1971 GMC lwb to 1968 chev swb project

[chevy88]

Great West Auto is where I got my self etching primer. I can't remember the kind, just ask them and they will hook you up.

[mcbassin]

Update from the great white north?

[chevy88]

I had to study for a 2nd class power engineering exam the last 7 days I was off, now back at work for 7 nights, then Christmas. So not any progress at all. You probably won't see any progress till after new year but we will see. Happy holidays to everyone!!!!

[mcbassin]

Merry Christmas! From balmy Oklahoma! High today 50F

[chevy88]

I thought I would cut out some of my box to make a short bed, also give me room to shorten the frame, and I can also fix cab corners.

I am going to cut right behind cab with a 90 degree cut, and a heavy gusset. I know every body either makes a step cut or 45 degree but this is a lot simpler, faster and besides this is how they lengthen semi's so I know it will be strong enough. This also eliminates moving cab mount and box mount. You just have to remove second box mount completely.

I will cut a foot out of this later.

Drive shaft removed and taken to machine shop, you can't cut corners on that.

Welding was done with 6011 welding rod and a/c welder, no nice beads laid by a mig but very good penetration into crack.


Here is start to my short bed, I hate long beds (sorry), but I have a lot more room already in the garage now.

[chevy88]

Tomorrow I will order cab corners then I can cut front of bed and put back on.

[Normy71]

Looks Good!
Did you use the reciprocating saw to cut your box?

[chevy88]

No it went to fast and I was getting off line, but used it where jig saw didn't fit. Jig saw with metal blades went fast enough and was easier to control.

[chevy88]

I used this pen and nail to give me an exact cut, it will make up for any places I went off my first line when cutting , and give a near perfect match up.



Here I got the extra 12 inches out of the front part.

Started cutting the back 8 inches out.

[mcbassin]

Looking good buddy! I bet it was a major step cutting into that bed...oh well its just metal.

[CheyenneShop]

Looks great so far - keep it up!

[chevy88]

I am still leary about cutting bed up let alone welding it up nice. But if it don't work out I can always spend a $1000 on new bed sides. I have a lincoln 100 flux core mig welder and I still hate welding thin stuff, oh well wish me luck.

[Normy71]

Can you add gas to your Lincoln welder? you would like the results!
I will be doing the same thing to my box some time!
Any hints?
Looks good..

[chevy88]

For $130 I can get a tank $34 to fill and $150 for gauges/kit. But I don't want to spend the money, but I read up on flux core compared to mig and mig welds lighter steel better so I should just order everthing. Hey Shawn come and get that front floor piece I will have enough on the back now.

[mcbassin]

chevy88, you can weld it with flux core for sure. I have done a bunch of sheetmetal work with flux core. As a matter of fact I have welded many a panel with an old miller stick welder using real small 6013 and 7014 low hydro rods and turning it way down. On our old bedsides the metal is pretty thick compared to todays sheetmetal. With all that said, the biggest problem with the flux core is the flux....if you can get off the metal when your done it will be better to prevent voids or areas for rust to develop. Wire wheels on the grinder work pretty good (safety goggles a must!) Trust me on this one. If it doesn't look like it will work out maybe spend the cash for the gas kit....don't spend the $1k for bed sides.

[chevy88]

Thanks for the encouragement mcbassin, I will probably be okay, I'm orderring panel clips just to make job go smoother, or might they be a waste of money also?

[mcbassin]

I don't have any but I would definetly like to get some. I use some rare earth magnets that are super strong and will hold pretty good. But the panel clips would be handy for your project.

[chevy88]

Took 8 inches out of the back

Waiting for panel clips to weld together.

[Normy71]

Looks good !
You can use my panel clamps if you like I have 4 of them.

[chevy88]

Thanks for the offer, but my clips should be here any day. I ordered them from the states as I could not find any up here.

[chevy88]

Got bed all aligned and spot welded together, and I have to say thanks to everyone here with posts on how to do all this as it saved a lot of time.

[epashhans]

Holy smokes K, that thing is looking great! Talk about some progress...seems like just yesterday to me that you had just bought it. Did you ever get anything figured out about those wheels? Whats your plans from here...lowering it? Color? Are you going to go black? We are going to have almost matching trucks. Looks great!

[chevy88]

Originally Posted by epashhans

Holy smokes K, that thing is looking great! Talk about some progress...seems like just yesterday to me that you had just bought it. Did you ever get anything figured out about those wheels? Whats your plans from here...lowering it? Color? Are you going to go black? We are going to have almost matching trucks. Looks great!

The rims are in Great falls if you tend to go there once in a while, I could send you a cheque to pick them up but I see it's far enough away from you also. (he will not ship them), then I could get purolator to pick them up or get you to ship them to Scobey, Montana or just wait and see if your heading up through Rosetown and meet you. Either way I am in no hurry for them. Still looking up here for aluminum slot rims, but no luck so far. No plans on lowering it just yet, hopefully paint by spring and leaning towards black for color.

[C10-Driver]

Your truck is looking great... Nice progress so far. I'm a former prairie boy (Saskatoon area) now living in Kelowna. I was reading your last post about slots and remember seeing some advertised here locally. Not sure what you're after but they look in decent shape and are a 5 on 5 bolt pattern which fit our trucks. If you were interested, I could possibly throw them on a Greyhound bus for you. As I'm sure you are aware, getting stuff across the border is not always the easiest.

http://classifieds.castanet.net/show...576987/cat/335

[chevy88]

Hey thanks C10-driver, I phoned and rims are going to be be put on the bus tonight or tomorrow. I also checked your build site out and I have seen it before. Nice transformation, that is mint.