Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Ok, pulled the trigger on the SeatBeltsPlis ones in Wine. They’re a special order color so not returnable. Hope I made the right choice.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

'Ata boy Danny ya can't go wrong with Merlot ... but Port drinkers have their crust :)

BTW now that you pulled the trigger there will be no whining about it :)

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

But the whining is the fun part! Lol

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I'm sure Juliano's does not produce the belts themselves so it makes sense that another vendor could be offering the same exact thing.

I'll have to check out seatbeltsplus.com, the set in my truck WERE white, not so much anymore...

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

EXACTLY the reason I chose to go with the red instead of a light tan like my upholstery will be. My hands will transfer dirt over time and they’ll look bad. Not sure it’s a good idea to wash them, well at least not regularly.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

BTW after I posted earlier I went to SeatBeltsPlus.com and found a direct fit set for my '66 Dart and they also have a conversion set with lap/sholder for it also. Cool.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nice Dart! Later, like ‘69? GTX Rally wheels on it?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I believe those wheels became available in 1970.

Regardless, that's a beautiful Dart! I have a soft spot for Mopars, mine's the black one...

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

My brother in law had a 340 like the green one except in mettalic bronze with short glas packs on it and that was a FUN car for me to drive. I was 16!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

man i really wish i could view your build but all the pics are that photobucket third party stuff, how do i fix that?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks guys , It's a '66 we ordered new in Nov.'65 and took delivery Dec 22nd '65 .

I had it repainted in '75 and that is the paint you see now.

I just added disc brakes, wheels and tires in early April this year just in time for Kool April Nites .

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Gee, remember when times were simpler ...

You've come a long way baby !

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I tried fixing it by manually reloading as many of the pictures as possible but there’s apparently a fixed number of hours after which you can no longer edit your own thread. I sent a message to the moderators but no response so far. Guess they just stay lost from this thread - Photobucket really pisses me off!

Thanks Glen for at least posting that one. Maybe I’ll post Before & Afters of the original purchase condition and the engine. I really liked the Shop Truck look I had in that Sage green. I had intended to keep it mostly looking that way just with IFS/lowered and either rebuilding the 283 or swapping in a crate 350. But as my signature says, it became a slippery slope and got away from me.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

For giggles, here’s what my truck looked like in Spring, 2011 as purchased. I paid $4600 for a running ‘55.2 Big window cab with 283 that had camel hump (fuelie) heads, a TH350 trans and already converted to 5x4.75 lugs. And I got some criticism for paying that much.

Followed by before and after pictures of the engine. I dropped about $2000 getting it running right. All new belts, hoses, filters, spark plug wires,converted to electronic ignition, rebuilt radiator, new Edelbrock dual plane intake, small hi torque starter. It ran great BUT had one weak cylinder.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Did you notice any HP increase with the intake manifold? I switched mine hoping for better efficiency. Sure is shiny! Are you going to move the battery elsewhere to clean things up?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

There's a chrome plugin floating around that will help. I have run into so many broken build threads from as far back as 2007 with useful info. Now they are probably forever dead.

Chrome Photobucket Hotfix
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...alioapbifiaedg

Dan, if you need any of the pictures, I can probably help just downloading them from the 50+ pages on your thread haha. You'd still need to edit and upload them again :(

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Gigamanx,
I re-posted the photos on this page to sorta recap what the truck looked like 5 years ago. Go back a few pages and take a look. The firewall is totally bare now.

As for the dual plane intake? There’s no way to tell if it improved the performance. The truck ran like crap before that was swapped out and even if it had run ok those 283’s only put out about 140hp so if it gained any, I couldnt tell. It went from barely running to starting and running reliably.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Completing post #2311 are the painted & reassembled repro armrests. The black vinyl will be changed to match my “Chamois” color interior. Almost too bad, I kinda like the red against the black.

Shoulder belts & installation brackets arrived. A regular lap belt for the middle will likely arrive tomorrow. I don’t feel comfortable installing the belts until the bench is back in the cab.

Stopped by the upholstery & painter’s shops today. Bench will be done by next Wednesday - we’ll see. Painter has one bed side painted and cleared on both sides, color sanded & polished. The other side, tailgate, front panel, side steps and cowl non-vented cover will be final painted next week - again, “We’ll see”

Pasadena has. Tradition of cruising classic cars Colorado Blvd through Old Town on Christmas Eve & New Years Eve day. I did it in its shop truck look. Now I want to do it finished. Besides, my birthday is coming up in a couple weeks and I’d love it to be “done” for that - but it won’t be.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I say make the arm rests match the paint , What say you ?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

They do....well, at least as well as they’re going to out of a rattlecan

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Great color match Dan!

:uhmk:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Are you being sarcastic or you actually think they match....well enough?

I think they’re close....enough for me anyway. If they DON’T look right after all is done, I can easily dismount and repaint.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

man you got a good deal on that truck even with the work it needed. anything big window here has a bid war

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks, but take a look at the first couple responses to this thread in 2011 and one of the first ones was that I’d paid too much. I never agreeed with that. Even 6+ yearsago big wondowswere hard to find and ones with a V8, automatic, modern rearend, and converted to a car lug pattern just didn’t show up.

As it turned out, I went to AAA to register it and found it hadn’t been registered for about 10 years. The bed in it was VERY undamaged. Proof of that is I used the original bedsides and tailgate under the new paint job. I would have used the front panel but it rusted through in the top curl so it was easier to just replace it. Less than $100 so cheaper than trying to fix it. Most guys seem to have to replace the majority of their beds.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Color match looks real good.
Kim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I wouldn't tease you brother Dan!

:uhmk:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

yes I stepped out of bidding on a big window CAB, just the cab, at $1400. the guy next to me muttered "jeeze I will just buy the glass and make my own", I told him the structure was different, it wasnt like a 60-66 where you get the inner panel and the glass. he listened and was the next bid at 1500.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Ha! Buddy of mine I talk cars with all the time told me the color “looks weird”. I know it doesn’t match exactly but I thought it wasn’t bad.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Dan did you know you can get the matching paint put in a rattle can at the paint store .

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Yes, I know. I bought Duplicolor from eBay hoping it would match and it does petty closely but not exactly. If it ends up I can’t live with it I’ll go to the auto paint place near me and try that. But thanks!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hay Dan have they got the paint booth up and running yet ?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Yes, it got repaired and its been working fine for quite awhile now. The painter does ordinary insurance repair work and that eats up all his time. That’s why mine and other guys finer work gets spaced out. I know he’ll get to it - when I stopped by the other day one of my bedsides was on his sawhorse and had just been final color sanded awaiting polish. It’s a small shop. Only him and his son.

But my side steps, cowl non-vent panel and the tailgate/front panels all need some final prep work before final paint then the color sand and polish routine starts all over again.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Well it's been a fast year ... just 2 days to Turkey day.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving !

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks Glen, you too.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I picked up my seat today. I am VERY happy with the look, feel and quality of the work. I’ll install it this week then drive the truck to a (very!) local glass shop; if I can find one, that does vintage vehicle work.

It was already dark when I took these pictures so this is with fluorescent light and flash. It washed the color out. The color is much richer than these pic’s show.

After the glass is in the truck will go back to the upholsterer for headliner, carpet and door panels. Gettting closer but it really is inch by inch.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

It looks real comfortable and the color will contrast nicely with the paint.

I'd ask around, you should be able to find a glass guy that will come to you. Fortunately I know a retired auto glass guy that loves working on the old stuff, it keeps him in beer money.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Seat looks great Dan! Should be real comfortable with the foam base instead of springs, planning to do something similar for mine.

I agree totally with Black Sheep, I had a guy come to do my windshield on my 71 C10 at my house, charged me $50 for the house call well worth it! If you are buying glass you should be able to get their installer to come over. But make sure it's someone who know how to do curved glass with a rubber seal, it's a dying art!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

That looks nice Dan!!

:uhmk:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Dan, seat and the stitch work look great...Jim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nice job on your seat Dan, how did you do the foam in place of the springs? Must have missed it in your build thread, cant see your pics in most of it. Thanks