[B]65 Stepside Frame off Resto[/B]

[Dinos63]

man you have done a ton of nice work,congrats!

[Jeff La]

Nice Job, cab looks great

[da_bears_da1]

Originally Posted by Dinos63

man you have done a ton of nice work,congrats!

Originally Posted by Jeff La

Nice Job, cab looks great

Thanks guys! It is very nice to get the positive feedback. I have definitely learned this is a journey and not a race.
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[Alan's Classic]

Things are looking great!! Nice work on the roof patch.

[da_bears_da1]

Wow, not post for a little over a week and my build was on page 3. Just shows how much effort everyone puts into their builds.

After taking a week off to take my grand daughter to Disney we got back at it this week. Basically took a whole day to finish welding the patch on the roof. We went nice and slow so we did not warp anything and it was a 9.5" x 44" patch. Then had the wonderful distraction of a root canal yesterday morning (which they did not finish). We then got to working on filling and sanding. We got the roof patch filled and it turned out great.

Next is work on pulling out some dents, more filling on the outside of the cab and firewall. Probably have a week's worth of work to get ready for priming.

Very nice to be back at it!


Sorry the next pic is a little fuzzy, the camera was focused on the front side of the roof.

[WhippinSaw]

Nice job on the roof, Hope you had a nice vacation in florida. I have family all over florida so I visit once or twice a year. I just finished rechaulking the gutter and painting my roof. I didn't have to do as much repair as you but still alot of work. (I feel your pain)

[da_bears_da1]

Good news and not so good news. The cab is finally ready for priming. We have gotten the filler in all of the normal areas and the firewall all smooth. Very happy to be to this point!

The not so good news is I have to head out tomorrow to help my daughter move so will not be able to prime until next week. Funny how life keeps gettin in the way of my obsession.

Love the clean firewall look!

[Ta2Don]

Lookin Good and I can relate to life getting in the way...
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[Jmorales3181]

X2 I can relate too! Looking really good though.... Can't wait to see it all primed
I think I'm going to rock the yellow primer and rust for now and will tackle the body in the winter. Hope my cab comes on this clean
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[da_bears_da1]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Lookin Good and I can relate to life getting in the way...
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Thanks! Its hard to believe that I have spent 4 months working on the cab. Of course, life probably took a month of that time for other things.

Originally Posted by Jmorales3181

X2 I can relate too! Looking really good though.... Can't wait to see it all primed
I think I'm going to rock the yellow primer and rust for now and will tackle the body in the winter. Hope my cab comes on this clean
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Thank you! Sounds like a good plan to enjoy the truck now and do the body work in the winter. Welding is much better when its cooler and you don't mind wearing long sleeves.

[WhippinSaw]

Looks good dabears, seeing some progress is very theriputical, that's how I justify my obsession lol
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[Bomp]

Nice job on getting the cab knocked out. Patiently awaiting the paint.

[da_bears_da1]

Originally Posted by WhippinSaw

Looks good dabears, seeing some progress is very theriputical, that's how I justify my obsession lol

Thanks! Progress is fun but sometimes spotty....

Originally Posted by Bomp

Nice job on getting the cab knocked out. Patiently awaiting the paint.

Thank you! The wait is finally over!

[da_bears_da1]

The cab is finally primed!! After taking a week off to move my daughter we were able to get back to the cab. The timing couldn't have been better. When we started to work on preparing the cab on Tuesday we discovered a number of spots where the cab was starting to flash. We have had some warm and humid weather here, finally. We got the spots cleaned up and cleaned the cab and got the first coat of etch primer on. Yesterday we got the second coat on.

After we were done and enjoying a beer it dawned on us that we have spent 16 weeks on the cab dating back to the end of January. It has been a journey so I will have to post some before and after pictures below.

Here are the before shots:

Here is the drivers side which was our "good" side:



The passenger's side after we cut out the cancer:



Now the good stuff:





While the firewall would not even register on the Bomp scale, I am pretty happy with how clean it turned out.

[Jmorales3181]

Looking good man! Nice work!
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[Ta2Don]

Very Clean... Keep it Rockin'
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[Bomp]

That was 16 weeks of nice work on the cab & firewall too.
Great Job!!

[McMurphy]

Wow your cab looks great !!

The next time I do one of these it will be completely frame off as well, with a tilting cab cart.

Fantastic work, keep it up dude

[da_bears_da1]

Originally Posted by Jmorales3181

Looking good man! Nice work!
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Working hard to try to even get close to the good work you do!

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Very Clean... Keep it Rockin'
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Thank you. It's nice to get to completion of one chapter on the build.

Originally Posted by Bomp

That was 16 weeks of nice work on the cab & firewall too.
Great Job!!

Thanks. You continue to amaze me with your skills!

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Wow your cab looks great !!

The next time I do one of these it will be completely frame off as well, with a tilting cab cart.

Fantastic work, keep it up dude

Thank you! If you use your creativity on a full frame off, who knows where it could go!

[da_bears_da1]

We got the cab on the frame today. Was relieved that it went back on without issues. The 2X10 through the cab was a great way to lift it. Thanks to this forum for the solution.

I had been worried about it lining up with the mounting holes. Before we fixed the cab, the passenger side had holes in the floorboard, no inner rocker and the outer rocker was held on with filler. All four floor supports were shot. So having repaired/replaced all of that I had been concerned about whether the forward cab mounts in the cab would line up well. It took a little maneuvering but it went on.

Having the cab on the frame confirmed that I have to modify the suspension at least in the rear and then maybe the front. I have new stock springs all around now with 2.5" drop spindles in the front. When I started this project I wanted a little bit of rake in the stance but having seen all of the great trucks here, I now want it level. I was going to go with a 4" static drop in the back but when I was looking for kits I also saw a bag kit for the back that is fairly simple. No on-board compressor just set it where you want it. I am going to order that bag kit and make it level. Once I see it assembled with the bags in the back, I will then decide whether to drop the front more. Funny how things morph as the project goes along.




So now the question I have for all of you. As you can see below I have put on old school valve covers which I love. I got a matching air cleaner and am very happy with the look, just seems to fit with the truck. The problem is that the valve covers are tall and so I have about a 1/8" clearance to the firewall. I know the motor will move more than that. Would you keep the valve covers and modify the firewall or switch out the valve covers?? I can already hear Bomp yelling at me, "cut it up".

Even though its more work, my initial thought is that its only two days of work to modify the firewall and I really like the valve covers. Just looking for some response on whether I am being a dumb a$$ or not. Thanks for the responses in advance!

[Ta2Don]

I Vote with Bomp, Cut it up...
Then I can see how you do it so I can do the same when I get ready to get the cab back on the frame, I have similar valve covers...

[da_bears_da1]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

I Vote with Bomp, Cut it up...
Then I can see how you do it so I can do the same when I get ready to get the cab back on the frame, I have similar valve covers...

I saw that on one of your posts. You painted the valleys the same color as the motor. I assume you like them as well. Still debating on whether to paint mine or not.

Question is how much room do I need for motor movement?.
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[Ta2Don]

Not sure, but I would guess about 1/2 to 1 inch... But that's no more than a guess at this point. Gonna research...
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[Bomp]

While I was surfing through your build, doing my daily catch up, I busted out laughing.
You were saying exactly what was coming into my mind. No question, cut it up !

Sweet valve covers.


You could make an 'X' style of cut, tap tap tap til you get room (about an 1.25"-1.75") clearance.
Then cut an X patch. Bit of a pain but that way you don't have to make a giant pocket but Im no expert.


Good Luck, You can DO it
or move your motor forward.

[jayoldschool]

Trade/sell/buy for short covers (if your valve train combo permits).