"Cameo" Tailgate mods

[78bronzechariot]

I did a bit of searching, is there any writeup on how to do a cameo style tailgate. As in leaning it forward about 12 degrees? Like what Dave Neal did to the yellow 67?

[78bronzechariot]

If no one has any info, and since this is a holiday weekend, I think I might just break out the cut off wheels and see what I come up with, Then maybe write up a how to...

[69 gmc]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...15&postcount=8

What I could find for now.

[78bronzechariot]

Thanks for the reply, I am actually trying to draw from that truck and the crew cab he is currently building.

[JointTech]

yowser. I thought something else was going to happen with that bat. Then I remembered what website I was on... nice truck.

[Frizzle Fry]

I've shortened a long bed. Found that a circle saw with cut-off wheel is able to cut the inner and outer panels in one go (for most of it). Keeping them as even as possible helps when it comes time to stitch it back up.
I would approach the 12* forward lean it like this (angle is a guestimate). This way the rail is just shortened and stays straight, the curved body line can easily be tweaked when tacking it back together, and the lower body line is unchanged. If you have no side marker I'd probably make the wedge a little further forward where the curved line is "flatter."

[Billett]

Never seen it done before, but it looks fantastic!

[78bronzechariot]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

I've shortened a long bed. Found that a circle saw with cut-off wheel is able to cut the inner and outer panels in one go (for most of it). Keeping them as even as possible helps when it comes time to stitch it back up.
I would approach the 12* forward lean it like this (angle is a guestimate). This way the rail is just shortened and stays straight, the curved body line can easily be tweaked when tacking it back together, and the lower body line is unchanged. If you have no side marker I'd probably make the wedge a little further forward where the curved line is "flatter."

That is exactly what I was thinking. I plan on shaving the marker lights. I am actually starting with a longbed 68 GMC and considering doing a "half short" bed-Cutting the 12" out of the front and leaning the back forward and seeing what it looks like. I can always take the 8" out of the back later if it looks out of proportion

[78bronzechariot]

So....Here's the story: I decided to have at cutting the bed up. I ultimately decided that I should go with a "regular" short bed. However, I wanted a regular short bed tonneau cover to fit without modification. I also didn't want the bed to look too short. This necessitated shortening the top of the bed the correct 8" in the back, but with the 12 degree forward slant of the back, I had to shorten the bottom only 5.75". I didn't do a very good job of taking how to pictures, but here is basically what I did. First I laid out the 10 deg line on the bed along with vertical cuts to determine that the bed floor only had to shorten 5.75".
(wish I had remembered more trigonometry!) Once I had determined how much came out of the floor, I cut the back of the bed off in the traditional shortening manner. One I had done that, I removed the top of the rail around the stake pocket, Cut the skin off near the back corner, cut the floor around the rear bed pillar, cut the top of the rear rail out 6" from the pillar and pulled the pillar forward to the 12 degrees I was looking for. Then I trimmed the skin and finessed the body line. I still have to rebuild the floor around the Pillar and fully weld the skin, and extend the pillar to support the stake pocket. Took nearly all of the long weekend but overall I think it went well... Hopefully next weekend I can finish the back and shorten the front.

[ProStreet68SB]

Here are some pictures off of David Neals FB. It's the new crew cab he's building but he's doing the same to the tailgate again. Shows his cuts.

[78bronzechariot]

The rendering for his crew cab is part of the inspiration for my build. I had taken a look at those pictures, but he has the advantage of not working around the bed floor, part of my plan is to have a usable truck when I am done. His truck will probably have a 8" deep bed when he is done. my bed will appear "stock" on the inside, or at least as close as possible. The other thing I noticed is how far forward he cut the skin, It looks like it really messed with the body line. I think where I cut it will minimize bodywork at a later point.