Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

I've been wanting to start my build thread for quite a while now and I finally got some free time to do it. This is my project, a 71 short wide. I found the truck through craigslist here in Kansas. Drove 2 hours one way to go look at it and was pleasantly surprised at how solid the truck was....although it was HIDEOUS looking with it's coat of brown primer. The truck has minimal rust (little bit in the driver's side cab corner, some small spots in the windshield seam, some moderate surface rust on the driver's side floor and a small spot on the bottom front corner of the driver's side door which had been patched before). Finding a cab this good is pretty hard to do here in Kansas. I bought the truck in October and started tearing it down for it's complete restoration. Although I grew up around cars this will be my first solo attempt at completely rebuilding one. I plan on doing as much of the work as I can to save money. My plans are to install a Porterbuilt C10 Stage 2 suspension kit on the front and rear with airbags. I also love the look of the 67-68 front ends so I'll be putting one of those front clips on the truck.

Here are some pictures of what the truck looked like when I brought it home.

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More pictures of the truck before the teardown began.

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subscribed:D

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Pictures of the teardown.

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More teardown pictures.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Congratulations on your build. It look like you have some of the essentials necessary for the build: 1) C10 truck 2) work space 3) tools and lastly 4) a mentor with barrels full of money laying around somewhere. Keep up posted with those pics of the progress :chevy:

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

it always feels good to tear the truck down and clean it up but then you will wish you didnt :lol:

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More teardown pictures.

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too bad that they primered the truck looks like they would have been a cool patina driver

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

More teardown pictures.

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nice ac cab and oh wood floor too

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

We need some pics of that sweet 56!

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

More teardown pictures.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Okay, I'm sure you guys are probably burnt out on all the teardown pictures so here's some with actual "progress" being made.

Had the frame sandblasted back in November. I know how time consuming it is to strip a frame by hand so I think having it sandblasted was money well spent.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

wow this i sgoing by quick! just joking this was probably done months ago . NICE AND CLEAN!!

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Here was my early Christmas present to myself, the Porterbuilt C10 Stage 2 front and rear kits. Great products and Nate is a great guy to work with.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

ohh my!:phat::bling2::bling::ww::aiiet::c2:

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

I got some time to work on the Porterbuilt stuff this week. Here is the factory shock cross member removed and the frame marked for the rear notch. Some of those rivets can be stubborn!

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Great looking project.
The Porterbuilt parts are a good choice.
You will like everything you get from PB.
Subscribing to this build.

Also,... I love your shop!
What size building is that?

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Here's the notches cut out of the frame for the rear notch kit.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Looking forward to the build!

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Installing the Porterbuilt notches and upper shock bar.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

wow nice job on the c notch looks clean

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One more picture of the rear notch kit and upper shock bar. I couldn't wait to see what some of the front suspension pieces looked like so I just set them on the front crossmember to get an idea. I have to say that I'm very impressed with the quality of the Porterbuilt components.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

one more picture ya right !:lol: nice job on the front crossmember as well!

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Here's some pictures of the minimal amount of rust I'll have to deal with once the body work begins. I'm not much of a body man or welder so I'm glad the cab is fairly rust free.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Yeah, I thought the same thing as I was tearing it down. They definitely ruined it when they sprayed the primer.

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LOL, I'm actually wanting to put a steel floor in the bed. If I don't find one I'll end up putting the wood back in it.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Definitely a super clean starting point! Nice score!!!

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Subscribed!!

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:lol:

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Nice project.

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i agree but now you wont feel bad about putting a 67 front clip on it:lol:

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Here it is. Believe it or not, the owner is my son....who is 5 years old! My dad built it for him. It's powered by a ZZ4 crate motor with a 700R4 behind it. It has power steering, power brakes, tilt, AC, etc.......the kid doesn't know how lucky he is!

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

One last picture...

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Thanks! It's a 40 x 60 Chief steel building with heated floors. I just wish I could afford to pay for the propane it takes to keep the floors heated! :lol:

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Heck no I won't feel bad about it! I just love the look of the sloped hoods on the 67's and 68's (and the smooth, turn signal-less fender of a 67). I've got a real good 68 front clip so I'm probably gonna end up filling the side markers on those fenders.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

same here i love that clean look with no markers it was as if they made a custom mod for us:lol: i know 67 68 didnt have many options to chose from but i like the options they did give you in 67 68 compared to the ones in 69 72

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Awesome progress Jay... love what you have planned for the project.

Subscribed for this one.

Re: Mieser's 71 Short Wide Project
 

Awesome project,cant wait to see more..