"The way it is" 67'swb
 

I have put this off long enough and decided to do a thread. I have picked the name the way it is for the reason of just that. I am planning on doing all of the work myself from start to finish and to the best of my ability. My goal is to do all of the sheet work and repair and use no filler and paint a vehicle for the first time. The way it turns out will be the way it stays. I am trying to keep this as cheap as possiblewith out paying for any labor. I know alot of you guys have done this and are very talented craftsmen. This will be a new adventure for me as I have only done suspension and engine work to my vehicles in the past. I have done several custom motorcycles and they have turned out very nice. My last one has had the same theme with everything being fabbed in my garage from start to finish and be made from scratch. the best part was I painted it and used no filler and looks great. I thought it would be cool to see if I could carry the same theme over to my truck.

I am half way thru my tuck build and will post pics as I have time. As you can see my rear section of the frame took some needed some attention BADLY!

Enjoy!

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Here are some more frame pics.

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more.....

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I had fabbed up some trailing arms and they turned out nice.

Some exhaust pics. I figured I owuld do a once and done deal and used stainless, from header to tail.

Re: "The way it is" 67'swb
 

Looking good...excellent fab work..I especially like the tranny crossmember...but the exhaust with X-pipe and the trailing arms are excellent as well!!!

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Nice looking build...looks like you will have no trouble doing this project without help. Keep up the good work...btw, I thought you said you were doing it as cheap as possible.....that looks like some high $$$$ exhaust set-up parts. ;);):5150:

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Great work so far. Keep it up and post more pics when you can.

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really nice job so far

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That exhaust work is amazing!!!

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great work John....

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sweet build. Love the SS...

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Thanks guys! The SS exhaust pieces I had found on ebay from tlmtube he has great prices on exhaust pieces and magnaflow mufflers.

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Here are some pics of the engine. I had found a used nvg3500 with 19,000 miles for $250. I figured that way I could use a 3.73 rear, still get descent gas mileage and have the fun of a manual.

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Great progress!

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I have been working on getting my cab up to snuff lately. One of the concerns I had was how the nvg3500 tranny would fit and with a high hump it fits like it was from the factory! :metal:
I got my floor in, all patches done a & b pillars and rockers some what fitted up. Everything looks great and I had tested the doors on both sides and am very pleased. All that I have left is the cab corners and 3 spots around the windshield that needs fixed next.

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Keep up the good work! You definetly are heading in the right direction.

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Awesome fab work!

What did you paint your frame with?

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[QUOTE=72BlckButy;3490603]Awesome fab work!

What did you paint your frame with?[/QUOTE

Thanks, I used the Eastwood chassis black. I used the original just for the cost, it was the cheapest of the 3 they have and it seems to work good. I have used before it and it holds up decent.

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nice work... i'm just gonna send my cab over to your house!

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Wow!!!!! That is some awosome fab!!!!!!!!

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Nice fab work..

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Thanks for the compliments guys. Things have been very busy and have not had much time the past 2 weeks to work on it. I have had several seats and other welding jobs come in which has been nice for the extra money for the truck. I am hoping or planning to try and get the cab done before winter so I can work on it this winter and still have a free bay in the garage.

Mike if I had the extra room I would tell you to bring it over. I have really been thinking about building a garage/pole barn. Just afraid to spend the money right now!

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I forgot to add these pics, couple shots of rocker and 1/2 finished cab corner.

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Beautiful exhaust and cab work! I have those same wheels in your first post, it looks like they are facing different directions though in the two pictures. Haha.

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Thanks Dylan, I had actually splurged and got a set of 17" rallies that I have to powdercoat before I install them.

Some info for anyone who stumbles acrossed it. You guys might already know this but my starter was shot and went to Advance auto to replace it. The clerk told me about using a 99' suburban starter cause it is 1/2 the size and has a gear reduction drive in it. He said it is the next best thing to one of the more expensive billet starters. Let me tell you that thing has some torque and starts my truck like there is nothing even there and for $100 you cant beat the performance of it, I think! If interested the part number is shown in the pics. (6449s) Oh, it is for the stakkered bolt pattern starter type.

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I started to work on the driverside rocker and cab corner tonight. What a pita, nothing would match up and my welding was real bad. I had a lot of blow thrus on the old metal. I had the welder as low as I could go but still get good penatration, I dont know what it was that was causing it. After cutting, bagging and cursing I got everything to match up pretty good. I will still have to fill the extra swiss cheese yet!

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Looks like it lined up really nice in the end.

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Well i finally got the bottom of my cab done. I have to clean up some welds on the one cab corner and the footwell panels. The next thing on the ballet is I have 2 spots on the windsheild frame that needs some attention. Hopefully it will not be to bad but it looks like the might have some putty in there. The sandblaster will tell the truth, keep your fingers crossed! Once I get my cab done I am planning on working on getting my wheels powder coated so I can mount them.

Question, what do you guys do for the floor seam at the footwell panel were it is wider and does not touch? The part of the floor at the outside of the cab. I had welded the seem and need to do something with this gap and was wondering what works the best?

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Good progress.

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thanks, great progess would be getting the cab painted before the winter!!:metal:

unfortanetly I am not sure that will happen:waah:

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That's my goal as well....We'll have to see who gets it done first ;)

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ready, set.....go!

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wow, you're whipping my butt John...

If I were you i'd tack a filler piece in that area and make it go away, or a pie cut and filler piece...

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that was what i was thinking but wanted to see what everyone does with it. I have gotten a good bit done and now trying to decide whether to get it blasted then paint it or just do it the hard way and sand it or strip it???

Imagine how many dissapointed freinds I would have if I told them I was having a stripper party;) "sorry thought you knew wht i meant"

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man u are smokin compared to a lot of us, and you are doing fantastic work ta' boot. keep it up, and don't let a few unsatifactory welds get u down, it happens to all of us at some point in our learning curve, and i am no pro (not even close).

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thanks loflya, I have come to realize some days you are the dog and others the tree. least with metal you can fix your screw ups!

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John,
can you clamp that area to draw it closer together. Wehn we did my son's the gap was not that big, but i was able to use a couple of clamps and weld the seam.

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I had some free time and got one of my wheels out and put it on to check it out. I cant wait to get these baby's coated and on! Also made a throttle return spring, my spring was hitting with the usual lower style bracket so I fab this up.

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did I hear stripper? just dont mention anything about screwin!

http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/UNC...~u16165471.jpg

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not a word!!