Daves new 68 chevy swb

[Woodnears]

Picked up a 69 a while back too. Will try to get that road worthy soon.

[Woodnears]

Got some of the interior installed tonight. Very pleased with how it came out.

[NewType72]

Panels look great, who are those through?

[Woodnears]

Ricks custom upholstery. They are very nice and as far as I'm concerned very fair prices.

[Woodnears]

And it's driveable!

[Woodnears]

Took her to her first show with the kiddos.

[Bennett68C10]

Very nice, what did you use for the paint?

[Woodnears]

The white is just an epoxy primer. I'll blew the truck apart after I work out the bugs and get it painted. Eventually it will be blue

[Woodnears]

Time to update this and bring this build thread back to life! The truck is a blast to cruise around town, unfortunately it is in pieces yet again in the garage. I didnt like a few things on the air ride management so I tore the truck apart early last spring to move a few things. Around the same time that I got it all apart Accuair announced they were no more..... Obviously this was a problem as I was in the middle of sourcing a new ECU and harness for the air ride system. After scouring the internet for a few months I finally found all the parts I needed to get everything back together. Now that it is above freezing I will be back in the garage. The goal was to set this up to be a little more user friendly when things go wrong. I removed the large accuair tank and went with the 2 accuair 3 gallon tanks set on each side of the frame rails. Once I did this I realized I wasn't totally happy about the way the raised bed structure was layed out. This turned into a giant snowball as usual but I endured and was able to get the bed in a happy place. As a side note I was able to get a decent stainless exhaust built and installed, still have a few mounts that need made up. Its still a work in progress! here are a few pics for reference. I will grab a few more this evening if anyone is interested in seeing them. Going forward the focus will be to get this thing closer to paint, decided on a color change...... Hint, its going to be green!

[SCOTI]

As an owner of an air ride truck, I'm curious about your statement:

The goal was to set this up to be a little more user friendly when things go wrong.

Would you mind sharing the specifics?

[Woodnears]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

As an owner of an air ride truck, I'm curious about your statement:



Would you mind sharing the specifics?

2 Reasons I say that. 1. Accuair is awesome but also went out of business in the middle of me rebuilding this. With that in mind I decided to set it up to be easier to change to another manufacturer ride controller. I made all new ride height cables from scratch in the length I needed them. I brought each of them right to the back of the truck right behind the rear c notch. i made a plate/panel to mount the ECU and VU4. If in the future I go another route with ride height controller. I can simply cut a new plate/panel and mount the new height controller. While I had the rear notch apart running these new cables I made up I installed a large piece of radiator hose to act as a conduit because taking that back notch apart is a pain in the butt!
2. I had things mounted in a way that they were not easy to get to. For instance the main fuse for the ride controller/compressors, I think its a 70 amp maxi fuse was mounted clear down on the frame rail and I am here to tell you it was not easy to get to. When I reworked the raised bed structure I built in rear mounted battery mounts so i could move all critical electrical connections right at the back of the truck where things are easy to get to. im 6'5" and not on a diet so squeezing myself clear up into the truck to replace/troubleshoot a fuse or electrical connection was not fun at all.


I will try to get some good photos gathered up of some of this stuff this evening. If there is anything specifically someone wants to see just ask and ill try my best.

[Woodnears]

If im missing something or you have any advice id love to hear it. This is the first vehicle I have ever built from the ground up. For that matter I dont have many references as im the only guy I know on air like this. Im shooting for a clean build that is easy to maintain.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

2 Reasons I say that. 1. Accuair is awesome but also went out of business in the middle of me rebuilding this. With that in mind I decided to set it up to be easier to change to another manufacturer ride controller. I made all new ride height cables from scratch in the length I needed them. I brought each of them right to the back of the truck right behind the rear c notch. i made a plate/panel to mount the ECU and VU4. If in the future I go another route with ride height controller. I can simply cut a new plate/panel and mount the new height controller. While I had the rear notch apart running these new cables I made up I installed a large piece of radiator hose to act as a conduit because taking that back notch apart is a pain in the butt!
2. I had things mounted in a way that they were not easy to get to. For instance the main fuse for the ride controller/compressors, I think its a 70 amp maxi fuse was mounted clear down on the frame rail and I am here to tell you it was not easy to get to. When I reworked the raised bed structure I built in rear mounted battery mounts so i could move all critical electrical connections right at the back of the truck where things are easy to get to. im 6'5" and not on a diet so squeezing myself clear up into the truck to replace/troubleshoot a fuse or electrical connection was not fun at all.


I will try to get some good photos gathered up of some of this stuff this evening. If there is anything specifically someone wants to see just ask and ill try my best.

Originally Posted by Woodnears

If im missing something or you have any advice id love to hear it. This is the first vehicle I have ever built from the ground up. For that matter I dont have many references as im the only guy I know on air like this. Im shooting for a clean build that is easy to maintain.

I was just curious of others considerations for making it easier to access things, what 'things' they focused on, & the approach.

I know I had an issue w/the rear of my dually not airing up late last year. Of course when this was discovered, the truck had the rails & the rear hitch safety chain anchor points firmly planted on the concrete.

Mine is a manual set-up so I don't have to worry about the height sensors or height ECU but I still made some changes after that issue because of similar accessibility reasons you mentioned. It was a PITA getting to all the possible sources of failure to diagnose/pinpoint the issue:

Did it blow a fuse?
Did a relay fail?
Did the compressor fail?
Did the pressure switch fail?

That led to "what can I do to facilitate correcting a failure or overcoming one" in an emergency/away from home situation. A lot of my wiring was so specifically routed it made testing a PITA. Once sorted, the wiring is no longer as neat but is now much easier to access fuses/relays for testing if necessary. Things to improve this logic were implemented.

[Woodnears]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I was just curious of others considerations for making it easier to access things, what 'things' they focused on, & the approach.

I know I had an issue w/the rear of my dually not airing up late last year. Of course when this was discovered, the truck had the rails & the rear hitch safety chain anchor points firmly planted on the concrete.

Mine is a manual set-up so I don't have to worry about the height sensors or height ECU but I still made some changes after that issue because of similar accessibility reasons you mentioned. It was a PITA getting to all the possible sources of failure to diagnose/pinpoint the issue:

Did it blow a fuse?
Did a relay fail?
Did the compressor fail?
Did the pressure switch fail?

That led to "what can I do to facilitate correcting a failure or overcoming one" in an emergency/away from home situation. A lot of my wiring was so specifically routed it made testing a PITA. Once sorted, the wiring is no longer as neat but is now much easier to access fuses/relays for testing if necessary. Things to improve this logic were implemented.

Exactly! I have had similar issues. Luckily I have never been far from home. I would like to drive this truck a few hours to shows and what not so I need it to be reliable. Furthermore I'm preparing to paint this thing in the next year or so and I want to make sure there are no major changes with anything before I do so. Right now I can remove the bed by myself to troubleshoot anything. Once its fully dressed and in paint I will no longer be able to do that. If I can get all fuses and main wiring up and in the back I think it will be beneficial. there is quite a bit of room under the raised floor behind the rear wheels. I plan on making the rear panel removable to gain quick access if the need was to arise. i was even tossing around the idea of hinging it...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

Exactly! I have had similar issues. Luckily I have never been far from home. I would like to drive this truck a few hours to shows and what not so I need it to be reliable. Furthermore I'm preparing to paint this thing in the next year or so and I want to make sure there are no major changes with anything before I do so. Right now I can remove the bed by myself to troubleshoot anything. Once its fully dressed and in paint I will no longer be able to do that. If I can get all fuses and main wiring up and in the back I think it will be beneficial. there is quite a bit of room under the raised floor behind the rear wheels. I plan on making the rear panel removable to gain quick access if the need was to arise. i was even tossing around the idea of hinging it...

Exactly. A 'trunk' lid of sorts to allow easy access to select items.

[Woodnears]

Here is what i am thinking in the back for the air ride management mount. Can easily have a different plate cut to suit a different controller. plenty room for everything I just need to get busy and mount everything.

[Woodnears]

I apologize for the tiny photos! not sure whats going on with that...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

I apologize for the tiny photos! not sure whats going on with that...

LoL.... I was just using my magnifying glass for the details.

[Woodnears]

Upload with Iphone and they are upside down, upload with computer and they are tiny....

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

Upload with Iphone and they are upside down, upload with computer and they are tiny....

I bet there's a setting on the phone that adjusts images size for easier file transfer. I keep mine @ full size & the save to the computer & reduce to upload here.

[Woodnears]

A slight bit of progress last night. Those of you that have done this might tell me an easier way. I had to add 2" to the top of this panel once removed from a tail gate. After a ton of welding on the panel i managed to get it flat and im happy with it. The next step was to mount it. I had to weld in a bit more of the raised bed structure which was pretty easy. Drilled and tapped a handful of holes and installed the panel with stainless m6 button head screws around the perimeter. Attached are a few shots of the process.

[Woodnears]

I wanted to get the appropriate/better photos in here for the record. Here are a few.

[SCOTI]

Nice. Good access point.

[Woodnears]

So I have been busy reworking the front clip. There were a couple specific issues I wanted to remedy.
#1 the back of the hood stuck up a bit due to the porterbuilt hood hinge adapter plate form Hartrod. I removed those and decided to use the original PB weld in plate. Those of you that have had to do this will tell you its not easy lining these up and getting the hood straight and where it is supposed to be. Still in progress.
#2 My aftermarket fenderswere absolute junk! sure they were straight and rust free but they just didnt fit well, mainly in the front nose area next to the hood. I went to the parts pile ( A storage shed in my back yard that at one time had a few complete trucks worth of parts) and grabbed a couple 67 fenders. I started in on stripping them and found a big mess. Someone had done work on them before and they were essentially caved in on the first 6" or so of the fronts. I stripped them down and started in with a hammer and dolly. The drivers side was so thin it tore when I went to pull on it. I found a replacement driver side or two at the Pate swap meet and will start in on stripping them.
#3 I never have liked how my air setup was installed and located. I have moved it a few times but during this last go around I somehow managed to fry the ECU. I ordered am upgraded ecu and it should be here friday. I am still undecided on where to place it. The idea is to be able to get to it to troubleshoot it when needed. In one rendition I had to climb my 6'5" self into the bed and replace a fuse. Not COOL! More to come.