Gator Squared

[sumran]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

How long did it take to do that..

This one took a little more than a week, because I did it a few minutes at a time. Normally I do them on a working vehicle, so it has to be done all at once. I can do one in 2-1/2 ro 3 hours if I stay at it steadily. The first one will take a little longer.

You have to push a steel needle through some very tight leather holes, so I would recommend a thimble or some other means of protecting your finger tips. A high quality set of small pliers is also very useful to pull the needle through on the back side.

The trickiest part is around the points where the spokes attach to the rim. You have to continue the stitching until you have gone just past the edge of the spoke, then lace the front side only on the face of the spoke, then catch the hole just before the spoke ends. That allows you to pull the leather tight and flat around the spoke. The seam needs to be aligned with the center of the spokes.

One last warning: If you put one on one of your vehicles, you will want one on all of them.

[sumran]

Sold the truck topper last night. Money goes back in the kitty for the truck.

I was told my truck used to belong to an older guy that mostly used it for a work truck and fishing. He evidently used what was available to get things done and didn't much care about appearance, based on the wallpaper dashboard cover. When the guy came to look at the topper I had to smile. He was in his mid to late 70's. Had a later model white Chevy truck that was going to be his "work truck" and he was wearing a fishing hat. It was not the same guy, but the similarity made me smile.

We put the topper on his truck and it was a bit too wide at the back for the later model truck. I would not have wanted it on that truck and expected him to say "Thanks, but no thanks". He decided that it was no problem, he would fabricate something to make it work. I knocked $15 off the price toward his manufacturing costs. He happily handed me the money and went on his way.

[Stitch]

Randy I'll let you know as soon as I get the vinyl. Hopefully I get it before this weekend. If so, I cam stitch it up this weekend and ship it out first thing next week.

Btw I love that steering wheel cover. If I wasn't putting a wood steering wheel in my truck I'd be all over that.
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[sumran]

Originally Posted by Stitch

Randy I'll let you know as soon as I get the vinyl. Hopefully I get it before this weekend. If so, I cam stitch it up this weekend and ship it out first thing next week.

Btw I love that steering wheel cover. If I wasn't putting a wood steering wheel in my truck I'd be all over that.
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Thanks much. You should get the vinyl tomorrow.

[1425956]

I am ready to see some pics!!!!!

[sumran]

Originally Posted by 1425956

I am ready to see some pics!!!!!

I am ready to take some pictures! I just need a truck.

I might take some at the body shop on Friday if they have made some progress.

[sumran]

I should have something to take pictures of this weekend!

Just got off the phone with the embroidery shop. They talked me out of putting the logo in the seat back. They were afraid that, on leather that receives constant pressure, the number of penetrations would cause a failure in the material. At some point the logo would punch through. We are going to put it on the headrest instead. It is a smaller piece of material to risk and could be replaced easily if there was a problem later.

I'll be picking up the cut pieces form the upholstry shop tomorrow and taking it to the embroidery place. They should be able to do it the same day.

Pictures tomorrow night.

[Pop's C-10]

tell em you put another piece of material behind it to act as backer..that may help to shore up tha stitches

[Stitch]

Got the material yesterday Randy. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to hop on it and get it sewn up for ya. I have another one I need to do this weekend also so hopefully I can knock both of them out.
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[sumran]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

tell em you put another piece of material behind it to act as backer..that may help to shore up tha stitches

Excellent suggestion. I think that would help and I will take your advice, but the headrest still seems like the smartest place for the logo. In addition to the durability factor, the seat will probably be more comfortable without the stiched logo in the mid back. Sometimes what seems like an obstacle actually improves the end result.

Glad you got the material Chuck. Can't wait to install the cover and get the billet strip on the dash.

Maybe I could set up the big shipping boxes like a truck cab and attach my parts to the boxes. I could mount my steering wheel to an old broom stick and attach my door panels and the new dash to the boxes... On second thought I will go visit the body shop today and try to move things along.

[sumran]

The body shop is making progress slowly. I do believe they will be making progress quickly in the coming days. The owner has caught up on the backlog of work that had accumulated while he was out.

I got the pieces the embroidery shop. It is interesting how they do the logo. The large flat areas are done with a precut fabric patch. Then the detailing is added with the embroidery. It can all be done with embroidery, but it is harder on the material. Here are some pics of the material and the precut pieces. The blue fabric is the old headrest material. The orange is the new leather. The colors are off in the pictures because they were taken with a cell phone.

[sumran]

Bit of bad news on the intake manifold that is installed on my engine. I thought it was a Performer, but it is a Torker II. Not really a good manifold for my application according to what I have read. Hopefully I can find someone that wants a Torker and has a Performer.

[justinburnett]

That would have been me about 2 weeks ago. Had a performer all bead blasted and clear-coated ready to install I would have gladly swapped you. Unfortunately I ended up just putting it on the new engine because I ran out of money so it's a little late, but I'm sure there's someone else out there for you!

[sumran]

Originally Posted by justinburnett

That would have been me about 2 weeks ago. Had a performer all bead blasted and clear-coated ready to install I would have gladly swapped you. Unfortunately I ended up just putting it on the new engine because I ran out of money so it's a little late, but I'm sure there's someone else out there for you!

Should have checked sooner. Oh well, it will all work out.

[sumran]

Just got the headrest material back from the embroidery place. They don't want to do any more of them because of the way the stitching affects the leather. I think it will be fine on the headrest, but it would have been a mistake on the seat. There are so many penetrations that it compromises the strength of the material. I am very happy with the way it looks!

I had trouble getting the camera to capture the true color of the leather. The back and sides of the headrest will be in blue. All the seams will be French stitched with blue thread.

[Stitch]

Looks great man. That looks just like the logo. Alot more detail than I thought was gonna be in it. That is awesome.
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[sumran]

Originally Posted by Stitch

Looks great man. That looks just like the logo. Alot more detail than I thought was gonna be in it. That is awesome.
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Thanks.

Went by the body shop. At last there is substantial progress. I'll be posting pics when I get home tonight. I no longer have a rotten rocker and cab corner!

[Pop's C-10]

That looks good..is that a stock seat

[sumran]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

That looks good..is that a stock seat

The seat that are going in the truck are out of a '82 Suburban. They may have been used in our trucks as well.

[sumran]

Some pictures of the window install. The original mounting point of the stock mirror is easy to see from the dirty footprint it left. We moved the rear hole to the front hole and drilled two new holes. This puts the mirror near the edge of the door where it is much stiffer. We thought it would need a stiffening plate, but that was not the case once it was relocated.

There are some extra holes. Perhaps it was originally fitted with smaller mirrors.

[sumran]

The worst part of the truck's body was a rusted out rocker panel and a rotten cab corner. These have now been replaced. They are welded in but not completely finished. Because both pieces were being installed at the same time, it took some substantial trimming and fitting to make them work. The last picture is another vehicle that he painted. Not a color I would choose, but quality of the paint work is very impressive.

[87 chevy silverado]

looks like some one changed the mirrors before you got it

[Restrorob]

Look'n good Randy !

Isn't it about time for a update ?

[sumran]

Originally Posted by Restrorob

Isn't it about time for a update ?

I'm resting up for the flurry of posts that will follow the truck's release from paint prison!

[sumran]

I got some interesting new toys that will help pass the time while I am in paint prison. I picked up a blast cabinet that was on sale for $99 at Harbor Freight. Now those serpentine brackets and Mickey Thompson valve covers will be looking good.

I also got a folding engine hoist. The portable tree was fun, but it takes multiple people to raise and lower it, and it is easier to move the engine than it is to move the vehicle. Pep Boys gave me a great price on the hoist ($144) because they had assembled it and used it in the shop a couple of times.

I'll post some pics after I get the blast cabinet set up in the garage.