Fastfreddys 454ss

[fredscarryall]

Next things to get done coming up. Front disc conversion from pr proformance, front Ridetech cool ride and a Ridetech air pod that I am mounting in the bed

[fredscarryall]

AirPod Mocked up in the bed

[fredscarryall]

Most of you know custom parts are hard to find for the 1988 to 1998 trucks. Heres another hard to find part. It a instrument cluster made by ferreus industries to help out that ugly factory gauges. It comes in 16 colors, comes with double stick to stick to the surface (no cutting or mod is required) and they are about $30 on amazon

[fredscarryall]

Here’s information on a part I posted earlier. Speaker kick panels so you don’t have to cut up your doors for speakers. They are q-forms made by crutchfield and comes in 7 factory colors. May require bending by hand the e brake level,just watch the size of the speaker magnet and you will have to cut hole in the panel to fit speakers or order the ones with precut 5.25 speaker grilles.they are kinda expensive at $199 but they are good quality

[fredscarryall]

Here is pics of my kick panels again

[fredscarryall]

Another inexpensive thing to do to make the inside of you bed look better is spray can bed liner from Walmart it’s $6.50 a can and you will need about 8 cans. It’s the same stuff that oreillys sells for $12 a can.Make sure you scuff or sand the areas you want lined and don’t forget the tailgate, and deside if you want to include the stake pocket areas. Remember it is tuff to sand off and is permanent.good quality blue tape is best, don’t buy the Walmart stuff.cover the entire truck with that thin plastic 9 x 12 drop cloths ,even the wheels. This stuff can get everywhere. This stuff floats around for a little bit and will stick to any paint not covered.will require about 3 coats. Spray a light coat first let it get tacky and let each coat get tacky. The key is to not let it dry in between coats.dont spray it and let it dry over night and recoat it again or it won’t stick well. This spray liner works great and sticks and drys hard. I have used it on all my off road bumpers, rock gaurds and rocker panels. It’s never peeled or chipped. Buy a spray grip, your finger will thank you.

[fredscarryall]

Started the front Ridetech coolride today.Removed controls arms. Then cleaned and painted the frame

[fredscarryall]

I installed a wolo philly express train horn a few months ago. Fits in the engine bay perfect. Since it’s not a good idea to hook your train horn to the airbag tank. I bought a wolo Sherman tank( it comes with a regulator 90 on and 120 off) it’s only 14” long and since I don’t run a spare tire, it fit perfect behind the rear bumper perfect. Down side is the compressor is a little loud. But one run up of the compressor to 120psi, will work for 20 uses. It’s really loud.

[Tiger Joe]

so I notice at one point you added a new center console with a shifter, are you converting the truck to a stick?

also, in your first post the pic of the passenger seat, why does the truck have a lap belt for a center seat with no center seat?

I owned a 454ss for 10 years I think. neat truck but just too underpowered for me. plus i thought mine had too many miles to ever really be collectable.

[JohnJ@RideTech]

Its coming right along!

[fredscarryall]

The reason why someone put in the ugly brown lap belts is they replace the factory plastic center console with this center seat

[fredscarryall]

Didn’t care for it much for the center seat. so I put the factory one back in and removed the lap belts

[fredscarryall]

Then I wanted some 1996 seats with the inside arm rest and power seat option. So the factory center console got removed and the factory seats. I swapped the maroon manual seat brackets over to the power seat bracket. Had to drill two hole in the track so the seat would line up and it fit right in

[fredscarryall]

Since I installed bucket seats with arm rests. The factory center console was to big. So I got one out of a 1990 Camaro. It just required cutting the plastic at the bottom to level it out and a cut in the front to make it fit against the dash. Then I installed a cable ran lokar midnight black automatic short shifter with boot. The only thing I need to descide on is if I want to run a handbrake. Then I installed some lighted cup holders and made carbon fiber plastic inserts on the top surface of the console

[lofly'a]

Originally Posted by fredscarryall

Next was modernizing the interior
Installing a speaker box behind the seats that allow the seats to move all the way back. Foot kick panel speakers so I don’t cut into my door panels

I like this setup👍🏻👍🏻

[fredscarryall]

Got one side done. Ridetech really did a good job in researching and designing the front coolride kit. It only took 2 hours to put in and that was teaching a high school kid how to install the kit. Went in without a single problem and fit perfect. I would Diffidently recommend this to others. I have to wait on installing the big brake kit. It won’t get here till Friday. So I put the Óld discs back on.

[hutcholdschool]

Nice work, your truck looks fantastic. I am following along closely on your build. One question I have for you is on that Ridetech Coolride kit did you have to cut out any of the frame on the spring pocket for the airbag to not touch? On other kits I have seen there is a lot of cutting to make the bag fit without touching. Thanks for the updates very cool build.

[fredscarryall]

On the coolride for these truck you don’t need to cut the spring pocket. The upper cup is tall enough. So everthing clears. With no rubbing.

[hutcholdschool]

Thank you for clearing that up for me. I want to bag my truck but I have been fighting it because of having to cut the frame on the spring pockets. I have a pace truck so I would prefer to have the option to put it all back to stock if I wanted to at some point. Thanks again and keep the updates coming please.

[fredscarryall]

Hutcholdschool, I don’t think I have ever seen a pace truck. Do you have a pic.

[hutcholdschool]

Here is a photo hopefully it works. Not as collectible as your 454 but they did not make very many of them. That is why I was following your build so close, as you said in the beginning you were going to make your 454 so it could be returned back to stock if needed. It has a 2/4 drop on it now and I am itching to try something else with it.

[fredscarryall]

That’s really cool. In awesome shape. Pretty Rare,like about 1500 made.Sounds like your getting board with the look. Here’s a pic of your truck with a belltech 4/6 drop and cowl induction hood. Totally changes the look. Unless you got a lot of money sitting around. Like $4500 just for the basics to have air ride with air management . I would go to summit racing (shipping is free if you go over $100 on most items exept the hood)and get you from 2/4 to 4/6. Get it in pieces to finish off with what you already have. The only thing you got to commit to is the frame notch. I cut mine with a plasma and it’s in a box with my factory parts.A lot of people worry about it but they are strong and made of good quality thick metal For $670 total. I would get

Frame notch kit axle flip kit $260
2” drop spindles $260/ or 2” front springs for $140(if you already have spindles)
4 lowering shocks $160

Then get yourself a modern set of affordable 18s or 20s for $1000 to $1500, $400 cowl induction hood with shipping and another $200 to paint the hood. All for around $2000 to $2600. Nice part about it is you don’t have to get it all at once. Each step is an improvement.

[fredscarryall]

Got the suspension on the passenger side removed, cleaned and painted in under an hour. Hope it goes together that fast

[SCOTI]

Cool build.

Can you possibly get a better pic of the front upper Air Bar mounts & the actual center to center length of your upper bars in place?

[fredscarryall]

The bed is already on. I took a couple pics of the upper bags mounts before I put the bed on,but I can’t find them. The air bag mounts are built into the upper bar.I will take a couple shots from underneath with a tape measure and let you know tonight