CK5
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Yeah I did new poly bushings when I put the body back on the frame. You meant the bushings right? Not the actual body mount perches?
Definitely important before hacking the top off, I wonder if the poly bushings will help with rigidity over rubber?
Ok I chopped the top off yesterday, i just cut it at the roof for now. I’ll have to take a bunch of measurements in the windshield frame before I cut the A pillar. I though I might do the windshield first and doors last but I decided to go ahead and knock the doors out today. It was pretty tedious but I think they’re about as perfect as I can get them. Going to grind down the b pillar flush with the bed tonight so the top can sit on it and I can use the top to get the windshield frame perfect. Seeing it like this definitely brings a smile to my face.
Man that looks good. My roof and a-pillars and windshield frame are in such bad shape I’m considering doing the same. I run diy4x doors so not to worried how they fit as long as they close.
Thanks, if you can find a good top and a donor frame I think it’s definitely worth it.
So this is a problem:
Where it’s perfect on the driver side, it’s very far off on the passenger side. I checked my measurements a bunch of times on both sides to make sure I didn’t mess up the cut. As far as I can tell I didn’t. Maybe I’m seeing things but the passenger side looks funky to me, like it’s a little bent or something. The picture makes it look worse than it is but it’s basically not wide enough. I’m going to put the top on tomorrow and attach the frame to the top to see if that tells me anything. Hopefully I can figure out a way to make it work. Really don’t want to hunt for a new frame. I forgot to mention this but I pushed and pulled on the doors a lot and couldn’t seem to flex the firewall at all, looks like the rocker boxes are working.
Where it’s perfect on the driver side, it’s very far off on the passenger side. I checked my measurements a bunch of times on both sides to make sure I didn’t mess up the cut. As far as I can tell I didn’t. Maybe I’m seeing things but the passenger side looks funky to me, like it’s a little bent or something. The picture makes it look worse than it is but it’s basically not wide enough. I’m going to put the top on tomorrow and attach the frame to the top to see if that tells me anything. Hopefully I can figure out a way to make it work. Really don’t want to hunt for a new frame. I forgot to mention this but I pushed and pulled on the doors a lot and couldn’t seem to flex the firewall at all, looks like the rocker boxes are working.
it looks like some torsion on the windshield frame released when it was cut from the donor vehicle. did you cut the stock doors or find 73-75's?
I got a set of 73-75 doors when I bought my windshield header and top but they were so rotted I just used them as a guide to cut my stock doors. I think you’re probably right about the torsion. I’ll see what I can do about bending it back out but I guess I could always make some relief cuts and bend it out that way. I’m just worried about the windshield not fitting right if I do that.
Be sure and save the braces from the 73-75 doors
It will all work out, truck is looking great!
Thanks I appreciate it, can’t wait to see yours done too!
Alright we’re back in business
something’s definitely off with the passenger side of the frame but I’ve got it bent back in place enough to work I think. You can see the pinch seam on the driver side is nice and smooth around the top inside corner and on the passenger side it looks like it buckled or something.
There’s also a small dent right above that. I just cut where that seam looked buckled until I was far enough in that I could bend it. Hopefully that’s the end of it. I’m going to try to take part of the old frame and cut it down so it fits inside as an insert between the two sections for strength and to make it easier to weld.
something’s definitely off with the passenger side of the frame but I’ve got it bent back in place enough to work I think. You can see the pinch seam on the driver side is nice and smooth around the top inside corner and on the passenger side it looks like it buckled or something.
There’s also a small dent right above that. I just cut where that seam looked buckled until I was far enough in that I could bend it. Hopefully that’s the end of it. I’m going to try to take part of the old frame and cut it down so it fits inside as an insert between the two sections for strength and to make it easier to weld.
I think it was Dremu who did a roof swap (he put a half cab on a full convertible....), and used pieces of conduit inside the window frame pieces to hold them in line.
Martin
Martin
now that it's in better light, it looks like theres a bend/dent just above where the passenger side is cut off. if you work that out, wouldn't everything line up without making cuts or bending at the top?
Smart idea, that would work too.
At first I thought that might be the problem, but it’s more just a dent on the outside, if you look on the inside it doesn’t really bend much at all. I realized that even if I did bend it it wouldn’t have been enough to fix how far off it was. It was about 2 inches off.
Gotcha, it always looks different in person
