Project "Buffalo Blizzard Surprise" 71 SWB build

[derotoreut]

I bought a Gen IV DBW throttle bracket from fellow member Rob (Hart_Rod). I did some layout with the pedal bracket and found out that it wouldn't line up with the mounting holes in my firewall.

Here is my stock pedal installed in the cab


You can see Rob's DBW bracket on the left, and my throttle assembly on the right. There is no way that the bracket will mount to my cab since the holes don't match.


Neither of us had any idea why it didn't line up. Rob says that the dimensions of my pedal are the same as the ones on 73-87 trucks. I have no idea why. My truck is an original 71, built in California and spent it's life in Arizona. If any one has any ideas or information, I'd love to hear.

Since I'm going with a shaved firewall, I don't really need the mounting holes any way. I just needed to find the best location for the bracket. I took turns installing the bracket in various locations using only one bolt (since that's all I could install at one time). Each time I took measurements, comparing it the the stock pedal measurements. Once I found the best location, I installed the bolt and tack welded the bracket in place.

This was the best location for the DBW bracket with the 2005+ Corvette pedal installed.

[MySons68C20]

How is this project coming along?

[derotoreut]

I'm sorry guys. I haven't been too diligent with keeping up on my build. It is still going forward, but on a slower pace then anticipated. Sometimes real life gets in the way and so do life's priorities.

In the meantime I decided to add onto my 40 x 40 workshop. My wife said we can't leave the family to go south or west during the Buffalo winters. I said then I needed something to do in the winter, so I added onto my workshop. She agreed (she's a saint). Hopefully I don't bore you by getting off track here, but I'm super proud of what I accomplished with the shop and it's a great winter hideaway. I just finished it.

Here was my original 40'x40' building. I decided to add onto the front of it.



I decided to add a 46' wide x 48' deep x 14' ceiling addition.









Here is the addition onto the front of my original workshop.

[derotoreut]

Once I closed in the building I insulated the ceiling with blown in fiberglass R48.



I tore out the old approach to the original building.



While down at the fall Hershey car show I detoured and picked up some reclaimed XPS insulation. I planned to install in-floor radiant heat and I wanted to use the insulation under the concrete. It was 4" thick, 400 psi rated. Perfect for my project.



I put down a 15 mil vapor barrier as I went along, sealing all the edges.



Once the vapor barrier and insulation was down, I laid down wire mesh to attach the pex tubing to.

[derotoreut]

The pex tubing was laid out over the wire mesh and zip tied.



I marked out a spot where my 2-post lift would go.



All the tubing runs and domestic water was brought to a central location. This is where I would install the condensing boiler.



Then came the concrete pour!

[derotoreut]

I installed a piece of diamond plate on the wall in order to mount the boiler and auxiliaries to.



I put in a propane fired Navien boiler. This not only heats the floor, but also heats domestic water.



About 3-months later I had the concrete floor polished. I was going to go with an epoxy floor, but changed my mind.



The polishing is quite time consuming, but was half the cost of the epoxy floor.



This is the final top coat (ice cap) that gets burnished into the floor. It's not really a coating, but goes into the pores of the concrete.

[derotoreut]

Here is the final result of the floor after polishing. Amazingly not slippery when wet like an epoxy floor.



Close up of the floor. This is considered "Salt & Pepper" aggregate.



The section of floor on the right is perfectly flat for the installation of the lift. The other section of the floor between the center door and left door pitch to a channel drain.



Final heating system and wash basin.

[derotoreut]

So the lift is going where my 70 K10 is sitting.



After waiting several months, my lift finally came in. It's a new symmetrical model Bendpak that is rated for 10,000 lbs, but is 13' tall.



I stood up the posts with help from John Deere.



Squared them up and leveled both posts.



And here's my final results!

[72 k15]

I love that shop, Nice set up you got going,I would kill for that shop!

[derotoreut]

Originally Posted by 72 k15

I love that shop, Nice set up you got going,I would kill for that shop!

Thanks. It was a lot of hard work. I did a lot of it myself, but some of the things like concrete and polishing I left up to others. I'm glad I didn't have to kill for it, so I can enjoy it and not prison. lol. I appreciate your compliment.

[cornerstone]

Congratulations on the expansion! Thanks for showing all the pictures on your floors construction. Very interesting... I do have a question about the drain, did you run a line out from under the floor to a french drain or into a sewer?

[72 tigger]

Great shop and wife! Thanks for the pics

[zicc1835]

thank you for sharing this ....WOW.... Im a couple years from retirement and my wife and I talk about heading south but momma dont want to get to far from family either....so we have some plans to expand living space pool etc. unfortunately im in a suburb that dosent alow detached garages anymore (i have one that is non conforming) and my lot wont allow it.... short story is i want to be the kid from the city that gets a couple weeks in the summer " UP State “ at your place im a good helper and dont eat much can pitch a tent wrestle with bears etc. seriously God Bless
the workmanship, planning and execution is outstanding I may have to take a road trip one day if i can finish my 69....
jess

[MDPotter]

That shop is a dream for me - the size, the lift, the trench drains, the heated floors are all awesome. I work for a general contractor (mostly commercial) and my first project as a superintendent was a bus storage facility in Aspen with in-floor heat. We had 6" of insulation and 8" of concrete and not a single line hit while sawcutting so I was pretty proud. We had large boilers supplying the hot water - you'll have to let us know how your tankless works!

[1971Stepside]

Wow!! I want that...

[derotoreut]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Congratulations on the expansion! Thanks for showing all the pictures on your floors construction. Very interesting... I do have a question about the drain, did you run a line out from under the floor to a french drain or into a sewer?

I ran the channel drain out the side of the building and tied it in with my downspouts. I also tied in the small wash tub into that. Everything goes down hill and into a pit area in the scrub brush.

Some areas have restrictions on floor drains and how they're allowed to drain. I live in the country and they're not too strict out here. In reality I should not have the wash tub tied into this, but in order to do it properly I would've had to put in another septic system. I wasn't going to do that for the small amount of time I use the tub.

The channel drain comes out in the middle. My downspouts tie in at the front and back corners. I also tied in the wash tub with the small pipe.



I also tied in the floor drain from the original building into this.



Everything goes down hill into a low area in the woods.

[cornerstone]

Thanks for the clarification on your drainage system. Now as your sig says "away those troubles go down the drain!" I helped my brother in law with building his 30x40 a few months ago, so based on the size of yours, I know what a huge job you tackled.

[derotoreut]

Hi all. I can't believe that I haven't updated this build thread in about 4-years. Real life gets in the way, which makes it tough to find the time. It's a matter of priorities I suppose. Nonetheless, I'm going to try to get you all updated. The project isn't completed, but I've certainly made some progress along the way. I hope you enjoy it. Keep tuned while I start pulling in some pictures.

[derotoreut]

So I had a bad passenger side rocker. Not sure who did the work on this, but he/she definitely wasn't qualified

[derotoreut]

All of the body panels are original sheet metal and in great shape.


Body gaps are quite good to start with.

[derotoreut]

Driver side door fit was tight at the corner.


Relieve...


Remove...


Re-weld...

[derotoreut]

Cut out the hump and then some...


Leaves a gaping hole...


Fabricate new tunnel...


Clearance now for 4L70E and driveshaft

[derotoreut]

Planned to use these Ringbrothers hood hinges.


They would not pop the hood when released.


Even with different gas cylinders they did not work. It was disappointing.

[derotoreut]

Bought these from Eddie Motorsports and they did the trick. Worked very well.

[derotoreut]

Time to get cab and sheet metal off to blast. Everything looks pretty solid. I was hoping for good results and not a bunch of Swiss cheese when done.