Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

I popped in the grille so I could finish up the front marker and signal light wiring....

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Right on guys!

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Spent the day at the hospital with my son getting his surgery, finally got home after 9:00 and after getting him settled in, I got out there for my five minutes. :D Cleaned up and prepped a few nuts on the hood to weld back into the braces where they had came out when I unscrewed the bolts holding it together.

Now I have to find a spring for the safety catch I hit it with the cut off disc when I removed the rivet that held it together, crap.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

This might be the spring you're looking for. I didn't even know these existed until a recent cruise-in where someone told me I was missing this part.
http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....Z5Z5Z50000014x

There description is misleading since this is for the safety catch and not the latch, but I put mine in last night and it worked perfect.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Oh DAMN, thanks so much! I had given up last night looking and figured I would make something work on my own, right on, thanks!

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

In figuring out my parts I have I had to install the glove box door, damn does it make me feel good seeing a part bolted on! It will come off course, but just seeing it there is nice.

Also gathered up some stuff to get sandblasted, welded a few nuts that busted loose, and they are ready to go.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Ordered it today, thanks so much.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Spent the afternoon cleaning and painting my NEW REAR BUMPER BRACKETS which I finally located thanks to nvrdone and All American Classics! Wiring-wise, all I have to do is hook up the grounds and my truck will be ready to run and drive.

I learned something new today: 1-ton Panel/Suburban rear bumpers, although the same size, shape and bolt spacing as all AD front bumpers, are much thicker material. My front bumper measures .156" Rear bumper .250" Otherwise they are identical and both will fit on either front or rear of a Sub.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

DROP-THE-MIC

I'll be damn, I never would have thought of that! On my truck I ran a rear bumper both front and rear. Don't know what I am going to do now. It's funny because back then, I didn't even know there was a front and a rear bumper (front one being longer) until after mine were chromed and I was driving it and saw other trucks at shows. Being it's going to be a driver I may just stick those on as the chrome is in decent shape.

My dream is to thin them taking an inch or so off the height of them so they look more "Corvettie." But then that's a bunch for chrome, so we will see.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Well so far today, my "five minutes" was driving to a ghetto about 25 miles away from me to drop off some goodies to be sand blasted.

It tears me up that my local sandblaster that was literally blocks from where I work closed, DAMN IT!

So today I had to go to a GHETTO to drop off parts for my truck and these weren't valuable parts, I still HATED to leave them. Geeeez, the place came with recommendations from a few different people and shops, it's and amazingly large outfit, but it's RIGHT IN THE GHETTO! We are talking homeless living in a tent out front! The streets full of houses with 5" fences out front of every single house and bars on the windows and Pit Bulls in the yard. Graffiti EVERYWHERE, OMG how do people stay in a place like this, geeez. I was VERY uncomfortable there.

Anyway, hopefully I will get my parts back sandblasted so I can prime them.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Ghetto, ha ha!

My favorite sandblaster lived in a dump surrounded by junk and looked like a meth-head loser. But he was an absolute artist with a sandblaster. So take heart, it will be okay!

Oh BTW, he went out of business too - probably got arrested :lol:

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

It SUCKS, the guy I had nearby, he had been doing stuff for us for years, heck, he did my brothers 1922 Buick stuff and that car was done in '92. He did so many projects for us, even at the shop I am at now, we sent things there. I hope all is well with the guy, what kills is is the shop is still there with all his equipment!

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Any time I have had chrome work, exhaust, or interior it has always been in a sketchy part of town. Combination between cheap overhead and low cost of labor makes this possible.
If anything it should allow you a good deal on your parts work.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

My grandfather did the same thing. Closed up shop and left everything as it was, when asked why? He said he didn't want to deal with it and would let us kids deal with it later on.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Yeah, I hope it's something like that.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Mounted my 1/4" thick beast of a rear bumper today - the weight actually made the rear end drop 1/4 inch! My rear bumper filler panel needs lots of body work, so that will be installed someday when I get around to it. Meantime I need taillight brackets, but I can't fab any because we're under fire restrictions here - no welding, grinding or cutting metal. More on this next post.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

DID YOU SEE THE AMAZING VIDEOS of the forest fire on I-5 just south of me? Truckers and motorists abandoning their vehicles and running for their lives as the fire closed on the freeway and burned up several semi trucks. Interstate 5 has been closed for 24 hours. I am in the smoke from this right now.

All of this latest round of fires are human-caused, btw.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Sounds like a business opportunity!

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Take care out there. Those monster fires are nothing to be played with!

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

I wish you the best. I have experienced that first hand, it can be hard to breath and you start getting an evacuation plan ready. Fire ain't no joke.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

That's near the California/Oregon border taken that highway many times, I knew it looked familiar and just googled the fire, yep, I have driven through there many many many times.

Such beautiful country, hope it gets handled soon and hope you are ok.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Today I’m re-rebuilding the vent windows. I had the washers with the oval hole in the wrong location. While everything is apart new weatherstrip is going in. It was one of the few things that didn’t get replaced the first time around, it turns out the old rubber gasket had shrunk and hardened considerably.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

we were thru there the 1st part of Aug when the Carr fire was burning west of Redding. Then got caught by a fire east of Sonora and had to evacuate. Had to go over Sonora pass to 395 to get out. That fire got with in 1/2 mile of our cabin but it survived. never want to be that close to a forest fire again.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

I've decided to make my own console and I've been working on radio wiring and reception using the "hidden antenna" idea. That didn't work out well so I used the stock stick antenna cable and fixed it to the truck directly under the dash. Next will be upholstery!!

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Looks good, I kind of like the rugs you have for carpets.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Got the doors ready to prime, epoxy primer is induced, ready to go in the morning. I also watched my neighbor cut a tree down that fell on my house! Luckily damage is minimum, I helped him clear that up.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Rolling SEM bed liner on the wheel wells to protect from rocks, etc... I also did the step area to provide a scratch resistant coating.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Damn Mark that looks good! WOW

Got the doors primed up first thing this morning. It's so funny, I haven't painted regularly in so long, I have been a little uneasy as I do it. Mixing, getting things ready, I just have been fighting in my brain to do it right. I prime something and then don't do it again for months so I don't get "in it." Today I felt a big change, I knew by the weight of the gun as I was spraying that it was out of primer, that made me feel good. It's so funny, I have sprayed literally thousands of gallons of primer, paint, clear in my life and now after not doing it for 18 years regularly so much has been forgotten.

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

It will come back to you Brian.

I also got the horn installed and bolted on the upper filler panel...

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

FINALLY got the cab ready for sealer and basecoat - hopefully tomorrow.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Very nice! 3rd brake light?

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Nothing exciting but damn it, I got out there. Got my battery box bottom and the spring and pin for the hood safety handle latch in the mail, and got the holes drilled in it to install. Got the hood safety latch handle sand blasted, not much but something, my five minutes. :D

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Yup. It's a '97-'02 Ranger CHMSL. This one almost fits the contour of the roof right out of the box, but I did have to increase the radius slightly using a 3" disc. It has an integral backup light as well.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Installed my OBD I port and mounted under dash, installed speedo program/selector button, installed the horn under the hood, test fitted glove box, worked on the courtesy door switches and I made a template to drill a hole for my check engine light.
Busy busy and still a lot to go.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

...but you're a whole lot closer than you were a while ago!

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

That's how I feel - an endless list of details.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Big day today. First I mounted my taillights. They're old used trailer taillights I got for $5 at a swap meet, perfect for my truck's utilitarian theme.

But when I tried to test the lights they wouldn't work. After painstakingly tracing wires I discovered there was no power to the headlight switch. Whatever assembly-line worker assembled my fuse panel had put the headlight fuse in the wrong slot! I relocated the fuse to the proper slot and, presto, I had working lights. It was a deceptive problem because everything looked normal with a good headlight fuse in the panel, just in the adjacent slot, so I'm still congratulating myself for being able to find it.

I am mere days from being able to test drive this thing.

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

I got the hood latch sandblasted and ready for primer, that's about it, but's something! :D

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

Just a little Brian memory stuff. I love seeing things that fire memories. Today as I was working on my truck I grabbed this chisel out of my tool box. I made this chisel back when Russ was building his Roadster. It's made out of a piece of a windshield post from his car! We chopped the windshield post down shorter and this was the piece left over. I welded a little piece of flat stock to it and used it to shape something on the car, I forget what. But it's still in my tool box and I have used it over the years since. Today, I used it on my truck. So the Roadster may be sold but it lives on in my garage. :D

Brian

Re: What did you do with your truck today, Part 3
 

That’s great, I enjoy seeing items reused. New is always nice, but sometimes it’s nice to know people repurposed something. I guess in a way the whole truck has been repurposed.

Crazy how something so knurled can make something so beautiful, reminds me of the old guys growing up. They looked like life was terrible, but the hot rod was a thing of beauty.