1970 Chevrolet El Camino

Page 9

Marriage of Body and Chassis

5/17/18

It's finally time to get the body back on the restored chassis.

The owner has decided to put the rest of the restoration on hold for the time being.

The beautiful restored chassis is outfitted with new body mounts.

After raising the body, I rolled the chassis under the car.

Everything lined up very nicely.

I slowly lowered the body evenly from the front to rear. The body mounts lined up perfectly.

After measuring from side to side and assuring the body was square on the frame, the body bolts were installed and torqued to spec.

Seam sealer was applied liberally to the rear seams where the new bed meets the bed sides.

Once the seams are properly sealed I can install the "smugglers box" cover at the top and the rear cap at the bottom.

The tailgate and tail lights are installed.

A final cleanup of the floors and routing the wiring harness properly.

The steering column, seat and doors were reinstalled.

The rear quarters are going to be replaced at some point. With that in mind I left the trim and other items that would need to be removed for that process off the bed for now.

A last look at her before I delivered her back to the owner. She's come a LONG way! I hope I get to finish the work and bring this beauty back to the road.