Harold's '48 S10 LS1 Build

[reaper71]

99 I'm pretty confidant if you use the Upol Fiberall you won't use anything else!

Mark

[99 to Life]

I'll keep that in mind, thanks

[Tikal48]

I received my front and rear bumpers with brackets. I purchased the '55 1st series rear bumper with the license plate clearance. I will have to bend the rear brackets, as they are approximately 20° off parallel with the frame. The front brackets are pretty close. I was thinking of tucking the rear bumper a little closer to the bed than original.

[Tikal48]

I also received my rims. I found these with the holes that I liked, and I thought would add to the theme. These were only available in a 4.5" width in the 16", so I had to go with a 15". The 15" x 10" were only $103 each. Unfortunately there are not a lot of choices for tires for the 15" x 10"s.

I'm still debating on the stance. I'm considering lowering the front a little. Opinions?

[OutlawDrifter]

The front looks like it could come down and tuck a little more tire. I like the wheel choice, fits nicely.

[joedoh]

if your springs are new, drive it a bit, new coils always settle after a few hundred miles!

[Flysocal]

Since you ask I say lower the front 2" but stance and ride height are subjective. Looking great!

[99 to Life]

bumper looks nice. I'd do drop spindles and blocks.

[Tikal48]

Thanks all for the comments! I was thinking of a 2" drop on the front end, and leaving the back end as it sits. It was already a pain to get the truck high enough to get the rear tires in the fenders. I could only imagine of trying to change a tire on the side of the road.

I'll fit the bumpers and decide where to go from there. Not like I have a master plan. This has been a design as I go type project.

[mongocanfly]

"This has been a design as I go type project."
Arnt they all...

[Tikal48]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

"This has been a design as I go type project."
Arnt they all...

Hahaha! I guess that's true! I originally imagined just a simple restoration, staying closer to the original. But I guess the more that did, the more I thought about doing. It has sort of taken on a life of its own. It's definitely been a fun ride building it, I'm just ready to start driving it.

[Tikal48]

I'm still wallowing in this rabbit hole. With all of the rain lately, maybe I should be working on a boat.

I've started making my lap joints on the side pieces, and on my access panels. I embedded some steel pieces in the corners of the access panel door, and Neodymium magnets on the mating lap joint. Since this will be behind the seat, I figured that this would be easy to remove and replace. These magnets do hold extremely well.

I just need to finish the lap joints on the front part of the console, and to finish the hours of body work and block sanding.

[oldman3]

Looking good...Jim

[Tikal48]

Well for the past month, if it is not raining on the weekends, I have other things going on. Working on the truck during the week is a bust with all that is going on at work. I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked so far this summer.

I did get the lip around the front part of the console, where I could tie in the rest of the sections under the dash. I'm down to making a lip around the bottom of the console to hold the carpet, and then I can start doing all of the final shaping and priming of the console.

I also filled the seams in the inner skin beside the back window. I think that this looks a bit cleaner.

[99 to Life]

yeah around my parts the only good time of year really is Fall to work on trucks. summer is always too hot or muggy and or busy, spring is hit or miss snow and rain. winter is just annoying. you got alot on your plate there with all the custom touches. that stuff just eats up time so much. but an hour here and there will cut into it. I like to be motivated and focused to say, ok I'm goin to work on the truck for about 5 hrs. thats a good work day for me. Do you log your hours on this?

[Tikal48]

It's been a while since I had anything to post. Unbelievably wet summer here. When the sun was shining, I had to work or had family events.

I have finally reached my stopping point on the center console for now. This wound up being a major time hog, and I hate to think of how much time I have tied up in this piece. I only have the first primer coat applied, but I see many areas that I need to go back and touch up. I am happy with the shape and look.

I believe that it is time to go back on the door gaps. I've kicked that can far enough down the road.

[Advanced Design]

Nice work, that looks awesome!

[oldman3]

Looks real good...Jim

[OutlawDrifter]

That looks great!

[99 to Life]

looks great, rarely see this amount of work in the little things. congrats.

[8man]

That is some special fab work, both the metal and the fiberglass. Where did you learn it?

The truck is looking good!

[Flysocal]

The level of fabrication on this build is fantastic.

[rollenhard]

looking good

[Tikal48]

Thanks all for the encouraging words. I haven't been able to get much done this summer. The weather, work, and life didn't cooperate with my plans.

Since the last post, I've done a little more gap work on the passenger side door. That is all too time consuming. I'm down to the lower side front of the door.

I finally got a little time this weekend to get my front bumper brackets welded on. I will still have to add more braces once I pull the front sheet metal back apart. There is not much room between the bumper bracket and the sway bar brackets, and the bumper brackets extend past the sway bar mounts. I wanted to be able to easily remove the sway bar if needed, so I attached the brackets to the cross member that I had earlier added to the front of the frame. I will add more bracing just to the front of the sway bar brackets. This should allow me enough room to pull it if need be.

I tucked the bumper in close and have about 3/4" clearance to the fenders. I will add a piece of sheet metal under the grill to either fender to cover the gap that can be seen over the bumper. Making the piece even with the bottom of the fenders, I have about 3/8" clearance over the brackets.

[8man]

Life is what gets in the way of what we wanted to do. I understand that. The truck is looking good though. It'll wait for you while you take care of the other stuff. Remember it's a journey, not a race.