Projects The LeGrange Produce Tribute Truck build

If it helps one guy, then it was worth doing the post. Glad you like it.

 

Great work. Some fantastic ideas here.

 

OK, so I got a decent Saturday to work some on the Tribute Truck. I decided I needed to get the inside of the cab ready to spray. The reason? I need to get the back of the cab sprayed to put the bed back on. I need the real estate in the shop. I figure if I start spraying, I might as well be able to spray everything that will be that color. I hate cleaning paint guns, so there it is.....I'm lazy.

I figured I might as well get back on the fuel tank/ seat riser and do the mods to it that need to happen prior to paint. As I get older, the more I despise standing on my head to do stuff, like looking at fuse panels etc. Being from an aircraft maintenance background, I tend to look at the service accessibility aspect of everything. I decided to design a sliding tray unit to mount my fuse panel and audio amp to.

I started with a 4" x 12" opening, located in the center of the seat riser.

I had some 1/2" square bar stock laying around, so I built some stand offs to mount the roller slides to.
Basically, I welded up 4 T shaped mounts and welded them to the bottom of the tank. Then I drilled through them to allow the rails to be bolted in place.

Then I test fit the rails to get my height.

So, I was happy with this portion of the build, so I decided to throw some paint at it after a good scrubbing and sanding.

This thing is slated for dual duty. It's also going to become a speaker box. I plan on putting a couple of subwoofers in here, so I wanted to get some paint in here. I plan on spraying some bedliner in the inside of the box and on the underside as well. It will also get the Dynamat treatment, but that is for another installment.
Back to the task ay hand. I needed to build a tray to hold the fuse panel and amp, so I drew up some plans and fabricated this tray and face plate out of .063" aluminum.

The tray is 11.5" x 16". The rails are 16" rails. They are designed to be on the side of a drawer, but we are mounting them flat. I know this isn't designed to be used like this, but I figure it has a 100# rating and I may put 5# on it max, plus it may get opened 20 times total during it's life cycle.

I left a 2" flange on the front to allow me to mount the door on it. I stepped the rails back far enough that the door would shut flush. The square in the middle is for a latch to keep it all contained under the seat , in case I had to slam on the brakes. I wouldn't want a projectile on roller bearings shooting out at my ankle bone.

Once I had everything mocked up, I used these nifty little tools. They are a hole transfer punch. These are a number 10 hole. I dropped them in the rail facing upwards, sat the tray into position and tapped it with a dead blow hammer to mark the locations.

Worked like a champ.

Once that was in place I drilled in a few spots on the door, tying all the pieces together. I countersunk the holes in the front and shot it together using countersunk solid rivets.

All that was left was to build a positive stop for the door. It was pretty close as is, but I wanted a place to mount a piece of weatherstripping to seal up the box, since it is going to double as a speaker box. I'm not a welder,s o don't laugh at my welding abilities. It's better than a hot glue gun.......

I welded two of these on either side of the opening. It is basically a Z angle that steps down 1/8" to allow for some foam weatherstripping. This will keep it from rattling I hope.
Last thing was to build a latch system for the retainer latch. I won't bore you with those pics.
So, here it is closed and open for a usable, retractable fuse panel tray. Maybe it will save me from having to stand on my head in the future. If it does, then it was worth the extra labor.

 

Wow this is amazing. Great work detailing it as well. Your attention to detail on this one item is a tribute to your overall build. Nicely Done!


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Thanks. I appreciate that.

 

That drawer is trick!


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Wow, I almost want to put some hidden drawers in all of my stuff ! Great use of accessing dead space. Sweeet work as well. Always the case of course.

 

I am off for a few weeks, so maybe something will get done. I snagged a seat from the swap meet. It is out of an unknown year of Chrysler/Dodge minivan. It's the third row seat. It fits the 35-37 cab like it was made for it.
The first thing I had to do was to build my seat platform/speaker top. I fabbed it out of 3/4" plywood.

This is all pretty basic stuff for most of you guys, but for the newbies it might be some good info.
I cut the speaker holes in it for future reference. I am planning on running some 8" subs, so I looked at probably 20 different speakers and most of them had a 7-1/8" cutout, so that's what I went with.
I wanted to make sure that what I was designing would be safe, so I called on my resident expert, Dad. He retired from the Civil Aeronautical Medical Institute, where he was in charge of the crash test dummies and the sled where they tested all the new aviation seats to ensure they would pass the impact test.

I built a template out of .020" aluminum first to make sure it fits before wasting my time.



I built the real ones out of 1/8" plate. I welded some steel self locking nuts to the backside of the plates that go on the inside. It shows the plate laying on top of the joggled piece. I ran the bolts through to make sure it lined up while I tacked the nuts in place.


I figured if I would sandwich the plywood with a plate on both sides.

I forgot to take any pics of the front standoffs while I was building them, but basically they are 2" of square tubing with large area washers welded to each end. I used the factory mounting lugs to attach everything to. I used the factory bolts in the rear but you have to get longer ones for the front. Here is a pic of it installed, if you can make it out.

Pretty basic and boring stuff, but maybe it will help someone figure out how they will mount theirs. One of the cool things, is this breaks over, so even though storage space is minimal, you can access it.

Pic of the final installation. I will bolt around the flange of the tank. The flange will get a rubber gasket to act as an isolator. The plywood will be covered in carpet to match the rest of the flooring.
More later........

 

A lot of builds gloss over the little details, which leaves amateurs like me wondering. Thanks for the details!

 

Yep. Thanks for your time in detailing this. I have a '42 ton an a half that I'll be starting soon.

 

Thanks, it's pretty primitive compared to a lot of stuff on here, but someone may need it.

 

Yup. Green as Grass here and this type of detail is so helpful. As mentioned it's the little details that make for such a great build. Thanks Much!


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For those who are curious, that bench appears to be from a 2nd gen MoPar minivan.

 

Put your rifle rack behind the seat instead of in the back window!


jerry

 

Thanks Peanut, all I know is that is was the rear seat from a Chrysler minivan. It had the hooks on the back of it for hanging WalMart sacks. I have since removed that.

 

I need to get the back end all put together, so that I can put the bed back on. I decided to try and plumb my fuel lines to get it at least up to the engine compartment. I ordered up an Aeromotive 10 Micron fuel filter. The reason I settled on it, was because it is rated up to 200 psi. That way, if I should ever decide to convert to fuel injection, it would handle the in tank pump pressures.

I mounted it on the old rear crossmember. I had to drill through the crossmember to get a straight shot from the filter. I always use AN fittings and I end to always gravitate towards -6 aluminum fuel line.

I love the Parker Push Lok hose. It makes building AN lines super easy. It's rated to 350PSI so it will stand up to just about anything. Threw a couple of Adel clamps on it to make sure it doesn't move.



Any progress is good progress.

 

One thing I have been looking at was building some shock mounts. I looked into some of the off the shelf stuff and they were in the $130 range. I decided I could get better shocks etc for my money if I built my own. I ordered a couple of shock mount studs from Speedway Motors for $3 ea. along with their universal lower leaf spring plates. I paid somewhere around $60 for the pair of plates.

The only issue that I hadn't considered was the difference in the ID of the upper shock eye. I had to chuck this up in the lathe and take a little off. It's ok if you can plan for it. They may even make these in that size. I was in a pinch and didn't want to have to wait around, so I just spun it on the lathe and made it work.
I bought a couple of 9/16" x 6" bolts to make my lower mount bolts out of.

I cut the head off and slid it around until I got the position I wanted. Then I welded it up.

I welded up a fender washer to build a stop for the shock.
I drilled the crossmember to mount the stud. This is the only tricky part. The crossmember has a slight taper to it, so I had to make a tapered shim to offset the angle. Luckily I have a friend around the corner that has a mill and he was able to knock this out for me. I went from .060"-.300" and that was perfect. One side is flat and the other is tapered.


I was able to use the money that I would have spent on the aftermarket kit, to buy KYB shocks instead. I ordered mine from Shock warehouse in Florida. They are a stock rear Corvette shock from a 63-82. They all should be the same. They are the shortest shock I have found with 2 eyelets.
They are around 9.5" compressed and 14" fully extended.

There is a little relief cutting to do on the crossmember for clearance purposes, right behind the shock.

The KYB's ran about $70. So for about $140 total I built the whole setup. The difference was I ended up with a cleaner install and way better shocks.

 

Hey Roothawg. I am enjoying your build. You are doing beautiful work. One question--the rear shocks look straight up. You dont subscribe to the 30 degree theory?

 

I have read a lot of theories, but at the end of the day, straight up and down is supposed to be the most efficient.

 

Thanks for sharing all the detail stuff, gives everyone a chance to learn from you as you build, keep up the great work!

 

front and rear?
somebody said 30 degrees was to counteract body roll on transverse spring cars

 

The front is standard. I have read it helps with body roll.

 

How hard was it to cut all those holes with a hole saw?

 

Chris.. That slide out fuse box is genius. i pretty much won't crawl under dash without taking the seat out so i can lay flat, but i pretty much won't take the seat out either so….

so much cool okiengineering going on in this build. keep it up, i'm getting motivated to do something!

 

It wasn't too bad to drill the axle. Just take your time and keep it oiled up.

 

Some really cool stuff, Chris. Glad to see so much progress happening and learning some cool new tricks in the process.

 

Great work and great shots too-really like the direction you are going. Rear shock setup is very nice.

 

I'm diggin' this!! Nice work Root!!!!

 

Looking good. I decided to take a break from shop building to clear my head and remind me one of the major reasons for building it in the first place.

Will the drawer fully extend w/o hitting the trans tunnel?