Project Trippin Hazard

[Twisted78SS]

[Twisted78SS]

Hey everyone,
Like many other addicted fans of this site, I have been lurking, posting, and in many cases lusting after some of the tremendous builds shared among these pages. Also like many others, my projects, ideas, and even inspirations change from time to time (sometimes faster than it takes to read a build thread)… I look forward to learning some new nugget of information every time I visit, but I have unfortunately fallen victim to having some awesome projects bought, started, stopped, sold, and a few unceremoniously left for the mythical “be all end all” build thread.

Ok, enough already…, time to get this build going and for once push a project to a phase that will allow me to enjoy all the time, effort, and money spent on my addiction...

I am launching a new build, and calling it Trippin Hazard. Originally called “Chaos Theory” (one definition being - Chaos Theory deals with nonlinear things that are effectively impossible to predict or control, like turbulence, weather, the stock market, our brain states, and so on). That describes me to a T...

Anyway, I’m stepping into this build very much like many of you have, by picking up what once was someone else’s father son project that just didn’t come to fruition. It changed hands a few times until it landed in mine, with some of the former owners being fellow board members. (I will let them decide if they want to identify themselves).

She is technically a 1969 short wide, but will resurrect as a 68. Some work was started, (c-notch, bagged, tubbed with a narrowed 12 bolt, and 2 wheels used for mock up, however only a small amount that will remain as my vision goes in a different direction.

Quick rundown on what I had to begin with
1969 Short bed Chevrolet pickup.
• narrowed 12 bolt (six inches overall)
• Widened tubs to match
• 1968 front clip
• 18x8 (4.5 BS) & 18x10 (4.0 BS) Boyd “Harm” wheels (only came with one of each, more on that story)
• C- Notched
• Bags all four corners

• No engine, transmission, wiring, column, windshield, back window, tailgate, and so on…

And there it is, from a decent beginning to.... well something i can be proud of, that's the end goal...

Here are a few pictures of the day one ride home. (this was about a year ago already)



And finally finding a spot in the shop..


I'll give a rundown of the plans for her in my next installment, along with some of the parts I have been acquiring over the past couple years... Hope you enjoy..

Drew

[Twisted78SS]

So,
plans for Trippin Hazard will look something like this;

Full Extreme Dropmember - bags (on order and patiently waiting)
Full Roller Small Block 357 CI,
FAST XFI Sportsman with EZ-EFI throttle body
Exterior will be Bombay Ivory or similar
Interior will be red, factory buckets, console (actually using 72 seats)

Depending on where the front wheels actually align once the drop member is in place, (remember 4.5 inch backspace) will determine if they stay or not.

I want to give credit to some who have already helped me in getting this project concept going, Can't thank folks like this enough for helping me spend money! There are and will be others, and I will try my best to highlight who helped out and where..

Travis @ AZProPerformance is an awesome guy, he has a great sense of humor and super customer service!
Nate @ PBFAB Another super human being we all have come to know in this arena.
Captainfab
bigblock68
Brad

I "borrowed" these shots from a thread here on the forum, but can't find which one it was.. I hope whoever that is, doesn't mind.. This is close to what I have in mind..




More on some updates that have taken place over the past few weeks.

[mcbassin]

Great looking project you have there. Looking forward to following along.

[Twisted78SS]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Great looking project you have there. Looking forward to following along.

Thanks, Should be a fun one, i am so looking forward to keeping things going, and seeing progress.

[Twisted78SS]

I bit more history and updates.

As mentioned earlier, while in the hands of one previous owner, he had begun to make some changes to the truck. The 12 bolt was narrowed, 6 inches overall, and rebuilt with 3.73 gears and a posi. Also, it looks like all new brakes/drums from the backing plate out were installed.

I believe the Pro Street look was the ticket, and so a narrowed set of wheel tubs was put together as well.
I said that the truck came with two wheels, here they are as I go them. I washed one, and left the other untouched.. They need some serious polishing!



Fast forward about 6 months, I had been wondering what I was going to do with just two wheels, one 18x8, the other 18x10, directionals no less.... I'm not even sure it can be called luck, but low and behold, one night while trolling Craigslist I cam across an add for a pair of "Boyd" wheels... I looked at it, and the ad indicated it was a pair of 18x8 wheels that were new in the box. 5x5.

Even after I called and made arrangements to go take a look, i was still thinking to myself 'what am I going to do with 3 wheels the same, and one odd ball'... Ok, now for the best part, the gentleman that owned these turned out to be someone I had dealt with several years ago on some NOS parts. He travels around buying up the NOS and assorted parts from dealers going out of business or looking to part with inventory for whatever reason. The wheels he had new in the box were from a Chevy dealer that closed it's doors, and he bought out a ton of stuff..

So, there I was standing in his driveway while he dug out two boxes from his parts stash, we open them and BAM!!!! they turn out to be the actual mates to the pair I have, one 8 inch and one 10!
As i understand it, one previous owner worked at the same dealer that went out of business, and he had only got his hands on two wheels before the doors closed...

Holy Crap!! I call that Really good Karma.

I could not pay the price we negotiated fast enough, (it was so low I could hardly contain myself)

I got them home, grabbed the two i had and verified i had a full set of 8's and 10's, each one the correct rotation.
Then I decided they need to get polished and sealed even though the truck was still hiding under my Costco garage, and would not get inside the shop for a month or more.

I had to try one on for size even before i got to cleaning...





Here are some shots of the wheels going through and after the Cleaning/polishing process.

[Twisted78SS]

Thought a lot about tires for a weekend warrior sort of truck, I vacillated from BFG's to Toyo's to several others and back again, including the one's I settled on, they are Mickey Thompson Sportsman SR radials.
28x12/18 and 28x10/18




A couple after mounting... Almost look small on there
Notice the front clearance.... more on that once the Dropmember is in mockup..




Still, good to see her sitting in the shop sporting new shoes and waiting to get massaged..

More later

[mcbassin]

sounds like you had a nice streak of luck with the wheels. Those are really nice! Love the new tires too.

[Twisted78SS]

Thanks,

In looking over various other build threads that are using Dropmembers, it looks like a large majority are using an 8.5 inch wide wheel up front with either a 5.25 or 5.5in backspace. So while ordering my Dropmember and talking with Travis over at Pro Performance, the thought is mine should fall somewhat in the same range as others given mine is only an 8in wheel with a 4.5in backspace.. Only mockup will reveal for sure as when i did the test fit i never actually dropped it to the ground. Worst case (i hope) is different spindles will be in order..

Originally Posted by mcbassin

sounds like you had a nice streak of luck with the wheels. Those are really nice! Love the new tires too.

[Twisted78SS]

So,

As you now know or at least have guessed by now, i'm going with a full Extreme Dropmember, hence the build name.. Depending on how things work out with the current wheel/tire combo, I'm sure it will have no problem laying frame. I'll save the rest of the drivetrain details for now, but instead I will describe the interior. In short, I am going full on Red.

To begin with, a few years ago, while working with board member Livrat on my then Project 50th, we struck a deal on a set of truck buckets which I thought were going to be used in my sons 68. Turns out he went the Buddy Bucket route, so i have had these tucked away waiting for just such an opportunity. I began to look at color options, and since I have always liked red, I could not resist a smokin deal from Truckseats on a pair of factory 72 covers.

Seats awaiting a project...


Covers from Truckseats


A big Thanks goes out to BigBlock68 for facilitating getting these completed, and looking Sweet!



I also have a very nice console from a 77 Blazer I part years ago. Currently blue, but I'll either find a nice original red to trade or paint it to match.


Come to think of it, Frank aka PICKMUP had a nice original red one.. I had better touch base with him and see if he still has it..

I also found a nice original red group of interior parts from another board member (forget who at the moment) to further the red theme. I realize they are not a perfect match to the seats, but I think the contrast along with what I plan for the door panels will work.




I'll detail the remaining interior parts as I dig them out of storage and do some mockup with pictures..

[BigDaddyV]

Looks like you got a nice start on a really sweet truck, I'll follow along!

[Twisted78SS]

Been busy with some honey do's the past couple of weekends, so not much progress, but figured as I am documenting this build i would go ahead and provide how the rest of things will be. Then get to some actual work in progress pics.

So, to round out most of the interior,

I have a Tach/Vac/Speed Warning/Choke Delete cluster (needs a little freshening up)
CPP tilt column for automatic
Factory 4 spd tilt (for when I do go to a third pedal...)
Red carpet
Red Dash pad
Factory Red steering wheel - yeah I know big azzz bus wheel!
Radio Delete

[knomadd]

It looks like you've got a great plan laid out for this. I'm in... looking forward to updates.

[Blown06]

Nice plan, I'm hopping onboard for updates, progress reports and general inspiration.

[GAc10boy]

Man, you got so lucky with the wheels! I'm in. Sounds like a great build plan.

[Twisted78SS]

While waiting on "Brown" to show laden with boxes of Dropmember goodies, I figured I had better start on other things..
So to give me a better idea of exactly what I have to deal with, I spent a couple hours looking over the bodywork yet to come.
I started on one side of the bed, and went from this


To something that looks a ton better already

There is still more to go of course, but it is progress! So I'll take it. Hahaha...
Prepping for the Portland fall swap meet at PIR this weekend so that is most likely all I'll get to until Sunday.

I also recently traded for a tailgate, so I cleaned and mocked it onto the bed. It has a few minor things to take care of, but it's not rusty like the old one I had..



Oh yeah, one big item came today, the XFI Sportsman ECU kit
More on the engine combo down the road..

[mooseknuckles]

lookin good!

[Twisted78SS]

Started the teardown today, but only got in a couple hours..



Can you say "lay on the bondo baby!!"



And a look at the current suspension before it comes out.


Last pic for today, I was playing around with my new polisher a month or so back, decided I would try a bit of polish on my Boyd's tank just to see how it may look.
Of course it will never really be seen, but it was good practice

[Twisted78SS]

No pics from the weekend, mostly worked on a room addition I am trying to finish before the weather really turns. (it's a detached room next to the house)
Sort of a sanctuary for the wife, so you know the faster it gets done, the sooner I will be back in the shop..

I did begin building a dolly to move the bed around, only to have my welder take a dump and die spectacularly.. Ordered a new one today, (Tweco Fabricator 211I) should be here in a few days.. In the meantime I will pull the cab either tonight or tomorrow after work and begin tearing down the suspension.. Thankfully I already made a cab dolly we had used on the boy's truck..

Pics to follow

[Blown06]

Looks like a nice welder you've got coming. Progress is progress, no matter how small. Every day I wake up is progress lol.

[nlped]

Read both of your build threads. I'm going to follow along...sub'd

[Hart_Rod]

in.

[Twisted78SS]

Took a short break while waiting on my dropmember, and finished the remodel I was doing for the wife.
I also have to reorganize the shop, since the wife took over what was my shed, I have to find room for all the stuff I had crammed in there.. I built another section of mezzanine 12x12 and started to move all the stuff up there.

Now that I can walk around the shop again without Trippin.. Over everything I'll pull the cab and begin deconstructing the suspension.

While talking with a good friend, he said I should take all the current bag setup and swing It under my 71 c20 and make it a 5 lugger, then shorten it so I can have another driver / patina truck.. Hmmm not a bad idea..

Thoughts?

Not sure about making a 3/4 ton into a 5 lug, but then again, why not..

[texasld]

Cool Deal on the Wheels! This one is looking cool!

If you are only going to use your C20 for road use, and no HEAVY towing I don't see why the 5 lug would be bad. I had my 69' C10 axles plugged and re welded. No issue here!

[67ctener]

This is gonna be awesome, love the ideas