Other than that the old cab mounts had what folks call shims. An 1/8" on each corner of this cab to be exact. IMO "shims" is misleading, I believe the plates are required, at least for the original mounts. They may be optional for the cushions I'm using, which are good quality, but we used plates. The replacement core support cushions are good quality too, but I needed to add a wide washer under the bottom cushion, because the cushion spilled over the supplied washer long before I hit minimum 35 ft. lbs. torque. This may be a case you just don't tighten down much, but I torqued the mounts to the common minimum settings of 35/35/70 ft. lbs. The cushions look great and we're level and square.
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Tony
71 Custom Deluxe, SWB, 2WD, 402, A/C. I developed an assm. guide "kit" for restoring it from ground up. With assys, the guide accts for 1000s of OEM identifications and part numbers, all written in short order. 700+ images include assm, illust., charts, and points of interest. Much of the info. applies to all 67-72 GM trucks, and to a lessor degree all 67-72 GM vehicles. My build thread, and more on the guide https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=730025

Last edited by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402; 08-13-2019 at 07:19 PM.
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