Project Step Aside, 1971 SWB/Step

[AJohn6]

After working for about a month straight I finally got a weekend off, heck it was a three day weekend. It feels like summer break when I was in school, freakin awesome.

Well I had done some work to it during the evenings so I was able to get a lot done this weekend. I got the Watts link almost done and the bed put on to figure out what and where I need to trim. I had to trim more than I had wanted to to get it to sit down without hitting the tire. I wish now I had got the backspacing that I had wanted it would have made things a ton easier. It still rubs when fully laid out put I really can't trim any more out of it so I guess it will do for now.

[AJohn6]

Here a couple pics as low as it will go.

[kyull67]

Looks great with the rear all the way down! I can't wait to bag mine.

[AJohn6]

Wow, has it been a while or what? This truck, as all projects do, has taken a bit more time than I had thought it would to finish. After talking with Tony @ Air Ride Tech today, I thought I would get back on here and check things out. I kind of followed the advice of d10s69c10. I decided not to box the rear frame notch but I did put some 1/4" flat stock as a gusset. i completed this about a month and a half ago just never got to posting it. I have also painted and completed the install of my home made Watts link (photos to follow someday).

[d10s69c10]

looks good man nice clean welds. very smart to put down the 2" welds before the final bead.

as im sure i stated before be careful with the impacts nowadays.

[AJohn6]

I got the bed put back on for good now. Watts link is insatlled (let's hope it works) and now all I need to do is get the front shocks mounted, replace front brakes lines, get it aligned and I think it will be good to drive, at least for a little while.

[c10addict]

Nothing beats black and chrome....

[cflvulcan]

do you have any issues with the front tires hitting the hood hinges? in the pics of it aired out, it looks like the rear of the hood is up...

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by cflvulcan

do you have any issues with the front tires hitting the hood hinges? in the pics of it aired out, it looks like the rear of the hood is up...

To anwer your question... Yes, they hit the inner portion of the fender. The hood did that before but not that bad. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do with it. As of now, I don't have any wheel wells and I don't like driving trucks without them. Makes it tough to keep the motor clean. So when I finally am able to take time off of work I am going to fab up some new wheel wells and hood hinges while I am at it. But that probably won't happen until late Feb.

Adam

[AJohn6]

I started on the inner wheel wells yesterday. i really didn't make a lot of progress but I did get it to where the tires don't hit when the truck is aired out. I am trying to figure out now if I am going to use the original wheel wells after some modifying or if I should make some. Hmmm, what to do?

[BP68]

Niiiiiiice truck, and thanks for your service!

[tucks69]

Super nice truck, maybe I will see it cruising around Pinehurst one day.
Michael

[westbrookw]

subscribing. Nicely done truck.

[SCOTTMO]

love the truck,the stance is perfect.that is the look i will be going for after
i get my 67 going again after being in storage for the last 5 years.

scott

[AJohn6]

Scott, I appreciate the compliments, the truck is far from done but it is out on the road now. I just had to drive it.

Mr Westbrook, thanks for checking out the thread. I gotta say it was cool running into you this last weekend. Now if I can get the paint looking as good as your '72 does I would be a made man. Man that thing is nice...

Adam

[westbrookw]

Why thank you Adam. Now if I only had the skill to cut and weld as good as you, I would love for mine to sit as evil as yours.

[OARNGESI]

Thats looking great

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by OARNGESI

Thats looking great

Thanks, trucks no show queen but it is fun as heck to drive and it is fun to think about what I am going to do next. I might try and fix the body work and paint it or find an older Chevy and go to town on it. I want to drive the old girl every day I can so I probably won't do much to it for now. I am thinking about getting an older Chevy to try all my ideas out on. We will see what happens next....

Adam

[blizno23]

I noticed you did a one piece window conversion. I was thinking of doing the same thing. Did it help the cab noise at all? How easy was the instal? Great looking truck!

[AJohn6]

Alright its been quiet some time since I have answered a question a about the truck....

Did it help the noise?

No.

How easy was it?

It wasn't that hard to do, but an extra set of hands would have been nice to have around when removing the door and re-installing it. I don't like how the outer molding looks. The spot where the vented window starts the door panel curves in and they bent the metal portion of the molding and cut the excess rubber. That part of the molding moves a lot when I rolled the window up and down. You also have to trim the inner door stop and the directions weren't the clearest on how much to cut. Needless to say I didn't cut enough. So, when I close the door it pushed the front windo channel pinching the window making it really hard to roll up when the door is closed. I still haven't fixed it. Once it is all together and you are ready to install the mount on the glass and re-install the glass is wear the real fun begins. Getting the glass mount on properly with the rubber install takes a lot of patience and a dead blow heavy rubber mallet. you will have to hit along the entire portion of the groove with the hammer until the mount is seated correctly on the glass. Once this is completed it is time to put the glass in the truck. This part sucks. Getting the glass in the door without scratching it and getting it mounted back on the original window regulator is very difficult and time consuming. A lot of patience is needed and a few basic tools. Would I do it again? Yes, I like the way it looks. I still need to fix the door stop since I broke my window regulator trying to roll it up about a week before i left.

Sorry for writing so much but I figured I would tell youu as much as I can so maybe it can help you do it to your truck.

If you need any install help hit me up on here and hopefully I can help you out.


Adam

[AJohn6]

Hello all...

It has been a long time since I have posted anything related to the progress of the truck. Once it was on the road I just couldn't bear not driving it.

So a quick update. I never completed the inner fenders, made a couple different ones using modified stock inners and completely custom inners. I didn't like how any of them looked. I continued to have issues with the master cylinder that I bought from Brothers and turns out the inner seals on the piston were bad and binding.

I did an engine swap in my 2000 Silverado a year or so ago and drove the '71 while the swap was in progress. It rained one day while driving in the '71 and my glove box completely flooded, shorting out my air management system. It ruined it and I could never get it going again.

I found the leak, which was a rust hole under some pealed up original seem sealer underneath the cowl panel. So no it take me to its current state.

The truck, well some of it, is in the garage completely torn down waiting patiently for me to come home. I am going to do a complete rebuild of the truck since I found more rust and bad body work on it than I wanted to.

So my plans are either a custom frame built by myself or heavily modifying the stock frame. I ordered 13" Wilwood front and rear brakes, Vintage Air A/C and an under-dash brake kit from Scotts Hotrods. I am going to fab a custom rear-end and 4-link set-up. I already have an '05 6.0 Gen III LS motor for it and getting ready to find a 4l80E tranny. I'm thinking about doing a twin-turbo set-up since I think they are bad to the bone.

More to follow,

Adam

[AJohn6]

Here are a couple pics of it before I finished tearing it down completely and removing the firewall. Also a pic of the rust hole, which is just in front of the A-pillar on the passenger side

[dinger76]

Great looking truck and like how the build is going! ? for you. Where/What was the front chin spoiler or air dam from??? Thanks.

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by dinger76

Great looking truck and like how the build is going! ? for you. Where/What was the front chin spoiler or air dam from??? Thanks.

I have no idea but if I had to guess just based off of the shape and size I would say a mid-90s full-size Chevy truck.

Adam

[AJohn6]

70BigBlock here you go.

I couldn't figure out how to PM a picture and 70BigBlock was wondering if I had any rubbing issues. Long story short yes, but only when aired out or when turning while cruising real low.