Projects King of Trucks Chapter IV…new beginnings

Lovin’ your ‘55, she just keeps gettn’ better and better!

 

Thanks a lot! I appreciate it.

 

I got the seat frame painted and ready to cover. Working on carpet now. Pics of that after it’s done.

 

Carpet is in. It’s pretty much too hot to do anything else. The carpet is from the Truck Shop, made by ACC. The rear part of the carpet sticking up will go under the gas tank whenever I get around to removing it. The carpet looks good in the pic, but it feels cheap. Decent enough for now though. Definitely feels cheaper than the ACC I got from the same place for my old 1983 square body Chevy.

Still much the same immediate agenda. Remove gas tank for insulation, stereo install, new old seat recover and swap, then paint. Still waiting on in the kick panel vent cables to get here so I can button those up too. It’s taking longer than I’d hoped, but I’m getting stuff done pretty much every day so…

 

Mine went from this to this. By far the most difficult part of the build was installing that STUPID little headliner. Liked to have worn me out. If yours looks ok, recommend you leave it alone. I used 48 Studebaker back-up light bezels and cut-down 56 Chevy tail light lenses. The bezels fit the curve of the back fender perfectly.

 

Definitely no grass growing under your boots!

 

I took the old headliner out to put more sound deadening up there. It was burgundy like the paint on the steering column. I heard it was a big pain to get one in. Not looking forward to it, but I’ll get it done one way or another. Your truck looks nice.

I’m really fired up to have this truck back and I’m excited to be able to finish like I wanted to the first time around.

 

I used paint sticks and a rubber mallet. And a lot of bad words.

 

Geez. Hope mine goes better.

 

Couple of Mooneyes goodies showed up yesterday. Vent cables have been stuck in Kansas fedex for five days. Who knows when they’ll get here? Haven’t had time to go out and get the seat foam yet. I’ll be doing several small things today.

 

So, ok, I tried, I really tried today. But it was so brutally hot. I didn’t get everything done I wanted to, but I did manage to get a few small things done. I got rid of the painted rear turn signal brackets and installed chrome. I mounted my license plate in the rear, no more hanging by chains. I installed chrome windshield wiper bullets from where I removed the wipers a long time ago. I got the dashboard smoothed out where I mig welded a patch a long time ago. And I got the Mooneyes gas pedal mounted and the brake pedal halfway mounted. Still need to shape the stock pedal from a rectangle shape to an oval to match the Mooneyes brake pedal. It was just too hot to keep going.

Vent cables are still in fedex purgatory, hope they come soon so I can button up the kick panels. Hope to get the brake pedal finished up tomorrow, I really need to remove the pedal to make it easier, and so I don’t burn up the carpet grinding near it. Also still need the gas tank out soon.

I think I’m gonna skip installing the black and white tuck n roll on the new old seat and skip directly to stage two full custom interior stuff.

 

I took the brake pedal off so I could finish mounting the Mooneyes pedal pad and then shape the stock pedal to fit it. Looks pretty nice now.

 

What accelerator linkage are you using? Stock V8? Any pics?

 

I like that carpet, you say it feels “cheap”, can you explain further? Also, unless I missed it, do you have a the column shift transmission cover(flat) or the granny/4 speed cover with the hump?

Kinda looks like the 4 speed cover. Looks like a good fit.

 

Mine is not the stock accelerator. But I don’t know what it’s from. It’s older, like 1960’s. It’s one a buddy had laying around that I could get to work with a throttle cable. Like I said, it’s got a throttle cable, it’s a Lokar dual cable setup. I’m not crazy about the look under the hood, but I couldn’t get the actual Cadillac tv Rod to work no matter how much I bent it. The Lokar dual cable setup just plain works. So I’ll live with it.

The truck was originall a column shift three speed manual. The trans cover is a four speed and is a repop and was on the truck when I got it all those years ago. The carpet fits great, it’s made by ACC. It’s molded and they make it for flat or hump cover. It goes all the way to the back of the cab wall in the rear and about halfway up the firewall in the front. It’s the loop material that feels cheap, and there was a lot of loose loops around the edge. The binding is cheap. And the whole carpet itself is pretty thin, especially compared to the same style loop by ACC I had in my 83 square body Chevy.

That said, ACC sells different materials. Their Essex is a plush pile that looks nice. and you can get some of their carpets with a rubber backing good for heat and sound. And they have a Daytona fabric that looks super cool but I haven’t seen it in person. They have a lot of different options in their website.

 

Much better than me pulling remnants and slicing and dicing and glueing it together. Thanks for the info!

 

No problem, you’re welcome.

 

I got stage one of my stereo in the truck. Man I’ve missed music while driving. Stage one consists of a Bluetooth head unit, two 4.5’s in the kick panels, and two 6.5’s that will go in the rear cab corners. I still have to make brackets for the 6,5’s which I’ll try to get done today. These kick panel covers fit perfect by the way.

Stage two will be an amp and the biggest couple of subs that will fit under the seat. Anybody have any experience running an amp with a generator? Any problems charging?

The only thing I have left before I can start prepping the cabin for paint is to get that gas tank moved, and the kick panel vent cables which still haven’t arrived. They should be here Monday I hope. And I’ve put off moving the gas tank long enough lol. So, moving right along.

 

Is this what your looking for

 

Yeah - thx! That looks like a stock V8 one without the throttle connection/lever. I have a Moon foot shaped pedal I want to use and am always curious to see how guys connect these as I have a stock V8 linkage I want to use. Although I think you bolted your pedal to a stock pedal, right? Likin' the details and enjoying the thread!

On your gas tank, are you planning on keeping it in the cab?

Looks like you even have the old foot starter mechanism too!

 

Yes stock gas pedal and foot starter and tank in cab.

 

Turd
Glad you got your truck back I just got caught up on your builds. Love the old pictures with your dad and his truck I’m sure he’s proud of what your doing to your truck. Keep up the great work your doing I just got my 57 truck on the road and driving it as much as possible.

 

Thanks a lot. Your truck looks really nice too (I snooped and found a pic you posted). Having them on the road driving is the best part.

 

I’m still waiting on those kick panel cables. They arrived in my town two days ago. I did manage to make the brackets out of metal for the rear speakers. Got them mounted and playing. I need to find some speaker box type carpet to cover the brackets, my local wal mart crafts department was out. I’ll get a pic up tomorrow, but they are small, low profile, and simple but effective.

So now, just those cables and moving the gas tank. Then I can finally plan out how I’m going to go about stripping the dash of all the knobs and gauges and painting the cabin.

 

I remember when Chevrolet had the picture of your Dad and his truck in a commercial during the Daytona 500. Was that 2014?

Regardless, your truck is looking good and you have made a lot of progress in a short time.

 

Thanks, that was awesome and became reality only because of the hamb.

For those that weren’t around, somebody from Chevy saw the pics of my dad’s truck and asked to used one in their 100 years of Chevy commercial that premiered during the World Series a while back. They photoshopped the front end of the truck because it was cut off and they photoshopped the background but it was still my dad and his truck. It’s at 15 seconds in the video

 

Also my dad back in ‘58 or ‘59. 1939 deluxe with Olds Rocket mill.

 

Now how cool is that?Bet you`re still grinning.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

In a fit of inspiration from ya I ripped all the carpet out of Walter last night and ordered kilmat, pvc board, and super secret carpet to move forward with my new interior.

 

I like how they pancaked the hood in that photoshop!