Lurker OrrieG Progress Pics

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by Tri5Nerd

The 4" height is enough for the biggest amps out there, you don't mind if I steal your idea for the amp?

Tri5

Hey, it's not stealing in my mind, just passing on information, that's what this board is all about. It certainly is not a unique idea, I've seen them tucked under the seats in 60's cars too.

[bartsim]

It looks like the paint turned out great. I would like to get my cab back on the frame soon. I need the room. It seems like I spend a lot of time moving pieces from place to place...just to make room for the current project at hand.

[OrrieG]

Went to the big box fabric store. Wife had been there twice and the auto stuff they had way too light of grey. I went looking for alternative, while wandering around found a rack of odd end stuff. Found just the grey I needed, it the amount I needed. Expected to pay a lot for it when it was said and done with mill end discount, 50% off and another discount walked out with 48" x 54" for $3.84. Enough to do behind the cab and corners, front kick panels and maybe some for a transfer case shift boot. The "real" stuff to match my seats was $175 for a hide, this is close enough and will be hidden in the shadows so it will do. Got the frame started for the back panel then the band saw blade started jumping off the wheels. Was cold and hungery so called it a day, no pics, will post when the back is ready. Also found out that for some reason 1/4" x 2' x 4' oak panel was less and nicer than the fir plywood. So far I have less than $15 in my back panels.

[bajabob]

Orrie
Not sure how you do it up there in the really cold north west.... Raining and chilly here all day... wha wha... Looks like she is coming along nicely... like the color of the paint as well.

[OrrieG]

Wood stove gets the inside temp up to 45-50 which is manageable when it is below 25 outside. Obviously can't do any body work, fiberglas, painting, etc at that temp. I have space in a commercial building that I can use for short term stuff (like applying upholtery fabric) that does not have long term odors. Can't paint there, its an office, but am thinking I might even do some fiberglas work in one of the restrooms with a good fan. Also going to use it to layout and organize the wiring.

[1lo67]

Looking good...i think that color goes well with these old trucks.

[bjcaldwe]

I see some ideas I will have to borrow. Nice work.

[OrrieG]

More progress on the interior. The back frame is deceptively simple looking, but took hours to fab. The cab back curves inward and slopes slightly top to bottom. The bottom of the window frame has a slight tilt, it's not parallel with the floor. And there is the cab mount bracing to deal with. Here is photo of the back frame installed and a shot of the back side showing the fine tuning to fit. The blocking is for gun racks or storage bins I'm going to add later. Decided to just keep the back simple instead of trying to fab and fiberglas compartments.

Frame is screwed to floor and upper inside flange with #10 Tek screws. They have a built in drill so you do not have to predrill and try and find your holes. I have used them to hold wood studs to 1/4" steel columns (need a 1/2" drill motor to drive those!) I decided to hold off on finishing the speaker enclosures until I get the ones I want. Found there is too much variance among 6x9's in size and depth.

Also insulated the back of the cab and corners, feels like progress. Used 3M super77 to stick it in place. Insulation is the foil air pocket stuff from big box home store. Should help with sound dampening and keep the cab cooler. Make sure you mask off anything you do not want the adhesive on. I have used it for years at work and found it is next to impossible to get off of anything. Definately do not want to breath it.

[Russell Ashley]

Water would obviously be OK for a heater core, but DON'T put any water in the a/c evaporator.

[OrrieG]

Thanks. both cores are sealed in the VA case so I can't do a visual on them. I assumed about 20# air pressure with a leak down fitting would work but I can also rig it up for water and apply pressure to simulate the radiator pressure and see if it goes anywhere.

Did not plan on putting anything thru the ac core, reading on line even running ac cleaner thru them can sometimes cause problems. I do have a vaccum pump I could hook up but need to figure out a check valve set up. If all goes well will give it the bench test this weekend.

[OrrieG]

Odds and ends day. Checked out the trans temp gauge, its ok, painted the bezel to match the dash. Routed the temp line. Got stuff for the center A/C grille. Slight modification to the brake pedal hole it move a little and was rubbing on the pedal shaft. Installed the VA defrost vents. If you are using VA install the hoses on the vents before installing them, the manual says to do it later, looks to me like it would be a challenge, I had to work pretty hard getting the hoses on working on the bench. Modified the stock heater control with the VA supplied switch, etc. Need to go round up some nylon cable end spacers I forgot to ask for and don't want to pay the minimum $15 shipping and handling fee to get them here. AT least its warmed up, stove got the shop to a toasty 60 degrees.

[OrrieG]

Afternoon was spent working on the a/c. Bench chased the wiring, its all there (this is a used VA unit). Trial fit the cables and found that one bracket was missing and another was installed backwards because the PO had an aftermarket control instead of the factory Deluxe setup. Lots of trial fitting, cutting, welding to get them to work in the tight space between the top of the unit and dash.. Still scratching my head about the ac hose runs. Tomorrow I'm going to bench test the electrics to make sure all the micro switches and fan works ok.

[renegade6]

I know your pain. I had a really hard time installing the AC hoses in mine. I ended up having to purchase some 180 degree fittings and extra 90 degree fittings.

[Kim57]

That looks real good.
Kim

[1985-GMC]

That looks nice! It was a van column right?

[OrrieG]

1982 Caddy Eldorado.

[1985-GMC]

OK cool.

[bjcaldwe]

That turned out really nice.

[Kim57]

Looking good Orrie.
Kim

[Law_Man]

It is looking awesome

[sgtusmc]

Ya know Patrick, The more time I spend on your build page. The more I wish my 59 was 4x4. Keep up the great work.

[OrrieG]

When you finish the wife's truck, you can do another project! I have toyed with the idea of doing a slammed 59 in the same color scheme, think it would be cool to drive the two extremes and show them side by side. Here is some inspiration I came across last night. At first I thought it was photoshopped but the web page shows details and it is not:

http://www.off-roadweb.com/features/.../photo_15.html

[sgtusmc]

Yeah, that would be cool to have a pair at both extremes. My cousin showed me some crappy cell phone pics of this truck while they were riding their quads out at the dunes. It was parked in a parking lot. I didn't think to much of it, as the cell pics weren't very good. That is a VERY nice truck. I don't think it's a trailer queen

[OrrieG]

Lowered the column 5/8" and started the cover mock up. Here are some photos. The top section will be separate from the bottom. Used 4" pvc thin wall pipe, cut and heated it with my paint remover gun to straighten the sides. Borrowed the wifes hot glue gun to hold the pieces temporarily in place, odd I never thought of that before. After I lowered the column I could see the left side below the dash, so gauges are going to go back on that side aligned with the column cover.

[nuke1]

looking good!!!!