"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

Had to take some time off but things are rolling again. Finally got the cab on the rotisserie. It's time to mount the sport bucket seats and console.



I read through a lot of information on these boards about this process. In the end, there were two threads that had all of the info I needed. To start, you definitely need mounting braces. There are a total of five. You can find them used sometimes from any truck that had factory buckets installed, but they are hard to find. Luckily for me, there are two board members that sell the correct reproduction braces. RogerKoop sells the rear braces. They already have weld nuts in place for the 5/16-18 seat mounting bolts.



Old_Truck_Fan sells the front brace. This reproduction is made from the same thickness steel as the original and looks almost identical to the original.



The front brace came with enough weld nuts to mount the front seats and the console. Apparently, the factory used sheet metal screws to mount the console, but I think the weld nuts in this case will just be a lot cleaner. Unlike the rear brackets, you have to weld them in place yourself. This kit comes with a super nice set of installation instructions. There are measurements scattered throughout but nothing simplified. I found some other measurements scattered around these forums, but again nothing complete. So, I took notes from all of these sources and came up with my own. I borrowed this next photo from the instructions, but I added my measurements to it.



Now, to install all this stuff...

[omodified]

I wanted to get the braces in epoxy primer before they are installed. Since the rear brackets are small enough, I was able to blast those in the cabinet. The front brace is too big so I used a scotchbrite pad to prep the surface for paint. Last, was two coats of epoxy primer.





Next was mapping out the holes on the floor of the cab. I think we measured every way possible, fifty times each way. Once there was a high level of confidence, each bolt hole was drilled to 11/32". When each side was finished, the seats went in to check the fit. The seats fit perfectly so we drilled the holes for the console.







After drilling the holes, I started vacuuming. I then realize by rotating the cab around it was shaking stuff loose between the sheet metal. All sorts of stuff was coming out from every hole, mostly dirt from mud dobbers and stones. I probably spent an hour with a blow tool and the vacuum to get it all out. I always used to hear stuff rattling/rolling around but I could never figure out where it was coming from.



Back to the install... Unfortunately, the rear brackets didn't quite fit. It appeared to be a mixture of the weldnuts already being welded onto the brackets, and maybe the factory manufacturing tolerances of the cab itself. The fix was just cutting the weldnuts off, an installing new ones where things end up being happiest. This made things line up perfect.





Next, the front brace was clamped down so the holes from the cab could be transferred and drilled into the brace. Once the holes were drilled, weldnuts were tightened down into place. Then all of the wlednut were welded into place, including weldnuts for the console.







Next, the holes were drilled for the spot welds (plug welds) and the welds were made.









Last, was grinding all of the welds flush.







Everything is finished and back in primer. Now onto some more body work. I found a few pinholes on the inside rocker.

[cornerstone]

You have one sweet rotisserie sir, I may have to make one like it if I ever do another truck. You're doing an exceptionally clean work to boot, thanks for showing so many details.

[omodified]

In my last post, I mentioned finding some pinholes on the back side of the rockers. Yes Cornerstone, thank goodness for the rotisserie. The driver side was worked on today. Ground the primer down to see what is really there. It's not too bad I guess.



Used a carbide bit to open all of the holes until there was good metal. Then welded up the holes. Then grounded it all flush. On to the driver side tomorrow.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Great work on the bucket seat cab conversion. I always like to see those cab brace installs.

[omodified]

Originally Posted by Old_Truck_Fan

Great work on the bucket seat cab conversion. I always like to see those cab brace installs.

Thanks Old Truck Fan. The more I read about this mod, the more I realized how important these were to have. I'm not trying to shortcut anything at this point!

[omodified]

The passenger side inner rocker was also repaired today. The findings were similar to the other side, in similar locations.





Once the area was ground down for welding, found this little nugget from a previous repair? Will clean this up after these holes are plugged up.



Here, everything is welded and ground flush.





All rust repairs are finished and put back in black epoxy primer.