John's LS 49 Dodge

[reaper71]

Pic #1. The motor going in for the last time..

Pic #2. This is the heater unit I picked up from Speedway #910454 it's a 20,000 BTU unit. $140.00

[reaper71]

Pic #1 The heater in it's new home.. I made a mounting plate that bolts to the firewall and the glovebox opening so it will be really sturdy..

Pic #2. I had to make a cover plate for the firewall for 1. the hoses to go through and their grommets. 2. The area looked really bad from extra holes so the plate covers this. It also displays the running of the hoses.

[Advanced Design]

Looks really good. Mark I like the solutions you use, really effective, they look right and are simple....meaning they work very straightforward. Often best solutions are the simplest and I often struggle getting there...overcomplicating things. Thanks for sharing.

[reaper71]

BELIEVE ME I feel your pain!!!
It may look like I just whip through thing's but that is hardly the case.. ALOT of trial and error, but as we know That's Hot Rodding!! We only get better from our mistakes LOL...
I've made some and learned alot from mine..(Several from this build)

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Looks really good. Mark I like the solutions you use, really effective, they look right and are simple....meaning they work very straightforward. Often best solutions are the simplest and I often struggle getting there...overcomplicating things. Thanks for sharing.

[reaper71]

Starting the mockup of the Radiator..
All I ended up having to do was make a riser at the bottom of O.E. brace to bring the new Rad. up to get it centered with the fan. Otherwise was fairly simple setup...I did make 2 U shaped brackets and put rubber on them for for the lower portion to rest in..

[reaper71]

In these 2 shots is the upper mount/shroud that I made.
I had to make this half round shroud do to clearance issues (at this moment I was crossing my fingers it would stay cool)
In the second picture you can see how the upper strap comes up & over the rad. and mounts to the upper bar I made. (these strap pieces are welded to the shroud, so it comes off in one piece)

Till next time..
Mark...

[ratty 46]

Nicely done on fan shroud. You could always dzus fasten some sides on that for EZ removal/install if addt'l cooling is needed.

R46

[reaper71]

Cool, Thank's Ratty46

[reaper71]

Pic #1. The stock dash panel is Very plain and if you notice the speedo to the right. (This will go away and a speaker will take it's place)

Pic #2. The dash panel removed and I left 4 tabs for mounting the new panel I will make...

[reaper71]

Pic #1. I made the new panel for Aluminum it will house 2 4" gauges the speedo is GPS I used the speedhut gauges again..

Pic #2. The panel after I did some engine turning (hard to see in this pic)I will shoot clear over the panel when it's all done..

[reaper71]

Pic #1. The panel finished and a better look at the engine turning...
Pic #2. A good look at the dash with the gauges in and the old speedo removed and speaker in it's place....(I hand made the grill for speaker from an old home speaker)

Till next time.
Mark...

[Advanced Design]

Shroud looks great Mark. So does the instrument panel and dash....very cool!

[ear.shop]

Once again. The way you explain your ideas is great. Caught this build off of your Project Orangepeel build. Great work on both! The fire wall and floor boards worked out great and look like they were supposed to be like that from day one!

[yahoos]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Looks really good. Mark I like the solutions you use, really effective, they look right and are simple....meaning they work very straightforward. Often best solutions are the simplest and I often struggle getting there...overcomplicating things. Thanks for sharing.

Couldnt say it better. Great job. Love it.

[yahoos]

Usually hate seeing radios and speaker in old dashes but great job at making that look as best as possible! I dig it

[reaper71]

Thank you Sir!!

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Shroud looks great Mark. So does the instrument panel and dash....very cool!

[reaper71]

Thank's alot!!
The Firewall was carefully planned and came out pretty Bad Ass..lol
The floor pan basically fell into place after I made some cuts..I was shocked it was that easy (I had a TON of things that went south fast so it was kinda nice)

Originally Posted by ear.shop

Once again. The way you explain your ideas is great. Caught this build off of your Project Orangepeel build. Great work on both! The fire wall and floor boards worked out great and look like they were supposed to be like that from day one!

[reaper71]

Yahoos, Thank's a bunch...

[rusty76]

That dash looks great.

[reaper71]

Thank's rusty!!

[reaper71]

Pic #1. here is a closer shot of the switch panel I made for him also.
Houses the ign,headlight,wiper switches. The one above the radio is for the heater (was an existing hole for same type switch)

Pic #2. Mocking up the bed.
A bit of a back story on this....The person who had the truck before john put a solid sheet of diamond plate in for the floor and it was not mounted very safely.
I will still use the steel for the floor but it was totally re fabbed to mount the bed and floor and was properly mounted...
The wood will be mounted on top...It is a full sheet of vaneer plywood and after I put the strips on and dress the wood it will look like a wood kit (the 4x8 sheet $60) Huge savings over wood kit.

[reaper71]

Pic #1. Showing the gap between the (steel floor)and the wood. I will fix this!
Pic #2. The solution I came up with...I used 1x1x1/8" aluminum angle to go all the way around the sheet.(it will protect wood from damage)
Pic#3. The sheet after staining..(I also put 3 coats of matte clear/waterproof)
Pic #4. The finished bed

[ratty 46]

Dash is very well laid out & functional. Well done.

As for the bed wood ... looks fantastic. Very well thought out & you addressed the issue at the rear very well. Kick ass look.

R46

[Advanced Design]

Looks really good Mark. Great inexpensive way to get a good look.

Making the differential bubble for the floor of my Burb yesterday I thought it through with...How would Mark do this?...to overcome some obstacles.

Thanks for sharing.

[reaper71]

Thank's Alot Ratty46!!
The Dash was so boring from the factory it needed a little pop to it!
But nothing too over the top..
The bed wood idea was one I have had for awhile now and was going to be using it on my truck...His was sort of a guinea pig, and worked out pretty good..

Originally Posted by ratty 46

Dash is very well laid out & functional. Well done.

As for the bed wood ... looks fantastic. Very well thought out & you addressed the issue at the rear very well. Kick ass look.

R46