Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Mike Losh is an avid classic truck enthusiast. It shows in his product. He is constantly working with his customer for feedback and ways to make improvements. I am very pleased with his products and service.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

With the Membrane in place, I focused on the bottom side of the Slosh Tubz They come with a very smooth gel coat on top and a slightly rough fiberglass texture on the bottom. Its not necessary to paint them, but I wanted everything to match. My buddy Yuma painted and buffed the top side, now its was my turn to finish out the bottom side.

I like to coat the bottom of the Tubz with a heavy duty rubberized undercoating. I use Medallion brand on all my fender liners. It gives a thick layer of protection from road debris and looks great It also adds some sound dampening as well.

I masked the front side to protect the fresh paint, then sanded the bottom side. I'm not after a smooth surface, just enough to knock the fiberglass nibs down some. Once that process was finished I wiped them down with brake cleaner.

The undercoating requires a Shutz gun to apply, You can get them cheap at Harbor Freight. Be sure to clean it thoroughly when done, or it becomes disposable. Find an area to test your trigger pull and air pressure. I prefer high pressure with a light touch on the trigger to get a large texture pattern.

Apply the product in several coats changing directions to cover the textured surface. Once you have full coverage, I like to add a coarse top coat for appearance purposes. The end result is a surface that can be cleaned easily and looks great.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Looks good, thanks for the tip!

How many boxes of membrane did you use?

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

They sent me two boxes. So far i have used all of one and a bit more from the second box. I have enough to do the back of the cab and under the carpeted kick panels.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Please excuse the lack of organization as of late. Usually I prefer to work on one section at a time till that area is done. Sometimes I pick small unrelated tasks based on the time I have available. Currently we are in thrash mode and knocking out things rather randomly, but there is a method to our madness.

While I was masking and spraying the Slosg Tubz, Chris was masking inside the cab. I discovered a while back that the P/O had glued the headliner material directly to the roof of the cab. I pealed the old liner off and decided the glue needed to come down too. It was a labor intense process, but we stripped the inner roof skin to raw metal. To ensure there were no issues, i treated it with Rust Mort. That as followed by several coats of DP 40 an epoxy sealer. Now I can rest easy that there wont be any rust issues caused by glue eating through the paint.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Great work as usual. Its amazing what you find done to a truck by previous owners even when the truck was in as great a condition as yours was when you got it. How long have you had this truck? Something like 25 years now? Still remember the first time I saw it and met you in Fredericksburg, TX.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I bought this truck back in 2003. It made its debut at TX Heatwave that same year. The show you saw it at was the last Mini Nationals that was originally in Waco.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Once the roof was sprayed i went to work on the headliner panel. I bought a replacement panel from Chris Lucas at www.73-87chevytrucks.com He carries a lot of unique 73-87 parts that he designed and are not available anywhere else. He has a molded plastic panel that fits perfectly.

We decided to add a layer of RestoMod Air Membrane for additional sound and thermal insulation. It might have been more effective if I had attached it to the roof. Chris gave me a look like I was insane when I suggested attaching something to the area he just spent a few hours stripping clean. I opted for the removable liner instead.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

While I worked on the headliner, Chris was installing the vent windows. I sent them to Precision Replacement Parts last year, and they delivered them at C10s in the park. As always, they came back looking better than new. After attempting to partially rebuild a set myself, there is no doubt that having professionals do it for you is the way to go.

Chris demonstrates the correct way to install the outer seals. Yes, they are supposed to tuck in.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Looking great Ken!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thanks Michael. Its been an adventure.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Sorry for the slow updates. The LST crunch is in full swing. Chris wrapped up his box to house the Ride Tech Ride Pro X processor. He sanded it smooth, then I added a layer of under coat for a nice textured finish. Once cured, we sprayed it with vinyl dye to match the interior.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Very nicely done! Too bad it will be hidden under the seat as it really looks good. While it might be obvious, I am missing it....why have the connector to the control module on the outside? Maybe for diagnostics access with the seat in place?

I enjoy following builds like this...sets my personal build quality bar higher.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Action shot of Chris actually working on the truck. He did a nice job on the box too. I like how you color matched it to the interior.

Do you have a raft lined up to get Elwood over to LST? Looks like its going to be a wet one this year. Owen and I are headed down after lunch tomorrow in Henry. The weather kept us from getting all the interior parts color match as was our goal, but we are coming down anyway. Basically got most of the parts from the dash up color changed and put back in. Door panels and kick panels are not done, but will be once the rain and high humidity stop...

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Looking great Ken!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Great to catch up and talk with you and Chris again. Elwood looked really good!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thanks, it did turn out well. The exposed unit you see is the XU processor. It integrates the Bluetooth feature with the ECU. It has a pin hole in front that has to be accessed to pair with another device. It has to be accessible to initiate the pairing process.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thank you sir.

Thanks buddy. I enjoyed the conversation as well. We appreciate the compliments

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Outstanding Ken!!!! Love it! That woodgrain :metal:

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

So where’s the final pics at LST? Did you get the wheels and wood grain done?

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I saw some pictures of the truck from LST. Awesome job, really love the new wheels!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Please forgive me for the delayed response. We went in to full thrash mode for the last few days before LST and lack of time and sleep reduced my posting. I plan to give a full wrap up on how things came together as time permits. Until then I'll cut to the chase and post a few pics of the (somewhat) finished product.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Oh what a beauty! I love it!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I dig it! The size/BS on the wheels really fills the wells out nicely.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Nailed It!!!! Love the looks of the woodgrain & wheel choice is perfect!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Outstanding!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thank you for all the kind words. Its funny how there were so many people that said they questioned my choice based on the renderings. Those same people were kind enough to offer compliments and admit they were not seeing the vision I had in my head. :metal:

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I wish I could go back and show you a bunch of great pics from the last week. unfortunately there arent many. I got up early and worked a bit every day. I loaded my truck with supplies and put in a 10-12 hour day at work, then came home and put in several shop hours. I ran on 4 hours sleep till the last three nights and got almost no sleep then.

I expect no sympathy as these were self inflicted wounds. In order to honor my commitment to vendors on Scarlett, I had to compromise my timeline for Elwood. I knew this going in, and have no regrets. My only concern is I have very few pics to share.

Lets take a look at those that I do have. Heres the dash coming together thanks to Brothers Truck parts. A new bezel covers the Resto Mod Air digital controller.
The steering wheel was updated by American Racing to match the wheels. I color matched the leather grip to the seat.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Prior to this i had pulled all of the interior plastic and and stripped it clean. It was in excellent condition so I simply scuffed it and dyed it to match. My door panels were good, but the arm rest pads were coming apart. Fortunately Brothers Truck parts had exactly what I needed. they supplied me with new arm rest pads, and long with carpeted lower door panels to match the beautiful carpet.
I'm not sure why the color looks washed out. It is very red.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Looks amazing! Any info, or tips on the woodgrain install? I love the woodgrain!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thanks. I did not do the install. I suggest you hire a professional. After watching Daryl at Deluxe 281 spend an hour on the tailgate, I knew I made the right choice. I love to learn new things, but I feel confident that it's done right.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Do you plan to redo the interior woodgrain to match the outside?

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

That would be a nice touch

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I'm not sure yet. It's actually a pretty close match already. I have considered changing it to the Silverado brushed trim too. I'll play with ideas till I get time to do the a.c. and audio updates

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Do you still have Scarlett?

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Just got on board with the build. I have to say, Elwood looks awesome. That seat is killer!!! Absolutely love it. You know, some of the seats came with garnishes to cover the hinge. I take it your seat didn't have them? But I like how your seat guy made them red, to match the rest of the seat.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thanks for the kind words. Brent did a great job on the seat. This is the original 77 bench, and it did come with plastic caps on the hinges. I am going to try to update my seat belts to the new style where the retractor is on the floor. This seat doesnt have the indent to accommodate, so I'm hoping this will give me the space I need. If not the plastic covers will go back in place.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Yes I do, but...

LINK

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I’m glad I got to see the truck at GoodGuys yesterday. It was nice to meet you in person! I hope I’m able to attend more shows in the future.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Thanks for the kind words.

Elwood was a big hit at the Goodguys show. He was in the RideTech booth and had an endless stream of people stopping to ask questions and take pics. The media guys were very responsive to the new look too. I had photo and video coverage by Joseph Dowling of Cars & Concerts, Kaleb Kelly of Classic Car Liquidators and Ryan Brown of Gears, Wheels, and Motors
for features on their sites.

Now its time to get ready for the next event.