thanks yall! well, here is an update... fixed that pesky running board problem, now its flat front to rear. did a notch w/ brace. it got too dark for pics so ill post pics of the set-up tomorrow, for now here is the over truck (minus the bed). i did manage to take a pic of my welding on the notch: and heres the truck: thanks. Yaril
Very nice work. Man I can't get over that sheetmetal. Very,very little rust to deal with. If that truck was from up here it would need floors, door bottoms, front cowl corners, and probably rear cab corners. Can't wait to see it finished!
definately post more pics of that Cnotch. Keep up the great work. I love watching this build. Im not a huge fan of the GMC grill but that truck is killer Im almost falling for that grill now.
thanks everyone for the kind words. update... finished up the rear end suspension for the most part, only a couple welds left to do when i tear it down for paint. did the 2-link trailing arms, about 30" long and they mount to the rear end like leaf springs with u-bolts and a set pin, i still need to make a new bottom plate with the 4 holes because the 2 piece one i am using now was the stock one and the holes are not wide enough, good enough for mocking up though. i haven't welded the axle seat to the axle cause i need to set the pinion angle on it first so its tacked in place for now. made the pan hard bar from the one off my 51 Buick. it seems very strong, i had to narrow it about 2" for the trucks width. located the slam specialty bags on the 2-links and on the top of the notch, also got the shocks worked into the equation, still need to weld the bottom tabs when i remove the rear end they are tacked in strong for now. well, i cycled the suspension a few times and there is no binding. sure it isnt the best system out there but i think it came out good. i am aware that the pinion angle will change but we can live with that and set it for the drive hight. Next time 4-link all the way! pics... thanks! Yaril
Looks really good so far, makes me want to get to cutting on my 51 Chevy truck. Just a thought though, ideally you want your panhard bar level at ride height, not all the way down.
WOW! Nice job man. At this rate, you will have this done before that party. You guys should bring that instead of a VW. Bill won't mind... he has a soft spot for those trucks.
haha, "you guys"? i work alone . i may hitch a ride with my friend but im not sure yet, i set myself a goal to finish this truck and want to meet it.
HELL YEAH^^^! thats over the top, i likes it. thanks for posting! thanks Bernie! hopefully i can keep this pace up and have it done soon! well, no real work done to the truck today. waiting on some parts and the motor/trans. but in the mean time i am lining things up so that there are no more time gaps. did a little photo-shopping, looking at possible wheel / tire options, i am pretty much set on black for the wheels, but still undecided on the tires... maybe you guys can help? the expected but always a pleasure, wide white walls: the i don't have money for wide whites so ill run these: the i don't give a f**k, durty / tough looking blackwalls: and last but not least, the huh i haven't seen those in a while, red line tires: also did a quick concept sketch (i know there is a lot missing on the motor, its a concept), my Crayola color pencils didnt have the greens i wanted but here is a look at what i have planned for the motor / engine bay. thinking stock dark green for the clean firewall and a 53 Buick engine green, its almost minty (similar to the Hirohata Merc, first version) for the motor, my Crayola selection was limited, even though the limish green doesn't look bad. almost forgot, its not on the sketch, but i was thinking gold for the carbs. so lets have it, whatca think? thanks! Yaril ps, im looking for a replacement Radiator that can cool the stock Chevy 350 and fit the stock rad support, any leads / recommendations?
guess nobody liked my crayola rocks sketch. got some work done today... mounted the 8 gallon air-tank. used the same box tubing as the trailing arms. cut to 3-3/4" then angle cut to make 2 halfs, trimmed the fronts and welded in place, drilled and bolted on. remember this is still mocking, everything will come off when i paint the chassis, and i couldnt have planed it better if i tried, the top of the tank is exactly 1" bellow where the bottom of the wood floor will be! sometimes the smallest things require extra effort. this was the only location i could see mounting the air compressor, so i made an extension to the top of the chassis out of the same gauge metal, then located the 4 holes, drilled and so on. guess it does the job. here is a final mock up with the valves, think it should fit between the mounts. im also thinking of making a sheet metal roof (so to speak) to cover the valves from rain? dunno. this truck may or may not see rain, better prepared than not i guess. was thinking a simple "L" that can be sandwiched on the top tank mounts and cantilever over the valve. dont know if its really needed though. also removed everything off the fender wells. routed the wires up in the wheel wells and filled all the holes. now i just need to trim the wells for the MII and prep for paint. thanks! Yaril
Looking good man. Are you planning on running a raised bed or leaving it open? Just curious because it would be a tight squeeze to remove those valves if you ever had to replace one. I'm sure you already thought of that though. I wish I had that much room under mine. I had to run my 20 gal. tank underneath the burb. I put all the valves inside and the compressor. I'm thinking about moving the compressor underneath somewhere. It's freaking loud!
still following it man, did you move the rear axle back to center it in the wheel openings? just curious. Im still loving this whole build, very good pics
thanks popo, yeah, i mocked the bed on the truck and located the rear axle based on the wheel opening. it lined up perfectly where i had put it, i checked the measurements and it was square and centered. waiting on the motor for this weekend.
Looks like you are making good progress, and it also looks like it isn't you first day with a welder. Now lets get back to the bike project.
haha, yeah that bike project is not completely up to me, my bud wanted to build this with me so i have to wait for him to be around to work on it. it'll happen. wow, its been a while since i updated, like a week or so. really had nothing else to do to the truck and was waiting for the motor. well it finally got here yesterday, so today i tore it down enough to where i can mock it into the truck and went ahead and degreased some of the major grime. i ordered the por-15 engine enamel kit along with some chassis paint so we shall see how that turns out. for now i am just getting ready to dip the motor / trans into the truck to weld in the mounts. things should pick up the pace now. pic of the motor when it arrived: pics of it now waiting to be fitted into the truck: the m/t valve covers will be replaced with nicer once and there will not be a/c or ps, only the alt will remain and a 3 carb set-up is already ordered (it has a 30 day wait time). thanks, Yaril
mid 80's camaro will work, including the eight inch rims, would reccomend six's or seven's since you're you're baggin it....slim
thanks slim. ill keep that in mind for future trucks. already got this one taken care off. how about a another quick side project? caution VW content... got that thing lower now... stock hight more or less (aired up): after a local shop did "air-ride" on it (not low enough aired out): and now after i lowered the front end 4" via beetle control arms and dropped spindles: things are looking better now! Yaril
i just want a PALM TREE in my yard. Damn you. Looks amazing there. I cant wait to see the truck in the final phase. I will have to save all the pics and timeline them to show progression.
thanks guys... well, i think the pace is going to pic up... i hope! today, got the pinion angle dialed in and mocked up the drive shaft i had made for my dimensions. also got the front motor mounts cut, fitted and welded on (most of the way, gotta take out the motor to get to some other spots) and the trans cross member is secured (also need to remove to finish welding). readjusted the rear axle shock brackets and started those welds too. took apart the complete rear suspension. figured out the "column saver", cut my stock column and found out i got the wrong kit, so CPP is sending me the right one and im returning this one, at least its figured out and being worked out. wire wheeled the rear half of the chassis and coated it with some POR-15. that stuffs the best! i have also lined up a bunch of parts in the meantime and now i only need to order the radiator and shorty headers tomorrow. i think ill be just about done ordering stuff, most everything else will be local purchases. well, i wasnt trigger happy with the camara today, but i did manage to get these 2 shoots that show progress: thanks, till tomorrow... got to buy more welding wire, i ran out of the thick one!!! Yaril
yesterday i did some more rear suspension painting. got he rear end painted up too and finished all the welds, before i painted of course. also got the rear drums resurfaced and painted. today ill be putting the rear end back on the truck (hopefully for the last time) and ill be pulling out the motor (hopefully for the last time). along with a bunch of things that need to be done. here are 2 pics of the motor mounts welded to the frame rails (till gotta finish welding the bottoms and rear) and the trans bracket from CPP (also gotta finish some welding on that): thanks, Yaril
well, today was one of those days that you know you did a ton of work, but there isnt much to show for it. know what i mean? my days goals where a bit unreasonable, maybe for 2 people, but i did manage to: mount the rear end back on the truck inspect the ring & pinion (btw i got 2.73 gears, perfect) change the rear end cover gasket weld on the front upper shock mounts pull the motor / trans out split motor / trans finish welding the motor / trans brackets clean the bejesus out of the motor (ready for paint now) undercoat the cab area run to the parts store & Lowes to get much needed hardware well, it doesnt even seem like i did that much but my body feels like i did. well, tomorrow is wont be too productive, got a school project to take care off (its due monday). hopefully ill finish quick so i can get some paint on that motor. Yaril
thanks^^^ alright, update time... what did i get done today? painting, lots and lots of painting. painted the rotors front and rear as well as all the front end suspension components, spindles, shocks...: finished painting the chassis: installed the bags & shocks on the rear and put the bed back on the truck: then i worked on tearing down the motor a bit more: painted it with the silver por-15: then 53+ Buick green: cleaned up the main pulley and also painted the water pump and pulley to match, i really really like the green it matches the pinstripe that is on the cab at the belt line, now i cant wait to put the new manifold, valve covers and block hugger ceramic coated headers: did some other things too like paint the new master cylinder and mock it up with the brackets, it works, nice. well, trans left to get rebuilt today also, i think thats it... Thursday i plan to take care of some rust repair so that i can spray the firewall and repair area Saturday / Sunday while i continue plumbing the brake lines and airlines and other chassis related work. thanks, Yaril
The Jalopy Journal
