Skidmore '67 C20

[KMC3420]

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

Thanks, I'm always trying to improve my fabrication skills- even though it's just a hobby for me. I have made almost everything you see in the last few posts. I did buy the coilover tabs from a company that waterjets them out (ebay but made in the usa). I used my Mig on the coilovers, trailing arms and rear end. I have a tig but t's a lot easier/faster to mig for heavy duty/dirty stuff.

I have so much respect for production welders and fabricators. It's a hard way to make a living. I think I had over 8 hours of finish welding time in the two arms/mounts.

Agree with that! They have hard jobs for sure, dirty and Smokey in most cases, and hot or super cold. I am waiting out winter on my project but have started to learn to tig. Started on steel with just mediocre results and switched to aluminum and am getting better results. My biggest struggle is feathering the pedal once my puddle is established. I get my puddle going, dab, and get moving but as I am moving I am heating the part up more than necessary. But at times when I feather the pedal and I let off too much. It’s a fine balance.

[SkidmoreGarage]

It has been a while!

I have been making forward progress the last couple months and I will be doing some rapid-fire catch up posts here.

Picking up from welding the trailing arms... I started to prep the frame and cab underside for paint.

Before I could prep the underside of the cab I needed to scrape about an inch of undercoating and oil off the bottom, and then patch up all of the previous owner's handywork in making Swiss cheese of the cab floor for bolting in harnesses. I also removed the fuel tank mounts that were spot welded into the back of the cab. There were 12 spot welds per side, and I only managed to punch through the back of the cab twice! More welding...

I also finished butt welding up the outer rocker. I chose to do a small customization and remove the flange.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Then I entered into project car hell. I was waiting on wheels until the end of March (supply chain issues), and I was needing to turn the truck around in the garage to start the other rust repairs. I also decided that the frame and underside of the truck really needed some attention to prevent the surface corrosion from really taking hold and turning into rust. The new suspension and drivetrain was also really putting the tired undercarriage to shame.

This is when I completely stripped the frame and underside of the truck bed for primer and paint. The truck was on jack stands and the bed stayed on and I was on my back the entire time. It was high effort, and I will never do it again. It also turned out as well as I could have hoped. There actually wasn't enough space underneath to hold the gun at the right angle to get all the surfaces, but I made it work.

I didn't take many photos, as it was very cramped and there wasn't much to see.

[TA_C10]

Looks good man! I'm very happy with mine. Been driving it a lot and have filled up 4-5 times now and I can pull the gas nozzle all the way for fast fill. No issues. And I used 1.5" fuel line with 3/8" filler vent I think.

Another note, I love your charcoal canister idea. I don't smell gas from mine and it's always in the garage, but that's cheap insurance right there.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Looks good man! I'm very happy with mine. Been driving it a lot and have filled up 4-5 times now and I can pull the gas nozzle all the way for fast fill. No issues. And I used 1.5" fuel line with 3/8" filler vent I think.

Another note, I love your charcoal canister idea. I don't smell gas from mine and it's always in the garage, but that's cheap insurance right there.

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words! For anyone who is following along, I would highly suggest the 1.5" that TA_C10 used. I can't quantify the benefit (if any) of what I did and it was a packaging nightmare.

I am hoping the charcoal canister works, It should.

Here is a photo of the underside:

[SkidmoreGarage]

I was also able to get the truck out of the garage (under it's own power and with open headers!) and set up my lift ramps. I am still cramped on space, so the photos aren't the best, but I do what I can. Let me know if you have any questions/picture requests.

The first photo is the Boyd's welding tank and fuel supply line. I went for some future proofing and installed -8 (1/2") hard line from the front to the back of the truck. and connected it to the tank using some fancy -8AN fittings/hose. I think that short flex line was at least $65, I used the fancy stuff that was e85 compatible and super flexible (picture 2). I used some aluminum mounting blocks from amazon, and drilled them out to use a through-bolt into a rivnut (picture 3). I want to use the same lines when I go fuel injected LS. I am running the stock mechanical fuel pump for now. I will add an in-tank pump later. I will also add a -6 return line.

[SkidmoreGarage]

A photo dump of everything painted/installed/torqued/bled/filled/etc. Just needs the old exhaust put back in.

Not shown is the Edelbrock 1406 carb that I was finally able to troubleshoot. I had rebuilt it last year (first time) and the accelerator pump just wouldn't work right. I did so much to try to get it to work and it turned out to be something really stupid. The accel pump fuel channel was completely clogged. Even though I had completely disassembled it and used the ultrasonic cleaner, it was full of junk. I cleaned it out and the truck is totally transformed. I could tell just pulling it back into the garage that it will be a lot more fun to drive.

I still need to adjust the panhard bar, set the ride height, get it aligned, complete the body work, do the drip rail, and repair the windshield frame/install the windshield. I have a kid coming on the 4th of July, so I am prioritizing getting it back on the road.

[LT7A]

I just finished reading your thread, and I really like what you've done with your truck. You are a practical thinker and a careful planner and your efforts show. I think this truck will be really fun for you to drive. Pretty interesting combination of old school look and performance with updated suspension tech.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Thanks! I'm doing the best I can, this forum is a great resource for planning. I know that my style of build isn't the most common on here but the quality of the build threads that are similar has allowed me to "stand on the shoulders of giants". My goal in keeping this thread going is to pay it back.

As an aside. I actually don't feel like I'm progressing as much as I should be. The bodywork is really not a joyful experience. It's a constant exercise in lowering your expectations until you are done. I am learning that I like the nuts and bolts better than the grind and body filler. I suppose that's true for most people.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Not a lot has been going on with the truck with the arrival of a baby girl!

Not much time to work on the truck but I had a chance to finish up the passenger outer rocker, toe kick, and footwell/firewall area before she was born.

I'll just do a photo dump, the usual metalwork-grind-body filler- sand-seam sealer- prime-sand- repeat, and finally paint. The interesting things to see are that I shaved the lower rocker seam to keep it smooth from the bottom of the bed to the front fender and the removal of the seam at the back of the door. I think these small mods add to the original design, and most people wouldn't notice them.

Feel free to leave any questions. Here are the products I used:

Evercoat long and short strand body filler
3M body filler (may try lightweight next time)
SEM two part seam sealers (buy the special two-part gun on Amazon, it's worth it)
PPG Delfleet epoxy primer
U-pol high build primer (wouldn't buy again)
Epoxy primer again
PPG Delfleet ESSS single stage color matched to light green.
PPG ALK200 gloss black for the firewall/cowl, I bought full gloss by accident for the chassis, but I kind of like it. It is easy to clean up, and it gives some depth while being much darker than a satin- which can be a bit "gray".

[SkidmoreGarage]

Had to build up the edge a little at the front, and finish up the cab corner. I didn't have the space to remove the bed, so I lifted it up enough to get the job done.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Body work (for days).

[SkidmoreGarage]

Priming and painting. I skipped over more rust repair in the cab, and lots of surface prep.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Those photos are straight out of the gun, and I think it looks really good in person. It has some junk in the paint, but generally it was easy to get an even coating and very drip resistant. The color match is also very nice.

I did have some of the chassis paint lift off with the tape where I had just scuffed it. It separated at the boundary of the last re-spray, so it wasn't the stuff that I used. It was just bad prep by the previous "painter".

[Kronald_70GMC]

Looking very nice. Good work

[SkidmoreGarage]

I really want to drive this thing, so I jumped on the next hurdle. I need to repair the small amount of rust in the windshield frame. It is concentrated on the lower corners. I had to cut out a small section and replace the metal. I also took the opportunity to patch the antenna hole. It's 2021 and I don't want any part of what the radio is selling these days, so I won't need an antenna.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Sorry for the oversized photos, I tried something new. I don't want to insult this forum as I am so thankful for it, but the forum software is so antiquated that it really makes it a struggle to post photos/media. It should just rescale the images to the native web page resolution and allow for users to click the images for full scale images.

I also installed the high hump tunnel for the final time, using 3M strip caulk. I used a double-thick layer and pressed it into place. I hope that is the right way to do it, but it seems to have worked.

[Low Elco]

Really enjoying your thread. Nice job on the bodywork!

[SkidmoreGarage]

I took a pause on the window frame and moved to addressing some major leaks.

I found that fluid was pouring from the oil pan when the truck was running and a slow drip when parked. I ordered a one piece felpro gasket and went about installing it with the engine installed in the truck.

I lifted the engine, requiring the removal of the driver's side exhaust, motor mounts, and fan shroud.

It was a real pain but it's back in. Hopefully it doesn't leak. I also painted it and discovered that it has badger pistons .030 oversized. So it has been rebuilt once!

I'll do the trans seals next... All of those are leaking too.

[landarts]

Great job on the truck! I like the approach and how it is turning out. Where did you get the seat cover for the 67-68 bench seat? Really like the looks of it and have 68 truck that could use a good looking seat cover like yours. Again great job!

[SkidmoreGarage]

Thanks for the support!

The bench seat cover I bought locally off craigslist from the original owner. I might be able to find out who made it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't really meant for a 67 frame/foam and I had to do a lot of foam work.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

Thanks for the support!

The bench seat cover I bought locally off craigslist from the original owner. I might be able to find out who made it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't really meant for a 67 frame/foam and I had to do a lot of foam work.

Ok great thanks for the information. There is a difference on how they fit. The 67-68 cover's fit different than the 69-72. Again thanks for the info!

[May70]

Cab turned out good.

What filler are you using? How does it sand?

[SkidmoreGarage]

Thanks! I am not a professional, but I am happy to share my experience.

I used three different body fillers, depending on what was needed. The long and short strand body fillers, for use over metal repair (MIG) and small gaps, was made by Evercoat. It was really nice to work with, as nice as reinforced body filler can be. For the regular filler I used 3m Bondo 261. It was what I had on hand. I have a lot more left, so I'll probably keep using it, but it isn't anything special. It clogs paper pretty fast (use an old wire brush to knock it off in a few seconds) and is easy to scratch, but isn't too hard to sand. I want to switch to the evercoat stuff. I use 3m glazing putty for the spot cleanup.

The biggest boost for me was I bought a new 6" D/A and it is a revelation for feathering edges and general leveling. Plenty of power and I just keep rotating through the sandpaper to keep it removing material. I think the other thing that helps is to start sanding at the right time for what stage you are in the sanding process. If you are leveling across a panel, sand when the filler is still a little soft. If you are doing detail work, don't be afraid to let it set up overnight. Also, when in doubt apply another layer of filler and take it all off again!

[SkidmoreGarage]

I installed new motor mounts "while I was already there", and they looked a little tired. It turned into a bit of a job, but it was worth it as the mounts were disintegrated.


Access to the bolts is pretty poor and I managed to lightly cross thread two bolts, which required running a tap through the threads. I should have cleaned them up before I tried to bolt them up the first time, but I was optimistic and rushing. It's always the little jobs that slow you down.

I also started addressing the TH400 leaks. Unfortunately, after dissembly I discovered that I didn't have the correct o ring for the speedo housing. It is surprising how difficult it is to get the right seals from the local parts shop. I'll need to go to the transmission shop and see if they can help. I also discovered that there was no shift selector seal in the trans... So someone did some "work" in the past.