Pics for Scoti & Boxrodz

[7T7]

Just woke up from a nap, the Heatwave wiped me out!
For those of you that didn't make it to THW, it was... HOT!
About the pics below, the floor has been raised 7 1/4 inches
and the inside panels sectioned so that the bodylines would
match, the fender wells were widened 2 1/2 inches and the
carraige bolt holes were filled. The hardest part was adding
back all the supports to the backside of the bed. The gas
door was filled 2 weeks ago and the bed stake holes were
filled last wednesday. The big void above the roll pan will
receive sheet metal that will be contoured to the bed
floor and I have ordered a Matt Hotch flush mount gas
cap to go in the center of that big azz sheet metal piece.
Then it is time to prime & sand, prime & sand, prime....
well you get the picture! A smart man would let somebody
else do this, But like Forrest Gump said, "I may not be a
Smart man, but I know what hard work is!"

['78 Fleetside]

Im not sure if this question is as stupid as i think it probably is.... but... whats the purpose of raising the bottom of the bed up like that?

[7T7]

Originally Posted by '78 Fleetside

Im not sure if this question is as stupid as i think it probably is.... but... whats the purpose of raising the bottom of the bed up like that?

The frame is kicked up in the rear because of the air bags and because
of the way the sway bar attaches to the rear end I had to run the
rear end high all the way back so I could not put a simple cover
between the wheel tubs like most people do.
The picture below will probably clear things up.

['78 Fleetside]

Ahhhh, Gotcha.. Picture helped alot. Thanks.

[1987 Shortwide]

Looks great man, I think the cleanliness will be killer when it's all said and done.

[bigblock73]

Kudos Frank, killer job you are doing!!

I especially like the way you sectioned the insides to get it all to look stock...awesome job! I really can't wait to see "finished" pics!

[SCOTI]

Thanks for the update & pics Frank. It's looking killer. That's what my plan is for my RestoRod. So far all I've managed to do is raise the floor & chalk outline where the inner bedside-walls will be sectioned.

[laynlow77]

not to hijack your thread but you said that you know the owner of air ride tech and you arent using his stuff right? is there a reason for this?

[bigarmzz]

what size tires/rims are those on the back?

they look huge

[cochran63]

That is gonna be one sweet ride!

[7T7]

Originally Posted by laynlow77

not to hijack your thread but you said that you know the owner of air ride tech and you arent using his stuff right? is there a reason for this?

Good question.
I'm sure Tony would love it if he was the big cheese at ART but truth be told Bret Voelkel holds that position.
Tony Bicknell (National Sales Manager) is one of those displaced Texan that has been a HUGE help to us over the years.
A good friend (Jon) and I started installing bags many years ago. Jon now is the owner of DB rods & miniz.
He is an authorized Air Ride Technologies dealer and uses ART parts on a daily basis.
My old 95 Chevy (now Jons) was bagged in 1996 with complete ART parts. It still has that same ART system on it today!
Now...as far as why my truck doesn't have an ART kit,.... well the real fun of hot rodding is doing new things. We are always looking
for better and sometimes just different ways to modify our vehicles.
Also, some times there just isn't a bolt on kit out there that will work on a certain car or truck.
Like the new Dodge Magnum, (bagging one as we speak) so we fabricate.

[7T7]

Originally Posted by bigarmzz

what size tires/rims are those on the back?

they look huge

Let's see... it's been awhile since I bent down there to see.
Hang on, I'll go look.............295/40/20.
The rims are 10" with a 4" back space.

[bodydropped]

nice thats they way im doin mine but i might add a smotth peice of sheetmetal ontop of the tubes and smooth it all out and use the space between it and the bed floor for storage on my bed and also what rear 2 link setup is that is it a ekstensive or a hand made one because i made my own bars but i want kill lookin upper brakets but im lookin to run the 3 bellow bags from conutech because i want plenty of lift for 22's for the frt

[boxrodz]

Thank you, sir.

Yeah, we've had our own heatwave out here, but without the trucks or rods.

I commend your hard work. I like the way you sectioned the inside of the bed panels. With all that cutting and welding, how do you avoid warping the panels? Great job from what I can see. I read where you filled the recessed area/holes of the bed floor. I'll be interesting to see how you mount the bed to the frame. Did you also have to fill the area of the bed floor fore and aft of the fenders? I guess you shaved the raised area of the bed floor above the fuel neck as well. One last question, did you widen the wheel wells to run wider tires?

All you guys doing all this body and prep work need to give the rest of us some lessons. Or, at least, some tips.

Looks real good.

[bodydropped]

do u have anymore pics of the truck?

[N2TRUX]

Great job Frank. Dude you need to get that thing done.....

[86swb]

You did a great job on that bed. Looks really good.

[7T7]

Originally Posted by boxrodz

With all that cutting and welding, how do you avoid warping the panels? I'll be interesting to see how you mount the bed to the frame. Did you also have to fill the area of the bed floor fore and aft of the fenders? I guess you shaved the raised area of the bed floor above the fuel neck as well. One last question, did you widen the wheel wells to run wider tires?

All you guys doing all this body and prep work need to give the rest of us some lessons. Or, at least, some tips.

Looks real good.

Warping! That’s a hit and miss thing with me. Some areas got a little funky. Hammer and dolly time!

As far as mounting the bed, I’ll try and get some pics of that poster for ya.
It’s basically just a 9/16 nut welded into the bed floor brace.

And yes I had to add 2 inch sections ahead and behind the fenders.
That was a learning experience! The outside floor ribs are not the same as the center ribs. (The spacing is different)

Those little gas bumps.....gerrrrr. Now that I have the bed back together it bugs me that I didn’t shave those.

The tires are 295’s and fit the stock wheel well just about right but I have plans to one day redo the back and run a 345 or so.
So far no one makes a wheel tire combo I’m looking for.
Sit and wait I guess.

[7T7]

Originally Posted by bodydropped

do u have anymore pics of the truck?

Oh! Let me first thank everyone for the complements!
And Ken, you know this isn’t Monster Garage. Hehe.
I don’t have “Build Days” I have “Build YEARS!”

This is an old pic. The truck has been stripped of all the molding and is basically just sitting there waiting for me to finish that damn bed!
Hopefully by this weekend I’ll be able to start paint stripping the rest of the truck. (what a nasty job)

[80BIG10]

That is great! I can't wait till you have that thing rolling around town...hopefully one day I can pull up next to you and check it out a little more.

[bodydropped]

Originally Posted by 7T7

Oh! Let me first thank everyone for the complements!
And Ken, you know this isn’t Monster Garage. Hehe.
I don’t have “Build Days” I have “Build YEARS!”

This is an old pic. The truck has been stripped of all the molding and is basically just sitting there waiting for me to finish that damn bed!
Hopefully by this weekend I’ll be able to start paint stripping the rest of the truck. (what a nasty job)

i like it know that makes me want to bust my azz off to get my 82 done all i need is 600 bucks from my uppers and lowers and 500 for my air ride stuff then i start from there

[boxrodz]

Originally Posted by 7T7

Warping! That’s a hit and miss thing with me. Some areas got a little funky. Hammer and dolly time!

Boy, as I said before, it sure looks good.

Originally Posted by 7T7

As far as mounting the bed, I’ll try and get some pics of that poster for ya. It’s basically just a 9/16 nut welded into the bed floor brace.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by 7T7

And yes I had to add 2 inch sections ahead and behind the fenders. That was a learning experience! The outside floor ribs are not the same as the center ribs. (The spacing is different)

Yeah, I noticed that the ribs in the bed floor are not symmetrical from side to side (behind/in front of the fenders). I can't figured out why GM rolled them like that.

Originally Posted by 7T7

Those little gas bumps.....gerrrrr. Now that I have the bed back together it bugs me that I didn’t shave those.

Oh, they looked like they were shaved from the pictures. The floor still looks good. But, I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to shave them.

If you're looking for a place away from the Texas heat, come out here. We've hit a cool spell. While you're out here, you could perform your magic on my box. But, hurry because it's starting get hot again. (But, it's a different kind of heat. )

Originally Posted by 7T7

The tires are 295’s and fit the stock wheel well just about right but I have plans to one day redo the back and run a 345 or so. So far no one makes a wheel tire combo I’m looking for. Sit and wait I guess.

I can't remember which rag I read recently, but there was a classis truck/rod running 345s(?) on the rear. It looked tight. I've been trying for quite a while to figure out the 'right' wheel combo. But, the tire industry seems to continue to expand their sizes/profiles. I'd like to see the billet wheel companies come out with some more classic-style wheels.

[boxrodz]

Originally Posted by bodydropped

i like it know that makes me want to bust my azz off to get my 82 done all i need is 600 bucks from my uppers and lowers and 500 for my air ride stuff then i start from there

Well, get to it, so we can start seeing some progress pics.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by boxrodz

.... I can't remember which rag I read recently, but there was a classis truck/rod running 345s(?) on the rear. It looked tight....

I have yet to see any thing larger than a 315mm in a 20" diameter that has enough sidewall to drive on but not look like a off-road tire either (< 29"). IIRC, that truck you saw in the article (StreetTrucks mag) had 315-35-20's on 20x12" wheels.

For my RestoRod, I've been looking for something w/more width than my current 295-40-20's that are on my 74. I haven't seen much. I really want a 335 ~ 345 width so if anyone knows of something, please share the knowledge.

[Grande Rojo]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I really want a 335 ~ 345 width so if anyone knows of something, please share the knowledge.

These are looking real good
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/street.html