The Hillbilly Deluxe dually build

[Low Elco]

Looks nice! That powder has to be nice in the shop in the winter! (I'm a big cold sissy.)

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm a huge fan of powdercoat. Its so fast and inexpensive. A pound of powder is 12 bucks and I could do probably two dozen steering columns with it. To use spray paint, you'd be looking at half a can per column. Not cheap.

It's also very fast to do. I know your work ethic, and you'd likely sandblast a part before painting it. If we both had sandblasted steering columns, you paint and I coat, I'm ready to install mine within 25 minutes. Paint would take hours to fully harden, maybe even days depending on the weather. Powder is two minutes to spray, 20 to cook, and then let it cool down in front of the shop fan. Total time under half an hour and maybe 50 cents worth of powder.

Everyone should be doing it. Sure, it takes a big oven to do big parts, but brackets, pulleys, nick jacks, etc, a fifty dollar Craigslist oven is all it takes.

[TheBlueBomber]

That looks killer! Does it leave a smell in the oven/area when you cook it? Just getting into the painting world so please excuse me for my rookie questions.

[Low Elco]

Must be nice being out in the country. Have you upgraded to the "pizza oven" style deal? I've been involved with a few large scale industrial powder deals through work, it's neat to watch. Do you have your own blast rig, being semi-commercial? It'd be a cool deal, drop off crap and pick up snazzy powdered parts. There's a guy here that does that, but I'm not that well-heeled!

[Tx Firefighter]

My oven is just a big batch oven. Its 6 feet long, 4 feet tall. For blasting, I have two cabinets, one big one for motorcycle frames or whatever. I also have an outside pressure blast setup. For a few years I did turn key powdercoat work. All I asked was customers degrease stuff before they dropped it off and I took it from there. It just got to be too much work load as I got older and I never had much chance to work on my own stuff so I shut the door to outside business December 31st of last year.

Blue bomber, yes, it does put off smoke somewhat as the powder cures, but the smell does not linger at all. I do a lot of burn off degreasing in the oven to cook any residual grease or oil out of parts before blasting. That does put off a good bit of smoke at times.

[Tx Firefighter]

I changed directions a little bit today with my efforts. I decided to work on a different part of the project than the suspension, wheels, etc.

I'm gonna refresh this stuff





And hope I can turn up some better parts than these before I reassemble the dash.



I'll need either a better dash pad or at least a cover for it. I'm not going to drop the coin for a new GM pad. Probably not even an aftermarket one either. I got two little girls that like to eat and want Legos on December 25th. I don't know what I'll wind up doing exactly, but it's not gonna be too expensive. I'll also need a new insert panel since mine has multiple screw holes all in it.



I know y'all are thinking " man, this guy is a crackhead. He's all over the place on this project." Well, fact is, I do my work on the truck in the big shop with the green floor and blue roof if you know what I mean. And, I'm facing this....







So I needed an inside project where I can keep warm, but still make progress.

So, after removing the cluster and counting bulbs, I placed an order for new LED bulbs from Super Brite LEDs. I'll do the normal clean, paint, and detail job on this like has been so well documented on this board in the past.

[1985_C10]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I changed directions a little bit today with my efforts. I decided to work on a different part of the project than the suspension, wheels, etc.

I'm gonna refresh this stuff





And hope I can turn up some better parts than these before I reassemble the dash.



I'll need either a better dash pad or at least a cover for it. I'm not going to drop the coin for a new GM pad. Probably not even an aftermarket one either. I got two little girls that like to eat and want Legos on December 25th. I don't know what I'll wind up doing exactly, but it's not gonna be too expensive. I'll also need a new insert panel since mine has multiple screw holes all in it.



I know y'all are thinking " man, this guy is a crackhead. He's all over the place on this project." Well, fact is, I do my work on the truck in the big shop with the green floor and blue roof if you know what I mean. And, I'm facing this....







So I needed an inside project where I can keep warm, but still make progress.

So, after removing the cluster and counting bulbs, I placed an order for new LED bulbs from Super Brite LEDs. I'll do the normal clean, paint, and detail job on this like has been so well documented on this board in the past.

i also work in that shop. i know what you mean. let me know what you do with that dash pad. i dont want to buy a new one either and mine is just as bad as yours.

[WIDESIDE72]

You have the same shop as me

[Tx Firefighter]

It's spacious, and there's most always a breeze flowing through it. I have shop space but its full of blasting cabinets and ovens and stuff. Also, part of my shop is heated, insulated and fairly nice with big workbenches and stuff but its only a walk-in arrangement. So, I work in front of the shop if its not something that I can take into my work room by the heater.

[Low Elco]

'Glass it and shoot it with bedliner/undercoat? Seen it done with good results.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

'Glass it and shoot it with bedliner/undercoat? Seen it done with good results.

Do you have any handy links ? My fiberglass experience is pretty limited. I figured by the time I ordered a batch of good quality resin and cloth that I'd be into it for a good chunk of money (relative towards buying a replacement dash cap). My fiberglass experience always centered around the Bondo brand goop and cloth from the parts store. I figured if I ever did any more of the work I'd order proper stuff in hopes the superior materials would improve the outcome over what I got with Bondo brand products.

[Tx Firefighter]

Disregard my last post. A google turned up several years worth of reading on the subject. It looks doable if I want to invest the time.

[maxxxy]

There are a lot of people who have restored their old dash pad. It makes a big change on the interior of the truck. Once it is repaired, it can be smoothed completely and painted with body work, in a custom look, or rewrapped in factory style vinyl, or anything in between.

[MalibuSSwagon]

Mine wasn't too badly cracked, so I just shot it with black vinyl dye and put it back in. My vote is to either find a better one for cheap money or cap it. It'll take you days to work the fiberglass to fill it.

[hgs_notes]

You can peel off the old vinyl. Get a can of 3M spray adhesive and whatever material you want to cover it with. The more stretchy and flexible the better. Cut it down to the basic shape with some extra material around the edges. Spray the material, spray the pad on the edge you're starting with and just bring the 2 together and keep working your way across, spraying with adhesive as you go. Wrap around the edges and glue those, then trim the excess.

I doubt many here think it's odd to move around on a project. For quite a while I bounced between 2 trucks cuz I was sick of sanding on the one and could wrenching on the other. Variety is the spice of life. Pretty purple finger you got there. Hope you heal soon.

[Tx Firefighter]

All good ideas. Looking at my "core" dash pad that I have to work with, I really think I need a better one to start with. Mine is so cracked and destroyed that it doesn't even hold its shape close to what it should. I've already reached out to one of my local go-to buddies to try and find one with no luck. I'll need to try and scrounge up a better starting point.

Now I'm off to the store to get some white paint for the cluster parts and some orange for the needles. My SuperBriteLEDs order shows delivery Monday so I'll have new bulbs then.

[TheBlueBomber]

How are you going to go about cleaning the plastic lens cover? Cleaned up mine and its significantly better but that cover is still too cloudy. How is the circuit board on the back of the housing? Replaced some lights in mine but some of the metal contact points broke off.

[maxxxy]

I've seen expanding foam used to fill cracks. Just sand it to shape, then wrap it or glass over it. As long as it still is in good shape around gauge bezel and trim bezel, yours should be "useable" if a better one doesn't turn up. And just shave the speaker holes. They're basically obsolete anyways haha.

[eldogg]

How have I missed this build? What a great thread. I really dig your build style, exactly the way I like to do my stuff. Keep up the good work.

[Sodell]

Subscribed...I have only been here for a while. I traded an AR for a great builder SWB 7-8 months ago and I am always looking for ways to save money with good parts, or rehabbing old/used. As a little older guy, I became a member because I wanted to get some advice on lowering my truck, but I have gotten some solid advice from guys like you in all different areas, please keep it up, and thanks. I like to get ideas but don't usually put my two cents in unless I know what I am talking about.

I don't use credit or go in debt for my projects either, makes for a slow build some times but the end result is always something you truly own. My kids are grown, and they are not in debt either...... I built my 88 4x4 the same way and it has been my daily driver now for several years.

So any way, thanks for all the good advice and thought I would post on your thread to let you know I appreciate the help, same to the rest of you regulars on here!

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by maxxxy

I've seen expanding foam used to fill cracks. Just sand it to shape, then wrap it or glass over it. As long as it still is in good shape around gauge bezel and trim bezel, yours should be "useable" if a better one doesn't turn up. And just shave the speaker holes. They're basically obsolete anyways haha.

I'll definitely be shaving the speaker holes. I have a radio block off plate to install when I go back together with the dash. I don't have a radio in any of my stuff. Never have. I prefer to think when I drive rather than listen to other distractions.

Originally Posted by TheBlueBomber

How are you going to go about cleaning the plastic lens cover? Cleaned up mine and its significantly better but that cover is still too cloudy. How is the circuit board on the back of the housing? Replaced some lights in mine but some of the metal contact points broke off.

I'm not sure how I'll improve the lens. Probably buy a headlight restoration kit. I could use to have one around the shop anyway. My printed circuit is good as far as I can tell. Fortunately this truck doesn't appear to have been worked on too much in the past.

Originally Posted by eldogg

How have I missed this build? What a great thread. I really dig your build style, exactly the way I like to do my stuff. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for the words. I'm very OCD about quality. I apprenticed under a mean ugly German son of a b1tch when I was first out of college. We built replicas of German WW2 airplanes for museum display. I hated that man....at first. Then he drug me to an elevated level of OCD and I found my work quality had drastically increased. Now I wish the man was still alive so I could thank him for all the rough words and treatment that he gave me back then. Kicking and screaming, he formed me into the obsessive detail freak that I am today.

Originally Posted by Sodell

Subscribed...I have only been here for a while. I traded an AR for a great builder SWB 7-8 months ago and I am always looking for ways to save money with good parts, or rehabbing old/used. As a little older guy, I became a member because I wanted to get some advice on lowering my truck, but I have gotten some solid advice from guys like you in all different areas, please keep it up, and thanks. I like to get ideas but don't usually put my two cents in unless I know what I am talking about.

I don't use credit or go in debt for my projects either, makes for a slow build some times but the end result is always something you truly own. My kids are grown, and they are not in debt either...... I built my 88 4x4 the same way and it has been my daily driver now for several years.

So any way, thanks for all the good advice and thought I would post on your thread to let you know I appreciate the help, same to the rest of you regulars on here!

Thank you. I try to only offer advice on matters that I have personally dealt with. I have literally thousands upon thousands of photos that I've taken in the last two decades of various old trucks I've built stored in my Photobucket account. I try to offer my opinion on any particular matter and add photos to clarify what I'm trying to communicate.

As far as the debt deal, I used to build trucks out of my pocket, then at the end, when money ran out, I'd use my credit card for a couple of thousand final dollars to hurry up and finish the truck. Then I'd just pay it off over the next 6 months or so while I drove the truck. Then Congress passed some new laws like 5 years ago that changed credit card practices, and my 21 year history with the credit card company went out the window and they jacked my rate up from 5 percent to 14 percent for no reason at all. That pissed me off royally so I cancelled every form of credit card I had and went to cash on the barrel head for everything.

Now I build a little at a time as money flows in. With Christmas and its inevitable purchases of Legos and Barbie dolls, I'm in my skinny time of the year. Plus the taxes are due on my rent house so truck money is even skinnier. So, this payday for instance, my expenditures were new LED dash bulbs. That's it. Maybe more next payday. But, patience makes the build soooooo much sweeter. Nothing like waiting patiently to buy something to make you appreciate it more when you finally get it.

Again, this is the tailgate on my stepside beater truck. It describes my mentality these last few years....

[Sodell]

Yep, I retired from the Army after 22 years in 06, and went straight to work before I was done with my ending vacation. I usually save my OT up and buy parts, keeps the wife happy and keeps me happy when I have to work OT..

You don't need to buy the kit for the lens. You can wet sand it with some 1500 and then polish it with some cutting paint polish. I got a quart of it a few years ago and still have not used it all.

What LED lights are you using?

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Sodell

What LED lights are you using?

I'm using these....

http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...edge-base/199/

I've ordered a fair number of lights from those folks for past projects and have found them to be pretty much the premium in customer service. I ordered my bulbs Friday and they show delivery tomorrow. I got the white ones for gauge illumination and one blue one for hi-beam indicator.

I am following the recommendations made my the guy in this thread....

http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=392750

Basically, my plan is to clean everything thoroughly, paint all of the cluster internals white, paint gauge needles with Testors fluorescent orange, and reassemble with new LED bulbs. Nothing exotic or groundbreaking, just trying to remove 25 years of grime and return the cluster to something close to new appearance.

[Sodell]

Looks like I will have to add that to my list, nice replacement for the bulbs. Have you ever painted the bezel? I have to peal off the chrome cover and I am probably going to need to paint it black, any suggestions?

[Tx Firefighter]

I've never painted one, but this might be my first. I'd like to renew the silver rings around the gauges. I'm actually thinking of doing a very tasteful application of diamond plate on the bottom flat panels of the bezel (around headlight switch and radio areas). Remember my truck is non A/C so it's very plain in that area. Then, a stripe of diamond plate across the dash on the dash insert to cover the screw holes.

Notice in this picture how the non A/C dash bezels have two spots on the bottom that would lend themselves to some dress up measures. And it would block off the radio hole at the same time.




I found this place that sells thin diamond plate just stupid cheap....

http://www.cutsmetal.net/cogrdipl1.html

It would go along with diamond plate door bottom kick panels I've been mulling over. Keep in mind, I'm not a diamond plate fan by any stretch, so if I do it, it will be very muted and subtle. Still mulling it over to say the least.

I might just plasma cut some aluminum appliqués instead. Kind of like the 80s era billet stuff they sell.

Whatever I wind up doing, I promise it will be tasteful and not look like scrap metal pop riveted over the dash. That's my beef with a lot of diamond plate uses is that it looks like pee-paw dug up some old trailer remnants and used it to cover an ugly hole on the truck. No offense intended to diamond plate folks....