Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.

[Tri5Nerd]

One quick thing I noticed is that you should remove the paint around the material you're going to weld, I use a flap disc or wire wheel to clean then weld but sometimes I tend to forget to do it.

Tri5

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by Tri5Nerd

One quick thing I noticed is that you should remove the paint around the material you're going to weld, I use a flap disc or wire wheel to clean then weld but sometimes I tend to forget to do it.

Tri5

Yeah I assumed he was doing that. Clean rust free metal is what you should weld. I clean both sides when possible.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice job on those tail lamps! They look excellent for a beginner.

I really like using the small flap wheels on a die grinder for shaping and smoothing steel, wood, body filler, or what ever. You can use them on something else and try to shape it the way you want and then use it for your hard to get places. Here are some online. I get mine at the local body supply warehouse.

http://www.thefind.com/hardware/info-1-inch-flap-wheel

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by hotrodrookie

If the die grinder takes off too much material, a sander like this would probably be more controllable. Sure its harbor freight but for little stuff like this it would be a cheap investment, throw in a 20% off coupon and it's even cheaper.

and dont forget to pick up some flap wheels too...

Groyd, man what a good list of tools these guys have shown. You should be able to take care of that little ridge you are concerned about with any one of them. You have done a good job with the tunnels - looks great.

In the meantime, I am going to HF tomorrow and see if I can find out what the heck is hanging off the end of that sander pictured above. Clay

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by Clay54

In the meantime, I am going to HF tomorrow and see if I can find out what the heck is hanging off the end of that sander pictured above. Clay

Basically it is a die grinder with an attatchment for a mini belt sander on the head of it.

[nickp51chevy]

Nice build. Keep it up!

[MrDude_1]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Basically it is a die grinder with an attatchment for a mini belt sander on the head of it.

i am not positive what im going to use it for, but that tool looks so cool, im going to go buy one today..

before i bought my 51, i never went to harbor freight this much before.. now, im there atleast a couple times a month. their cheap but effective cutoff wheels, flap discs, cheap grinders, etc.. have been invaluable in getting my truck project going.

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Basically it is a die grinder with an attatchment for a mini belt sander on the head of it.

Well, I made my monthly trek to HF this afternoon and found this gizwiz. The air unit and the belt sander are sold as one. If you look it up on the HF website, 97055, they are on back order and priced at $24.99. At my store, there are 4 (four) on the shelf priced at $24.99. Will get my 20% coupon and go back tomorrow. Thought you might like to know. Clay

[Groyd]

Thanks for all the compliments and advice. I've never heard of 90% of the tools you guys just showed me. I'll look into them later this week. Thanks again.

-MG

[Groyd]

I looked for a pedal rod extension all over town and ended up finding one online but it was like $40. I barely had to go forward. The pedal actually worked perfect right on the edge of the rod.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to why this would be a bad idea? It just seemed to make sense, but I could be overlooking something. I just stacked two washers and welded them together. Then ground them down to make a flat side and welded it to another pair of washers.

It fit really well. Any suggestions as to why this wouldn't be safe? It feels really sturdy to me and it bolted in perfectly.

[JML55]

Originally Posted by Groyd

I looked for a pedal rod extension all over town and ended up finding one online but it was like $40. I barely had to go forward. The pedal actually worked perfect right on the edge of the rod.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to why this would be a bad idea? It just seemed to make sense, but I could be overlooking something. I just stacked two washers and welded them together. Then ground them down to make a flat side and welded it to another pair of washers.

It fit really well. Any suggestions as to why this wouldn't be safe? It feels really sturdy to me and it bolted in perfectly.

I think i would want to have the right part for the job. Its not just your safety its also others. Just my opinion.

[kustombrad]

Not sure I would do that, being that is the most important part of your whole baby! I would cut the rod, find some tubing that has the same inside diameter. I would make the tubing overlap an 1" on each side, weld it up good and even if 1 weld broke, you could still stop the truck! Just me thinking overkill!
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[franky69c10]

Nice build
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[Mike Bradbury]

Great progress for a first timer.

I would agree that you really should look around and find the right part for your braking system. You don't want to find out in a panic stop if your welds hold or not.

[BlueJeep]

I'd cut the rod and lengthen it with a piece the same diameter.

[OrrieG]

I'm with bluejeep. You can also put on an exterior sleeve for extra strength. Those washers will flex over time.

[Thadious]

Two things I refuse to cut and splice... Brake systems and steering systems.... all others are fair game!

I would seriously consider rethinking the double washer idea... if you had to... lay it out on a piece of 1/4" plate and drill and cut the part out... no joints, no welds... and always overbuild... you have no idea how much stomp pressure you'll put on that in an emergency or fatigue failure over time...

Something else to consider... that rod isn't supported and will flex up and down given the opportunity... with a connector such as that, it will rotate up or down as that rod flexes and you won't get the horizontal push on the booster you're looking for.

Better safe than sorry!

My 2 cents...
Ted.

PS If you are using the S10 brake booster and the S10 pedal and support... it should bolt right up!

[Groyd]

Thanks for all the replies. I wasn't sure about the homemade extension, it looks pretty unanimous to get rid of it. I was more worried about it rotating like Thadious mentioned that the actual welds.

I think I found a double clevis that will do the trick and won't require any welding, that way I know I won't have to worry about it. It's rated at 3900lbs. I'm assuming my dinky welds weren't rated at that. Thanks again for all the quick replies.

[BlueJeep]

Along with what Thadious said, what are we missing? I'm assuming the pedal and the booster aren't out of the same truck, is that true? On mine, I noticed that the 95 s10 booster wouldn't work with the 90 pedal, so I used everything off the 90 and it worked as expected.

[Groyd]

The booster is from the blazer that I got the rear axle out of. The pedal assembly I had to go pull from an 89 s-10, I didn't get the booster out of it. I assumed the blazer booster would be the same.

[Groyd]

Finished getting my shifter installed. I went with the Lokar Nostalgia Shifter 15". I wish I could go back and tell my geometry teacher that I actually used the pythagorean theorem. . . ha.

I sat it in there just for some pics.



I welded a lip around the edge so I can just bolt it to the floor and make for easy access in case there is something that goes wrong with the neutral safety switch on the shifter.

[bjcaldwe]

Nice work.

[BC Toy chest]

Looks good

[Groyd]

Originally Posted by BC Toy chest

Looks good

Originally Posted by bjcaldwe

Nice work.

Thanks guys.

I've been out of town for about a week and I'm ready to get back to work on the truck. Hopefully I can get the emergency brake in this week.

[Groyd]

I'm trying to find a spot to mount the s10 e-brake. I don't know if I want it to stay here or if I should get a hand operated handle instead of the s10 foot e-brake.



My cousin came over and we started trying to figure out where we are going to put the computer, battery, etc.



It's about to snow and sleet here so I moved some stuff around so I could park my car in the garage again. I moved the bed onto the frame and snapped a pic just to get an idea of what it would look like. I'll have to move the bed floor up a couple inches before I'm done. I'm definitely glad I lowered the cab another two inches a few weeks ago.