1971 Chevrolet C-10 - Project Get Shorty - Tech

Because the frame is being shortened, that also means the wheelbase is going to be shortened. To help ease that process, I marked the axle centerline on the top of the frame for future reference.

Next up, Ty Ospring began removing the bed mounts, which are held on by rivets. We used a combination of a grinder, an air chisel, and a drill to get all the rivets out.

The other 12 inches that will be taken from the frame are right behind the cab between the first hole of the first bed mount and the last hole of the second bed mount. Before any cutting took place, the entire frame in that surrounding area was ground down to the bare metal.

Next up, the rearend and suspension were removed from the truck, including the trailing-arm crossmember under the cab. However, the remaining crossmembers were left in the frame for structural support.

Now here's where the fun begins-finally getting to hack the frame in half. By placing the measuring tape in the first bed mount hole and measuring 1/2-inch back, I got my first cut mark.

Next up, a line was scribed across the top of the frame at the 1/2-inch cut mark. Then, using a level (make sure a level is used at this part, not the naked eye, because the kick in the frame is deceiving,...

...and all the cuts need to align squarely), the cut mark streaming down the side of the frame-rail was scribed.

The next cut line is found by measuring 12 inches back from the front cut mark. The cool thing about cutting the frame in this area is that the front hole of the first bed mount and the rear hole of the second bed mount will come together to form the front shortbed's mount.

Here the arrows show the area that needs to be cut out. At this time it's a good idea to measure how high the rear of the frame is from the ground, and how high the area right behind the second cut line is from the ground.