Halfbreed - GMC Z71 + IH Extd Cab

[67ChevyRedneck]

Wow, kinda of sad, but it's too cool!

Is the Z71 the one in the pic? Or is that just a reference pic? I'm curious about it because I've NEVER seen an 88-98 truck with a DS ex cab door. GM didn't even make them available until the new body style came out, and even then it wasn't until 2000 as an option.

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Wow, kinda of sad, but it's too cool!

Is the Z71 the one in the pic? Or is that just a reference pic? I'm curious about it because I've NEVER seen an 88-98 truck with a DS ex cab door. GM didn't even make them available until the new body style came out, and even then it wasn't until 2000 as an option.

Reference pic. Artistic license. Did the photo mockups months b4 I ever had a viable donor lined up.

[sparkydog]

By the way - the ass end of the GMC Z71 cab will be available should anybody need it. I'll probably cut through the whole cab just ahead of the B pillars.

[89muscletruck]

two words WICKED AWESOME!
I have always had a soft spot for the old cornbinders, they are just so ugly that you have to like them...
Although it did make me sad to see two good trucks go under the knife, but your vision sounds like its worth it. You are definitly giving me confidence to go ahead with my dreams for an IH truck...

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by 89muscletruck

they are just so ugly that you have to like them..

Defiantly a build to watch for sure !!!

[89muscletruck]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Wow, kinda of sad, but it's too cool!

Is the Z71 the one in the pic? Or is that just a reference pic? I'm curious about it because I've NEVER seen an 88-98 truck with a DS ex cab door. GM didn't even make them available until the new body style came out, and even then it wasn't until 2000 as an option.

I'm not sure but it looks like the picture has been mirrored.

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by 89muscletruck

I'm not sure but it looks like the picture has been mirrored.

Yes probably. I think I clipped it off a Craigslist photo and then mirrored it to use in my photo-chopping.

These next pictures are just showing how I played and played with photo crops trying to decide what wheelbase and body proportions to settle in on. This went on for quite awhile. I was doing rough scaling of the pictures and trying to find good side views off the internet. As you can see in one of the pics I was considering a Dodge cab for awhile.

[sparkydog]

Eventually I settled in on the GM/Chevy extended cab proportions and also firmed up what chassis I was going to need as a donor vehicle. By then I had bought the two IH trucks and started to realize that before I cut them up I'd better have a more accurate idea of what dimensions worked. I realized the photo chop stuff could be out of scale enough that it would really mess me up.

So I moved into using Solidworks instead of Powerpoint and started making accurate measurements and scaling better. If you haven't guessed already I am an Engineer so I like having numbers to go with my ideas. This is where and how I finalized my plans and decided how big I wanted the rear door openings and the length of the bed. Here's a pdf file that shows an example of the "engineering drawing" I am using as a guide. (Warning - these dimensions are not my final ones so don't go cutting up another pair of trucks off these!)

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by 89muscletruck

I'm not sure but it looks like the picture has been mirrored.

Well, that explains it. The exhuast is supposed to be on the PS and the steering wheel looks to be on the wrong side in the pic as well, mystery solved

Even using the chevy ext cab frame, with the "smaller" cab of the IH, you should still have a good bit of back seat room and a decent sized rear door.

[sparkydog]

Either that.... or it is an extremely rare British version!

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Even using the chevy ext cab frame, with the "smaller" cab of the IH, you should still have a good bit of back seat room and a decent sized rear door.

Funny thing - my decisions on where to finish cut the cab were all based on visual/exterior look. Just the other day I measured the interior dims of both the stock GMC cab and my IH extnd cab. The rear cab wall to firewall distance is within 1" of each other. And even though the two trucks are 30 years apart in time and worlds away in designs - the GMC interior cab width at the dashboard and the IH are within 1/2".