1964 GMC 3/4 ton build :D

[Captainfab]

Have you made any progress with the ABS glove box? Will you be warming the pieces to bend the flanges?

[sdwolff98]

Captain fab not quite yet got everything cut n ready for when i get the cab home then start by bolting the bottom piece in first and then start heat bending the abs going to do this one so its perfect. Then i can take it to any 3d printer and have it duplicated if it works like i expect

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Will have some pics up tonight got all the rear brake brackets powder coated also the power steering adapter plates as well. The steering box is mounted and done just have to finishing hooking up the tie rods and tightening everything down hehe...... got some things to finish on a friends truck this weekend then sunday can get disc brake rear brackets in place on the axle will post some pictures tonight

Sean

[sdwolff98]

as promised pictures of the front steering box new rotors and the finished rear brake caliper brackets.

patience patience patience trying to maintain it is maddening at times lol
I mounted the steering box with the heaviest duty studs I could fine automotive grade could not find any that were oil field grade lol. Currently looking for rear brake plate fine studs to get that finished n mounted. once that is in place get new rear hub bearing and get that finished. the powder coater did an awesome job and supplied me with a matching paint same as the color of the coating.
Sean

[sdwolff98]

HAd a loooonggg talk with the transmission builder he has had it for 6 months and has only got it torn apart. I am hoping he will be as good as his word and have it finished up this weekend so I can go pick it up next week. Then the rest of the brake system can get assembled and ready for the booster/master cylinder when the cab is back on the frame. Intake manifold modifications are all finished so I started laying some paint on it today. Baffle is removed and external pcv bung is in place with a baffle plate. saving pennies right now for wildwood d52 dual piston front calipers. The free set I got from a friend from western chassis have much smaller pistons then my rear brake calipers :/ My mechanic friend recommended that was not a good idea when I need my brakes lol.
Once the trans is back the real funs begins: finishing the engine n transmission wiring, finishing the brake lines and e brake cables, bolting engine and trans in place and drill the frame to secure the transmission/brake cross member..... so much yet to do....... but getting there quickly.
Sean

[sdwolff98]

now that the powder coating is finished on the rear disc started bolting things back together. Will have the rear hub bearings in this coming week and it will be ready to fill up with diff fluid

Sean

[sdwolff98]

In the midst of all the little things going on have been researching the wiper issues a lot of people have I for a fact don't like having to wait to get new wiper blades lol...... Started digging through catalogs n other such resources and stumbled on a nice little item. 1989-1996 jeep Cherokee rear wipers arms mount to the same style post and clip setup our trucks use . I got a set today from the junkyard they are about an inch shorter than the factory arms but they have the nice side lock pin style that are easier to get in the parts stores. Since they are inch shorter I am figuring I will need at least a set of 14 inch blades maybe even 15 inch if they clear the windshield seals????? Not sure got a set on the workbench but no body right now to install them on lol.. Going to be bugging the trans guy Friday to see if he has my trans nearly completed. I have a lot that I need to do but can't get it done without things in the frame to make sure the exhaust clears :/

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Well got it finished once I get the body all reassembled will be able to to put them on the truck and find a good wiper blade for them.. I had to pull one of them a part and reverse the blade mounting part to reflect how the factory wiper arms mounted. I need to get a smaller pan head machine screw is all the is left to finish that one up . Went to Oreilly auto parts and nicely enough they have quite a few blades off the shelf that will fit. Going to start with a 14 inch and see how it works out. Friend of mine in dallas uses a 14 inch blade on his factory arms so I may have enough room to use a 15 incher not sure yet but hopeful.

Sean

[Tennypicou1]

Cant wait to see how these windshield wipers work for you

[sdwolff98]

Tenny,
Lol neither can I!

Sean

[TJ's Chevy]

X2! Looking forward to seeing how that goes.

[sdwolff98]

Well got word back from the machinist he is sending out the electric tire hoist today he sent me some pictures and it looks nice

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Also got the wilwood calipers in and started getting the brakes bolted in place, started bolting in the rear disc brake plates as well. Have to go find a 3/8 hex bit lol poor ole 1/4 inch ratchet didn't survive the 1st plate lol have to get a lil bigger socket bit lol....

Sean

[sdwolff98]

My friend Dirk the machinist does some dammed nice work got the spare hoist in today and will have it in place Wednesday on my day off.

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Also in amongst all this have been putting the axle back together and the rear disc brake plates in place. Will have that all finished up Wednesday and the hubs back on as well. only dammed thing is murphy had to pull another fast one as I was testing the clearance on the retainer bolts for the hub locks I happened to look at the splines on the axle I was sliding out of the axle and dammed if the splines weren't twisted !!!! arrrgghhhhh!!!!!! Murphy you lil ****!! Talked to my axle builder and when I have the spare cash he is going to set up some chromoly axles for the diff oh well they will be much stronger than the existing cast axles. But other wise things are going back together beautifully. The axle hub locks are a nice addition I hate those bend tab thingy's they originally used. should have everything ready to roll when I get the axles in and I can start dumping diff fluid into this pig and the hubs as well lol learned that lesson really quickly!!!! I am using arp hardware on the axle side of the brake plates couldn't find anything near as strong so for 22 bucks here we are

[Bomp]

Sorry about your luck with the twisted shaft.
Making some good progress though.

[sdwolff98]

Got the axle hubs all reassembled today and the new hub locks in place coming along nicely. Now to get the new axles in place then can fill the pig full of differential fluid and posi lock additive

Sean

[sdwolff98]

A friend of mine in dallas is going to help me test out the wiper arms and see how well they work so I can make another set for my truck. His truck is running and driving lol so he will be able to get to it much faster than I can lol I know they will work just need hard data and what tweaks need to be made to them lol. I went ahead and emailed trico and dorman regarding them and see if they are interested in the idea they may not but hell have to try

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Well in the process of looking at axles from the diff builder I found out some very unpleasant information regarding the earlier series dana 60 axles. Apparently the have 2 flange sizes on the full floating diffs :/ mine of course has the smaller flange size setup so none of the off the shelf replacements will work /sigh the only way around that would be to covert to a set of dodge hubs which are bloody hard to find lol. Well went back on the research trail and found Dutchman axles and differentials in Portland Oregon that can make a set of axles for my flange measurements thank god they wont be much more expensive than the off the shelf setups.. The GMC up through 72 have a 4.50 inch flange with a 3.72 inch bolt circle on them where as the dodge and ford axles have a 4.72 inch flange 3.96 inch bolt circle. The only hub that will fit the GM model is the Dodge 72 and down light duty d60 hubs lol.
So now back to saving pennies to get them ordered hopefully next check will have the body shop paid off, transmission back home, axles and headers ordered and can get busy again getting things in place

Sean

[sdwolff98]

wooohheeee got some pretty stuff in today for the rear brakes Next payday axle will get ordered new rear rotors and I dunno what else besides getting another payment to the body shop guy. Should be picking my transmission up hopefully next Wednesday night and get that home so I can start getting it installed on the engine and both set down in the frame for lines placement. Also today managed to track down a company that still carries the oddball gm/jeep style axle flange copper seals and got a set ordered should have them next week I am hoping so I can start getting the axle buttoned up and ready to go.


getting there 1 plod at a time lol

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Well got the front wheels back on after assembling the front discs and they look great just need to be dipped and recoated and will be awesome. Tho I will need a bit longer lug studs got to get some measurements tonight on how much longer I need them :/

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Also started working on getting the rear discs assembled and had to do a lil clearancing on the axle brake flange to clear the driver side e brake lever assembly. Will be getting the bare metal painted tomorrow and ready to go. Went out and paid the expensive price for a set of power stop calipers and mounting brackets and found out they are not worth with the 160$ I spent on them the paint is thin and not good quality. I was removing the rubber boots gently with a flat blade screw driver and tapping it very gently with a hammer and just the light taping removed the paint from one of the mounting brackets :/ . luckily I am not using those brackets instead using the ones I had powder coated locally on the truck still very disappointed tho oh well lesson learned..... I will have all the rear brakes reassembled tomorrow and get the calipers spaced properly. The adapter plates I had made are not quite think enough so using some thin washer to get them spaced correctly out to where they need to be... Something for further down the road when I start getting some more of the plates made for a retirement supplement lol..... Also got word back from my truck buddy in Dallas the modified wiper arms are a perfect fit he said I had better go buy some lotto tickets with my luck there. He did not have to do any tweaking to them to get them at the correct blade angles wooohooooo GO ME!!!!!!! So when I have some spare cash laying around going to be making several sets one for my truck and a few more for some of my friends trucks. Will document that further when I get the new arms to be modified in hand

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Well got the driver side rear axle put together will be working on the passenger side tonight turning out great. The 1/2 inch spacers will put the wheels even once the engine is set down in the frame with weight on the front end . Also the calipers look great not quite a perfect match for the wilwoods but enough I am happy with them. Also got the circuits boards in for my bump shifter idea for my Allison 6 speed will have the actual resistors in tomorrow night.... more to come on that... I was thinking a paddle shifter but the dammed things are so expensive and then would have to tear it apart to replace the resistor circuits figured it was more cost effective to build a bump shift lever and be far cheaper in the long run........ Lever is 108$ circuit boards and resistors 25$ springs 15 cents build a bump shift bracket 20$ or less not sure till I decide on aluminum or steel. But will throw people when they see 2 shifters in the truck for sure lol Going to build a few extra boards I thought I was getting 2 boards lol they sent me 6 So anyone with an Allison 6 speed 2006 model wants to tackle a paddle shifter for their trans I will have a few extras for experimenting with the setup

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Well got the Allison and brake booster back home will be hard at it tomorrow getting the aliison and 8.1 in the frame and mounted so I can start on the front to rear brake lines Also got the resistors in for the tap shift circuit board assemblies and started ordering the parts for the manual mode bump shifter I have sketched out on some paper in my spare time. Tomorrow is gonna be a hella busy day. Tonight will get the last rim n tire on the truck frame and get it down off the jack stands for tomorrow.

Sean

[sdwolff98]

Also got a nice paycheck from work and wen t on a bit of a shopping spree till someone hacked my card for paying for a mutant doll monthly website :/ but in the next few weeks will have a brand new set of 4340 alloy axles in hand to finish the dana 60, bump shifter handle and parts, few other odds n ends plus a very nice find on ebay recently that should be here next week. A set of GMC 910 cowl panels without antenna holes in them for 100$ planning for those to be wall art in my garage

Sean