Joined the Short Wheelbase Club *69 Tahoe Project*

[Frizzle Fry]

Ok I've got some catching up to do on progress pics. Here's the rest of the air management:

This is the ECU for the Easy Street digital air management system. I suppose it's meant to be mounted to the frame because they made the harnesses so short you really don't have much choice. Since this is a Burb I was able to find a nice dry spot INSIDE the vehicle to mount it with barely enough slack in the harnesses.

Finalized the compressor wiring:


Here you can see the ECU and compressor relay:


Here it is with the ECU mounted behind the taillight (you can see the top mounting screw):


I ran the compressor power and ECU power wires up the D-pillar, in the track above the windows and down the A-pillar. The 12 gauge comp power goes straight to my stereo circuit breaker which is fed by 0-gauge from the batt:

[Frizzle Fry]

Start on the Notch:

First I removed the shock crossmember (kinda dark, I know):


I had previously welded in this crossmember in front of the tank to add frame rigidity. At this point I though about removing it but decided there was no need o take it out. I would just have to make the notch fit around it:


Positioning upper plates; I used this bar to set them level in reference to each other:


Here's where the driver's side ended up You can see where the frame had to be trimmed to get the inner plate to side flat against the rail:




Test fitting the inner plate after making a template and trimming it to fit around that crossmember:



Burned it in:


Welded the inside as well while I had access:

[krue]

You're kicking ass with this one!

[Frizzle Fry]

The passenger side needed a tiny corner cut off to fit in front of that crossmember (sorry no pics of that).

The outer plates were trimmed slightly to match the angles of the lower rails:


...and here the OG frame section is gone and the lower plates are in:

[pat]

Nice work. Do you have a bender, or do you just use the vise and hammer technique like I would?

[Frizzle Fry]

Thanks Krue

Pat, it was a pre-made kit from KP Components Link here ...and yes, I do the vice/hammer thing too KP uses a press brake to bend these and they fit very well (all frames are slightly different so they're as close as they can be). Sure I could have made it, but skipping the that headache was well worth the money to me.

[tommie]

nice work, this is one of the threads that i keep up with, i need to learn how to weld and fabricate as well as you!

[Frizzle Fry]

Next I cut/drilled the holes for the bags:

POR-15'd the areas where the bags mount (will do rest later):

[Frizzle Fry]

You can see in that last pic how close the drive shaft is to the floor That's with the axle tube basically sitting where the frame used to be (no lower than without a notch).

So... I'll be making a tunnel including modifying the trailing arm crossmember and two rear floor braces

Because of this I've made some wood blocks to prevent it from going any lower than that for now.

[Frizzle Fry]

Next the cross-brace/bridge/shock-mount:

I stuck with the keep it simple concept and made up this using lower mounts from suicide doors (nice pieces), and some of their studs in a 2x2 at the top:



The camera is angled here but the shocks are very close to parallel with the bags (FBSS):


The bottom of the right shock is just dirty... I'll get a better shot of this:

[Frizzle Fry]

So, without the front bags in yet I set the rear where I think it looks good vs. the front (tiny rake) and snapped some shots. This is pretty close to full lift in the rear With the current shocks it'll come down about 6" from this point





Down a little more... Still has a LOT more to go:

[krue]

[5150]

Looks awesome!!!!!

[LUV2XCLR8]

Are you keeping those wheels? Or are you going to go bigger?

[Frizzle Fry]

20/22 Coy C5

[LiveWire64]

Awesome build!! Can't wait to see this one finished.
I have a question on your flip up rear door. How does it latch or lock when it's closed? Thanks & keep up your great work. Brad

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by LiveWire64

Awesome build!! Can't wait to see this one finished.
I have a question on your flip up rear door. How does it latch or lock when it's closed? Thanks & keep up your great work. Brad

I'll tell ya, but it'll cost either the 55 or the FJ

Alright I guess that's a little steep The original tailgate latches work just like normal. The gate is basically vertical when they latch just like when it's hinged from the bottom. Simplicity

[LOW DOUGH]

I can't wait to see it sitting on the ground. Lookin good

[LiveWire64]

I saw a 65? Chevy panel truck yesterday at the Brothers show & it's owner had made the rear tailgate & window a 1-piece lift-up kinda like what you are doing. He used the stock upper hinges for that make & year of panel. He did say that he had to modify the rain gutter some in the back so the door wouldn't hit it when it opened. Also mentioned the hinges are hard to find.
I know you were thinking of making your own hinges. Thought I would pass this hinge idea to you. Maybe you have already explored this idea. Keep us posted,Brad

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by LiveWire64

I saw a 65? Chevy panel truck yesterday at the Brothers show & it's owner had made the rear tailgate & window a 1-piece lift-up kinda like what you are doing. He used the stock upper hinges for that make & year of panel. He did say that he had to modify the rain gutter some in the back so the door wouldn't hit it when it opened. Also mentioned the hinges are hard to find.
I know you were thinking of making your own hinges. Thought I would pass this hinge idea to you. Maybe you have already explored this idea. Keep us posted,Brad

Hmmm... very interesting. I appreciate the info. It's cool that you noticed and thought of this build I'll have to post a question about it over on the 60-66 board.

[JayG]

Awesome build! I just spent my entire lunchtime reading this!

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by ADHDCARGUY

Awesome build! I just spent my entire lunchtime reading this!

Thanks man, it's fun. I think I have a little ADHD myself You can see it in the way I skip around on this project

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by LiveWire64

I saw a 65? Chevy panel truck yesterday at the Brothers show & it's owner had made the rear tailgate & window a 1-piece lift-up kinda like what you are doing. He used the stock upper hinges for that make & year of panel.

Check it out, the 60-66 guys came through with some pics:




I'm gonna have to try to get my hands on some of those

[FRENCHBLUE72]

May try to get a repo set if they repo them yet???

[hgs_notes]

I thought I may have had a line on those hinges for you, but I looked at the old pictures I took and it had barn doors. Sorry