Project truck dream 65"

[lenguini]

A Friday to remember,my new intake showed up.Air gap Performer with Endurashine...easy to keep clean and pennies more than a black powdercoated one...not so easy to keep clean.Not such a tough decision is it !

Kraft dinner again until next paycheck.

[lenguini]

Installed the hardlines today from the a/c condenser to the bulkhead at the Rad support.

The lines tucked in nicely behind the grill as planned,the #8 line looks great with nice flowing bends however the #6 line may have to be redone as it has a rather tight bend off the condenser fitting and the bends are a little ugly.

I have heard from a/c people tight bends could be a potential freeze point if the flow is not 100%.You can see this in the last 2 pics where the condenser fitting meets the hardline .Any opinions on this bend will be appreciated.

[McMurphy]

Man this is really looking good!
The two people that leap to mind when it comes to bending lines is Markb and whomever does them for Dino...
Maybe one of them will chime in on this for you.
Me personally I would whack it out of there, and redo it. Sometimes my second or third try comes out far better than expected, regardless of what a PITA it is do something over....

Not sure if this is helpful, but it is a comment

[lenguini]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Man this is really looking good!
The two people that leap to mind when it comes to bending lines is Markb and whomever does them for Dino...
Maybe one of them will chime in on this for you.
Me personally I would whack it out of there, and redo it. Sometimes my second or third try comes out far better than expected, regardless of what a PITA it is do something over....

Not sure if this is helpful, but it is a comment

Thanks Michael,I'm feeling that It should be redone as well.I didn't post better pics of that particular line as it looks pretty bad.Even though its well hidden,its gonna bug me.

[Jeff La]

Originally Posted by lenguini

Thanks Michael,I'm feeling that It should be redone as well.I didn't post better pics of that particular line as it looks pretty bad.Even though its well hidden,its gonna bug me.

I take a pair of vice grips and squeeze it on the side a little at a time and it will open back up and not affect the bend.

[lenguini]

My hood came off this morn.Welding in a panel to accept the new hood release mechanism. Figured I post a before shot of the original front brace setup less the old hand release assembly.

Its not the best pic I could have taken of my hood underside,so I found another on the internet that shows all the brace holes much better.

So all holes(there are many) in the front rear and center hood braces are being welded and smoothed as well.

[Mack B]

This may be difficult to explain with words, but if you take a crescent wrench and adjust it to the diameter of the hard line, then work it up and down around that bend, you may be able to open the flat spot back up. It still won't be pretty, but it shouldn't cause a restriction. Very nice project! Your doing some outstanding work!
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[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Mack B

This may be difficult to explain with words, but if you take a crescent wrench and adjust it to the diameter of the hard line, then work it up and down around that bend, you may be able to open the flat spot back up. It still won't be pretty, but it shouldn't cause a restriction. Very nice project! Your doing some outstanding work!
Posted via Mobile Device

I would love to see a video on how to do that !!

[lenguini]

Around 1:00 this afternoon my bud Kevin showed and we started on my invisible trailer hitch setup.

Alot of thought went into this as I'm building a fill panel between the box and bumper which will also support my new licence plate mount.I also wanted the hitch to be part of the bumper mount and not be seen from behind.Everything is tucked up neatly behind the bumper.

If all our calculations are correct,anyone who rearend's me over 5 mph will turn his/her car into an accordion ! See example pic !

Everything is tacked into its final position less the tubing for the ball assembly,back up to Kevin's shop for finish welding.Some trimming on the side mounts...and then off for paint.

The unit will now safely pull 4000lbs.

[BOXER957]

Fantastic job as you already know! Love the gas filler! As far as the wood goes I'm not sure how it will look on oak but I used to put Linseed oil on any and all woodwork on boats. The wood is always teak so has a reddish/brown look to it but they are in the ocean exposed to salt spray daily and the stuff is AWSOME. I'm contemplating using teak for my floor when the time comes....all depends on how the rest of the truck turns out.... my cab is about as bad as yours was so it does give me hope. Can I interest your bodyman/welder in an all expense paid working vacation to Cape Cod Ma. ohhh for a month or two? Seriously, Great Job! Rock on and I'll stay tuned

[BOXER957]

Also wanted to ask you how do you fit? I'm 6'4" and it's tight, I saw somewhere something about raising the seat height?

[lenguini]

Originally Posted by BOXER957

Also wanted to ask you how do you fit? I'm 6'4" and it's tight, I saw somewhere something about raising the seat height?

Ill mention the offer to my bodyman...you never know !

Yes,raising the seat height 2 inches with the Silverado seats made all the difference for room.I still have a couple inches of head room and am able to stretch my legs out to the firewall.You may want to consider mounting after market pedals as I did.

The original plan was to re-engineer the firewall and move it out into the engine bay 3 inches which would have been a real p.i.t.a.,so I opted for this.

Cheers,
Ed.

[BOXER957]

Originally Posted by lenguini

Ill mention the offer to my bodyman...you never know !

Yes,raising the seat height 2 inches with the Silverado seats made all the difference for room.I still have a couple inches of head room and am able to stretch my legs out to the firewall.You may want to consider mounting after market pedals as I did.

The original plan was to re-engineer the firewall and move it out into the engine bay 3 inches which would have been a real p.i.t.a.,so I opted for this.

Cheers,
Ed.

I was considering the same thing (extending the firewall) Glad to know raising the seat worked, that is a little...easier. What did you use for pedals? I saw where you said you had relocated them but you didn't give a lot of detail or pics. Thanks BTW how do I link my build thread to my messages? Any clue?

[lenguini]

Originally Posted by BOXER957

I was considering the same thing (extending the firewall) Glad to know raising the seat worked, that is a little...easier. What did you use for pedals? I saw where you said you had relocated them but you didn't give a lot of detail or pics. Thanks BTW how do I link my build thread to my messages? Any clue?

The pedals were Big Al's,.I mounted the Gas pedal in the v of the steering column hole you will have to build a block to space it out enough so it wont interfere with the bulge in the steel around the column.I also bent the brake arm to the right for a more comfortable location.

I'm not to sure on how to do the link to messages,you can contact the forum and they can help you with this.

Cheers,
Ed.

[lenguini]

I ordered my serpentine system Friday morn from Nick at Prolific Designs.Nick worked with me on my one off design for the main engine plate along with my many other concerns and questions I had.

A special thanks Nick !

I looked at many systems and really wanted one that had a belt tensioner incorporated in with it,that was it's a simple belt change with no guess work adjusting it up.I chose this system as it mounts off the water pump so it's nice and simple.

I cant wait to get it !

Yesterday and today being Sunday and I routed my hood release cable through holes I drilled up and under the upper rad support flange. This was a real trial getting the holes made,but well worth it in the end.
So I temporarily hooked up the cable after making a post and slightly modifying the release,that will be welded tomorrow.

I tested it and it worked great.Now the idea of the post is to bring the cable up high enough into the rad support body so that its completely hidden.

After the rad support is painted,I will put rubber grommets in the holes as some electrical will be routed through here as well which will explain the oversize holes.

I just noticed in the top pic what appeared to be the coating on the cable shaved off(I just ran out to the shop to check )....,was only excess primer I spotted over the new holes.Thank God ! That would have peed me off !!

[lenguini]

I ordered my valve covers/breathers and wire looms earlier today. Aluminum Polished 4 1/4 tall finned,matching looms for that old school look. I'm finally getting some closure on engine parts I have been trying to decide on for a year now...,its amazing how many hours I have spent.(wasted)on this stuff

I'm currently trying to decide on a brand of an H.E.I. distributor with an integral coil.I was going to go with the Mini style but that means an external coil...,no thanks.It has been proven that an external does not perform as well and will hang off the firewall or cover up the new endurashine intake,so I guess that's a no brainer !

Mid day,I ordered my transmission crossmember.I found the one that will work best for my Truck on Alan's build.

Thanks Alan,I always appreciate your help !

Spent some time in the shop tonight bolting the hood mech back into place.I had the post welded yesterday morn and a hook tab welded today(this morning on the way to work)that I made last night for a return spring for the cable pull.I think that made sense ?

[lenguini]

Valve covers,wire looms and their vortec mounts showed up today ! I'm really happy with the product,there are a few on the market so you never know for sure until you receive them.

I'm thinking about powdercoating in between the fins on both covers and looms in a semi-gloss black.

Should have the hood finished by the weekend,so once more bolt it in place and fab up a safety latch in case the claw ever fails.

Ill post some pic's of it soon.

[BOXER957]

Always liked the old time finned valve covers. Looks nice, will look even better on the motor!

[lenguini]

Originally Posted by BOXER957

Always liked the old time finned valve covers. Looks nice, will look even better on the motor!

I looked at many and these seemed to catch my eye.I was thinking of matching endurashine covers to my intake,but they were shorter at 3 1/2 and a concern with roller rocker clearance.

Guess its time to look at an air cleaner...,round or oval with a tall filter.

[BOXER957]

I'm thinking of changing mine out, I found tall finned covers and a caddy style cleaner that's finned down the center......just gotta remember where I saw them....The set together looked sweet.

[lenguini]

The hood is now complete.The center of the hood has been reworked and smoothed.I'm trying to retain some of the original look and just clean it up now that the original hood release is no longer present.

[lenguini]

All of the factory holes in the front and rear brace have been welded and smoothed.This is going to make a big difference when its sprayed ! Looks a'lot cleaner,well worth the time and effort.

The new hood release pin mount has been boxed and smoothed.There was the option of cutting out the entire area and reforming it,but once again to keep the brace semi original is a much cooler look in my opinion.

[BOXER957]

Very nice

[lenguini]

Originally Posted by BOXER957

Very nice

Thanks,I appreciate it.Tonight I'm working out a design for a secondary safety latch system in the event the new latch should ever fail.Its never any fun when the hood springs open doing 80mph !

There should be enough room at the front or side of the latch pin box to mount it.

[lenguini]

Here's some pics of the rad support covers mounted back in place.The passenger side originally had a small cutaway for the rad overflow hose.

Because I wanted the covers to match both sides,the passenger side was reworked with a piece welded in along with the factory bead straitened.

The rad overflow now runs to the overflow tank.