69 step side build (lots of pics)(needs lots of help)

[Putzer]

Cab back from painter and drive shaft in, exhaust is being fabbed at a shop right now. I tried to do it myself but wasn’t happy with any of the results

[Putzer]

Havent posted in some time but got the truck to fire up for the first time. I had been fighting a crank but no start issue for 2 weeks. All I did was replace the crank and cam sensors which were already new...pretty annoying!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrSJVAl_6o

[Inverter]

Are those the PBF Forward arms ?

[Putzer]

Originally Posted by Inverter

Are those the PBF Forward arms ?

They are PB but not the forward arms.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by Putzer

Havent posted in some time but got the truck to fire up for the first time. I had been fighting a crank but no start issue for 2 weeks. All I did was replace the crank and cam sensors which were already new...pretty annoying!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrSJVAl_6o

Awesome man. Such a relief when when that hurdle is crossed... beautiful color too!

[Putzer]

Seat is in!

[cornerstone]

Man that is nice... Who's it from?

[Putzer]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Man that is nice... Who's it from?

It’s from a guy out of Kentucky. Here’s his insta. The seat is very comfortable and the craftsmanship is amazing.

https://instagram.com/bigbodyinterio...d=dr9z65nfp2hy

[68Gold/white]

This is one of my favorites, don't know how close yours will be to it.Carry on man, you're doing a great job!!!

I'm not a fan of green paint, but anyone would be hard pressed NOT to like this!!!

[Putzer]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Attachment 2000922
This is one of my favorites, don't know how close yours will be to it.Carry on man, you're doing a great job!!!

I'm not a fan of green paint, but anyone would be hard pressed NOT to like this!!!

Thats a beautiful truck. The color should end up being pretty close as I believe they are both factory color- medium olive poly.

Appreciate the kind words!

[Putzer]

Installed a set of “Cadillac 4” horns behind the grille today. They’re plenty loud!

[Putzer]

Windshield, gauges, TIM dash and seat installed.

If anyone has any tips on dakota digital gear selector with bim module for 4l80 im all ears. Cant get the bim to read the gear selection.

[Putzer]

Audio goodies have arrived and with a little surgery the double din unit fits pretty well.

[Putzer]

Amp, sub with custom made box, rear speakers and head unit installed. Next up are custom kick panels. I bought fesler but they fit like absolute crap so I’ll cut them up and use them as a template and fiberglass over.

[Putzer]

Bed loosely assembled. Went together fairly smooth. Has a lot more rake than I would like but think it will get better as I add more weight and the springs settle. Thinking a different set of wheels would look better that fill out the wheel wells better.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by Putzer

Amp, sub with custom made box, rear speakers and head unit installed. Next up are custom kick panels. I bought fesler but they fit like absolute crap so I’ll cut them up and use them as a template and fiberglass over.

You and I have the same stereo setup - sub and amp behind the seats, double din, and we both posted a picture with The Weeknd playing.

You even have the wheels that I want. Are those 18's or 20's? Are you not happy with them???

[Putzer]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

You and I have the same stereo setup - sub and amp behind the seats, double din, and we both posted a picture with The Weeknd playing.

You even have the wheels that I want. Are those 18's or 20's? Are you not happy with them???

Haha that must have been earlier in your thread before I started following it!

They are 18" wheels. I like the wheel style but I like a filled out wheel well and these do not fill out. Im thinking 20" wheels with more meat on the sidewall would look better. That will be later down the road though as they're new wheels and tires and dont want to eat the cost to replace when theyre functional.

[MDPotter]

They look to be American Racing VN507 Rodders? I'm looking at those in 18's or 20's. What size tire are you running? If you want to sell them I might be interested...I wanted the 8" wide/4.5" BS front and 9.5"wide/5.25" BS rear.

[Putzer]

Took a few tries but very happy wit how these turned out. All my body panels are being primed and trimed out. Hopefully it will be in the paint booth soon.

[1971Stepside]

I assume you made two sets of those kick panel boxes so I can have one

They look great!! I'm not sure I can do this, but I guess I'm going to have to try to build my own as I don't like what is out on the market. If you want to share any of the "build" photos of these boxes I would appreciate it.

[Putzer]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I assume you made two sets of those kick panel boxes so I can have one

They look great!! I'm not sure I can do this, but I guess I'm going to have to try to build my own as I don't like what is out on the market. If you want to share any of the "build" photos of these boxes I would appreciate it.

hahah thanks. You can definitely do it, I had never used fiberglass or done anything like this. Just had to redo the driver side one 3 times before I was happy. Its actually very inexpensive so I didnt mind starting over. I dont have any pics as they were being built but I can try to give you some steps and hints and if you have questions along the way you an always reach out to me.

1) Used cardboard to make a template and then transfer over to 3'4" MDF. You may want to use 1"2 or something smaller depending on what seals you have. Mine are the civic 2 door which are thicker on the inside but ended up making a super smooth transition with the box.

2) Once you have the shape in MDF, I used a router table (cheap ryobi) to chamfer the back side edges all the way around and I also rounded over the top edges. I dont think this is totally necessary but I do think it helped the transition where it meets the seals. I also cut a 5 or 6" circle where I think my speaker will end up being so I run the wire through and it also gives me a little more room so the speaker doesnt hit the MDF when mounted.

3) Now that you base is complete you need to make speaker rings. There is a number of ways to do this but I bought a circle jig from amazon. For the 6.5" speaker I ended up gluing 2, 3/4" (thick) circles together to get the speaker to drop down and be recessed. This worked out well and just a little bit of the grille sticks out. I didnt cut 2 circles for the tweeter since it sits in a flush mount cup and doesnt stick out far.

4) Once you have the circles cut, test fit your speakers to make sure they will fit with the grille and entire assembly! Then you can use shoe moulding, doll rod, whatever you want to create stand offs or legs for the speaker rings. You can cut them whatever length you want and angle the rings anyway you like. I hot glue mine in place then go back with silicone so they never fall out. Its a little bit of a PITA to hold the rings and try to glue a leg or two at a time but its doable. Try to mount your tweeter and speaker relatively the same height, it will be easier to wrap in the end.

5) After your rings are in place test fit the speakers again to make sure they dont bottom out on the MDF and you like the angles that they are pointing at.

6) Get cheap polyester fiber from Joannes or your local craft store. Youll want to stretch this overtop of your piece and staple it to the backside. Do one edge at a time, pulling wrinkles out. The poly is stretchy and thats the key that will allow you to have no wrinkles.

7) Once thats complete, youre ready to fiberglass resin the poly. I think I used about 80 ounces on the first round. Mix smaller batches though. I think I did 2, 40oz batches. You want to completely soak the poly so that it turns dark. When you think you have soaked it, put some more on Let dry and you now have the shell. Oh, I dont resin the speaker holes since you cut those out anyway.

8) I never used any actually fiberglass mat or cloth and I'm not worried at all about strength. After that I used a thin layer of bondo to get a smooth surface and contour anything I needed to. Sand down once youre happy. I also used an angle grinder with a flap disc to grind the backside down smooth and flush. You dont need the staples or that extra material anymore.

9) Youre ready to wrap in whatever material you want. Again, try to pick something with some stretch so you can pull wrinkles out as you go. For this, I used spray glue little but little and then pulled hard to get the wrinkles out and stapled to the back. Corners are kind of tricky but they will fold over behind the MDF and be fine. Cut away excess material so it doesnt build up and push out the kick panel.

10) install and enjoy?

In before TLDR haha. MSG me and we can chat if you have questions or need more info!

[1971Stepside]

Thanks for those steps. I will be giving it a try. I saw a pic on IG the other day of a tweeter built into a pod just above the AC vent balls. It looked factory. May try to get some additional AC ball housings and add the tweeter just above it for my first project.

[Putzer]

[67C10Step]

Nice. Green is one of my favorite colors.

[1971Stepside]

Looking great! It is a lot of fun putting it back together. It comes to life really fast.