ClusterTruck; because that’s what it is

[clay68c10]

First I needed to strip the front edge and see what I'm dealing with. None of it looked bad from the outside.
Luckily, the back side if the hood makes it clear where the holes go. It's a double wall so the inner holes were still there.
I used my square and a "precise" eyeball and marked the locations.
Then I grabbed one of my smallest drill bits and made a starter hole. I figured (correctly) that the little guy wouldn't grab and tear. I could feel it want to get off center sometimes, but it didn't have enough flute to grab sideways.
Now I could look from the back side and verify that I had the hole centered, and if not, which direction I needed to go. All the holes were very close.

[clay68c10]

At this point I was ready to enlarge the hole.
First I carefully used a thin stepped drill. It worked ok initially, but when it caught on the uneven back side the tip broke off. No bueno. At least it didn't harm anything.
Next up was a thin tapered die grinder bit. I used it in my drill vs a die grinder. That gave me better control and it didn't want to bounce around like they sometimes do in thin material at high speed.
It ended up being the best tool for the job, hands down. It didn't cut too quickly, it cut evenly, and it didn't catch. The only thing it did on the thicker weld globs was cut slower because the material was thicker.
Success!

[ryans69chevy]

That color looks so good. Pickup is coming together nicely. Where did you get that sound deadening/heat shield material? I found someone local I can get dynamat. Im looking for a product to put between my roof panels since I have the roof skin off. Was hoping to find a product for both sound and heat.

[clay68c10]

Originally Posted by ryans69chevy

That color looks so good. Pickup is coming together nicely. Where did you get that sound deadening/heat shield material? I found someone local I can get dynamat. Im looking for a product to put between my roof panels since I have the roof skin off. Was hoping to find a product for both sound and heat.

Thanks!
I bought my sound deadening directly from siless. They had and may still have free shipping. I’ve heard good things about their products.

[loudchevy]

Good progress. The die grinder bit in the drill was a great solution for those holes.

[clay68c10]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

Good progress. The die grinder bit in the drill was a great solution for those holes.

It sure worked better than just drilling. Especially if you were redoing closed up side trim. That could go south pretty quickly.
If I can save someone else that hassle then I’m happy.

[clay68c10]

Now that the trim holes were located again, the hood went to the blaster. I had some $ scraped up and frankly was sick of the work it took to strip these panels. I had just finished stripping the fenders and really thought about the flat surface of the hood and how I could possibly mess it up, even with the fairly low heat generated by the stripping tool. Also the edges and braces would be a ton of work. So it went to the media blaster. I’m going to do the same with the bed sides and floor.
There was some ancient hail damage uncovered. Must have been from the white paint days since I couldn’t see it in the red version. Dave got the hood in skim and got after it. I’ll have to get a shot of it sanded out and flat.
That’s his laser straight Chevelle in the background. I’ll be helping him out with that. It’s getting a built 6.0/T56. Should be a fun one.

[clay68c10]

I’ve been wanting to learn more techniques for block sanding the skim coat so I started working on the front fenders. It is definitely a good bit of work and does require some technique. The long semi rigid blocks really do work. The use of powder guide coat really takes relying on the “calibrated hand” to determine how flat the panel is out of the equation. If there is a low spot, you will absolutely see it. The only places you really need to feel are the curved body lines. Those are more tricky and I got them close, but let the pro get them that last bit.
It took several hours for each fender, but they’re straight and flat now. Next step is high build and more blocking with guide coat.
These pics are from about the 80% done point.

[clay68c10]

I’ve been busy, but not with posting updates…..

The Tahoe seats I’m using came with the seatbelts and retractors. I had set them in place previously, but hadn’t come up with any mounting solutions.
I knew I would need a bracket for the retractor, but I hadn’t figured out the pillar mount.
This was one place where I got lucky. The thread pitch was the same across the years, or a convenient overlap of SAE and metric threads. I had to search thru my washer pile to space the pivot out so it wouldn’t rub. Also, the Tahoe pillar mount was chrome underneath the plastic cladding and actually looks pretty nice as is.

[clay68c10]

The bottom mount wasn’t too difficult, I used some 1/4” plate and adapted from the factory mount.
I did have a “cheat code” tool for bending the plate the first 90deg. I used the regular press to get the additional 10deg.
Without the Scotchman, I would have used a regular press and made due.

[clay68c10]

One more random little time eater was the r/f fender brace. I had to notch it out because I was mounting the LS air filter housing on that side.
Cut and weld and grind and etc…. It came out pretty nice.

[clay68c10]

On to the HVAC boxes.
The parts I got were not in great shape, they had been sitting outside and were solid but sun bleached. That was a fun purchase. Some very sketchy dude had these parts for cheap but I had to go into his backyard to get them. He was nice but really weird, as was his buddy living in the immobile clapped out motorhome in the yard.
At least the pieces were cheap and usable. And I didn’t end up a picture on a milk carton.
I would have liked them to be that cool original grey/brown color but that ship had sailed.
Semigloss black it is. I actually painted these parts 3-4 years ago and they’ve been in my attic.
I installed a square body evaporator and repurposed the POA bracket to hold the accumulator with the old cut/splice/weld method. I figured using a big hose clamp was factory-esque and functional.
I tested the recirc door actuator and it held vacuum for 24hrs. Not bad for a 50 year old part. The inside one passed the test also!

[clay68c10]

It all looked good until I put the inner fender on for a reality check.
That bottom exit accumulator was not going to clear. At least they’re cheap and GM had a few different styles.
With a different part on there my low side hose would clear. I did dimple the inner at the bottom of the accumulator since I’m not sure where it will end up with the fenders attached.

[SCOTI]

Nice progress.

[clay68c10]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Nice progress.

Thanks SCOTI, just trying to do a little something at least a few times a week. It feels like I haven’t done much of anything until I look back thru my photos. It seems the small things eat up a ton of time too.

Saying that, my hydroboost hose situation is one of those time consumers.
I had saved the original hoses from the 79 P30 motorhome, knowing they probably wouldn’t work but could be an idea generator. They were definitely too short and had most of the bends in the wrong places.
So I figured a set from a square body might be close. Yeah maybe not. I fitted the pressure out side from the pump and it was the wrong angle at the pump. I bent that end to get it to work, but the whole line and routing were so-so. Then the booster to box line. Way too long.


But, if anyone out there has a square body LS swap with hydroboost, I have a ready to go hose set for you. Seriously, just pay for shipping and it’s yours.

[clay68c10]

So, options for the hoses;
Keep trying factory hoses and bend them to sorta fit
Use AN adapters and hoses like a lot of folks do
Something else…???

The off the shelf hose option is fairly cheap, but how many of these sets will I have to buy to get one that works?? I don’t have an assortment at my disposal to try so it could be many.
AN stuff? I’m not a huge fan because of the price and the adapters needed. That sounds like more potential for leaks and complications.
Time to go into the rabbit hole of hydraulic hoses and fittings. That took some research but was very informative.
There’s a variety of hoses and ends, and they have to be the same mfg/style. The most common for 3/8” (-6) is Parker 43 style.
Parker 43 style fittings have a flare to -6 connector series. There’s also o-ring style fittings available if you’re running that type.
There are a few hose types, but what we need is fairly low pressure (<2000psi) and not super expensive.
The shop next to my work has a 43 style crimper and I have a buddy there, so a little science experiment was in order.

[72 tigger]

I really appreciate your attention to detail- nice work!

[CG]

I think you should make the Tahoe seat belt idea its own thread. I think that's a really interesting solution for installing new belts with the shoulder harness feature. Or maybe its already been done by someone and Ive missed it.

[raggedjim]

Nice work! Rg

[clay68c10]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

I really appreciate your attention to detail- nice work!

Originally Posted by CG

I think you should make the Tahoe seat belt idea its own thread. I think that's a really interesting solution for installing new belts with the shoulder harness feature. Or maybe its already been done by someone and Ive missed it.

Originally Posted by raggedjim

Nice work! Rg

Thanks all, I appreciate it. Hopefully I don't have to go back and re-do any of this stuff later.

The Tahoe belts are handy if you're running the matching seats. The buckle is built into the seat frame.

[clay68c10]

So, the steering hoses.
I went to the Parker hose store and looked at what they had. The 90deg ends for -6 to flare looked pretty good. They’re not as tight a bend as the pre-formed ends on stock hoses, but they take up less room than a 90 plus AN adapter.
I sourced my own hose and fittings online since I have a crimper available. If I didn’t I would use the hose store since they will crimp what you buy for free (I hear).
The indexing is pretty crucial on these hoses, there’s not a lot of twist to them. The bend radius is 2.5” on this hose. That’s plenty for what I’m doing.
Also, I crimped one end first, then fitted the hose and marked the second end.

Here’s what I ended up with on the pump to booster side.
My biggest surprise was how huge the hose ends start out and how much they compress in the crimper. It’s crazy.

[clay68c10]

Here’s a shot of the rear of the pump. There’s a lot going on in that area with the starter power and lower harness, plus the main ground. The bottom pic is flipped for some reason.

[hewittca]

It's always great to check in here and see the methodical, detailed progress you are making. This is one super nice project!

[clay68c10]

Originally Posted by hewittca

It's always great to check in here and see the methodical, detailed progress you are making. This is one super nice project!

Thanks. I just keep chipping away at it. Hopefully the planning works out with good functionality.

[clay68c10]

Now for the long hose from booster to box.
I don’t think there’s a “pretty” way to run this one aside from putting it inside the fender, so I just made it look factory-ish.