Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[57FleetsideC4]

Beautiful truck. Enjoy the finished product. Steve

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Beautiful truck, I've followed it from when you got it to now. I'd have been one of those people giving you a thumbs up if I had seen you. I like that garage floor, is it textured like it looks? I want to do something with my garage floor but worry that the steel wheels on my jacks would damage the finish.

Hi Russ and thanks you guys for the nice words.

The floor is made by Race Deck but doesn't cost as much. It's vented so snow melt drops through to not make a mess or cause slips/falls.

I used it because I read on Garage Journal that the solid tiles make a bit of noise when you walk on them but these do not. The fix for that is to put down landscaping fabric before laying the tile on top. These tiles support a floor jack fine it rolls easily and does not deform at all when I've jacked up vehicles on it.

BUT, if you drop a small screw or nut it's a PITA to find it. Also, it just lays on the floor (VERY easy to install alone by the way) and I periodically lift the front edge a bit and use my blower to clean out dust. I strongly recommend using the solid tiles OR vinyl composite tile like I originally planned.

Basically, I use the truck very little, too little. I don't feel comfortable parking in an ordinary lot or where I can't see it - too easy to steal.

It still needs carpet, headliner and maybe door panels. Windows are difficult to roll up/down - need work but I'm procrastinating to avoid scratching paint. I've got air shocks for the rear and haven't installed them. I intend to raise the front too about 1". Someone on GJ said "What are you doing, preserving it for a museum?" and she's right. I need to drive it a lot more.

[youngrodder]

Beautiful truck. I really like the color. I almost went with a similar color for my 48 truck (I later settles on green and black).

Yes, please get it out more. That's the best part of owning an old truck. Scratches and chips happen as part of being used but it beats just staring at it in the garage. A stone chip or scratch pails in comparison to the joy of sharing your truck with other car/truck enthusiasts.

Thanks
Marc

[87Lowrider]

Man, she's gorgeous.... I hope mine looks that good when it's done!

[G&R's57GMC]

Hi Dne’ glad to see ya , love the new place looks great . How did the Mustang fair in the flood ?
Fun project that Bronco .

[Denee007]

Good morning Glen! I can say that the Mustang is alive and doing well It was a total re-restoration(paint was Ok). I was able to put more upgrades in it(T5 trans, a used engine out of a '90 Mustang police car(HO engine), runs stupid fast now! Just a week ago I finally replaced the rack n pinion as it was rusted badly, bought a Unisteer and very pleased with it!!
Thank you for the compliment on my shop~ omg I love it!!
dne'


http://www.classiccarsandtools.com/2...rack-n-pinion/

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

Hi Dne’ glad to see ya , love the new place looks great . How did the Mustang fair in the flood ?
Fun project that Bronco .

[Rickysnickers]

I think you should post your Bronco project in the Alternate Tinkering area. so we can all see and appreciate it!

[Denee007]

Good idea!!

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

I think you should post your Bronco project in the Alternate Tinkering area. so we can all see and appreciate it!

[Russell Ashley]

Hi denee, good to see you back. I have wondered how you were doing now, as your last pics that I remember were showing your shop flooded with three or four feet of water. I hope you were able to recover from that without too much trouble and without a lot of money lost. I second the suggestion of starting a Bronco restoration thread in the alternate tinkering section. You probably already know about Dennis Carpenter as a source for Bronco parts.

[G&R's57GMC]

Hay Dne’ I third that and ad a link in you sig. to it.

Ok now back to You Dan ….

[Dan in Pasadena]

Really nice to hear from you, Denee. Glad you're doing well and I REALLy like what I can see of your new shop. I've bookmarked the link to your classic cars and tools site and will be going over it soon.

Thanks again for the kind words on my truck. Keep having fun out there and of course Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Dan

[oldman3]

Congrats Dan on Truck of the Year, well deseverd, beautiful ride...Jim

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Jim!

The nicest thing about winning is that owners of other old trucks; who know and appreciate these trucks, were the ones who voted. But honestly, any of the nominated trucks and dozens of other ones here could easily have won. Win, win, win!

[bosco]

Dan, Amazing truck. Congrats on TOTY. Well deserved. Now it's time to drive your baby. It's always a concern with chips and scratches, but I finally said let's just go and we'll deal with it in the future.

If you ever head south down 15 near Temescal Valley would enjoy cruising.

[G&R's57GMC]

Hi Dan ,

Now that you’ve had your truck on the road for a while tell us about your driving impressions .
But first list your spec’s , engine , trans , rear end ratio tire size .

Have you floored it from a dead stop ? If so what was the result ?

The reason I ask is so many here are building hot engines without regard to traction factored in .

In my humble opinion if you’re building a driver start with a stock 5.3 or 6.0 and you’ll be surprised at the performance . These engines came from vehicles that weigh 1500 to 3000 # more then these pick ups . That weight loss translates into h.p. and torque .

So Dan tell us about your experiences .

[Dan in Pasadena]

I don't think I have more than a couple hundred miles on my truck since I "finished" it - mechanically. I still haven't put the carpet nor headliner in it and haven't decided if I'll have upholstered door panels made.

All that said, yeah it's got plenty of power. I HAVE floored it from a dead stop and it doesnt spin the tires so the rearend ratio isn't as low (high numerically) as I had thought. But I'm fine with that. I didn't build it to be a stoplight to stoplight racer at all.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Nice warm day today so I took the old girl out to the grocery store. Ordinarily I would never do that but I hadn't driven her lately. There are only certain parking spots in this lot I'd be willing to use and one of them was available. If not I'd have driven her back home - it's only a couple miles. This spot is a diagonal next to a straight spot that leaves a lot of open space between so door dings aren't possible. Well, unless someone would do it intentionally - yeah, I'm a worrywart about her.

[bowt1ed]

Looks great sitting there Dan!

[youngrodder]

The best part is driving them. Don't stress yourself out. Enjoy it (as much as possible). I love running errands in the Ol' bomb.

Marc

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks guys.

When I mentioned I hardly ever drive her because I’m worried it’ll get scratched, door dinged or just stolen a lady on another forum I frequent replies, “What are you saving it for? To put in a museum?!”

She got me thinking and I’ve been trying to drive it more, enjoy it more and worry less. Still a hard sell vs. my nature but I’m trying.
Posted via Mobile Device

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Thanks guys.

When I mentioned I hardly ever drive her because I’m worried it’ll get scratched, door dinged or just stolen a lady on another forum I frequent replies, “What are you saving it for? To put in a museum?!”

She got me thinking and I’ve been trying to drive it more, enjoy it more and worry less. Still a hard sell vs. my nature but I’m trying.
Posted via Mobile Device

When I had my shinny (Green and Black 48) truck I drove it everywhere. People would often ask aren't you scared to scratch it. My response NOPE. I built it so I know what it would take to fix it and most importantly I would rather have my truck out and about with scratches and road rash than one that sits in a garage that you just admire. Driving and showing off your hard work is the best part.

Marc

[bosco]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Thanks guys.

When I mentioned I hardly ever drive her because I’m worried it’ll get scratched, door dinged or just stolen a lady on another forum I frequent replies, “What are you saving it for? To put in a museum?!”

She got me thinking and I’ve been trying to drive it more, enjoy it more and worry less. Still a hard sell vs. my nature but I’m trying.
Posted via Mobile Device

It's hard to take that first step (first ding/rock chip). Mine was a rock chip. Now I drive it when ever possible and will repair the paint down the road. Then start all over.

Next time I will look into a clear bra for the hood (that seems to take the most abuse from the road). A buddy of mine has a '71 VW bus all restored and did the clear bra and drives to shows every where (even drove to Lake Havasu) and not a mark on the front. It takes a pretty good beating. Anyone have any experience with these clear bras?

Enjoy your truck as much as you can. They are fun to drive.

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by bosco

Anyone have any experience with these clear bras?

Yes, but not on this truck. I had it on my Dodge R/T and my old Tacoma. In both cases, it was great and well worth the money.

[Denee007]

I say get a cold root beer, sit in the truck under a shade tree, turn the music up to the oldies and enjoy
dne'

[dsraven]

You just need to get the first door ding over with and realize that it's not the end of the world. You spent a lot of time building it so you should get initial and enjoy driving it, the looks you get doing that and the comments you get from people who can appreciate the work it takes to get a project to a finish like yours. Show it off and enjoy. It's why they make base clear, so you can fix and blend every once in a while as needed. Not saying park anywhere, we dont with our daily drivers, just saying stuff happens but it shouldn't make you scared to go out and enjoy.