1971 Stepside LS Build

[MarKist]

yeah..

[1971Stepside]

Here we go. The moment has arrived. Truck came home Friday. I took the day off yesterday to work on it. Made some decent progress and it has been a lot of fun seeing it come to life. I had been really nervous about deciding to go from solid red to the silver, but I think it has made a unique truck and trust me when I say the pictures don't do it justice. Enjoy and thanks for all the support to get me this far.

[1971Stepside]

Decided to give her a ride home this way instead of a trailer. Felt a little safer. I stuck the grill in almost immediately that night.

[1971Stepside]

Assembly begins. A lot of fun putting new parts on new paint. The AC lines under the dash were a bear, but it all went in with some patients and yoga moves under the dash.

[1971Stepside]

Had to put the seat in to see what it would like. My helper had to come out and check it out.

[IronCanine]

That looks great! What a weekend. This is the fun phase for sure. Congrats. We wanna see pics every night from here on out!

[MDPotter]

I think the most exciting part of my build was putting the body back together after paint, it's so rewarding. All of a sudden it's a truck!

Looks amazing - congrats on making it this far and we look forward to seeing more assembly progress!

[brianc636]

Man that looks great. Congrats!

[TA_C10]

Boom! Looks awesome. Congrats man. Love those colors. That bench seat looks great in there.

[Low Elco]

Looks Terrific!

[Kronald_70GMC]

Wow amazing! Great job

[72 tigger]

Looks great! Has to be rewarding to finally see it coming together

[sprint_9]

Awesome, looks like they got the grille to fit good.

[1971Stepside]

Thank you everyone. I'll keep posting updates as I go. Wish it were spring around the corner and not winter.

Awesome, looks like they got the grille to fit good.

It is about 90%. Gaps are not perfect due to getting it to fit. It is better on the drivers side than on the passenger side. They had over 40 hours in the grill. Made me happy we agreed to a flat fee on the whole project.

Hoping to have the bed finished up next week.

[ajgriffin]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

Thank you everyone. I'll keep posting updates as I go. Wish it were spring around the corner and not winter.



It is about 90%. Gaps are not perfect due to getting it to fit. It is better on the drivers side than on the passenger side. They had over 40 hours in the grill. Made me happy we agreed to a flat fee on the whole project.

Hoping to have the bed finished up next week.

Flat fee has its place for sure. Most shops end up losing doing it that way though - not a good business practice to give a flat price for something that you don't know how long it will take you to do. Things can go one or two ways depending on who you're dealing with. Looks like you found a good middle ground Truck looks great! Going to enjoy watching this one come together.

[derotoreut]

Looking awesome! Coming together great. That is the fun part for sure. I love that seat.

[1971Stepside]

Flat fee has its place for sure. Most shops end up losing doing it that way though - not a good business practice to give a flat price for something that you don't know how long it will take you to do. Things can go one or two ways depending on who you're dealing with.

Childhood friend owns the shop. He knew he was going to lose on this deal when he agreed to take it on. I'm very appreciative that he offered to do it. He remembers riding around in the truck in the 80's with me, so he wanted to see it done too.

I installed the mirrors last night. Hoping to put door glass and vent windows in soon. I'm happy with the look of these mirrors. I felt they were cleaner than the stock sport mirrors.

[TA_C10]

Mirrors look good, what are they from? And how did your precision seals perform? Happy with them?

[1971Stepside]

Mirrors look good, what are they from? And how did your precision seals perform? Happy with them?

They are from a 74 Corvette. I saw them on the forum where another user had used them and I thought they looked good and fit the design of the truck. I liked there were no visible screws or rivets. They are similar to the stock sport mirrors in that they really don't work that well

The seals are not bad. They need some trimming at the bottom and the v-cuts put in them still. The passenger door takes a firm close, but not slamming. The drivers takes more force. Hopefully, they soften up some after sitting in their position for while.

I went and picked up my door panels from the upholstery shop today. I'm pretty excited about how they turned out. I wanted to keep the stock shape of the 72 panel, but make it more modern looking. They nailed it.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

They are from a 74 Corvette. I saw them on the forum where another user had used them and I thought they looked good and fit the design of the truck. I liked there were no visible screws or rivets. They are similar to the stock sport mirrors in that they really don't work that well

The seals are not bad. They need some trimming at the bottom and the v-cuts put in them still. The passenger door takes a firm close, but not slamming. The drivers takes more force. Hopefully, they soften up some after sitting in their position for while.

I went and picked up my door panels from the upholstery shop today. I'm pretty excited about how they turned out. I wanted to keep the stock shape of the 72 panel, but make it more modern looking. They nailed it.

Yeah they did nail it, those look great. So your gonna do the v-cuts? Those scare me a bit. Longevity concern more than anything I guess. I can see if you do it right it won't leak. Wind noise is another concern but again, if you do it right. I just see them tearing over time and then leaking. Let us know how you do your cuts and the difference it makes.

I'm in for this ride man, ready to see you pass me up putting your truck back together.

.

[KMC3420]

The silver and red contrast amazingly well. Really enjoy seeing this come together, you have a beautiful truck.

[1971Stepside]

Those scare me a bit. Longevity concern more than anything I guess. I can see if you do it right it won't leak.

This is why I haven't taken a knife to them yet. I need to do more research. I did install the vent and glass in the passenger door and was surprised at how much better the door shut. I guess the extra weight really made a difference.

The silver and red contrast amazingly well. Really enjoy seeing this come together, you have a beautiful truck.

I really appreciate it. I'm real happy with the look. Had to set a door panel up on the door to see what it was going to look like.

[Custom 68]

It is awesome to see everything fitting so nicely. I hope it continues to go as well as you put it back together. It is finally happening!
Dave

[1971Stepside]

It is awesome to see everything fitting so nicely. I hope it continues to go as well as you put it back together. It is finally happening!
Dave

Thanks Dave. I would love to show the truck to you sometime.


I got the door glass in. The passenger side window sash hangs up on the fuzzy and keeps the window from going all the way up without help. The drivers side does the same, but rolls up further. I've read that this is a very common issue. Not sure what I can do, but will have to address it as I want them to work like they should.

I started wiring. I'm routing the wires through the vent hole and up into the fender to hide them. My hand wouldn't fit between the inner fender and cab, but my sweet wife's did. She did great getting the job done.

[KMC3420]

Haha, wife for the win...I just hope you didnt piss the truck off by putting that FURD blanket on the fender.. Progress is looking awesome.