Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Mark,
Since you're planning on masking & paintiing the inside ring black - does that mean you plan on baking the piece in the oven while your wife's away?
I do it all the time, my wife can never figure why the house stinks so bad when she gets back home. She got real mad when she found out I was washing car parts in the dishwasher.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I used to bake freshly painted exhaust manifolds and anything coated in wrinkle paint in the oven, but the results were not always consistent and the smell was really obnoxious. My wife is very tolerant of my hobbies but as I got older I had a lot less tolerance for the smell of the fumes in the house. So I started experimenting with heat lamps and now depend on them for all my small painting projects. I have two permanently mounted over the painting bench and two more portable lamps to cover bigger projects. They work great and keep both of us happy.

The worst paint smell I ever initiated was back when I was about 17. I sprayed black vinyl dye on a late model bench seat to put in my 54 Chevy, downstairs in the rumpus room. Being young and stupid it never occurred to me to open the windows or wear any kind of mask. The seat turned out looking like factory upholstery, but the hideous fumes smelled like ether mixed with lacquer. By the time I finished the seat I barely made it out of the room, and found the smell was so bad upstairs everyone had fled to the front yard where they remained for several hours!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

The grille project was finally completed this morning. I carefully masked the center rim of the hub and painted it black. The chrome emblem was centered in the housing and bolted in place. With the help of my wife holding the bar in place to prevent scratches, it was reattached to the truck and the fog lamps reinstalled. I really like the way it looks, but I’ve had enough “fun” with this thing to last a long time.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1601/002oih.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/111/001jqc.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Very cool!!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Honestly, Mark,
I didn't like this look you had before:
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/29/000gi.jpg


http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9370/002sfs.jpg

Maybe if you had used a chrome horn button:
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ment-120-1.jpg

But I have to say, I like this look:

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Mark,
I like it a LOT!!! Fantastic!!!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

looks great Mark...blacking out the area behind the chrome really makes a difference

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Thanks for all the feedback. I thought the horn button looked okay up close, but once installed on the truck I quickly started disliking the way it changed the shape of the hub. The chrome version seems to accent the hub instead of messing it up.

I had so much trouble painting this thing I was tempted to try and get away with leaving the inside bezel area white to avoid possibly messing it up. But without the black accent if looked really cheesy, like the owner was too lazy to finish it right!

Again thanks for looking and offering your thoughts.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Great Attention to Detail! Awesome Job Sir!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Wow! That looks killer Mark. Great work!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

that is way cool..great job

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Mark, grill bar looks outstanding. Nice work.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

http://jimcartertruckparts.com/image...aments%201.jpg
Perfect!
Like it was always meant to be there.
:thumbs::clap::wave:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1601/002oih.jpg
Hmmmmm...
Just got a thought.
http://jimcartertruckparts.com/image...20caps%203.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Markeb01 you have saved the day AGAIN, I was swapping carburators today and ran into some linkage issues and with a little research I found everything I needed to know here on your thread for changing up to 72 cable linkage and pedal install. Thanks for the info and great pictures, saved me many hours of figuring out. Works nice and smooth anf full throttle was found :canada:

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Outstanding! Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you found the information helpful.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a die cast front end from an original 1/25th scale 1955 Buick promo. Being somewhat lazy the last couple of days I decided to update the model of my real truck by adding the grille bar to match recent addition on the 1/1 version.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3760/001xtk.jpg

After a session with the Dremel cutter the grille bar was cut loose and installed in the truck. A gas cap was used to simulate the center emblem. Here’s a shot comparing it to the original 1960 I built many years ago:

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/41/002mhn.jpg

I was impressed with how decent it looked with very little effort. After more modification the fog lights were refitted to the model, and since they are actually too big to be in scale, I decided the model looked better without them. Now I’m thinking the real truck might benefit cosmetically by removing the lamps. Here’s a shot of the truck as it sits, followed by a rather poor photoshop without the lights:

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9...ighttest10.jpg

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6...ighttest11.jpg

I don't really want to remove the lamps, but I’m also thinking their elimination really cleans up the front of the truck, and makes the grille look more linear and interconnected. As always opinions are welcome.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

That is so cool - you also making those changes to the grill on the scale model. :D :D

I think I like the look without the fog lites also. It showcases the grill better.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

i see what you mean...when i scroll up & down between the pics, the one with the lights looks good but does break up the overall appearance of the grille...then you scroll down, & it does look like a cleaner appearance that flows together nicely

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I think the addtion of the grill looks great and when I first saw it I thought it would look better without the fog lights but I didn't want to offend you by saying so. I'm happy you made the change. I think it looks fantastic.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I think the fog lights look cool!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

You could hang the fog lights upside down under the bumper, that is if there is enough clearance for it. If I had to vote I'd say I like it without them. How often do you use the fog lights would decide the issue for me...Vernski:gmc2:

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Well after driving behind Unity fog lights for nearly 30 years, I took the plunge today and eliminated them. As much as I’m going to miss having the lamps, since the new grille bar went in I only see them as a disruption to the symmetry of the front end. Much like the GMC letters, I don’t see them ever going back on. Here’s how it looks as of this evening:

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2622/000uy.jpg

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4848/002xok.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I actually ran with the foglights and headlights on all the time, day or night. The truth is they aren't all that effective during foggy weather, to me they were just attractive vintage marker lights. I lost functional enthusiasm for the Unity's after my first set of PIAA Ion Crystal lamps. They actually cut through fog like it isn't there, which is why I have them on the wife's car. I rarely drive my truck in bad weather anymore anyway, so losing the lights isn't going to make much difference.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I find it interesting how one part and a different color combination change completely change a vehicle. This is what it looked like back in 1998 when I first tried to eliminate the GMC letters:

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9074/199iq.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I like it better without the fog lights.

If wanted to have fog lights you could always change your headlights to single lamps with hi-lo beams, and add fog lights in the other headlight position. Just thinking out loud.