Project TLOW - 1971 stepside

[Rod Run]

And here are a couple before and after pics of my garage, with the work I did on it this week

[swamp rat]

Someday i might get brave and try a gutter shave, i assume you only remoce a small section at a time and chase it with a few spots? And that Bird would be really hard for me to pass up as well.

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Someday i might get brave and try a gutter shave, i assume you only remoce a small section at a time and chase it with a few spots? And that Bird would be really hard for me to pass up as well.

After I had the body blasted and saw how solid that area was (especially compared to the rest of the cab), I had to shave them

As long as the area is solid, it's a lot easier than you would think. If the metal is corroded or thinned at all (as it was on one of my other cars), it becomes a much bigger headache

The new project is actually a 1969 Camaro. I picked it up so my other '69 could have a playmate. My better half said we can have "His and Hers" Camaros

[swamp rat]

Sorry, I saw the 3 lovers by the rear tire and made an assumption but I'd still want it. 😊

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Sorry, I saw the 3 lovers by the rear tire and made an assumption but I'd still want it. 😊

Ha! I want it too. Hopefully I can get it home within the next few weeks. I'm also trying to get the bodywork finished on my C10 cab too, so I can get it back home before the snow flies

[jim-bob]

..I see you made holes in that cross member for the tail pipes to come thru but I couldn't find your post showing how you did it..will you give me the post number showing this?
Also what size are those tires and your back space..Thanks Rod

[Rod Run]

For the exhaust I went with 2 1/2" pipe, so what I did was use a 3" hole saw to cut the hole through the cross member and then used some 3" pipe and used it as a sleeve to finish it off. It is totally ok if the saw cuts a little oversize, because you will be filling that when you weld the sleeve in anyway.

The minor problem that you will run into, is that there is no "meat" to drill into in that area of the cross member. What I did, was just tack welded a small piece of scrap metal in in position that I wanted to use as the center. I hope I didn't over confuse that for you?

The wheels are Cragar Soft 8

17x8 front & 17x9 rea, with 4.5 " & 5" backspacing. I am also using CPP's modular spindles, so that's moving my spindle in a little more than a stock application

[jim-bob]

Originally Posted by Rod Run

For the exhaust I went with 2 1/2" pipe, so what I did was use a 3" hole saw to cut the hole through the cross member and then used some 3" pipe and used it as a sleeve to finish it off. It is totally ok if the saw cuts a little oversize, because you will be filling that when you weld the sleeve in anyway.

The minor problem that you will run into, is that there is no "meat" to drill into in that area of the cross member. What I did, was just tack welded a small piece of scrap metal in in position that I wanted to use as the center. I hope I didn't over confuse that for you?

The wheels are Cragar Soft 8

17x8 front & 17x9 rea, with 4.5 " & 5" backspacing. I am also using CPP's modular spindles, so that's moving my spindle in a little more than a stock application

ROD..Great great info..thank you so much!!

[Rod Run]

Just trying to help out anyway I can.

I know a lot of people look at tires and wheels, but have a hard time getting 100% of the info they were looking for

[Rod Run]

It's been a long, long time since I've updated this thread. I started looking at some older pictures and here are a few more from my garage cleanout weekend, before I post up some updates on Project TLOW

[Rod Run]

Since I last updated, there has been a lot of un-glorious work done on my truck. Mainly it's been ordering hundreds and hundreds of dollars in parts, finishing up the fabrication of my exhaust, replacing cab corners, rockers and lower a-pillars. I had a friend tack all them in before I finish welded them). I also finished the removal of my front drip edge (way to much work), amongst a bunch of other little things that aren't worth mentioning.

I'll post up some pictures over the coming days. The forum won't let me post them up from my phone (the regular attachment icon doesn't appear), so it takes me a little longer.

I'm really hoping to have the truck on the road before summer, so lots of progress and pictures should be coming over the next few months

[Rod Run]

Here are some of the parts I've been collecting for Project TLOW over the past few months

[Rod Run]

Here's a couple more goodies too.

I decided to switch out to a 69 grill so I ordered this one and after almost a two month wait on backorder, I finally received it last week. As you can see by the pictures though, it didn't come in exactly as it was supposed to.

I made a call to the seller and they were more than great with taking care of the situation. I should hopefully have a new one in by the end of this week

[Rod Run]

A couple pics of the front half of my exhaust after I finished fabricating it up and coating it. The pipe is made up of 3 cut pieces that I welded together and ground smooth

[Rod Run]

It took me a full Saturday to cut and weld the entire front edge (I welded it solid but have no pics of that), with only leaving the corners above the a-pillar to finish the next day.

Problem was that when I went back at it the next day, I didn't like how the transition was going to end up looking coming around the corner so I had to cut it completely apart again to get rid of that small step you can still see

[Rod Run]

What I ended up doing, was that I took a 3/16" cutoff wheel and split the whole edge right along the seam. The space that created, gave me a perfectly spaced gap, to be able to but the two pieces together and weld them up with a smooth transition.

After doing this, I really wish I had access to a TIG welder and had the knowledge of how to use one

I really wanted to go with flush mount glass after doing all of this work, but just for the rear window alone, it was about $240.00 (which I though was a very fair price), but to ship it to the east coast it was going to be another $234.00 and there is no way I was going to spend that much on shipping.

[Rod Run]

Doors have been stripped. Although they are VERY solid, the bondo was incredibly thick. Not sure how this is going to go yet.

The firewall is finally in a guide coat for a final block and sand before primer and paint

[Rod Run]

Had a friend fit the cab corners, rockers and lower a pillars before I finish welded them myself. I just don't trust myself on the fitting part of the job. He is also the one that will be doing all the final bodywork and paint for me.

[Rod Run]

Hopefully this gives all you guys a little bit to look at and chat it up about, before the next time I get around to updating this thread

[knomadd]

Nice work! I just recently finished my firewall and seeing your pics reminded me of all the work I just did. Keep it up! It looks like the delivery guy was having a really bad day to have beat up your grille like that.

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Nice work! I just recently finished my firewall and seeing your pics reminded me of all the work I just did. Keep it up! It looks like the delivery guy was having a really bad day to have beat up your grille like that.

Making and welding in that filler strip for the top was tedious work.

Here is the radiator filler panel that came in the big brown truck today

[rob32472]

Where did the radiator filler come from?

[Rod Run]

Vannetta Fabrication. He makes some awesome stuff for our trucks. Over a dozen different parts

They actually just came out with a minimalist pro-touring type of spoiler for our trucks earlier today, if you're in to that type of thing

[rob32472]

Do you have a web site or contact information?

[Rod Run]

I don't know how to do links, but the best way to get him, is to hit him up on Facebook with a PM. He's pretty active on there and he's on Instagram to a lesser degree.

He has 4 or five different designs just for the filler panel alone

I hope this helps you out