The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk misc questions

first off, what a great forum. i appreciate all the information posted by everyone so far.

i have a '66 chevy big window fleetside longbed that i received already converted to 350v8/th350, and mid 70's 12 bolt leaf rear and front disc brake suspension.

i like the looks of the fleetside shortbed better and purchased a '64 gmc with wasted cab to swap frames and bed. everything looks like an easy swap, but have some questions and wasn't sure whether to post individually or all together, but here they are:

vin, where is it? i thought it would be stamped on frame rail but neither the '66 or '64 seem to have one. both are titled in my name but i want to make sure and keep everything right.

drive shaft, my '66 has a split shaft w/center bearing, the '64 has a one piece. i know i'll have to have something custom made in any case, but do i go with one or two piece?

rear axle, my '66 is only running one shock ( the axle mount for the other broke off. i also don't like the way the shocks were mounted when the '66 was converted from coil to leaf. the '64 already has leaf springs, any problem with cutting the shock mounts off the '64 axle and welding to the 12 bolt axle currently in the '66?

bed, my '66 longbed has newer wood and rails. can they be trimmed to fit the '64 shortbed? will the bolts line up?

anything else i should be aware of during the swap?

thanks

Hey Bill -- Welcome to the Stovebolt Page! Thanks for your comments, too.

Someone should be along soon who can answer your questions (I can't ... ) Sounds like you're off to a great start on a fun project.

Keep in touch! And be sure to take lots of pictures -- we need more project stories for the Tech Tips section.

V/R
John

well i found one answer on my own, the gmc axle is 2 3/4" diameter. the 12 bolt in my '66 is 3" diameter, so the shock mounts don't line up tight for welding.

i've found some weld on brackets that i'll be ordering monday to get back to work.