Newbie with a simple 64 Stepper Build...

[wayno]

She's going to be a head turner... that interior is looking sweet.

[Ta2Don]

Coming along Nicely...
Motor sounds good and I have the same style seat in my 90 model, comfortable and now I need to find one for my 65...

[MadRatt]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Been thinkin of grabbing on of those seats like you have for the extra room issues.
Its made a world of difference in the feel of the interior. was able to get more leg room and head room as well as it is much more comfortable than the original spring seats. I also like the fold down arm rest for longer trips.

Your interior is lookin real nice.

Thanx brother.. Much appreciated

Originally Posted by wayno

She's going to be a head turner... that interior is looking sweet.

Thanx Brother.. I fall more in love with it each time I get in..

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Coming along Nicely...
Motor sounds good and I have the same style seat in my 90 model, comfortable and now I need to find one for my 65...

The ones without the armrest are everywhere.. with the arm rest not so much. getting harder and harder to find one. THis one was a mess when I found it, but was able to get it for $35 Some (ok a whole bottle) of Simple green and a brush and it cleaned up pretty good for now. until I can get it done in black leather.

[MadRatt]

Been hard at it trying to get her road ready for the rest of the summer. Haven't had time to post anything so here it is now.

The doors that I put on are such a wavy mess that I couldn't stand looking at them anymore. And I figured im not painting it till this winter or next spring so I put the old matching doors back on. This will make it easier and give me time to fix the green doors while their off. I'll do a simple fix to the original doors to make them a little less crusty looking. I wish I could keep them on but they are just to rotted out underneath and on the inside. I didn't paint the inside of them so they are still white on the inside but I'll survive.

all the wiring is complete just a few things left that are not installed as of yet. But we have working lights and the its back together.

I stripped and brushed the bare metal on the grill, painted the center black and satin cleared it. sanded and brushed all the crusty door and window cranks and satin cleared them. I like how they turned out. Real industrial looking. NO CHROME!!!

1. front end on
2. old grill
3. stripped and painted
4. rust free green doors
5. old doors back on

[MadRatt]

I also cut out the cross member for exhaust to pass thru and welded in 4" supports. got the new mufflers in and am going to get to the exhaust guy this weekend and have the tailpipes run.

Just an FYI: if you are a flowmaster fan, their patent ran out and Thrush is now making a 40series copy for half the price!! Their called Welded. They seem to be very well made and they sound AWSOME! can't wait to hear them thru tailpipes.

Pic:
Exhaust Cutout before supports welded in.

[MadRatt]

Oh Yea! I also got to drive it a short bit on Sun. Here's the Video

http://youtu.be/6j40jl-_yw4

http://youtu.be/XnoD3TJ5tqw

[Bomp]

Congrats, going to be a blast.

[MadRatt]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Congrats, going to be a blast.

Thanx Bomp.. should be fun. Once I get all the little things buttoned up. But its close. I can smell it.

[MadRatt]

Been busy driving and doing small things to the truck. Been to a couple cruise nights and have some good responses. Good times...

So here's some updates on what I've been doing to her.

Got the rest of the exhaust put in and it sounds AWSOME!!

Got some real nice brackets from" Bill's Hot Rods" to get the Vintage air compressor installed. Also got the matching alternator bracket and power steering pump bracket. That way it all looks good and works together. I brushed them up and gave them a satin clear finish. AC blows ice cold and the power steering is a night and difference over the old gear box.

Tinted all the glass before I put it back in. Rebuilt the vent windows. Painted the inside of the doors, and got all the weather stripping in.

New bumper scuffed up and put on. Front end alignment.
I had to update the throttle pedal so I could get full throttle. Installed one out of a mid 80's chevy truck.

Next weekend I get to put the cruise control in and wire up the electric fans to the Holley fuel ECU so they will be progressively controlled based on temp.

And that should be all she wrote.

between all of this I have been driving it to all the cruise nights I can and am really enjoying it a lot. I think i'm going to leave the paint the way it is for now. I'm really digging it.

All that's really left is tidying up the engine bays wiring and under the dash.
and let the self learning Fuel injection finish tuning and we are good.

Here's the Pic's:

[Bomp]

How you liking that seat? Looks like it'd give a guy more room behind the wheel.
Lookin good.

[MadRatt]

Originally Posted by Bomp

How you liking that seat? Looks like it'd give a guy more room behind the wheel.
Lookin good.

Its a lot better than the stocker. More leg room and I cut 2' out of the brackets to lower it and now I have a lot more head room.
I also have the column 4" closer to the dash than the original. Helped out a bunch. I am real comfortable now and that was a big concern. You shouldn't have any problems with that stretch job.
Steiners lookin killer by the way

[MadRatt]

Just a quick update to whats been happening.
I took my first big trip with the truck back to Wi from Indiana. 854 miles round trip and all in all I think it was a success. Threw a belt and lost some tranny fluid when the line going into the cooler loosened up, but other than that i'm pretty pleased. got 17mpg on the highway running 70 the whole way. Not to bad. I think I can do better with some leaner adjustment to the fuel cruising speed base map in the ecu. and maybe keep it down around 65mph wouldn't Hurt. The cruise control I installed just before I left worked real good. and the air ride is such a smooth ride. This build dream is finally starting to feel like a reality.

[Captainfab]

That's decent mileage for a truck with an engine like that. Like you said, a little more tuning and you can likely squeeze a little more out of her.

[MadRatt]

Happy New Year everyone!! Just wanna give an update to how things have been going. Packed up the truck on 12-19 to head 1300 miles south to Florida to be with my folks and brother for the Holidays. Got the dog loaded up and away we went..
Made it down without any major problems(just keep melting speedo cables). Truck ran GREAT!! still averaging 16-17mpg depending on if the AC is on or not. Changed a few things in the tuning to try and compensate for that and seems to be improving. Got a bunch of miles on it down here and will be heading home to Indiana on Sun, or Mon. the 4th or 5th. Been a great trip thus far.

Last 2 pics are of my Mom next to the truck in Fl, and me behind my grandfathers 77 C20(He bought it new) which is now my Dads.

Hope everybody has a great 2015.
Keep the builds coming..

[endlessearth]

Very cool! Like yourself, I recently got to the point with mine where I am just enjoying putting on the miles and tweaking little things as I go. It is awesome to wake up every day and know that my truck is in the garage and ready to go at the turn of the key.