Interior coming together

[stickshift_or_walk]

Slowly, surely, some progress is being made. Before you holler at me (yes, we cut the dash ), this is a father-son project to build a driver that he's proud of and knows how to work on, so we took the "it's your truck - build it into what you want" philosophy. It's our first automotive project together, and definitely my most involved to date!

Here's a shot of the semi-gutted interior a few months ago. The walmart bags are to cover the electical connectors during washing/painting activities.



Here's how it looks today. Still not finished, but somewhat less rustic. A/C is Old Air. We covered the floorpan with Q-Pads (similar to Dynomat), then 1/2" insulation pad under the vinyl floor cover. I'm still holding out for a new shift lever for the 4spd, but the outlook is not good.



Dual amps, six speakers, plus 10" sub under the seat in homemade downfire box. All Pioneer. Paint is a few shades lighter than the factory blue, we think it works well with the black dash & headliner. We're not big fans of green.



Homemade gauge upgrade. We used diamond plate aluminum to fill in the radio drepression in the dash. That way you can't see the shaft indentations.



Kudos to Tim @ Christian's Classics for his great support, and to everyone here for help and ideas from the board. My boy's really excited with how it's turning out, so let us know what ya'll think!

SSOW

[Yukon Jack]

Looks like a good project - great that you two are working on it together.

[krue]

Looks good.

[farside847]

wow. nice. do you have any more info on the speaker mounts? did you make it
all yourself or was some of it pre-done?

[me3]

trans is sm460? very nice interior summit brand gauges?

[Rollie396]

Looks great!That's the same bench I'm gonna put in mine,did it work as well as I think it's going to?

[TomShilling]

Tell us more about the overhead speakers! Where from, how much? And more about the seat: where from, what year, how much, etc.

Thanks, it is looking good...and don't sweat the cuts to the panel for the radio....planning to cut mine tomorrow in the 71 GMC!

[72MARIO]

I like the cut dash. I am a cutter too. It's my truck built the way I want to be. Not the way the factory built it years ago. I welded up the old knob inpressions. I like the dimond plate idea too.

[Tim Christian]

Hey stickshift_or_walk, Look'in GREAT!!!!!! Keep up the good work!!!

[Brainchild]

Looks good.I'm wondering if the shifter is even gonna clear the AC vents though.I know mine is pretty close,but then again I'm not even sure my shifter is a 71 truck shifter

[sdkid]

I've been looking at the summits gauges myself. How do you like them? They are quite abit cheaper than autometer.

[stickshift_or_walk]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

farside847, TomShilling

Sorry to say that the "HighLiner", as it's called is no longer available. It covers the whole area of the stock headliner, and there were different models for trucks with or without the headliner trim. This truck was bare, and this thing really helps finish it off. It holds 4" speakers. It had some cheapos when I bought it from JCW several years ago, but we upgraded to the Pioneers. There was a thread about these headliners a while back, and we all agreed it's a shame the manufacturer gave out.

The kick panels are from Tim, with the higher-wattage speaker option. The left one just barely clears the e-brake pedal, but it works. They took a little trimming to fit, but work pretty well. We put a healthy bead of silicone on the back before mounting with screws to help close off the back of the speaker and kill rattles.

Rollie396, TomShilling,

The seat is from a early 90's Chevy 1/2T, got it from an interior shop as a pull-out. I think I gave about $100 with the trade-in of the old seat; he reworks them and sells them. I used the brackets that came with the newer seat, and drilled 4 new holes with backing plates on the flat portion of the floor pan behind the ridge where the original seat brackets mounted. The seat is a little narrower than original, but nothing that causes a problem. Definitely more comfortable, and it does sit you a little higher than stock.

me3,

The tranny is a SM465. I wanted something teenager-proof. Truck was originally 3spd/6cyl, so we cut the low hump and put in a high hump. We've got the lever that came with it, and it works, but it's sloppy because of the all-too-common break in the hardened tip. I'm pretty ticked at GM for discontinuing them. Guess I'll need to start thinking about 5 and 6 speeds for future projects.

me3, sdkid,

Only the vac gauge is Summit - the rest are SunPro. I wish they were all Summit, but we ran what we had. So far, we only know the oil pressure and voltage gauges work - engine not quite running yet. We have run the oil pump with a gutted distributor, tho. We did that right after reading Andy's heartbreaker about the caddy's untimely death!

Tim,

Thanks, thinking of ordering up some sheetmetal next. It'll never be as nice as yours, but I don't have the advertising/business writeoff angle that you've got, either...

Brainchild,

It clears. I was a little worried, too, but there's actually plenty of room. I think the shift lever from the later trucks (SM465 vs SM420) is angled differently. I've never done a side-by-side comparison, but they look different in the pics.

SSOW

[shifty]

A family that builds trucks together ... stays together.

Nice work. Lots of work on the stereo. I hope you have taken the proper routes in securing the vehicle - alarm with glass breakage sensor, etc. It would be a shame to have someone violate the truck and destroy all that work you put into it ... alarms are so inexpensive these days.

[weasel29gm]

Nice work, I agree build the way you want!!!

[luckydog]

I wish my dad would help me with my truck... lol Well he does sometimes but not "monetarily" if thats a word. Owell, I guess I will appreciate it that much more when/if it ever gets done. Nice truck, keep up the good work.

[stickshift_or_walk]

luckydog,

Let's say I support him in building the truck. He doesn't have all the knowledge or all the money to do it alone, so I help fill in the gaps. I don't work on the truck "for" him, I work on the truck "with" him. I help him pay for the parts, but he spends his money on them or they don't get bought. He still has to decide what the priorities are; I don't just hand it to him.

shifty,

I've been thinking about the security issue. We're rigging up an internal hood release (from the FAQ section), but no alarm system yet.

That is something I'd like some ideas on. We did put the door jamb switches in for the dome light, so we could hook into that for the alarm signal. But, we haven't put in power door locks. As hard as these locks are to work with the key, I've wondered if the linkage is really set up right to work with the power actuators. Any good/bad experiences out there?

Just seems kinda awkward to me to lock the doors manually then use a remote to turn on the alarm. Seems like you'd always be forgetting one or the other.

Thanks...SSOW

[Striker169]

Wow that is a real nice truck and what a lucky kid! You have raised the bar to say heh now I really want mine to look that great!

[shifty]

Most alarm systems have auto-locking features. After the last door is shut, it will turn the alarm on 30 seconds or 60 seconds later and lock all the doors.

I can offer info on alarms, but not lock actuators or solenoids.

For high-end (expensive) alarm systems, Clifford or DEI are great choices. If you're looking for a lower-cost unit that's packed with features, reliable and easy to install, buy Avital (Clifford manufactures this brand, IIRC).

I've had great experiences with Avital units in previous cars. In fact, their brains are warrantied for life last I checked...I had one burn up after ~4 years of use and they replaced it for free. I highly suggest finding a mobile audio/security shop near you who carries Avital and they can tell you more. I always used the 2200 or 2300 series in all of my cars.

I would personally avoid the Viper, Python and Hornet units and the crap sold at Radio Shack like the plague.

Basic alarm systems come with 1 or 2 remotes, a siren, the brain, a wiring harness, a shock/vibration sensor, an LED arming light (so people see it has an alarm) and instructions. Different alarm brains come with the ability to expand in different ways. Usually adding an extra option (like integrating power door locks into your alarm) is as easy as buying an electronic relay (you know, just a plain 'ol relay) and wiring it up as instructed.

You can get the pin switches (like the dome light door switches) for the hood and trunk, if you have either. They make waterproof pin switches. You can put one under the hood so, if anyone opens the hood, it sets the alarm off. It's very important to get an alarm with battery backup. Get one as loud as you can so if anyone opens the hood, it will make them deaf

Optional expansion units you can install seem to be endless. Some necessities include:

- Glass breakage sensor (necessity; a must-have item). The sound glass makes when it cracks or something hits it quite hard is unique. This unit will listen for a glass break or someone hitting the glass; if it hears the noise, alarm goes off.

- Door lock integration (necessity). Integrate with door locks; remote entry capabilities, also, can be used to auto-lock your doors if you forget if your alarm supports this feature. Also auto-locks doors on arming. Some alarm units will sound the alarm if the lock is unlocked while the unit is armed - this is GREAT for trucks like ours that have vent windows or to trip the alarm if someone takes a slim-jim to your door lock.

- Starter kill (necessity). This one's pretty obvious . Kills the starter if the alarm is tripped.

- Power window integration (frill). Remote rolling up/down your windows by pressing a button (or combination of buttons) on your remote. Useful if you don't have A/C and you're in a hot area and you want to roll down the windows in your car before you get into it. Also useful to remotely roll up the windows (if the alarm supports up and down action) when it's raining out.

- Remote start (frill). Start your car remotely by pressing a button on the remote. Great for cold areas.

Alarm installation is not that hard if you want to do it yourself - but, honestly, when you could have a kickass Avital unit installed by your local dealer for under $200 without you having to touch anything ... well... Yeah. Let them do it. Some will even give you a base model for $99, installed.

HTH.

[70 shorty]

That interior is coming together very nice. I think if my truck were my primary transpotation, the dash and doors would be cut for a CD reciever and 6x9's. My truck is the only vehicle I own that doesn't have a CD player. I cut the dash on my Z28, but the lower dash on a Camaro is easily replaceable.

[luckydog]

Let's say I support him in building the truck. He doesn't have all the knowledge or all the money to do it alone, so I help fill in the gaps. I don't work on the truck "for" him, I work on the truck "with" him. I help him pay for the parts, but he spends his money on them or they don't get bought. He still has to decide what the priorities are; I don't just hand it to him.

That's cool. I wasn't criticizing or anything, just tellyour boy that I think he's lucky to have a dad that supports a cool (and expensive ) hobby. My dad helps alot as far as knowledge goes also, and he's there for jobs that need more than two hands, but that's about it. Nothing as far as buying anything, he complains that he had to put gas in his truck to go pick up my truck...

[stickshift_or_walk]

Thanks luckydog, Will do. Sure didn't mean to sound ticked in my response...I'm real proud of the deal we've worked and especially the effort he's put into the project. I only wish we had started a few years sooner so he could be driving it now...SSOW