Scott's 1972 Chevy K-20. A place to start.

[OARNGESI]

That truck is looking really good

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Scott, it looks really nice! Congrats man!

Originally Posted by OARNGESI

That truck is looking really good

Thanks Guys! Hopefully the rubber-bits will arrive on Thursday so I'll be able to spend some time in the garage this coming weekend to start getting the windows back in and the cab put back together.

Although, I've got to say, my summer is kinda like a lot of your winters, in that the garage is too uncomfortable to work on during that time. Considering that it's 100 by 9:00AM, I'm going to have to wake up early to get anything done.

[ryanroo]

looks great!

the phoenix summers are intense. i feel like phoenix is the secret test ground for the habitation of venus. the people who are willingly housed there through the summer months will be the ones they ask to volunteer.

at least the paint should final cure in 30-40 minutes.

[1985-GMC]

Wow it looks great, awesome job!

[gerfunken]

Before & After (for fun)

2006


2009


2013


2015

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice transformation!

[gerfunken]

So, I got some good garage therapy in this weekend. One of the things that I've been struggling with was the seats.

When I got the donor vehicle, I'd opted to use the Dodge's seat in my truck, but run into a couple of issues of how it fit in the truck. I had a difficult time getting the seat to have the right pitch on the bottom, the middle seat sat to far back and the top wouldn't open all the way, and I hated the high-back bucket seats.





After watching Craig's list for a while I had finally stumbled across a buddy bucket, but the seats and cushions were absolute toast. They were on plywood bases and were permanently mounted without any ability to move.



So, this weekend was spent trying to get the best of both worlds. I ended up taking the passenger seat down to the frame, and found that the headrest could easily be cut off. I was able to save the seat slides from the dodge, and after a couple of runs with it, I was able to make them work.

The first go-around with this left the driver's seat about 2" off-center from the steering wheel, which wasn't quite pleasant to drive. So, pulling the assembly in and out of the truck about 4-5 times, I finally got it to fit. I also left the driver's seat alone for the time being.







And in the truck:



I also got my tail-gate back from the painters and installed. Picked up a new rear window and got that installed. I was also able to start wiring back up in the cab (speaker wires, cab light, fog lights, head lights.)

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on your seats and keep at it!

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work on your seats and keep at it!

Thanks... I'm trying to keep at it, but the garage has been unbearable hot, and even with two fans pushing the air around I have a difficult time pushing it past 2 in the afternoon...

[ryanroo]

That's what they call a connection oven! Looking good Scott

[gerfunken]

Slowly starting to see the finish line...

Got the truck back from the upholsterer on Saturday afternoon. He'd had it for a couple of weeks, but I'm really happy with the results:

Starting from here. These are the Dodge seats that I'd pulled out of the '94. After sitting in them for a while, I really wanted to ditch the high-back bucket seats and go with the low-back. After stripping down the passenger side all the way, I found that there was a single hoop that made up the head rest, and it only took cutting 4 tack welds to convert the seats.

I also fought with getting the seats set up properly. The original mount had it up higher than I liked, and also the seat sat about 2 inches off-center of the steering wheel. I ended up having to fab up some brackets on the buddy-bucket frame to get the seats as low as I could, and re-centered the seat on the steering wheel.




The other challenge was going with something that worked with the wood grains that I built for the door cards.



I think that the final result came out really well. Black leather around the sides of the seats, matching the shift boots. Red/Brown carpet and seat upholstery to match the wood grain.

Couple of different pictures, in different lights...









Now, to get the AC hooked back up...

And the door glass in...

and the stereo hooked up...

and finish/redo the bed liner...

and get the passenger side mirror on...

and drive the beejeezus out of it.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on the seats! They turned out nice! There's never ever nothing to do when finishing a project it seems.

[ryanroo]

a nice inviting seat. looks comfy

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by gerfunken

Slowly starting to see the finish line...

Now, to get the AC hooked back up...

And the door glass in...

and the stereo hooked up...

and finish/redo the bed liner...

and get the passenger side mirror on...

and drive the beejeezus out of it.

Well, no pictures again this weekend....

But, updates:
The passenger door glass is all in with all new weatherstripping. Unfortunately, the driver's side is on back-order, and I'm not sure when it'll come in.

But, I did get the A/C working, so I can drive it around. Granted, it's been sitting long enough that the tires are no longer round. Between that, and the fact that they're about 13 years old, I figured that it was time to get them replaced anyhow. I also had a couple good sized chunks that were missing from some adventures. Ran into a problem there in that they didn't have the BFG Mud Terrain's in the size I wanted, so they're coming in from Texas this week.

The stereo is all hooked up now. Since the PO had already cut the doors for 6x9" speakers.... well, enough stated on that one.

It seems to be going forward, but I feel that I'm just working with parts as they trickle in...

[gerfunken]

I guess that it is time for an update...

I was able to get a couple of things further checked off of the list. It ended up with new shoes a couple of weeks ago, went with the BFG Mud Terrain KM/2's all around. After contemplating for a while about it, I ended up staying with the 315/75r16 instead of moving up to the 345/75r16. I've had good luck with that tire size and really didn't want to risk any chance of scrubbing the front fenders under flex. I've got about 150 miles on these so far, and the tire noise isn't discernible above the engine noise, so I call that a win.



Last weekend I was able to take it out for a little bit of 4x4 action, but my wife and I were having so much fun playing around we forgot to take pictures. Sorry, but hopefully I'll be able to get some this weekend.

The other big news was that the driver's wind wing came in on Tuesday, so I was able to get that in, and the last of the interior in place.









And a few interior shots. Still frustrated that I've got paint drips on the steering wheel from the painters, but I'll get those out this weekend and straighten up the wheel so it sits properly.





I've got a couple of loose ends that I'll be tying up over the next couple of weeks, waiting for a couple of smaller parts that I ordered this week to come in. You know, little things, a couple of missing bolts from the inner fender well, can't find a couple of the screws for mounting the wind-wing, still need to get the passenger mirror mounted... but it's a driver.

I did drive it to work yesterday.. 80 miles round trip, mostly freeway driving, and it did great. No odd noises, no driveline vibrations, no wheel bounce.. it's a very easy truck to drive right now, and I really love it.

See you on the roads & trails...

[gerfunken]

So, I had the opportunity to really stretch the truck's legs this weekend. Having a turkey tag up north, I decided that it was a great opportunity to really see how the truck would perform. While I've driven it around town for a bit, I really haven't had a trip of this magnitude.

All told, I put over 625 miles on the truck this weekend, driving from 1200 ft. in elevation up to over 7000. From Phoenix up to Flagstaff, and hunting up north of Williams, up in the Kaibab forest. I had about 75 miles of the drive with the wheels off of the pavement on the dirt.

During that time I've averaged over 15mpg, and easily have a range of over 450 miles.

The truck, well, she handled like a dream, on road and off.

The turkey, well, they didn't want to reveal themselves to us, but that's probably due to a number of factors, but mainly because of the number of people that were out in the forrest this weekend.... or at least that's my excuse.

Now for the pictures:

Arriving in Flagstaff


Arizona Copper Sky


Random shots











And crappy traffic on the way home.

[Dieselwrencher]

Scott, the truck looks really nice! I'm so happy for you that you are finally getting to use the truck for what you built it for. Congrats! That's a bad deal about the turkey. Those birds seem to be there or no where.

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Scott, the truck looks really nice! I'm so happy for you that you are finally getting to use the truck for what you built it for. Congrats! That's a bad deal about the turkey. Those birds seem to be there or no where.

Thanks man, I'm happy driving it around again. The turkey, well, we'll give those another try this coming spring....

Anyway, the truck celebrated a little bit of a birthday this weekend... The picture is a little but fuzzy, but it turned 98,000 miles..



-and yes, I know that the temperature gauge is broken....

[Dieselwrencher]

98k, she's a one of a kind survivor.

[ryanroo]

Very cool! its nice to see it getting used!

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

98k, she's a one of a kind survivor.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

Very cool! its nice to see it getting used!

Thanks guys. Waiting to see yours on the road soon....

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by gerfunken

Thanks guys. Waiting to see yours on the road soon....

I'm working on it. It wants more of that elusive green stuff.

[gerfunken]

Well, it's been a while since I've checked in. I've been driving it off and on, and in the last 10 months, I've put about 1500 miles on it. The only complaint that I've got right now is that my blower on the AC is misbehaving and that I need to oil it up. Driving it around when it's 100+ outside doesn't make for much fun. Anyway, it's been about 9 months, so I figured that it was time to wash it. (hey, it's a truck, washing doesn't happen all that often...)

So, for your enjoyment, some after the yearly cleaning shots...












Hope that this summer finds you all well.

To those of you in the northern part of the country, here's to the progress you can make on nice days.

To those of you in the southern part, stay hydrated.

[Dieselwrencher]

It's still looking great Scott! How's the A been treating you? It's been in the high 90s here already and low 90s this week. It is going to be a hot summer if it continues.

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

It's still looking great Scott! How's the A been treating you? It's been in the high 90s here already and low 90s this week. It is going to be a hot summer if it continues.

Thanks Ryan.

Much like you, my hands have been full of projects. The '29 Model-A has been good, although it's developed a pin-hole in the fuel tank that's causing me paint problems in warmer weather. Other than that it's been good.

Then, I ended up stumbling across a '75 Triumph TR-6 that I played with for a year. It had sat in a garage for 8 years. I originally picked it up for my daughter but her interest in it went away, and she didn't want to drive it in the AZ summer, so I just got it out of my garage last month.

Then, low and behold, I stumbled across a '30 Model-A that I actually pulled in to my garage on the same day that the '75 Triumph was pulled out of it.

My wife tells me that I've got an addiction..... I'll see if I can get some pictures posted later today.