My 1961 crew cab- XRMYCRU

[jonzcustomshop]

getting behind on pics..
here is the frame mostly done- I still need to extend the rear 10 inches, and drill it out for the 1/2 ton style rear cab mounts.

I decided it would be easier to pull the suspension out, and flip the frame on its side to weld everything up, then I was able to finish up the front notch as well.

thanks joe for that detailed description on how to fix the steering box!
that made me look harder for an easier way!
I did some research (thanks, capt.fab!) , and found out that the 4X4 box (which I have plenty of) is different, but I did have a 3/4 ton 2wd box laying around, and they are the same, so I cleaned it up and installed it instead.
it had something interesting: instead of a cotter pin holding the bolt on the portion that goes through the center link, it has a nut with an indentation in each side that makes it tight on the threads. came off easy , but quite a challenge getting it back on and tight- the stud/ ball joint kept spinning- I was finally able to tighten it by just turning it with a wrench a 1/4 turn at a time!

another question: I will set the 73-87 front sway bar after the cab and motor are back in, but I noticed one of my parts suburbans (an 84 4X4) has a rear sway bar!
it is bolted to the frame and uses some rod like links to connect it to the spring /rear locator plates.
would I be able to use it on this frame? should I?

[Palf70Step]

The frame is looking good. Can't say I have ever seen a swaybar on the rear of a Burb, but I would imagine you can make it work and it should help with the handling I am sure.

[jonzcustomshop]

I got the engine in-
I had to put it in to see if the steering center link would hit on the harmonic balancer- (remember the steering is now 2 inches up and 1 inch forward)
when I put the engine in it did hit.
I was able to space the motor mounts up a 1/2 inch and it now clears.

I think I will make some sort of 1/2 inch tall block, that spaces up the mount, and has a provision for the upper cross member bolt holes.

I used the stock style mounts, mainly because they were what I had, and the rubber part bolted to the motor are brand new. I might still look into a limiting strap for the passenger side just in case.

the mounts bolt to the rear holes of the frame and are slotted on the top, and then on the bottom they have a hole , and the cross member is slotted. since I had moved the cross member forward the new hole would not be able to be a slotted hole, so I just slotted the bottom hole of the mount, and drilled a new hole in the cross member 1 inch back.

the manifolds that came with the engine are 2 1/2 inch manifolds, but the date code looks to be 7-9-90, are they off something new?
I had assumed they were a corvette, or older hi-performance manifold.

[jonzcustomshop]

I also got my grille cut down and mostly done:
here is a separate thread I did about that:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=677145

[Palf70Step]

I really like how your grill came out. It should be really good looking in the truck.

[YOLO]

Sweet! You always do cool stuff.

[jonzcustomshop]

spent yesterday working on the brake and fuel lines.
the fuel line is stock, I will just have to splice it and extend it 30 inches. for now I am using the in cab tank.

I "borrowed" the brake lines off a 86 3/4 ton 4X4 parts truck I have, I used the whole system from the m/c to the rear wheel cylinders. I got out the hack saw and cut off the rear end brake line frame mount, then drilled some holes and used those self tapping frame bolts off the 86 to mount it up.
I got around to the front and tried to mount the front lines from the frame to the calipers... that is when I noticed that I installed the upper control arms backwards! ...so got those switched around, and stuff looks much better up front!
I haven't finished the front lines, but it looks like I will use a combo of the 4X4 and 2WD stuff...

I also got the rear 1/2 ton style cab mounts mounted 30 inches back on the frame.

I had thought that since this is a 133 inch wheel base frame, and I moved the rear back 10 inches to make it a 143, that I would have to extend the rear frame rails 10 inches at the rear for mounting the box and bumper.
luckily I haven't done that yet, and today I had a fender set over the tire- the frame looked long enough already.
So I went and measured the rear axle center on the short box to the rear of the frame (34 inches), and then this frame axle center to the rear-39 inches!
I will wait until I get the box mounted and set just right, but it looks like I will need to cut some off not extend it!
must have something to do with the short box box being shorter behind the rear wheel than a long is...

[CHIZZLER]

Chassie is looking good. Whats going on with the cab. Any progress pics.

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by CHIZZLER

Chassie is looking good. Whats going on with the cab. Any progress pics.

it's holding the floor down in the garage I haven't done any thing to it in a month.

[piratexpress1369a]

you have to admit it, you are doing a great job so far ...stay at it

[aerotruk63]

He has to stay at it, we'd never forgive him!

[jonzcustomshop]

it's a trap!

I pulled off the lower front fender mounts, and was able to almost stand this thing up on end. Now I can access the underside of the floor to get the seam sealer put on and clean up any issues with the patches.

I stitch welded around the edge of the new floor; partially for more strength, but mainly to tighten up the lap weld gap for the seam sealer.

While I am under here I will weld on nuts for the seat belts and seat tracks. I might look into putting some sort of brace across the center to anchor the front seat belts.

[jonzcustomshop]

with the cab on end I also was able to start addressing the rust in the cab corners.

..meanwhile out at the yard I got started on the exhaust.
I had saved a nice dual exhaust system off a 1986 diesel suburban a few years back, it is set up for a leaf spring vehicle and is 2 1/4 which mates up nice with the 2 1/2 manifolds.

I was able to use the mufflers and tail pipes as a unit, and I had the local exhaust shop bend me up the center pipes.

more on this after it is done!

[C@rnut001]

Awesome work you are doing on this one. Keep it up and thanks for the great detail you give us while doing the work.

[piratexpress1369a]

nice progress

[jonzcustomshop]

thanks guys!

I have the exhaust about 96% done and in.
funny, once I got the drivers side pipe set and in it took me about a quarter the amount of time to do the passenger side-

lots of trimming and cutting to get the pipes from the manifold to line up with the notch in the frame and the tail pipe... and luckily I decided to pull a starter and install it, because I needed to trim the pipe a tiny bit more to clear.

in front of the mufflers I was able to use the factory hanger on the drivers side, and then I cut two more rivets @#!!!! (getting tired of them, but good at doing it at the same time ) and moved the front hanger to the passenger side. there were factory holes already in the right spot to mount it.

-part of the 2%- I still need to fab up a connection from the rear suburban muffler hanger bracket to the frame.

at the rear I was able to use some of the suburban exhaust hanger brackets (2 more rivets!) to hang the tail pipes under the frame rail.

-the other 2%- I need to cut the ends off, (right now they take a 90 degree turn stick out the side) and hang a bumper and put the box on to see where it all needs to come out, and what tips to use... or if I can/ should route them to the side under the fender.

I should have taken a pic of all the pipe I cut off to make this all fit!

with this routing, the only part that the exhaust hangs below the frame is right at the bellhousing cross member, and even there it only hangs down about an inch.

[jonzcustomshop]

next we are on to the drive shaft:
when I bought the 133 inch wheelbase frame I got the driveshaft with it.
it was a 1 ton with a 292/4 speed
I set the driveshaft up against the current setup, and it fits! the addition of the car 4 speed, and moving the axle back 10" was the right combo.
2 problems though, the carrier bearing was now in open air, and the U-joint caps for the 1 ton were too big on either end for the 4 speed yoke, and the 1/2 ton rear.

Captainfab suggested I try the auto parts store and see if I could get a set that step down.
Quite a rodeo there! the girl that helped me was quite confused, and as she was running to the back to get a 1/2 ton U-joint (which I told her was the wrong one as she was leaving) one of the other guys was digging out a book to look up what I needed.
the joint needed to be 1 1/8 X 3 5/8 by 1 1/16 X 3 7/32. the guy found it and was able to order 2 for me $16.99 each - I'll post the part # when I get them in case anyone else needs to do this swap.-

next for the carrier bearing- I was thinking of modifying a E-brake cross member, but capt. thought I should try something stronger-
so I got to looking at the frame and noticed something... the carrier/center frame cross member and the front leaf spring hanger cross member were the same! one was just upside down.

so I took a walk out in the yard to see if I could source one.
the 63 chev 4x4 , and the 64 gmc both had the exact same cross member at the spring hanger, also the 86 3/4 ton 4x4 had one very similar too. however the 63 is not a parts truck and the removal from the 64 or 86 would be a huge task, so I kept looking. I remembered that the pickup box trailer was a 55, a leaf spring truck, so I checked that out, it had 2! one at the leaf springs, and 1 right up front (under an engine) at the cab mounts that was easy to get to.
so I got it pulled out (16 rivets) and fought with it to get it in the frame -the exhaust is in the way now - drilled 8 more holes, broke out some more 7/16 grade 8 bolts and got it mounted up. Then I drilled out 4 more rivets, and moved the carrier bearing pad from the front cross member to the rear one, the 55 even had 4 holes in the right spot to mount the carrier bearing pad. There was just enough room by butting the 2 cross members next to each other for the carried bearing to be in the right spot.

I finished welding up the exhaust while I had it jacked up, and while I had the paint out, I got the the rear cab mounts painted as well.

[66-PMD-GMC]

I get lost on this build
and then suddenly go...
ohhhhhh. .
I get it..

[CHIZZLER]

Great job. I will have to remember that info when it comes time for my driveline mockup.

[jonzcustomshop]

wow! a week of dealing with the driveshaft!
luckily I kept the driveshaft when I bought the frame.
the 133 inch leaf spring frame has a different unit than a 1/2 ton 127 inch- it is bigger and different lengths.
I ended up getting 3 of the big to little U joints to make it all work.
quite a process putting these U joints in too! a lot of pounding and some picking up of scattered needle bearings, but after taking apart 8 joints and putting 4 back together I am getting pretty good at it now.

the center yoke on the 1 ton shaft had a 1 1/8 X 3 5/8 by 1 1/8 X 3 5/8 joint, so I bought that one to replace it , unfortunately the truck had been run for a long time with a busted U joint, and it had worn a groove through the cap and into the yoke
so I went to grab a yoke off a 1/2 ton shaft and it is the smaller size, so I had to order another 1 1/8 X 3 5/8 by 1 1/16 X 3 7/32 U joint for that.

interesting enough the splines for the slip yoke are the same on all the shafts , even the 60 series unit that I saved for parts, however that 60 series shaft would not work, it had the 1 1/8 caps but it was about 4 1/2 inches wide.

the orielly part # 331 is the 1 1/8 X 3 5/8 by 1 1/8 X 3 5/8
the part # 348 is the step down 1 1/8 X 3 5/8 by 1 1/16 X 3 7/32

I am a little concerned with the slip yoke- it doesn't really slip... I can't really make the rear suspension cycle, but by jumping on the rear of the frame I can get a little movement, but most of that plays through the whole shaft, moving the carrier bearing rubber a little bit, and moving the yoke in the transmission a little, I would say that all the movement that I can get is about 1/8 of an inch at the transmission....

maybe the slip yoke is in too deep? according to my measurements though there is still 2 1/2 inches of room in there ... I might try sanding the splines to a nice polish and then slather the yoke with grease and see if that helps..?

[jonzcustomshop]

I also replaced the carrier bearing, there were 3 different sizes available and the smallest (the second one I bought!) was the correct one.

the new bearing is pretty nice for $20, and comes with the rubber and metal cage to hold it to the frame.

I was able to get a punch in behind the metal ring of the old bearing and drive that off, after it is out of the way the bearing just slides off, I suppose there is a puller for this, but the only one I had wouldn't reach.

the new metal cage surrounds the edges of the rubber, and the frame mount is not completely level, so when I bolted it on , it was putting a lot of stress on the rubber, so I pulled that off, and used the 66 cage, which does not have the bent over edges and holds the rubber in the right spot.

[jonzcustomshop]

since the driveshaft is now done I worked on the front part of the brakes today.
I lined up the hoses to a good spot in the frame and drilled (hole saw) a 5/8 hole for the line to go through.

I had saved the 2 wheel drive lines for the front brakes, and with some bending I was able to get them to fit- the 4 wheel drive front lines I pulled were too long.

the proportioning valve told me it wanted to be mounted right off the radiator frame support, so I cut its old mount off the 73-87 frame stub, and welded it in place. I left a little bit of the bottom part there to protect the RH brake line which comes out the bottom and is in a vulnerable spot for a lowered truck.

getting close to putting the cab on , all I want to do is get the clutch set up, and put the distributor in and I should be ready!

[jonzcustomshop]

no pictures, but had a very productive day today.
I spent a bit of time gathering up clutch linkage and parts ... seemed like not one truck was complete...
while I was under a 66 v8 truck (getting the ball stud and throw-out fork) I noticed that the clutch discs looked pretty thick- the trans was out, and I needed the bolts that hold the clutch to the flywheel any way, so I pulled it- turned out to be a brand new clutch!
I think the only use it got was from rolling it around the yard, after I blew the dust off of it you could still see the mfg. date printed on the disc!
one problem, the clutch must have been held open in stand of knapweed, so the pressure plate was all full of dried up stems. I took it apart , and used a brake spanner and a air hose and a dental pick, and after about an hour I had all the weed cleaned out of it.

so I had to pull the driveshaft , and the bellhousing, installed a pilot bushing, got the clutch bolted in and got it all back together.

while I had the driveshaft out I inspected the non-movement of the slip-yoke, and after cleaning it all up, determined that it was bottoming out.
since there was still quite a bit of room for it to travel forward, I decided to cut an inch off of the rear of the spline. I ran it through the chop saw, and then beveled the edge with a bench grinder. next I removed all the burrs with a die grinder, and put it all back together.
now when I jump on the rear of the frame the slip-yoke moves like it should.
also while it was out I sourced another slip-yoke end cap out of another truck- the cork gasket in the one I had was falling apart.

I am getting real close to finishing up all the under body frame stuff that I wanted to do before I put the cab on.
now I need to finish up the under cab stuff, and hopefully soon I can get the cab on the chassis!

[66-PMD-GMC]

[CHIZZLER]

Great jon. Keep at it.