"Albert" -- 1949 AD, S10 Chassis

[Zoomin]

36: go electric

I know what you mean, but I don't make lists like this. I don't know if it's because I'm not as organized as you, or I don't like getting depressed. I also never keep a running tab on what I've spent for the same reasons.

Hang in there, it won't be long before you're scratching number 9 off the list

[DeanTX]

Hussey I was scrounging Pick n Pull a while back looking for a Blazer rear wiper motor like a lot of guys use. No luck but I stared at an early 70s VW bug wiper set and it looked similar to the AD mechanically, so I bought it. Wish I had taken pics but i got the motor, bracket and arms. I cut the ends off the bracket and cut the arms and attached them to the truck wiper arms. The motor turns a bolt-on lever that the inner end of the arms are attached to.
The stock "sweep" of the lever was too long so I cut it down so that it was barely shorter than the truck end levers that turn the wiper pivot.

It's a two speed motor, so I run it with a simple "center off" 3 position toggle. Once I cut the bracket that holds the motor, the whole thing mounts standing up right behind the speaker cover, with room for speakers. Takes up less room than the Blazer motor set up, which is good if you plan to put in AC. Just another option to consider.

[99 to Life]

many of us have been in the exact state of mind you are in. I personally hate lists. I just keep it in my head on what needs done and I'm usually at the mercy of all the build killers, kids, fam, money, time, weather. I'd just bite the bullet and get electric wipers. I bought the pricey newport kit and I'v had to use them a million times. I also made my own wiper conversion and it was ok, needed some more time to play with it but just never did. as for the heater. again I'd just get a kit. I have little box style one that alot of places sell couple hundred bucks. I use it alot and its pretty decent. last truck I just got a cheaper heating unit and wired an on off switch. It was ok for the money. The good thing about those two units, you don't neeeed them to drive it!!! there is usually plenty of shaking down to do when its on the road.

[DeanTX]

What are the details on the one piece headliner ?
The few I've seen are a bit expensive.

[HUSSEY]

Ok...sounds like the vote is for electric wipers.

As far as the one piece headliner, Classic Parts sells one and yes it is a bit pricey, I think around $180. Reason I want one is that I'd like to eventually cover it to match my future interior. Still undecided if I want to go for it now or later.

[HUSSEY]

I got my gauges and tach installed. I went with a set of gauges from New Vintage, a bit pricey but I really liked the nostalgic look of them. I ended up buying the gauges well over a year ago from Summit when they had them on sale, 10 percent off, and long before I needed them. They come with a five year warranty so the early purchase didn’t make me too nervous.

The fuel gauge in the quad set comes from the factory for a sender that ranges from 240 to 33 ohms. I sent the quad gauge back to New Vintage, awesome customer service by the way, and had them put in a different fuel gauge compatible with a sender that ranges from 0 to 90 ohms, for a fee of course. I figured I would rather do that and use the fuel sending / pump unit in my S10 tank than monkey around with cutting a hole in my tank and installing a 240 to 33 ohm sender.

And for the tach, I had to have one of these Bosch tach’s when I saw they were making reproductions of the old half sweep Sun tach…I think it will fit well with the interior of the truck. I don’t know if I’m digging the green light of it though, I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.

For reference, the New Vintage gauges are a little brighter than they seem in the pic.

[99 to Life]

looks good, wish they'd just make them "look" stock. That way I don't have to do anymore conversions!!! I don't like the fonts or needles on most gauges. then you add the lighting. jeeesh so many options. I think the green will grow on you.

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

looks good, wish they'd just make them "look" stock. That way I don't have to do anymore conversions!!! I don't like the fonts or needles on most gauges. then you add the lighting. jeeesh so many options. I think the green will grow on you.

How did you go about converting your gauges?

I think the New Vintage is about as "Vintage" looking as they come, other than the originals. Classic Instruments makes some nice gauges but they still don't look much like the original, if that's what you're looking for.

I've never messed around with aftermarket gauges before but the New Vintage gauges are nice. They come with OEM grade pigtails that connect to the back of the units.

My only gripe is the 140 mph speedometer. They used to make it in 120 mph which I would prefer. It's funny how they put the top speed on the speedometer much higher that what you realistically need. The most ridiculous one I've seen is on my wife's Honda Odyssey which has a top speed of 160 mph!

[99 to Life]

The conversion I did was autometer conversion. I'm using nv3500 manual trans with electric sending. I had to program the speedo. Speedo was 140$ plus my time in figuring it out. The tach was just a cheap sunpro, works great. It is rarely rarely ever done this way, but man I just love the stock look. The speedo would light up green in the trip meter section. I didn't mind it. I also had to drill a hole through the glass for the reseter button. I have video of them in action on youtube.

[joedoh]

man that looks good henry, I had forgotten. way to take the time!

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by joedoh

man that looks good henry, i had forgotten. Way to take the time!

+1

[jkeating1]

A company called Con2r (pronounced Contour) displayed a set of gauges at SEMA that look like a pretty fair compromise between original and current needs

[84blaze]

Originally Posted by jkeating1

A company called Con2r (pronounced Contour) displayed a set of gauges at SEMA that look like a pretty fair compromise between original and current needs

I'm liking the look of those! $1095 for the set!

[joedoh]

beautiful! not to clog up husseys thread but if they make them plug in to a factory s10 setup (sounds like they do) I am a buyer.

[HUSSEY]

^^^^^

No problem, I guess I kinda of opened up that topic for discussion.

Anyways, to change the subject...I got my steering wheel installed. I picked up this silver metal flake wheel from Moon Eyes. It's 15 in. which is just a tad smaller than the S10 wheel. Horn is all hooked up too.

[99 to Life]

nice progress on the truck. Good tip on the contour gauges. they look great but 1k, not thanks, I'll do a conversion. Unless I get some customer that doesn't care about money. Those things look great and are the best I'v seen so far.

[HUSSEY]

So a week or so back I was able to get my truck out of the garage, fired up, coolant system bled, and took it around the block a couple of times. After a couple laps around the block it started to run warm, about 235° F. It would never get any hotter but I figured something had to be wrong. At idle it would never overheat and the fan would kick on/off and keep it around 190° F. I did a block test on it and sure enough, combustion gas in the coolant. Wanting to be able to put it back together over the Thanksgiving holiday, I took part of today off, got the heads pulled, and was able to make to Noland’s cylinder head shop in KC before closing. They’ll manga flux them, check them out, and surface them. Hopefully I will be able to pick them up next Wednesday.

[DeanTX]

Well that stinks to have it just about done and find engine problems. Guess that's just hotrodding. Hope they identify the problem and you get it back together quick.

[HUSSEY]

I think I was asking for it buying a motor out of Pick N Pull for $85. Everything else internal to the motor looked nice and clean. Hopefully there won't be any issues with the heads and a fresh set of head gaskets will be all it needs.

[joedoh]

that sucks! hope its a fast fix.

[Advanced Design]

That is a bummer about the heads. Now the head gasket leak tool is pretty cool. Tool looks new with made in Germany on it yet the box looks old. And I don't remember ever seeing one.

[Robert Andrew]

I noticed that your frame, dash and floor pan was very clean. Did you sand blast the interior of your cab before you started work on it?

Great work, and awesome documentation. I'd bet you are a real valuable asset at Black and Veatch! Your engineering background comes through very clearly. If you ever decide to change careers, I know a lot of manufacturers that are in desperate need of assembly manual illustrators..................

Thanks for your great contribution!

[99 to Life]

that blows, but hey maybe it is just a simple headgasket deal and you're done. coool tool indeed.

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That is a bummer about the heads. Now the head gasket leak tool is pretty cool. Tool looks new with made in Germany on it yet the box looks old. And I don't remember ever seeing one.

Tool is just as old as the box. A must have for a mechanic though you probably only use it a few times a year thus the reason it's not beat up while the box rattles around inside my tool box.

Originally Posted by Robert Andrew

I noticed that your frame, dash and floor pan was very clean. Did you sand blast the interior of your cab before you started work on it? Thanks for your great contribution!

Thank you. I stripped the dash down and shot it with a can of Rustoleum. As for the floor, I just went to town with a wire wheel on my grinder. I then brushed on a coat of Ospho for some short turn protection. I would like to paint the entire inside of the cab one day. Wish I had more motivation and did it all with quality two-part paint before putting it together, but then again, I probably wouldn’t be driving it for another year.

I had seen you post in another thread about you "getting yours on the road soon"? What do you have? Next spring I'll likely hit the cruise night at Johnny Rays, might see you there some time.

[Robert Andrew]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

Tool is just as old as the box. A must have for a mechanic though you probably only use it a few times a year thus the reason it's not beat up while the box rattles around inside my tool box.



Thank you. I stripped the dash down and shot it with a can of Rustoleum. As for the floor, I just went to town with a wire wheel on my grinder. I then brushed on a coat of Ospho for some short turn protection. I would like to paint the entire inside of the cab one day. Wish I had more motivation and did it all with quality two-part paint before putting it together, but then again, I probably wouldn’t be driving it for another year.

I had seen you post in another thread about you "getting yours on the road soon"? What do you have? Next spring I'll likely hit the cruise night at Johnny Rays, might see you there some time.

Thanks for the response Hussey. I have a 51 AD on an S10 chassis, Ramjet 350 and a 200 4R transmission. I was lucky to find a body that didn't even need the cab corners replaced. Thanks Giving weekend I plan to dismantle it, move the motor mounts and transmision crossmember back, center the rearend, and send the chassis, rearend, fenders,, and cab to the sandblaster. My concept is the have the chassis, engine compartment, and interior look like brand new, and leave the patina on the body. I would like to add a 56/57 dash, like one of the other guys installed, if I can find one and have enough energy left to do it. If not, I have a plan to add a double DIN stereo in the center of my dash, AC vents on each side of the stereo, Autometer 5" tach and speedo, 2 5/8" Autometer gauge panel under the dash, and extend the top of the dash, similar to a 54 dash, but another inch or so, to give it a more modern appearance, possibly adding a leather overlay to the top portion, where I extend it. Astro van second seat, recovered in dark saddle leather. Other than that, pretty basic stuff. I really, really appreciate the build posts you and several other guys have been so descriptive with. There is some great talent out there that saves those that follow in their footsteps hundreds of hours.