69 chevy k20 project

[plummen]

Ill see if i can get the pictures in order first then ill fill in the blanks

[plummen]

Well no luck with pictures so ill just start with this picture of its current condition.
Started out as a 69 c20 I was going to build a working resto/ daily driver out of for something to occupy my spare time during my retirement.Was going to do a disc brake swap off a newer 3/4t 2wd truck and a bigblock auto swap then fix the body when time allowed.
Then i came across a deal on a mid/late 80s k20 chassis which was the first detour in my grand scheme of quick weekend swaps to keep the truck running!
Got tired of making long trips south to work on the truck so i hauled it into omaha and proceeded to tear it to pieces,since i dont have a barn here in omaha to work out of im doing the major fitting in the driveway.(this truck was going to be used as a work horse to build the new garage to build it in,that idea kinda went out the window! )
So anyway ive managed to collect the running gear from a 1ton chevy 4x4 dually dumptruck and aluminum dually wheels from a friends old dump truck he cut up,so now its going to have a dana 60 frontend with a limited slip,gear drive transfer case and 14 bolt floater rearend with a locker to go with it all.
Yes its going to be the mother of all 1t 4x4 dually flatbeds
Yesterday i talked to the guy whos built our auto transmissions for years to see if the 700r4 in the 3/4t was worth building,he told me if i was going to pull a lot of weight and plow snow to rebuild the turbo 400 from the 1 ton truck.(plans changed again! )
The newer chevy frames have that kick up under cab to clear saddle tanks which is throwing off my cab mounting,so instead of 5" of body lift in front of cab and front saddle to compensate Im going to cut the offset out of the frame and replace it with around 24" of straight frame rail im having made.
Then ill fish plate the inside and double frame the outside of thar area like a dumptruck(another change! )
Ill make up the differance with a custom made set of front springs.
I just cant bring myself to dive around with a huge bodylift and a huge chunk of frame hanging under the cab looking like it was built from a junk yard scrap heap,hopefully most people will see the spring hangers riveted to frame on both ends and think its origional

[plummen]

Well its official,the new frame rails are being made up probably be done early next week they told me.
For $75.00 for 2 sets of brand new 1/4" rails bent to match the straight part of frame i couldnt see any reason to try and find a straight chunk of frame in a junkyard to chop up and spend a day trying to straighten it and get all rust and crap off of it
I figured 36"gives me plenty of metal of length to get to flat part of frame past the stock offset,then there will be a piece of flat plate on the outside of each frame rail rolled over on the top and bolted to frame rails to beef it up more.

[plummen]

ive still got the 69 box and c20 chassis free to a good home if somebody needs it

[67chev_4x4]

you make a good point with that kick up to clear the tank. Maby thats why my truck has that body lift on it with the gap that i hate . Please let me know how taking it out works

[plummen]

I think it will make the cab fit the frame a lot better,ill just need to add around 5" of lift to the front springs is all to level the frame back out with that hump gone.

[67chev_4x4]

Originally Posted by plummen

I think it will make the cab fit the frame a lot better,ill just need to add around 5" of lift to the front springs is all to level the frame back out with that hump gone.

did you have them rails made or did you just go to the junk yard

[plummen]

I had them made,i dont think it would of been any cheaper buying them at junk yard.

[plummen]

I had them made in cb iowa at a welding shop Ive been buying structural steel and boxed tubing from for years,ill post a picture of them once i pick them up

[67chev_4x4]

Originally Posted by plummen

I had them made in cb iowa at a welding shop Ive been buying structural steel and boxed tubing from for years,ill post a picture of them once i pick them up

cant wait to see this build down the road it is going to be a nice looking truck

[67chev_4x4]

also i thought about trying to extend the inner wheel well down to the frame like in this picture where this big gap is did you have that

[bollybib]

Originally Posted by plummen

Yes its going to be the mother of all 1t 4x4 dually flatbeds

Hey dude, wow you are way more ambitious (or crazy haha) than I am with your truck. Just keep fiddling around with posts like you do with your truck, it's all good in the retirement game (More Pics !!) I was a bit timid when I first started to post but after a while it's not too bad.

Thanks for posting your pic in my Project thread it adds nicely to my '69 white/saddle collection haha. It's cool we have the same year and color scheme (your small rear window looks cool, too).

[plummen]

Originally Posted by 67chev_4x4

also i thought about trying to extend the inner wheel well down to the frame like in this picture where this big gap is did you have that

ive got a kit that comes with a roll of plastic you trim to fit between body/frame with a 2" lift kit to hide that gap,send me your address and its yours on the house.

[plummen]

Originally Posted by bollybib

Hey dude, wow you are way more ambitious (or crazy haha) than I am with your truck. Just keep fiddling around with posts like you do with your truck, it's all good in the retirement game (More Pics !!) I was a bit timid when I first started to post but after a while it's not too bad.

Thanks for posting your pic in my Project thread it adds nicely to my '69 white/saddle collection haha. It's cool we have the same year and color scheme (your small rear window looks cool, too).

I come from a long line of over builders!
From crazy 4x4 trucks ,really fast old kawasakis,flat bottem dragboats ive been involved with just about every kind of project that could be overbuilt over the years!
The Man i inherited the 69 from taught me a lot about living and working,when he died his son that ive been running around with for 35 plus years thought i should have pops's truck since he didnt have the time/money to fix it up right,Since ive got really free schedule these days i decided to build a truck a simple old boiler man like pops would appreciate but would never have spent the time/money on himself.
So this is gonna be my tribute to a simple man who never had time for himself ,but always had time and a place for any of us misguided youths when we were growing up in Louisville ne.

[plummen]

One of the local scrap guys who i used to give my water heater and furnace tear outs to kept bugging me about the left over box and frame from my 69 so he could build a trailer for hauling junk.
I told him if he pulled the old 350 out of it for me he could have the rest,i thought he was going to use a tow truck to haul the remains to his house,instead him and his buddy came up with this creative way to haul it home!
I told him once he went ten feet down the street i never saw him or that truck before,he made it all the way home!
cant find the pictures,i shall return!

[plummen]

lets see if this works

[bollybib]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...b3_attachments

See if this helps a little.

[woodwright]

You know, doing the 52" springs on the front would get your 5". And the ride would be softer. Just a thought.

[plummen]

Well my frame pieces are supposed to be done today,finally!
I decided to have them made 12" longer than i origionally planned so i can run a 10' flatbed instead of an 8' without having an extra 2' of box hanging behind the rear duals ill only have 1' ,hopefully it will look more proportioned that way.
Decided to spend my retirement buying/selling classis cars/trucks and old racing boats so i figure i might as well have a nice truck for pulling trailers around with and a 10' bed will be handing for hauling extra parts home.
Started blasting the cab last night with 50/50 black blast and baking soda,im using a small compressor so i dont think ill have too many warpage issues.
I figure i can putz around and have the rest of the inside and firewall area blasted today,then ill lay it on its back and do the bottem side.
The paint on outside of cab is pretty tough stuff so i might just use stripper on it then blast it with some soda to clean it up.
I soaked the areas i already blasted with some rust neutralizer and will go back and blast the whole thing again in a few days,hopefully that will kill any rust left behind.

[plummen]

Originally Posted by woodwright

You know, doing the 52" springs on the front would get your 5". And the ride would be softer. Just a thought.

I got a set of 4" easy ride lift springs from that chopped up 1 ton 4x4 parts truck im going to try on there once i get them back from spring shop where theyre getting a tune up.
Hopefully between that and having a set of rear springs re-arched i can get it to sit right.
Im leaning towards a set of air bags to go with the rear springs to stiffen things up when pulling a trailer,i want it to look like a 69 chevy meets an F550 superduty 4x4 i just dont want it to ride like one when its unloaded!

[plummen]

Originally Posted by plummen

One of the local scrap guys who i used to give my water heater and furnace tear outs to kept bugging me about the left over box and frame from my 69 so he could build a trailer for hauling junk.
I told him if he pulled the old 350 out of it for me he could have the rest,i thought he was going to use a tow truck to haul the remains to his house,instead him and his buddy came up with this creative way to haul it home!
I told him once he went ten feet down the street i never saw him or that truck before,he made it all the way home!
cant find the pictures,i shall return!

trying again

[plummen]

Originally Posted by bollybib

Hey dude, wow you are way more ambitious (or crazy haha) than I am with your truck. Just keep fiddling around with posts like you do with your truck, it's all good in the retirement game (More Pics !!) I was a bit timid when I first started to post but after a while it's not too bad.

Thanks for posting your pic in my Project thread it adds nicely to my '69 white/saddle collection haha. It's cool we have the same year and color scheme (your small rear window looks cool, too).

im used to the older trucks .had tons of 47-53s,55-57 2nd series,even had a 59 gmc 9600 4x4 winch truck,several 61-63s also.
on the early-mid 60s trucks ive always had the smaller back windows,this one has the same rear window as yours i think.Is that a small back window?

[plummen]

Well here we go again,A little bird told me where i might be able to lay my hands on a complete 99 ford 550 superduty 4x4 cab/chassis thats been rolled ,the driveline and axles are supposed to be good on it and it has the big power stroke and a 5 speed behind it.
I wonder what my 69 would look like with 550 axles under it and a powerstroke turbo diesel under the hood?
Ill have to wait and see what his insurance co wants to do with it

[bollybib]

Originally Posted by plummen

im used to the older trucks .had tons of 47-53s,55-57 2nd series,even had a 59 gmc 9600 4x4 winch truck,several 61-63s also.
on the early-mid 60s trucks ive always had the smaller back windows,this one has the same rear window as yours i think.Is that a small back window?

I think the pic angle plus the seat and doors removed makes the window look small. I don't think any 69s had small rear windows like 67s. Anyways, I'm on my first bigass truck but it looks so much like yours I'm watching your thread with interest. Cool how those guys used the van to haul off your frame, too.

[plummen]

Yeah i was amazed they made it all the way to where they were heading!
Im getting my pacemaker changed sometime between sept 8-13th,so i need to start making some progress.
Ill be without the use of my left arm for a week or 2 after they do it,might be a good time to go hang out in arizona or carmel california for a couple weeks!