1969 1/2-Ton Chevy Shortbox Stepside

	Owned by Gene Cubbage "Red '69 Stepside" Bolter # 12879 West Linn, Oregon

01 June 2008 Update
# 1765

From Gene :

           We had a pretty nasty winter in Oregon, so I made a lot of progress on the project. "Progress" in this case means turning a perfectly good running truck into a pile of parts in my garage!

           We installed new cab and bed mounts and had to use a few shims to level everything out even after all the frame tweaking. The exhaust system was cleaned up by replacing the turbo mufflers and re-routing the pipes behind the rear wheels.

           The bench seat springs were rebuilt and vinyl patch panels stitched in.

           We pulled the drive train and cleaned everything and repainted the engine [ pix ]. There were a few rust spots in the firewall heater box area which we fixed. All the welded-in pieces in the cab foot wells were glassed in and smoothed out. The chassis was cleaned and cleaned and cleaned in prep for painting. All of the clip parts were media blasted in prep for painting.

           Radiator and heater core were renewed and the headers were repainted. New taillights were installed into the fenders and new hidden hinges and latches will replace the stock step side chains.

           Next step is to paint the chassis and firewall and reassemble the primered clip to make sure everything fits and still runs. That should take most of the available time this summer.

           The goal is on the road by Labor Day!

Gene Cubbage

12 September 2007 Update
# 1765

From Gene :

           I made a lot of progress on my 1969 Chevy Stepside pickup truck last winter and “learned” a great deal.  “Learning” is a code word for realizing that what you bought is a very long way from what you thought you bought! 

           I rebuilt the front suspension with all new moving parts and installed disc brakes from a ’73 Chevy truck. I found out that some auto parts houses (Schuck’s) will give you some pretty good discounts if you tell them you are doing a full restoration or rebuild.  Here's a picture of the truck from the driver's side.

           I installed new Dutchman 5 X 5 rear axles to match the front spindles. We lowered the truck with dropped A arms from Charlie’s Drop Shop and short coils in the rear. The eight inch wheels are mounted with 60 series BFG TA’s.  I found that Costco had the best tire prices. This was all fairly straight forward stuff thanks to lots of help from Dave at DC Truck parts in Vancouver, Washington.

           The frame was squared up on a frame machine and patch panels took care of the rust in the cab.  What seemed to be relatively minor rust turned out to require over 20 hours of welding and fabricating by Dan Bozich (Bozich Metal Fab in Tigard, Oregon).  We also welded up 54 holes that had been drilled in the body to install various accessories!  We installed new shoulder belts and added a new steering wheel from a ’70 Suburban.

           I was surprised at the number of botched modifications that had been done by previous owners. The rear bumper had poorly fitted brackets from wherever and the automatic transmission did not have a neutral start switch wired in. That was a real exciting “learning!”  The big shock was “learning” that the V8 engine had been installed in the 6 cylinder location causing many clearance problems.  After new motor mounts and stands, a new driveline and refitted fuel lines and throttle linkage, the job was finally right. We installed headers, an Edelbrock 600 CFM carb and manifold and an HEI ignition on the 255 HP 400 cubic inch small block.

           When we finally started to put some test miles on the truck this summer, we realized that the TH 400 transmission needed a rebuild!  More learning!

           Next winter’s work will take a closer look at the cooling and exhaust systems, replace the cab mounts and bed mounts, install the straight used Chevy fender we found on Craig’s List, “French “ in the ’72 IH Scout tail lights bought over the Internet and try to figure out how we are going to paint this Stovebolt.

Gene

01 January 2007
# 1765

From Gene :

           This is a 1969 1/2-ton Chevy short box Stepside that I just purchased here in the Portland, Oregon area. It was originally a six cylinder truck, but a previous owner put in a 400 cubic inch small block with a Turbo 400 and a 3.07 rear-end. It has a lot of rust in the footwell area and in the doors, but two good doors came with the truck. I will let a fabricator friend do all the welding needed to repair that damage.

           I chose this truck because I previously restored a '69 1/2-ton long bed that my parents purchased new. I redid that truck in 1987 and drove it until 1999 when a friend of my son "just had to have it."

           My first effort will be to convert to a five lug disc brake set up using '73 parts. I will also drop it about 4 inches using custom made lower A arms and coils from a local drop shop. I am mainly a body and paint man, so all this mechanical work will be a challenge for me.

           I am retired and I bought this truck to work on in the winter when it's too cold to play golf!

           I also have a '93 Mustang Cobra so I never know where to sit during those Ford vs. GM arguments! My son has a Ford pickup and a Chevy Suburban, so we are always in the middle of that debate.

           I am gathering tips, advice and specifics on molding or "frenching" vertical taillights into the rear fenders. The OEM tail lights are the only feature of the Stepsides that I don't care for. My goal is to end up with a sharp looking driver with a mild street rod style.

           I have met a lot of very helpful people in the area since I bought this vehicle. If anyone in the local area is having trouble getting into the network, just drop me an email and I will try to help.

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