pdx-sanity66

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Dang, that sucks about the exhaust. I too have a not so great looking exhaust. It's something that I've wanted to do myself, just gotta find the time to do it. Your welding skills are better than mine though, so I'm sure it won't be too hard for you

Thanks Christian, it's going pretty well. I've got it set up, now tear down for welding and add some hangers.
I got my new wheels today. 17x8. I had to try one on Sanity. I'm lovin' them.
Now to get tires and get them mounted.

[88Stanger]

So i never went through your entire thread, i would read a page here to there, but damn i just did the entire thing today! What a crazy, fun and great adventure you have been having! Awesome work Sir!! Love to see what/where you started and where you are now... it great!

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by 88Stanger

So i never went through your entire thread, i would read a page here to there, but damn i just did the entire thing today! What a crazy, fun and great adventure you have been having! Awesome work Sir!! Love to see what/where you started and where you are now... it great!

Thank you so much for the compliments and taking the time to read my thread. I started with not much of a budget, working full time, and being a single parent working in half of a two car garage. Now I have the best setup I could wish for but the older I get the tougher it gets but I can see the finish line and that keeps me motivated.

[pdxhall]

So, the exhaust project is getting close to completion. The welding went okay and like anything learned I got better as it went. The bad news is I got literally 3 in. left on the last piece and my mig gun bit the dust. I learned to weld on my little Eastwood 135 welder and I love it so I bought the replacement gun made for the welder. It went on fine and I'm ready to go. I still have to get some hangers on but I know where I'll put them. Here are a few pics of what I've been up to.

[88Stanger]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

So, the exhaust project is getting close to completion. The welding went okay and like anything learned I got better as it went. The bad news is I got literally 3 in. left on the last piece and my mig gun bit the dust. I learned to weld on my little Eastwood 135 welder and I love it so I bought the replacement gun made for the welder. It went on fine and I'm ready to go. I still have to get some hangers on but I know where I'll put them. Here are a few pics of what I've been up to.

I read you nightmare about the exhaust and thought, i will try my own. I have had many new exhaust done at shops, but never really liked what they did, so i have decided to try my own hand at it. Bought a universal 2 1/2" kit, and we will see how that goes. i have yet to get mufflers, only because i need to see what room i have because i plan to exit the truck just behind the cab, so room may be tight.
Otherwise, i like what you have done!!

[roll_the_dice]

Congrats! Looks good. You have rams horn manifolds don't you? Can you show a picture of what you did coming out of the manifolds?

[pdxhall]

Thanks. The front of the exhaust from the x pipe to the manifolds is still the work of the muffler shop. It is useable for now but I will redo it after I get a few more pressing things done. What I can tell you is I discovered a few things while the front was being done. I ran into the only downside I have found from moving the engine 2 1/2" forward. It made the passenger side coming off the manifold tricky, I knew it might be more than I wanted to attempt and is the main reason I sent it to a shop. All in all I ended going to a mini-starter and they ran 2 14" pipe off the manifold to the x-pipe. When I redo the front I will stick with the 2 1/4 coming off the manifolds but I will switch to 2 1/2" as soon as I can. Right now I'm getting some hangers figured out and tailpipes.

[roll_the_dice]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

Thanks. The front of the exhaust from the x pipe to the manifolds is still the work of the muffler shop. It is useable for now but I will redo it after I get a few more pressing things done. What I can tell you is I discovered a few things while the front was being done. I ran into the only downside I have found from moving the engine 2 1/2" forward. It made the passenger side coming off the manifold tricky, I knew it might be more than I wanted to attempt and is the main reason I sent it to a shop. All in all I ended going to a mini-starter and they ran 2 14" pipe off the manifold to the x-pipe. When I redo the front I will stick with the 2 1/4 coming off the manifolds but I will switch to 2 1/2" as soon as I can. Right now I'm getting some hangers figured out and tailpipes.

Thanks, I knew we had the same manifolds and both moved the engine forward...so your truck is as close to my build as I have found so I watch yours closely as we are in similar stages also.

[LostMy65]

Looking oh so good.
Perfect stance.

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Looking oh so good.
Perfect stance.

Thanks my friend.
I'm happy to report that I found a replacement for my broken clearance light lens so I'm back in business on that project. I'm almost done wiring the taillights and I'm working on the tail pipes. I'll try to post some more pics later.

[cwcarpenter98]

Those lights look really good. Are the lenses aftermarket or originals?

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Those lights look really good. Are the lenses aftermarket or originals?

Thanks. The rear lens are originals I'm still going to polish them up a little. The front turn signal lenses are new. All of the housings, bezels, etc. are originals to the truck. I've restored them all. housings all blasted and then clear coated. The bezels had a couple of dings that I got out and then polished from 350 grit and proceeding down to 1200 grit and then 000 and 0000 steel wool. I'm not really in to a lot of bling so they will remain with a brushed look and a satin clear coat. I got the wiring done on the rear lights.

[roll_the_dice]

Looking good! how is the exhaust install going?

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by roll_the_dice

Looking good! how is the exhaust install going?

Thanks. The exhaust is almost done. I had to trim about an inch off of the muffler exit pipe to get the clearance I needed for the tailpipes. I'm going to do a couple of welds and the exhaust is finally done other than taking it all apart one more time to paint the exhaust pipes with some high temp paint since I used steel pipes instead of aluminized steel or stainless steel. Then put it all back together for good.

[cwcarpenter98]

Thanks! I think the brushed style looks better as well. I will most likely do the same with mine eventually. Are you happy with the look of the new turn signal ones? Mine have several hairline cracks in them and are a little faded, so I was considering new ones, but wasn't sure about the quality.
I did get new tail light lenses that have a GM Restoration Parts sticker on them. I'm saving those for when I eventually replace the bed though.

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Thanks! I think the brushed style looks better as well. I will most likely do the same with mine eventually. Are you happy with the look of the new turn signal ones? Mine have several hairline cracks in them and are a little faded, so I was considering new ones, but wasn't sure about the quality.
I did get new tail light lenses that have a GM Restoration Parts sticker on them. I'm saving those for when I eventually replace the bed though.

The new ones are amazing. Exact replicas as far as I can tell. It might be the same company as originals.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

The new ones are amazing. Exact replicas as far as I can tell. It might be the same company as originals.

Sweet! I'll have to order some next time I buy some parts for the truck

[clemdaddy]

Do you still need a cab light lens? I have several amber ones that are from KD517 lights and the lens number is LS303. Let me know...
Truck is really coming together, seems like that Arizona weather and hard works is conducive to making good progress.
Really like the toolbox console idea, very creative.

[pdxhall]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

Do you still need a cab light lens? I have several amber ones that are from KD517 lights and the lens number is LS303. Let me know...
Truck is really coming together, seems like that Arizona weather and hard works is conducive to making good progress.
Really like the toolbox console idea, very creative.

Thanks man, I have the lenses I need. I've been working on getting the truck on the road so the console has been put on hold for now. I've been slowed down by the heat wave we've been having but now that it has cooled down a bit I am making great progress. Thanks for checking in.

[Warrens69GMC]

Subscribing..

[cwcarpenter98]

Lookin' good! Only thing I noticed is I think the middle hook for the tool holding spring is on backwards.

This is how I have mine. No where near as clean as yours though

[pdxhall]

Thanks for noticing the bracket. I'll fix that. Here's another progress report.
The new horn button: I decided to use the key hole in the column for a horn button. I purchased the button from Amazon. It fit the hole almost perfectly. I had some scrap aluminum laying around that I made the backing piece. The wiring needed to be routed so I removed the steering wheel. I then removed the inner lock mechanism and it all fit very nicely. I clipped the horn wire from the turn signal cam and wired it to the button. I ran the wires for the switches ground and power. I just need to hook up those wires and it will be done. I also removed the "lock" word from the column and I'll touch that up.
I've got the hood on and very close to getting it adjusted. I fits great. I was a little worried about that with all of the work done on it.

[roll_the_dice]

Everything looks great! Keep the posts and pictures coming.

[cwcarpenter98]

I really like the look of the hood with no seams. Have you thought about doing the same thing to the front fenders?

[88Stanger]

nice work sir!