Cannibalizer project diary

[fun in dirt]

green pics... so cab is done & ready to start on installing A/C & wiring!

[May70]

Very cool! looks like it came out good

[franken]

Love it

[fun in dirt]

Originally Posted by May70

Very cool! looks like it came out good

Originally Posted by franken

Love it

Thanks y’all ... getting closer to the fun parts now!

[72Teeroy]

Beautiful

[cornerstone]

Looks KILLER

[fun in dirt]

For the last month I've been laying up under the dash, but got AAW wiring done & Vintage Air system installed. Used the Builder 19 fuse block & harness that came out of my Blazer. But the this is first VA I've ever installed, so did alot of reading up beforehand. I will say everything is engineered out very nice, but the instruction steps could use some tweeking. Some tips for others ...
1. Install vent & duct hoses before the other in cab a/c items.
2. Do not install rubber grommets in firewall plate until after you get the pipes through first.
3. Leave that back side bracket off to more easily wrestle the box under the dash.

Steering column I bought "rebuilt" from a board member over a year ago (that has since been band & now I have an idea of why maybe). I did initially notice that the hazard switch was wrong sticking out & would not move when it came, but haven't really look at it since. So when got it out of my build parts pile to replace that, we noticed other parts didn't fit right... the little bearing under turn signal switch was put in wrong side & backwards in its housing. So that re-learned lesson, never buy something thinking you will come out better when you can just fix it yourself.

[fun in dirt]

This weekend we turned our shop into a paint booth & got all the 2 tone pieces painted!!! Awesome to see how good it turned out with the uncountable hours that has gone into the the bodywork.
Excited to be at the final assembly stage

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking really good. It's gonna be nice!

[cornerstone]

Paint work is incredible!

[fun in dirt]

Thanks guys for the kind words!

Moving around in the shop this week with fresh painted parts has been stressful, trying to be sure & not scratch anything. Had a few things to finish on the bed before it got set back onto the frame.
A LWB bed's inside wood length is actually a little more than 8 ft long So decided to leave the gap at front & used a piece of 1" tubing to fill that space. For the bottom, made a few plates to help support the center where sheets come together and keep them pulled down evenly. We'll silicone the cracks, from top, then once it is all sprayed with bed liner should pretty much look like a one piece floor. Still glad I went with the marine plywood floor, since only have about $400 in it verses the $1k+ in a wood kit like original. Don't get me wrong original type wood beds are beautiful, but I want to be able to throw stuff in this & not worry about it.
We gathered some friends with good backs & muscles and now it looks like a truck again!

[fun in dirt]

Work closed yesterday for Hurricane Ida passing through, so my 2 favorite shop assistants took refuse in dry comfort & I got the rear wiring harness completed. Because of the rear Blazer tank & frame mods for the rear springs, the wiring harness needed to be routed differently than OE and I wanted a few more wires than what was in the original connector. Found a plug connector that fits through the rear bed support hole perfectly!

In a back shed there's an old toolbox that I throw all the old wiring harnesses & fuse blocks in that I have taken out & replaced. A few minutes of digging & I found 2 perfect side marker sockets to replace my corroded ones. Avoiding a trip to town is always a win , but especially in this wind & rain!

[fun in dirt]

Since my last post, this truck has caused us an unusual roller coaster ride of emotions, mostly downhill! The goal since this summer has been to have it ready to drive to Cruisin the Coast in second week of October. With all the body work put together, we decided to crank it up for the first time. It sounded awesome & we pulled it out of the shop instead of pushing it. Let it run for a bit & all was good. Back into the shop, installed all the interior, trim pieces and bedlined the wood in back.
So with 2 weeks to spare before our goal date it was time for the maiden voyage around the neighbor! After about 3 miles total, the pressed on hub on front of water pump (that was already installed on this crate motor) came off. Thankfully we had not yet put the hood on, because shrapnel from the fan shroud & clutch shot straight up, trashed that brand new Dewitt radiator & instantly dumped all the antifreeze water in the road. Needless to say F words were also flying! But this all happened right in the road in front of the shop so was able to pull it back in before ran hot.

[fun in dirt]

With wait on a new radiator (which was nowhere in stock) and other destroyed parts, we ditched the dreams of driving it to CTC. Got all that put back together, second voyage out the new power steering pump was spraying fluid out the seal & new starter took a **** ... new means nothing!
So finally last night all is repaired, motor tuned up good & made a successful 14 mile drive around ... third times a charm!
So cleaning it up to show off this weekend at an all GM truck show in Tupelo - Truckin the Trace - wish us luck on it's first real outing!

My husband is an extremely talented and, most importantly, patient man that has made this build become a reality and always encouraging me.

Thanks so much to everybody who contributes to all the helpful post & the great folks that I have gotten parts & pieces from in the classified section - so much knowledge here that make a build so much easier - love this forum!

[twotrucks]

Awesome build. When bolting the bed together did you use any sealant between bedsides and floor and wheel tubs?

[Ol Blue K20]

It sucks on the maiden voyage. But I'm glad you got it back together.

[fun in dirt]

Originally Posted by twotrucks

Awesome build. When bolting the bed together did you use any sealant between bedsides and floor and wheel tubs?

No, but probably should have between wheel tubs & floor at least.

[cornerstone]

Lots of hard work paying off. Such a beautiful truck! Publicly praising your husband is a great thing to hear in this day and age, hats off to you and the family.

[fun in dirt]

Happy to report that it made it to the show & back (200 miles) under it's own power!

[Ol Blue K20]

That's great! It looks great too!

[fun in dirt]

It's been together several months now & so nice just to be enjoying it and not thrashing working on it! Have about 800 miles on the motor now - it's pretty thirsty but runs good!

We had several really nice days earlier this week so decided to go ahead & recover the seat. I've had the dark saddle cover for over a year but know how hard it is to work vinyl when it's not warm and in the the sun (previously had a homemade blanket cover on it). While doing this I had to fix a few broken spring pieces, replace the slide adjuster with cable & turnbuckle, & made it where the back of the seat would flip forward.
Tips for reupholstering a seat (some I discovered & others I learned reading on this forum):
- Use a steamer to re-fluff your old, out-of-shaped foam if in descent condition.
- A soldering iron is great for making neat holes in material for bolts to pass through.
- Heavy landscape fabric works great between foam & springs in place of original burlap type material.
- Use upholstery hog rings with points on end to easily poke through material, not big, blunt fence hog rings.
- Work it in the sun & patiently,take your time.

[fun in dirt]

Few more pics...