71 pickup, 52s,63s boatside etc

[jimmy1984]

Here are some shots of how it sits after the spring swap

So now that I moved the axle forward the next stage is shortening the bed to match the axle location, so the plan was to take out material from infront of the wheel well. And also take material out from the rear to shorten the bed to match the frame that had been shortened when it had a tube bed on it.

I did some measuring and I decided id be removing 10" from the front and 10" from the rear.

First cut

In progress 2nd cut made and section removed

Profile shot

First section removed and bed pushed back together

 

[jimmy1984]

After the first cut was done I started marking up the rear section

I then proceeded to make the cuts and this is what was left

Just to see how everything was going to look I through boths ends on the chassis

As you can see the rear section is about an inch higher due to lower structure of the bed being about an inch thicker on the last stringer.
I decided to just notch where the frame goes so that everything will be level. Originally the last stringer hung of the frame rails so it was never an issue.

 

[jimmy1984]

So after everything was chopped up all well and good it was time to piece it all back together.

So my bed as you all could see was fairly straight but not much to really go off of. So I decided that the only consistent part of the bed were the stringers that ran below the floor side to side. I figured if I could keep those all on the same plane it would make alignment easier.

So I set up some cinder blocks and 2 2x4s to support the 3 pieces

Once it was all somewhat close together I started the lengthy process of tack welding it all back together.

I first welded all 4 corners at the top bed rail location.

Then I started tack welding the bottom and the outside panels

In one section there was a large dent, at first I thought about hammering it out then decided not to.

After All the corners looked like this I took a beer break

A few finished shots of the inside all the seams are fully welded now but this picture was taken before I finished it completely

 

[ashman]

love it!!
how long is the bed now?

 

[jimmy1984]

Thanks Ashman!

Im not exactly sure what the finished length is I forgot to write it down when I left town but I know its around 6 feet +- a few inches. My best guess would be 76 inches. Ill definitely get a measurement when Im back to working on it again.

More updates to come!

 

[max 02]

Yeah looks cool man...glad you are making a box for it, I think it looks better with one rather than just a tube frame.

Nice work!

 

[hd44blazer]

A chevy front 60 just fits with no hubs and knuckles pointed straight and the tailgate closed

Thanks Ashman!

Im not exactly sure what the finished length is I forgot to write it down when I left town but I know its around 6 feet +- a few inches. My best guess would be 76 inches. Ill definitely get a measurement when Im back to working on it again.

More updates to come!

 

[jimmy1984]

So after I got the bed all finished up it was time to toss it up onto the frame. And me being as excited as I was to finaly see it on the truck I had to get it on the truck ASAP. Which ment doing it alone. I had to go into major beast mode but i got it up there in like 5 minutes.

I propped the bed up on the tailgate end.

Then I backed the truck in and after much thrusting,lifting,heaving,hoing,kicking,wacking,slamming,banging and dropping it was finally where it was supposed to be.

Some shots of it mounted

Onto the next step!

 

[jimmy1984]

Now Im sure your all wondering what the next step is, let just say that blue painters is a sign of whats to come... Stay Tuned!

 

[Greg72]

I'm going out on a limb and guessing that the blue tape has nothing to do with paint.....





-G

 

[jimmy1984]

Greg sees where this is goin

coming soon

And for anyone out there that is hurting as I begin cutting up this cab... the PO did some unconventional rust repair so the floor area is shot already so im not tearin into prime real estate.

Narek

 

[munepit]

Looking killer. Nice work. This is going to be a badass rig!

 

[y5mgisi]

Chop chop!

 

[NorCalKid]

Looking good!

 

[jimmy1984]

So I started chopping up the lower half getting ready for boatsiding.
Started off by taking care of the fangs in the front, those were coming off boatside or not they are getting chewed up.

driver side gone already looks much better

Then I ran a line down the side measuring down from the body line.

The bedsides

 

[jimmy1984]

Bed chopped

Door Chopped

The hard part the actual cab section.

The hinge getting chopped

 

[jimmy1984]

And the somewhat finished product.
It still needs to be plated and actualy boatsided but this is what it looks like now.
Before

After

I sent a picture to a friend of mine and he thought a put a body lift on it
Took him a second to realize the 8 inches missing off the bottom of the truck
Narek

 

[ashman]

damn! that's a lot of work done.

and it does look like a body lift at first. lol love the before and after pics too. too many people forget to do that, and it's always cool to see.

 

[jimmy1984]

Thanks Ashman!

Its was definatly lots of work im planning on getting the boatsiding finished up when im back in town and also installing some new goodies

Which include a D60, and clocking ring so I can have a flat belly and some used 39.5 super swampers.

Then I can mayby take it out and beat on it some. Its hard to believe that ive had this truck for a year and mayby put 10 miles on it. Im itchen to take it wheeling.

Narek

 

[Deuling]

Are you gonna put sliders in where you cut all that off???