CK5
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1977 Chevy C10 shortbed resurection/restomod/ratrod
- Thread starter kennyw
- Start date
Just a little bit more progress this weekend. I found the steering box frame area had cracked and someone thought large washers would fix it.
I purchased a section of frame with a spare steering box at the wrecking yard plus a weld on repair brace from ORD.
Yesterday, I drove up to a friend's shop to start the repairs.
I purchased a section of frame with a spare steering box at the wrecking yard plus a weld on repair brace from ORD.
Yesterday, I drove up to a friend's shop to start the repairs.
The best thing to do fitting the 4x4 weld on brace to a 2wd frame is to get the whole frame section from a donor and do the heating and hammering on your bench with a vice.
I wouldn't have thought a 2wd frame would crack they bad since it doesn't have the stresses of a 4x4.
The frame on my '79 C-10 Bonanza cracked there !--I started hearing a loud "SNAP" at full lock turns once in a while,then one day when I had a friend handy I had him turn the wheels to full lock both ways while I watched to see where the noise was coming from..
--I thought it was loose rivets in the crossmember that holds the sway bar in place--there were a few sheared ones,but it was the steering box at the frame that made the snapping noises,the frame had cracked and the two pieces where the crack was would pop free during a hard turn..
I was surprised to see a 2WD truck crack the frame there...but it isn't uncommon,I had a '74 C-10 with a 454 factory that also had been repaired there...the Bonanza only had a 250 straight six,so its not like it had a lot of weight on the front end..
I took the truck to an experienced welder who did pipeline work for decades and had the reputation of being able to weld "anything",and not have it come apart again...he took the steering box off and tied it out of the way and stitched up the crack and ground it back down,and bolted the box back up with some 1"x 1/4" flat stock around the bolt holes on the back side under their heads and welded them on too..it never gave me any further grief after that...best part was he did it for $50,and it only took about an hour..
--I thought it was loose rivets in the crossmember that holds the sway bar in place--there were a few sheared ones,but it was the steering box at the frame that made the snapping noises,the frame had cracked and the two pieces where the crack was would pop free during a hard turn..
I was surprised to see a 2WD truck crack the frame there...but it isn't uncommon,I had a '74 C-10 with a 454 factory that also had been repaired there...the Bonanza only had a 250 straight six,so its not like it had a lot of weight on the front end..
I took the truck to an experienced welder who did pipeline work for decades and had the reputation of being able to weld "anything",and not have it come apart again...he took the steering box off and tied it out of the way and stitched up the crack and ground it back down,and bolted the box back up with some 1"x 1/4" flat stock around the bolt holes on the back side under their heads and welded them on too..it never gave me any further grief after that...best part was he did it for $50,and it only took about an hour..
I found this truck as part of an estate sale. First thing will be to see if i can get it started and check the condition of the 454.
oh nice find
Yep, same year in Silverado trim. Good hood, doors, passenger fender, and long bed. 454 that is supposed to have only 25K on a rebuild but couldn't start with the dead battery hooked to a jump box. Very nice interior too. I will get more than my money worth from parts. The motor will go into the '64 project.
Wow,it looks pretty nice...is it rusted badly enough to justify parting it out rather than fixing it up and keeping it as-is ?...
It reminds me of the '74 C-15 GMC I had with a factory 454 years ago..
It reminds me of the '74 C-15 GMC I had with a factory 454 years ago..
The brown paint hides the rust well. This one is rusty in all the places I have good metal on the green truck but solid in all the places the green truck rusted.
There is a lot I will be using but PM me what you are looking for.
Subbed...
In putting the '64 up for sale, I had a guy buy it that looks like will be a great resource for sheet metal repair on this one. I may not end up parting out the longbed after all. Instead I am trying to work out a trade for that truck in exchange for the rust repair and keeping the patina'd green paint.
The first round of rust repair is done.
Nice! Are doors hart to find there? Or did you just want to fix those ones? Looks good!
While I was outside, I started to replace the worn out seat belts as well. These came from classic industries as they were the only place I found selling green belts.
Rust free parts are easy to find out here. I actually bought the brown 77 for parts but I came across a guy with skills that will let me keep the patina paint. Plus he wants to buy the brown truck to fix and get back on the road.
The amount of rust in this truck isn't really that bad either. Just the drivers door, passenger fender, front lip of hood (plus fix the bends), and a couple small spots in the floor.
