With the popularity and prices of '67-'72 GM trucks currently going through the roof, it's nearly impossible to find a good, clean shortbed truck to restore. Anyone lucky enough to own one has a dozen stories of enthusiasts trying to buy their ride.  These popular trucks usually produce a few windshield notes and business cards left by prospective buyers as well.    

     On the other hand, there seems to be an ample supply of longbed models floating around, and many savvy hot rodders are building the truck of their dreams by acquiring a longbed and shortening the chassis. Now this seems like a giant undertaking, but truck frames are shortened and lengthened everyday to accommodate different applications in the big truck industry. The same techniques can be applied to the light truck market with great results.
     Loyal readers have been following along as Early Classic Enterprises has converted a 1971 C-20 ¾-ton truck using their new C-10 conversion spindles and rear air- suspension kit. Now with the suspension finished, it's time to shorten the frame and make this longbed truck about 20 inches shorter than the factory made it.
1: The '60-'72 GM light truck series had several wheelbase options. The two most popular are the (115-inch) shortbed and the (127-inch) longbed. Over the years, many longbed chassis' have been shortened, and the process isn't that complicated.  Shown here are two bare frame examples. You can see that the length is different.  Also, the location of the various crossmembers aren't the same.