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1971 Chevrolet C-10 - Project Get Shorty - TechPart 1: Hack My Truck From the February, 2009 issue of Custom Classic Trucks By Dakota Wentz
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Cut the ribbons, slam the shovels in the ground, and crack the bottle of bubbly over the hull, because Project Get Shorty, our '71 C-10 longbed, has now officially hit the ground running. To kick things off, we're going to get straight to business and hack this sucka in half. Like I said before, the longbed isn't the look I'm after, so the first order of business is to transform the long hauler into a short hauler. Although the job may sound like a tall order, the truth is it's a straightforward procedure. The main idea is to remove 20 inches from the frame and the bed. There are two areas that need to be cut from the frame. The rear is by far the simplest. By measuring 8 inches from the back of the frame and cutting at that mark, half of the shortening job is complete. As for the other 12 inches, they are taken right behind the cab. Twelve inches are removed between the first and second bed mount, and the sweet part is that once the area is cut and pulled back together, the pre-existing bed mount holes are re-used for the shortbed mount. Where the two cuts are made, the framerails are the same height, which makes it simple to weld back up. However, the rear frame half is close to a quarter inch wider, but by splitting the difference on both sides of the front framerails when it's time to glue things back together, even that isn't the slightest problem. After the frame is cut, the biggest key is reinforcing the conjoined frame and making the truck roadworthy again. One easy way to handle the job is to box in the welded area with an 1/8-inch steel plate, but for Project Get Shorty, I took a different approach. Classic Performance Products manufactures C-channel frame stiffeners for '67-72 Chevy trucks. When using these frame stiffeners, not only will they box the frame, which is adequate enough strength, but the additional C-channel in the stiffeners will also add some extra girth to the pieced-together frame. The way I look at it, there isn't enough one can do to make things beefier in this department! When it comes time to shorten the bed, there are two ways to go about that as well. One is to deal with the factory longbed and hack it down. The other, which is the way I went, is to order a complete shortbed assembly from LMC Truck that bolts together, which we will get to later in the build. Project Get Shorty is also going to receive a full suspension setup from Air Ride Technologies; stay tuned for that as well. But for now, let's hit the grind over at the Primedia Tech Center and shorten Project Get Shorty.  Before I could get started,...  Before I could get started, the first task of the day was to remove that behemoth of a bed. With the chassis exposed, I could get to work.  Anxious to hack into the truck,...  Anxious to hack into the truck, I jumped right ahead to shortening the frame....  ...By measuring 8 inches from...  ...By measuring 8 inches from the rear of the frame, the first cut line was drawn.  Because the frame is being...  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...  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...  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...  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...  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...  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...  ...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...  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...  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.  Before any cuts were made,...  Before any cuts were made, I made a trip to the local metal yard and bought 20 feet of 3/4-inch square tubing. I then cut a piece for the top framerail, the bottom framerail, and a diagonal brace for each side of the cut, then tacked them in place. This bracing will help keep the frame from twisting or kicking. After all, we are getting ready to cut 12 inches out of the midsection!  Once the bracing was in place,...  Once the bracing was in place, I busted out the Sawzall and cut away.  With the frame cut, my brother...  With the frame cut, my brother Chance and I began gluing it back together, but first we chamfered the cut edges for good weld penetration. After that, we made sure the cuts were square and placed the frame halves together, double-checking everything to make sure the frame's rear half was the same height as before. When the halves were brought together, it was apparent that the framerail height was the same, but the rear half was slightly wider; therefore, we split the difference by adjusting the frame with the same overhang on each side.  Next up, we checked to see...  Next up, we checked to see if the rear frame was level at all the crossmembers. We then measured to make sure the frame's rear half was squared up by measuring from each rear corner of the frame to the front cut mark.  With everything all squared...  With everything all squared up, I welded the frame back together with the Tech Center's Miller Electric MIG welder by skipping around and making sure the frame didn't get too hot in one spot.  The most important part of...  The most important part of this whole procedure is making sure the frame is roadworthy once it's back together. These C-channel Classic Performance Products frame stiffeners will reinforce the frame just right. However, they are way too long to fit in the frame due to the frame kick and the trailing-arm crossmember, which will be relocated next month. So my first step was to cut 8 inches from each stiffener.  I then took that 8-inch piece...  I then took that 8-inch piece and stuffed it in the framerail, starting at the weld. Next, I took a 6-inch piece of the CPP stiffener and cut it at an angle to follow the frame kick. Also, the front half of the frame is slightly wider at the bottom than the back half, so I marked my overhang and ground it down to match the back of the frame.  Next up, the two pieces of...  Next up, the two pieces of the frame stiffeners were welded together and ground down for a clean one-piece look.  The new stiffeners were slid...  The new stiffeners were slid in place and welded up. I then ground down all the welds to give the frame a perfect boxed look. And until next month, that's all, folks.
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1959 Ford F-100
Scott Oshinki rebuilt a 1959 Ford F-100 for his father-in-law Art Carney....
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