LFD's low buck truck build!

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by faribran

Kevin,
will the Blue Point tubing bender bend tubing (as you pictured with quarter) that tight?

That is how I did that one. I went out for pics of the bender and thought I would show what it can do!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[WinDancer]

More great work!
You are at 107 hours- I would probably be 107 weeks getting all that work done. I can understand the feeling of doing it yourself, but some of us have absolutely no aptitude for this kinda stuff
Absolutely none of my business and I won't intrude like this again, but if you are willing could I ask what 107 hours of your time doing this stuff is going for? I can see that many times professionals are so much better equipped, have better tools and more experience, but this is also a very large part your native abilities to 'see' how things need to be and understand the very best way of doing it.
Anxious to see the completed project.
Will you then sell this truck and do another or ???
Thanks

[72CSTC5]

He could tell you but then he would probably have to kill you!! Remember labor is twice is much in Cali too!!

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by WinDancer

More great work!
You are at 107 hours- I would probably be 107 weeks getting all that work done. I can understand the feeling of doing it yourself, but some of us have absolutely no aptitude for this kinda stuff
Absolutely none of my business and I won't intrude like this again, but if you are willing could I ask what 107 hours of your time doing this stuff is going for? I can see that many times professionals are so much better equipped, have better tools and more experience, but this is also a very large part your native abilities to 'see' how things need to be and understand the very best way of doing it.
Anxious to see the completed project.
Will you then sell this truck and do another or ???
Thanks

This is my shop truck and will end up with my logo on the door and be used for parts runs, swap meets and get togethers.

For hourly rates in Cali I have seen them from $50hr well over $120hr for the real upper end shops end shops.
So this wehical will not get sold but if things get slow in my shop I will find another and build it to sell or pre sell it and build it to suit the new owner.


Here are two pics from tonight. The brakes are done, body mounts are in but still need some shimming, headers are removed and stock manifolds are on and ready for the exhaust shop on Friday morning. It goes in for the four point allignment on Thursday and should be cruising around town by Saturday. I also had a set of tires I had laying around for years mounted on my new (to me) ralleys that I painted grey this morning. The first shot is at static ride heigth and the second is with the rear bags inflated. I get 3" of lift at the hitch and this should be plenty to level things out for towing.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[RACINJASON22]

Kevin You gotta move those front marker lights down to match the rear ones.

I love em" down there but I think they both should be down to line up.

Is that in your plans?

When do you think Low Buck will see paint?

I'll quit with the questions now

RJ22...

[Rokcrln]

Yes they will move down as well but I have not started the body work up their yet. I only did the rears because I was welding the rear bed back on so it made sence. They are also moved back a touch and the fronts will slide forward just a bit as well. You know you are the first person to point them out It will not see paint untill after the next customer build is done and out. His vehical is sitting on my trailer right now but I had to get this drivable before I could start his. I also want to drive mine for awhile before tearing it down for paint. I still have a few tricks up my sleave I want to play with before calling it ready to paint.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[RACINJASON22]

Someone else did mention it awhile back in the now 436 posts now how could you have possibly missed it with all your FREE time J/K

Can't wait to see your other tricks, I was just wondering cause I'm still like a kid and can't wait.

I really like em" down there NEVER would have thought they would look better than factory as much as I like these trucks the way they are but, I do none the less.

RJ22...

[gferris5]

Kevin-
I'm sorry, I must have missed it--that's the problem with keeping up with the thread: you forget what happened earlier. What are you going to do with your exhaust? I remember you saying the misses thinks it too loud, but I don't remember what your plans were.
edit: I mean in terms of routing around the x-member and whatnot.

Looks great, as usual, btw. Three words though: Chrome gas filler!

[Rokcrln]

I will be getting the exhaust done Friday morning and it will be stock manifolds with the two pipes merging into one or two pipes into the muffler and then a single 3" (if it will fit) out the back drivers side. I will be using the factory exhaust mounts that are on the frame and would like to get it to dump out under the back drivers side quarter panel just in front of the bumper. I am going this way for two reasons. The first is it will give me a bit more bottom end for towing and the second is because I ran out of room for mounting my tank and pump so it was mounted on the passenger side inside the frame.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[rough69]

Kevin,
Right on man, truck looks great and like all the others I really like the custom lines and attention to detail.

From a fellow Nor Cal C10'er,
rough69

[Rokcrln]

Were about in Nor-Ca?

[irongun324]

Well I'm absolutely loving what you've done with the truck here, Rokcrln. I'm still of the "wish I could" crowd with money shortage, but maybe one day.

I had a question though: I know this might be a little more work on your part, and you've been giving mini updates as you go, but when you near the end of your project here, could you maybe markup a single list of parts bought and tricks done ( extra belt on water pump, axle flip, etc) with expenses? I think that would be nice to see as well as what you've already shown us. Just an idea.

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by irongun324

I had a question though: I know this might be a little more work on your part, and you've been giving mini updates as you go, but when you near the end of your project here, could you maybe markup a single list of parts bought and tricks done ( extra belt on water pump, axle flip, etc) with expenses? I think that would be nice to see as well as what you've already shown us. Just an idea.

Well atleast you dont want much


Had a big day, I woke up at 3am (normal time) and headed down to the Oakland bay area to get one of my jog sites started before I headed to the shop for print review. At 7am I meet Marty over at East Bay Frame and Axle. They don't open until 8am but he said he would meet me their early to drop off the thuck due to my schedule. You all would love his shop, I walk in and up hanging from the rafters is a SWB complete chassie. Over to the left is a CST factory 2WD Blazer that is getting a new front frame due to a wreck and a few other real nice cars. In front of the Blazer if a sweet 41 ford deluxe coupe I would love to have

So he did a full 4 corner alignment and every thing checked out great. The front wheels look good now that they are straite and tucked in the fender just enough with the 6.5" ralleys I have on it with 8" out back. He also changed the Yoke on the rear diff as it was warn out from a bad driveshaft in the past. My new shaft would not get tight in the yoke so he put on a used one for me to stay with my Low Buck theme I have going. All this for $187.19

Their are shops close to me but I started using Marty several years ago and his work speaks for it self and he is a very honerable guy to deal with. The shop is in San Leandro and he does frame shortening's as well.

Then on the way home I have a nice Pro Street 66 chevelle play tag in trafic and boy did that thing sound good.

At 8am I will be heading up to Santa Rosa to ge the exhaust done at A1-A performance muffler. Again he is 80 miles away but worth the drive and I have had every exhaust system done by Gary for the last 15+ years.

Kevin
LFD inc.
$3584.45
107.5hrs

[Rokcrln]

Oh ya and I had a cool 70 SWB follow me all the way home

[72CSTC5]

Nutz, you are just like me when I used to drive down the I-10 corridor in Texas I used to snap shots of cool cars while driving down the hiway. Looking good man.

[kevncar]

Rokcrln...what do you do for a living? Just curious from the 3am job site visit and plan review comment. I draw framing plans and shop drawings for structural steel buildings for a living.

[GREASEMONKEY72]

after seeing the truck like it is now i dont think you should paint it, you cant replicate that patina look its got right now and you should just put your logo on it and call it good, well maybe after tweaking a few things like the sidemarkers and what not, but damn that truck looks *****in, nice to know it followed you all the way home to, thats a nice chevelle to, ill have to stop by sometime when im up there goin to wyotech in sacro

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by kevncar

Rokcrln...what do you do for a living? Just curious from the 3am job site visit and plan review comment. I draw framing plans and shop drawings for structural steel buildings for a living.

I am a Superintendent for a steel framming Co. We do steel studs instead of wood and mostly for Comercial and State jobs. I do most of our plan review and half of the structural drawings before they head off to our Enginier for his stamp. I also get to do all the hiring and firing, deal with Inspectors, Architects, Enginiers, the State, Owners and everyone else related to the project. If all goes right I will be handing the keys to the Co. vehical back over and start doing my own thing (Lewis Fabrication Design Inc.) full time here in the next year or so.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

We are in buisness now
Spent the day up in Santa Rosa getting the exhaust made at A1A Performance Mufflers. They did a fantastic job but he did complain about my exhaust manifolds, they are center dump rams horns and what a pain in the A$$ on a 2wd to get that first bend with the proper seal. So for everyone else try and get the rear dump truck rams horns it will go alot smoother

He did a 2.5" system out of the manifolds into a Flowmaster "Ypipe" and then into a 3" single in single out Flowmaster. I wanted it to exit out the back just in front of the bumper, Ya right With my flip kit, air bags, and the 25 gal rear tank their was no room to tuck it up over the rear end. I tell you if that tank was 1/4" bigger in any direction it would not have fit and it is so close to teh diff that I had to bend the weld seam to clear the cover. What we ended up doing is running it under the rear diff and it worked out great! It is still tucked up tight and since Gary is a pure surgon with his tube bender every clearance was addressed and fits perfect. He also used all the factory frame hanger mounts by taking some 1" x 1/8" flat stock and bent up mounts. He did add one mount to the rear off the side of the spring hanger to keep everything were it should be.

We tried a few mufflers untill I heard the sound I was looking for and let me tell you with a single 3" flowmaster system it sounds increadable. I got home and unloaded the truck and backed it into the drive way and forgot the side door to the house was open and my wife "WAS" sleeping When I came inside and saw that she was thinking I was ready for anything but what she did. Keep in mind she is 34 weeks pregnant and on bed rest. When I came in the she flipped out at how great it sounded and the smile on her face was ear to ear.
He charged me $300 for the entire system and we worked on it for a good 4-5 hours.

Kevin
LFD Inc.
$3884.45
107.5hrs

[Rokcrln]

It's a tow vehical after all this time!

I got home from the Exhaust shop and put the ball on th ehitch and hooked up the trailer and went for a test pull. It went great with an empty trailer and I could not even tell it was their. I still need to hook up the brake controller before any real work but I am on the way. I also went for just a test ride around town and on the freeway to see how things felt. Let me tell you the steering and brakes feel like nothing I have ever had in an old vehical and some new ones for that matter. Very tight and the brakes stop on a dime with very little effort. The power was just fine and it will lite them up if needed The ride was a bit rough, I think it is the shocks. I keeped the stock ones because they felt real good and stil had some room with the lowered set up. What I forgot is as they get a lot stiffer as they run tward teh bottom of their stroke so I think that is what is happening. I think I have a set in the attic from my ART kit that I never used on Slow Build so I will try them out and see what it does.

Also on my way home from Santa Rosa I finally stopped by a house I knew about to see if the 55 was for sale. I have seen this truck for as long as I can remember and it has never moved. It was so long ago that the tree you see now was not their I tanled with th eold lady who answered the door and she informed me that it would not be moving untill they had the money to fix it up. Her husband has had it since it was new back in high school and he will not part with it. Oh well had to try

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[LUV2XCLR8]

[RACINJASON22]

Time for a beer! And another pat on the back. from me also, I hope all goes well and you can hand over those keys and truck in the next yr. or so also.

That way we can see more of your quality workmanship come to life as "Low Buck" has.

Respectfully RJ22...

[Rokcrln]

You will be seeing alot more work but these keys are not leaving my pocket. Now when Slow Build is done that one will be getting sold to help fund my parts pile for the my 2WD blazer project.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[randomhero472]

looks awesome lewis, about time way to go man!

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by randomhero472

looks awesome lewis, about time way to go man!

About time Heck this has only been 4 months of side, side work time when a customers vehical was not being worked on or if I just needed a mental break. Now the chassie is completly rebuilt and ready to tear it up if I can find time to drive it.

I had about 30min in between paint cotes on the kids room and filled my stock gas cap hole with a gas cap

I did not want to leave it open and I also do not have the time right now to start any body work so this was a very simple option. I saw this on a post for gas tank delete or somthing like that but they used a thru bolt of some type to do it. I just cut off the very end nipple of the cap and welded on a small nut. I then drilled a hole in a scrap piece of 1/8" plate and used a short bolt and a jamb nut to hold it all in place. I think it looks good for what it is, nice and tight to the body and no bolt showing from the out side.

Kevin
LFD Inc.
$3884.45
108hrs