Front Clip Removal

With this posting the blog will be caught up to actual project activity.

It has been 5 weeks since purchasing the truck. The last two weeks have been spent getting my garage ready for the SWB conversion. I now have a 26 gallon air compressor, a full set of air tools, engine hoist, and additional jack stands. When I am ready to pull the motor I will have to add an engine stand.

As of this morning I had a frame on one side of my garage and a fully assemble C-10 on the other side. By the end of the day the truck was reduced to a rolling chassis with a mounted cab (no doors). The drive train still in place. This was accomplished with the help of my friend Pete. He provided the use of a flat bed trailer and turned a wrench to help get it all apart. The day before I removed the tailgate and unbolted the bed. All we had to do was lift the bed off the truck and put it on the trailer. I heard it normally takes 4 guys to lift a long bed so I was a little worried. Pete and I will never be candidates for the world's strongest man competition but we are a couple of big guys. We started by lining up the trailer behind the truck. Standing on either side of the bed we were able to lift it off the chassis and onto the trailer. The bed was wider than the trailer so it took some finessing. Once the bed was secured to the trailer it was transported to storage. When we got back we started removing the front clip. First the hood and cowl were removed. The radiator was drained and removed. The a/c lines and wiring harness disconnected. We then unbolted the fenders from the cab and the radiator support from the frame. After checking for missed connections, we lifted the entire front clip off the truck and placed it on the trailer. We added the hood, doors, cowl and bumper then transported it all to storage. These parts will remain in storage to make room in the garage.

I was very happy with the progress we made. Big thanks to Pete for providing the trailer and lending a hand! Also want to thank Loyd for lending me his hoist, jack and wheel rollers. They will really come in handy. Next I will start replacing the rusted sheet metal. This will be my first attempt and making these types of repairs. Make sure to check back and see how it turns out!