75 Dually build

[75Dually]

So on to the serious work. I helped my neighbor shoot some paint today, but before I went and helped him I got some work done on the Dually. I mainly got some additional support bars welded in and then worked on the end plate for the wheel tub. If you notice the piece that I warped when joining the wheel tub to the rest of the sheet metal, that is going away and I going to tear that out and redo that whole panel. 2 Steps forward and 1 step back!

Not really that much, some days you have take little steps, and take what you get...

Stay tuned...

[75Dually]

Something amazing happened last night. A very nice young man I sold some parts to earlier in the year sent me a message last night and asked if I knew anyone who had a dually rear end. YES I DO! Just so happens I still had the old rear end out of my truck, and had mounted it under the donor suburban. So the old rusty donor truck was dragged out of it home today and off it went to service another project. Talk about recycling!

Plus there will be another dually hot rod running around town soon.

Life is good some days... I got rid of something I was going to have to haul off, and it made another person very happy to have the parts he was looking for. Can't beat that!

[Dieselwrencher]

That's nice to hear! Kill 2 birds with one stone. An old friend of mine always says, "Even a blind squirrel gets a nut every now and then."

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That's nice to hear! Kill 2 birds with one stone. An old friend of mine always says, "Even a blind squirrel gets a nut every now and then."

One of my favorite squirrels!

[75Dually]

More bed work tonight. I got the passenger side roughed out. Still needs some work on the form, but it is really close, and the best part it is all one piece! Kind of like holding a slinky moving it around the shop!

Tomorrow night I will work on the end cap. I also have to make a new mount for the Accuair ECU. I want it all moved back to where I can service it and work on it in one particular area. Most folks place there air ride stuff where it looks good, or where it is convenient, which can be OK, but I know eventually you have to work on all this stuff so I wanted mine placed with that in mind first.

With that being said the bed is coming along fairly well. I still need to figure out the door to the air ride stuff. but that will have to be tomorrows problem.

Stay tuned!

[Dieselwrencher]

Looking really nice. You'll have it all ready for summer cruising in no time!

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Looking really nice. You'll have it all ready for summer cruising in no time!

That's the plan Stan!

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by 75Dually

That's the plan Stan!

Um...it says right there that his name is Ryan.

You said you are going with bed liner. What were you thinking for color? I know Raptor liner can be colored. I am thinking about going grey with mine when I get to that point.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Um...it says right there that his name is Ryan.

You said you are going with bed liner. What were you thinking for color? I know Raptor liner can be colored. I am thinking about going grey with mine when I get to that point.

Not sure on what I will coat the bed in just yet. A good friend was over last night and he suggested the Raptor liner as well. I think that is a good option, but I will have to think on it. I might just do a wood bed... Hmmm... Now there's a thought!

[Dieselwrencher]

I have really been pleased with Raptor liner. I've used it on some customer trucks and I'm going to tear my 72 apart and put it on it now too. Although, the wood bed would be a nice touch.

[75Dually]

Just a quick update. Yes I have been working on the bed some, but today I finished up replacing the York 210. Yes I killed the first one... How?!?! Helps if you don't run them out of oil, it does not help the bearings very much... So out with the old and in with the new!

I also relocated the Accuair ECU and the balance of the wiring harness back to the bed area near the airbaggit valve. I want everything in one place so it can be worked on easily. Drilled some holes and tapped them for screws to hold down the ECU. Then I spent some time cleaning up the harnesses and wiring tying them neatly up and securing them to the bed frame work.

I am thinking about adding a electric air pump as a backup to the York just in case... Not sure when this will happen, but maybe late in the summer or fall. Any thoughts or suggestions you might have would be appreciated.

Stay tuned!

[75Dually]

More sheet metal bed shots... Yeah I know it's like watching paint dry, but there you have it!

I worked on the back panels tonight. I got 2 of them mocked up. Either tomorrow or Thursday night I will get the passenger side done. Lots of bending and cutting to get them to lay just right. At least they clear the gas filler tube and assembly.

Stay tuned!

[75Dually]

So I got the rear portions completed tonight and got two of them welded together. Please don't mind the wrap on the back side of the tailgate, I never got to go back over it waiting for the bed to be finished before I took that final step.

As you can see in the corner of the pic there is the filler piece for the passenger side wheel tub. I duplicated the drivers side. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to find some time to throw it on the bench and get it welded up.

Stay tuned!

[Dieselwrencher]

That looks very nice!

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That looks very nice!

Thanks Ryan! Can't wait to see it all done and the bed liner on it.

[buffydores]

The tasteful gray trim is what really sets it off. I really love the traditional two tone setup, but you prove there are clean ways to set these squares up without duplicating the original.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by buffydores

The tasteful gray trim is what really sets it off. I really love the traditional two tone setup, but you prove there are clean ways to set these squares up without duplicating the original.

If you knew how many nights I stayed awake thinking about the color scheme... I actually got the grey first. Once I saw that grey up against that blue I just knew that it would work well. Thank you for your very kind words!

[UKNOWME]

What are your plans for door jambs and engine bay?

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

What are your plans for door jambs and engine bay?

As far as the door jambs, they are actually done in the same blue as the exterior. I've never taken a picture of them, because well, their door jambs...

The engine bay is another deal all unto itself. First I need to do inner fenders, and that will be a upcoming project I will post. As far as making the inner engine bay spiffy any time soon, I doubt it. With that lump of a 454, it's really hard to make those TBI setups look cool. Have any ideas on what I could do, the budget is rather tight this year, but if some good ideas came my way I would entertain them.

[75Dually]

Special note: "This is my rant section, and has nothing to do with my build blog." As others are reading this just know that I am not the type of guy who likes to park my ride at a show, grab my fold up chair, and plop down in a black parking lot and cook all day with hundreds of guys coming by and picking apart my vehicles. I really like to take my vehicles on adventures.

To give you an idea... This year's desire is to go to Dino's show in Phoenix and then spend some time seeing friends and family in the Tucson area. I like to take my rides out and drive them. I try to make them as reliable as possible, so that I can run them down as much black top as possible. If going to shows is your thing, fine. I like shows, don't get me wrong, but a vehicle is made for a purpose and I think they should be used as often as possible.

When the very first Power Tour was run I was there to meet the 12 cars that did that trek across this great country of ours. I was in the shop right after that and built a car to go run with those early tours. They were amazing fun trips. We did more in that week trekking across the US than most car guys do in a life time. However those Power Tour events are now uber boring. Sorry if you like them, again that's fine, but if you were around when they first were charging down the road verses today you would understand why I said that. We did not have GPS, and we (the Power Tour folks) actually got kicked out of venues because the locals were getting too rowdy, AKA Chicago 1997! Now that was a great time trust me! Then there was the time we arrived at the final stop at Mt. Clemons, MI. All the local guys parked in the tour spots and placed barricades on all the streets! So we threw all the barricades out of the way and just jammed the entire street with every car on the tour until no one could move until we left. They did this to us not once but two times over the years!! I could fill page after page with the stuff we did...

So if you are reading this, I want you to think of a great show or a destination this year. If you want to go to Dino's show with me perfect. Get your truck ready, and then come back to me and let me know... I'm serious. I might have to pick out a central spot where we can all meet, haul ourselves there, check out the sights, eat some good meals, and then blast back home. We also need to come up with a name for this... Alright you have you're assignments! GO!!

[UKNOWME]

Were the jambs a big pain? I'm seriously considering wrapping my 97 rcsb but I'm thinking I would just do the jambs and engine bay black paint.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Where the jambs a big pain? I'm seriously considering wrapping my 97 rcsb but I'm thinking I would just do the jambs and engine bay black paint.

The jambs were not hard in all truth, they just take a while to do so you have to be patient. Don't do them in black and call it good, trust me it will look odd, and your going to eventually wish you had taken the time and done them right.

My jambs BTW are not 100% done. I still have some small details to finish up, but that's the great thing about wrap I have found. You can put it down and do it when you want to, and not when the material says you have to like paint.

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by 75Dually

The jambs were not hard in all truth, they just take a while to do so you have to be patient. Don't do them in black and call it good, trust me it will look odd, and your going to eventually wish you had taken the time and done them right.

My jambs BTW are not 100% done. I still have some small details to finish up, but that's the great thing about wrap I have found. You can put it down and do it when you want to, and not when the material says you have to like paint.

It's quite possibly going to be black wrap anyhow but I'm still trying to decide. I noticed the past few trucks I've seen of Hill's they have their jambs and inside of the doors painted the same color as the interior instead of the body color. I know back when I used to watch west coast Customs they always did the jambs black when doing a full color change. I appreciate your advise and will give it great consideration. Now to fully convince myself to take on the wrap.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

It's quite possibly going to be black wrap anyone but I'm still trying to decide. I noticed the past few trucks I've seen of Hill's they have their jambs and inside of the doors painted the same color as the interior instead of the body color. I know back when I used to watch west coast Customs they always did the jambs black when doing a full color change. I appreciate your advise and will give it great consideration. Now to fully convince myself to take on the wrap.

Dude I'm about to do my neighbors El Camino, you totally have to try and wrap it. Yes there is some technical stuff you have to learn, but it is so worth it in the end.

Semi gloss black, just sayin'!!!

[COS399]

Looking good. I would love to say that I could make that run but probably not going to happen this year. Keep us posted if you make some other runs or decide to come further north.