2 for 1, My son's first Square Build

[aggie91]

Got the cab corner installed Friday night and roughed in the body work for the painter. The replacement corner did not fit well. I lined up the back wall of the cab and the door jam lip was about 3/8" to far forward at the top, but lined up OK at the bottom. I pie cut it vertically and welded it back together, then but welded it to the cab sheet metal on the top cut edge. I used panel adhesive on the back and lower parts where it attaches to the cab to minimizet he welding and body work I had to do. For just a few hours of work, it came out good.



We got it to the painter and he seems excited to work on a hot rod that is just a solid color, he will have an easy job with this one. He will go over the bodywork and make sure it will give us a good looking truck before shooting the paint on it. While he has the cab/doors/front fenders, we will find a better hood to use and work on the rest of the chassis to get ready for the cab once it has color on it. I have some metal work to do on the bed and he will get it once he has the cab in color. His shop is kinda small but he does realy good paint and body.

I worked on the exhaust this weekend after taking the stuff to the painter. Here is what I have mocked up. I need to rework the trans crossmember to clear the pipes, but nothing hangs below the bottom frame rail. That small board is the lowest part of the frame that I used as a reference all the way to the rear axle.
TOP VIEW:

SIDE VIEW:


I kinda started on the fuel line routing but did not get much done. I just put the SS line along the frame to see where it would be and how close it would be to the exhaust. I have a few spots that I might have to wrap to keep the fuel as cool as I can. Otherwise it will be real easy work.

[aggie91]

Here are some pictures of the wire harness we are going to use along with the headlight relay harness that I got for the conversion lamps. The other picture is the 12v power outlet and the power distribution block for a simple place to get 12v + power.





We also got all the weatherstripping in this past week along with all the other small items we need to put it together. I think the only thing left is tail lights and a battery mount...

[cyclefreak207]

Conversion lamps? Are you going HID on this bad boy??

And the notches look like they came out really nice. Has the final decision been made on how low to go?

[aggie91]

not really HID's but a H4 bulb with a better looking lens/housing.

As for the notches, well, let's just say they are way taller then we are going to need for awhile . They are not tall enough to lay frame but they are much more then a standard C notch. We have a ride height in mind, but will wait for the final stance once we get everything together since this one is a static drop for now.

[cyclefreak207]

Where did you get the harness from? I was considering going HID, since that's what I ran on most of my hondas and loved the clarity/visibility. But I know you have to go H4 converted first and then buy an HID kit.

[aggie91]

got it on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CERAMIC-H4-R...ht_3638wt_1161

these are the housing we are going to use:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390520244424...ht_4312wt_1399

[cyclefreak207]

Gooooood deal, and are the 6x4 for the single headlight or dual headlight?? can't remember what yall had front end wise lol

[aggie91]

6x4 are the dual head lights. The single is a 7x6.

Started welding up the exhaust last night. I need to finish/modify the trans crossmember to clear the x pipes before I can fully weld the rest of the exhaust. Maybe tonight I can do that...

[aggie91]

Got to give Korbin props here. We have been working on his truck everyday and getting alot knocked out. I had shown him a number of things that needed to be done that he and his brother could get done without me. He worked a ton yesterday and got a bunch done. One thing he worked on and finished up was the tank mounting. He started this a week or more ago, but got stumped on how to get the straps tight and hold the tank against the upper mounts. He and I had not discussed his options, but I knew of a simple fix for his issue. I had shown him how to make one of the upper straps with some flat bar we had and we picked up another piece to make the second one. The tank fits good between the rails with just some minor grinding with a flapper disc on the upper rails. Well I got home yesterday and he had finished the tank mounts without any help from me. I asked him how he figured out a way to tighten the straps. He said he remembered how the stock tank straps had been done, so he got some all thread rod and cut and welded them to one end of the strap and repositioned the front crossbar to attach them. This is the same way I would have done it, just we had not had time to talk about it with everything else we did. The only thing I did was cut the all thread shorter after we had tightened the straps to hold the tank in place. He did a great job, here is the final product, now we just have to take it apart and paint the pieces:



He also finished welding the exhaust pipes together. I came home and inspected the welds and ground down a few spots and repaired a few small pin holes I found. Otherwise he did a great job on that too. We is going to clean and paint the pipes today with VHT Flame Proof Coating and that will be done.

I worked on the rearend housing and axle mounts last night. I got the it centered in the frame and the pinion angle set and tacked on the spring pads. Korbin will weld those complete today too. I did all that work, and did not take a single picture. Maybe tonight I can get a few pictures with Korbin's welding done...

[aggie91]

We got quite a bit more done this weekend even though Owen had a baseball turnament that took up a good portion of every day this weekend.

I worked on getting the rear end finished and the brakes installed on the rear. The brakets I got from 87Chevy worked well. Got them painted and installed on the rear:


Got the E-Brake parts we needed from corvetterecycling.com. Got the backing plates, shoes, and cables from them. Installed the backing plates on shoes on the brackets, while doing so I noticed that the factory tab for someting was is the way so off it came and a little bit of paint touch up and its all good:



The cable bracket from 87Chevy needed to be bent and I had to drill out and slot the hole for the cable to install and had to get these M10x40 bolts for the lower 2 holes on the backing plate which also holds the ebrake cable bracket in place:



All done with the brakes and ran the hard line across the axle and worked on the clamping the fuel lines inplace up and over the notch:






I put new axle seals in while it is all apart. I need a 17/32" drill bit to drill out the axle flanges for the new longer wheel studs, I ended up using the same ones that gringoloco used in his C10 thread. Its a ford part number, but it will work well and they have a smooth nose to help align the lug nut on the stud. I should be able to get the bit today and finish up the axles tonight. We also got the driveshaft done on Friday and painted it over the weeked. Not pictures though. Korbin welded on a few bracket tabs for the brake lines and I will work on those this week. Korbin will pull the motor and trans out before I work on the front lines just to make my life easier. While I am doing brake lines, he will take apart the front suspension and re-detail the parts. Some have started rusting and look terrible. I hope to get the cab back next week, if so, I can finish up the brakes and then it will be on to wiring and getting the glass installed. Once the wiring and fuel lines are finalized we can fire up the motor to make sure that works correctly.

[aggie91]

If you noticed in the pictures that the flex line is not connected to the caliper, it is because ALL the parts stores show a M10x1.5 banjo bolt for the corvette caliper. Well that is the wrong size. The caliper is drilled and tapped for a M10x1.0 bolt. It even has that on the spec for the caliper, but if you search for the hose bolt, you get the M10x1.5, even on rockauto.com.

Anyway, I found a M10x1.0 banjo bolt at AutoZone locally, but it was too long, so out came the cut off wheel and I fixed the length issue. They are on there now with new copper crush washers.

[cyclefreak207]

Well looky there! I think you put that rear end in wrong... putting it like that makes it lower haha

[aggie91]

HAPPY 4th of July!

[aggie91]

Worked quite a bit last night. Put the tank sending unit and fuel pump and filler neck together and set tank in place. Ran the fuel feed line to the pump and finished up the rear end. Got all the pieces back together after fighting with the e-brake for the Corvette C5 brakes. Ran the brake line from the front to the tab on the frame for the rear flex line. Should have that complete on Friday. Korbin is working on get a few things cleanned up and repainted for the rest of the chassis. Exhaust is complete and ready to go back in. We are going to pull the motor and trans back out tonight (I'm working today, my company is taking tomorrow off) to get the shift kit and servo installed and swap out the oil pan. With that out of our way, we will finish up the front brake lines across the frame.




Its getting closer...

[SCOTI]

Looking great. I went back but must have missed it.... What is the tank out of?

[aggie91]

It is a Tanks, Inc universal with baffles inside for the in tank pump. We just had to grind a bit on each upper rail to make it fit in between them. It cleared the lower rail without any mods. I can't remember if it is a 15 or 16 gallon tank.

[86swb]

Great job so far. Can not wait to see it done.

[aggie91]

We got a bunch done this weekend. All the brake lines are done and clamped to the frame. Most of the fuel line is done. Pulled the engine/trans to change the oil pan and get the shift kit installed. Working on the dash to test fit gauges, I was cutting the plastic bezel when the saw slipped and cut open the top of my left thumb. So much for getting a thing done tonight. �� Korbin took me up to the ER to get stitches at about 9:30. I still here and they have not deadened it yet. Nurse just came in and went to get a different (longer lasting) medicine to deaden it.

I'll post pictures in the morning of what we got done to the truck. If anyone wants to see the thumb, I can post that too...�� I feel like such a dumb ��...
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[aggie91]

Just got stitches. Only 5 in this cut. Still got to get cleaned up and bandaged before I can go.
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[aggie91]

Here are some pictures of what we got done over the long weekend.

Bed is assembled and we mocked up a fender, step and rear wheel/tire:

After looking at it and measuring clearence on this side, we might run a 3/8" spacer to close up the gap on the fenderside and give us a little extra room on the inside. The 3/8" spacer would make the clearence on both sides of the tire about the same. We will see once we can put both sides together.

Got the fuel lines ran from the tank to the filter on the supply side and from the tank to the front cab mount on the return side. We will make the final measurements and cuts once the cab is back on the frame.



Finished up the front brake lines from each wheel to the fitting on the frame where the M/C will connect. Not perfect, but we are happy with it.



Since I have a splint on my thumb for the next couple of days, we will work on a few basics and Korbin will get a turn at mixing and shooting epoxy primer on the bed box and a few other parts.

[aggie91]

No pictures from last night, we got the rear fenders and steps in their final coat of primer/surfacer so all they need now is final sanding before sealler and paint.

Korbin worked on getting the oil pan swapped to the LSA pan. He will clean up the pan and engine and get it ready to put back in the chassis.

That's all we did last night....

[Claytona08]

Originally Posted by aggie91

No pictures from last night, we got the rear fenders and steps in their final coat of primer/surfacer so all they need now is final sanding before sealler and paint.

Korbin worked on getting the oil pan swapped to the LSA pan. He will clean up the pan and engine and get it ready to put back in the chassis.

That's all we did last night....

Man this is going to be one clean ride! When do you think it'll be complete?

[aggie91]

July 21 is our target to get a couple of days on it before heading to a Show on the 25th...

[77ChevySharkBite]

Originally Posted by aggie91

July 21 is our target to get a couple of days on it before heading to a Show on the 25th...

Y'all will have it done! Keep up the good work it's an awesome truck that you, and Korbin can be proud of and show off

Where did y'all buy the paint sealer y'all are using at? I understand y'all are using a paint gun, but i still would like to know.

[aggie91]

I got it at our local PPG dealer. He sells there Shop Line products as well. I am using the Shop Line Epoxy, Primer Surfacer, Sealer, and Base Coat. We are using a Clear made by Autobaun that is new to us. From what we have heard and seen, the clear looks great and is easy to buff. We should see the cab in color by Friday!