Long to short conversion

[mx574]

updates on cowl and dash.

[ms2335]

Your truck is looking great. Trying to get started on mine. I love the metal bed floor. Could you let me know some measurements on the metal planks and how they where made. kinda new at the metal work.

[mx574]

hey ms2335.
i like your drivetrain. the 5.3 and 4l60. man it has been a while since i built it. since i wanted it to be built like a wood bed but with no wood. the first thing is to get the bed strips. you can make it however you want so i went with 6 strips. then you figure out the width you need to fill. has to be standard on all these truck. i forget but around 65-69 inches. but for math sake lets just say 70. and your bed strips are 1 1/2 inches wide(x6)= 9 inches. so do 70-9=61. the metal you need to build your floor needs to be 61 inches. if you do like me and use 6 strips you will have the sheet metal centered and then symmetrical as you work to the sides but you need 7 pieces of sheet metal. 61 divided by 7=8.71 inches. you have a little play but not much so you can make your pieces 8 5/8 inches. i just went to local metal yard and ordered this, they had the sheet metal in stock and charge ou for each cut(worth the price). the other hard part is hieght. you want this floor to take up the same amount of room as the wood. i forget what the wood height is but i used 3/4 by 3/4 inch square tubing for the base/structure of the floor. you cut these the lenght of the bed and i used two for each side of the metal/strip. one piece the sheet metal sat on and the other was for the strip. the thickness of the sheet metal i would have to try and find my receipt. if you need more info let me know and i will look for the receipt. but checkout that picture i have on here of the bed satnding up and you get a good view of the bottom. hope this helps and isn.t too confusing. good luck

[ms2335]

That helps alot thanks. One more question was the planks notched or grooved so that the strips set flush in the bed

[gixxerpymp]

Nice progress!

Keep it up!

[mx574]

i have not had the strips in there since i built it. hopefully i will have the truck painted in the next 2-3 months and then have final pics but i did think that that was very important. i did not however have any special cuts made. the strips i have are not very tall and the metal strips are about the same height.----------

alright you got me thinking about it so i went and found my receipts. the base metal(i was wrong) is 5/8 x 5/8 x 0.63 square tube.
and the sheet metal is 12 gauge. now i forgot i had two outside pieces(where the wheel tubs are) wider than the rest. i had 5 pcs cut at 7 3/4 inches wide and the other two at 11 3/8 inches wide.

to get back to your original question i did not make any special cuts the strips are so close to the 12 gauge steel hieght i left it.

[mx574]

Originally Posted by gixxerpymp

Nice progress!

Keep it up!

thank you i need the motivation.

[ms2335]

Thanks cant wait to see it finished

[mx574]

i have not been good at taking pics lately. but i have been working on it here and there. getting close to ready for paint. just doing bondo work. hopeflly send it to paint in a month or two

[mx574]

been negotiating with the wife to get more time out in the garage. over sunday and monday i fabbed up a basic seat brace bracket( i do not know what seats i will use) but this way after the truck is painted i can work on the seat and mount outside of truck. I have a list of things to be done before paint and i am slowly crossing them off.

[mx574]

I feel like i sure talk alot and dont produce the results sometimes. But mostly it is money holding me back. With that being said i had such a crappy day today but my truck is at the body/paint shop. Dropped it today and paid for almost half. Truck will be done in October. Might have some progress pics but chances are i will just have them when the truck is done. Thought i was going to paint it black for about two years and changed the color in the last two months. I want to suprise some of you but oh well it is going to be silver. Also, none of this is for sure but in about the last month started thinking about changing my motor setup pretty drastically. That i will wait to let the cat out of the bag(especially since it is not for sure).

[mx574]

Heard alot about (paint jail) but the shop working on my truck is moving with it. I know i should have taken my camera but i was not thinking. I went there today and it looks great. the cab and front of the truck are already done. I saw the bed being wet sanded and they said it would get sprayed later today. Truck should be home in two weeks.

[mx574]

i ordered a crate motor today. Will be 30 days for them to build and then ship.

[72chevyfleet]

ahh nice truck so far cant wait for pics

[mx574]

thanks for the kind words 72chevyfleet. i talked to the paint shop today. said they will put it together on monday and be ready for pick up on tuesday. I will try to have pics up tuesday but for sure by wed.

[mx574]

i ordered an LFD gas pedal adapter yesterday. I need a 1971-72 gas pedal assembly so if anyone on here has one they are willing to part with let me know how much. thanks

[mx574]

was planning on picking up the truck today. but the weather here in california is weird. on monday sep 27th it set records, was 113 degrees. then it has rained thurs, friday, sat, sunny on sunday and rainy monday and today. so truck is delayed and i can understand. so hopefully weather permitting i will have my truck back within the week.

[mx574]

i picked up truck today from paint. hectis day my wifes aunt is in town. have a busy day tomorrow but i will get pics up as soon as i can.

[chevy88]

That's great news, can't wait to see your paint, you won't have any trouble being motivated after that!!

[VA72C10]

can't wait to see it painted up...especially the bed with the strips installed!!!

[mx574]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

can't wait to see it painted up...especially the bed with the strips installed!!!

here she is... oh and i paid for my motor today. ships from nebraska. should be here within a week.

[mx574]

my computer not that fast so i have to do pics about 5 at a time

[mx574]

more

[mx574]

here are more pics of the truck...

[mx574]

the mucie m20 and shift linkage. cant wait to show pics of the new motor... stay tuned