72 k20 project

[mx289]

Looking good Ryan.
Soon we will see some more 518 green !

I too really like the tool/fuel box.Very nice.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by brimc

Awesome fab skills. The tool box is great. Let me know when you start taking orders

Thanks! i'd like to offer some bits and pieces for sale, but i am always trying to work on this truck. all my time goes there. maybe one day i can do something. i would have to sell you a water tank though...

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That is one superb cell/tool box combo!

thanks buddy. i think a guy could get a couple bang sticks in this if you wanted. it will have just over 63.75" of space inside.

Originally Posted by Keeferishere

Awesome tool box indeed. I'll take an order for 1 to haha.
It'll be nice for the fuel to be hidden under the tools.

i like the idea. i like making people wonder too. haha

Originally Posted by 72MARIO

Are you going to weld studs into the cross sills and hide the bed fasteners ? Awesome build I have been creeping for a while now. Planning my own Cummins build for next winter.

Thanks! i always love watching another swap!

the bed and bed strips will be exposed. i like the OE look. smooth is nice, but exposed hardware fits this truck better i think. and, it is the most cost effective path. it just wasnt something i wanted to spend on right now. there are plenty of more function oriented things i want that are expensive, so i have to be frugal when i can.

since 304 is so cheap... haha

i did do a lid and hinge today.





a few burned rods.



i stitched some hat channel to the bottom. these are spaced to correspond with the unused wider set of holes in the cross sill. there is only one bed mount that uses them, but i drilled all the sills so they looked sort of stock. now i have a perfect use for them! the hat channels will span the first two cross sills in the bed and be fastened down well. they also mount directly under the baffles so the tank itself is very well supported.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by mx289

Looking good Ryan.
Soon we will see some more 518 green !

I too really like the tool/fuel box.Very nice.

Thanks!

hopefully. i am going to try to get some assembly done on the bed soon. once its together i can figure the fuel filer out and it should be ready for the paint dood. he will have to deliver or i am going to take my toys and leave. once i drop the bed off, he will have all the parts left that need to be green and no excuse to be slow. once it is all green, the majority of my chores will be plumbing of various systems and interior. and the trans and tcase. oh, and steering. and, and, and... haha. i have an event i would love to be at in june, but i just dont know about that timeline. my real drive it day is labor day. that was the day i started pulling it apart, so if i can get it done by september i will be happy. and fall is a nice time to be in the midwest, and i want to drive it back to Iowa to show dad and grandma my version of grandpas old truck.

[mx289]

That sounds like a plan.

Like you said.The paint guy may need a knock on the head to get him going.

Its coming along good.
If you think you can have it done by then,you will.

I'am sure the family will get a smile out of seeing it again.

[ryanroo]

...





if i can get it solidly mounted, i am going to need to air up the bags, get the front fenders on it and push it outside so i can see it from a few feet away. it has been some time since it had most of the major body parts installed.

[mx289]

Looks like a truck again !

Good work.

[6BT 56]

Will it go out the door aired up ? Lol. Looks great. It's always motivational once they start to resemble what you had in your head for so many years.

[Dieselwrencher]

That tool box is so nice. Are you going to have it PC'd truck color, white, or leave it natural SS? The timeline sounds like a long time, but we know how that goes. Good luck with it!

[brimc]

Looking real good! You are getting closer to completion. Can't wait to see the new box painted with the new wood and tool box. That's going to look awesome

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by mx289

Looks like a truck again !

Good work.

Thanks Tom!

i have to admit, i have taken a few gratuitous moments to stare at it like a high school kid in love. haha i can see it and feel it in my head. i am so looking forward to the day i can stand on the pedal and listen to it whistle.

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Will it go out the door aired up ? Lol. Looks great. It's always motivational once they start to resemble what you had in your head for so many years.

Good question! i doubt it. the tires are going to be a little smaller than i had in my first draft ideas. that will help. but i also hadn't planned on the body lift. so if i remember, the last time it came in and out on the roller tires i had room. not a lot, but it was hide height. maybe it will. at least this one i can dump and go in. the sad old jeep is just stranded outside forever. my yellow truck goes fine with 33s and 3" ish.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That tool box is so nice. Are you going to have it PC'd truck color, white, or leave it natural SS? The timeline sounds like a long time, but we know how that goes. Good luck with it!

as much as it feels wrong, i think i am just gonna paint it semi gloss black on the outside and leave it as is finish on the inside. white would look out of place in the bed i think and the powdercoat dude would probably make me cry for this much footage. i have a vision...

Originally Posted by brimc

Looking real good! You are getting closer to completion. Can't wait to see the new box painted with the new wood and tool box. That's going to look awesome

i am looking forward to the next time i assemble it. not because its any fun, but because that means its all pretty and fresh. the inner bedsides are getting a spray-on at some point, so they wont be totally finished till its running.

[ryanroo]

I almost cashed out and went inside this afternoon. i was just going to fiddle for a few minutes...



the tubs are ugly, but i am betting the bed liner will cure that.

[Dieselwrencher]

That looks real nice!

[1985-GMC]

Everything is looking awesome!

[ryanroo]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing it stained and sealed and ready to go! I looked last night at how I'm going to access the hitch. That shouldn't be terrible. I'm headed out for the weekend to visit the lady. Last time I did that, I ordered bed sides. I've accomplished all I needed to on that, so I think I may order the exhaust brake this time. My friends at Lusk brothers diesel performance are getting me set up with trans parts too, so I'll need the brake soon to work on the exhaust!

[shopteacher]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmGQbhwJ_CQ

Great Build and Great Video! Looking forward to seeing a video of you rolling down the road when you get it finished ! Keep up the great work!

[ryanroo]

uh-oh. ive been found out!

[shopteacher]

If you were closer I would take my students over for a Field Trip, but your a tad bit too far away ! LOL

Yea it popped up on my youtube list to watch and I said to myself that looks really familiar !

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice video Ryan!

[Mustard72]

Cool video. Nothing like cramming 1200+ posts into a ten minute video. Looking forward to one with the truck running!

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by shopteacher

If you were closer I would take my students over for a Field Trip, but your a tad bit too far away ! LOL

Yea it popped up on my youtube list to watch and I said to myself that looks really familiar !

we must watch the same stuff on youtube, show me old chevies and cummins trucks! that would be a bit of a field trip. hard to convince the parents that some crackpot in colorado would be an educational experience too... hahaha

i do like teaching, i have contemplated doing some informative videos. seeing the process is sometimes enlightening, at least to me.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice video Ryan!

thanks mister.

Originally Posted by Mustard72

Cool video. Nothing like cramming 1200+ posts into a ten minute video. Looking forward to one with the truck running!

it takes less time when you are only documenting the successful end results of the work, not the painful process. and also when you dont add in pages of rabbit trails and off topic wandering. haha


this has been put off long enough.

i put on the big boy pants and wound up my poor, beaten, smokey holesaw drill.



the old grommet is in the outer skin. i wanted to keep the appearance of a stock cab tank, so i will make a mock fill neck and cap for that. i ordered new grommets for both.





i jabbed a bit of 2" tube in to see the angle.



i need to look at the best option for turning the corner. i think a 1 1/2" pipe elbow will give me what i need.

[Dieselwrencher]

That is simple and will look oe plus be really functional.

[1985-GMC]

Can you make a sharp enough turn to go down the inside of the bedside a little ways? Then you could turn it down lower and use one of these blazer pieces to cover it.

Just a suggestion

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That is simple and will look oe plus be really functional.

the simple part really made this idea appeal. i have spent the last couple of years considering different options. i like the filler door idea, but didnt want a bunch of bodywork on the new bedsides. took about five seconds to elimintate the idea of a tail light or clearance light filler. i didnt like the drop vs. distance traveled and the fact that you are limited in size. for some reason the idea of making it look very unmodified on the outside is cool to me. this definitely helps

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Can you make a sharp enough turn to go down the inside of the bedside a little ways? Then you could turn it down lower and use one of these blazer pieces to cover it.
Just a suggestion

there isnt room to make a turn inside the panel. in one of those pics you can see a dirty piece of olive green metal on the dirty floor. it is the GM piece used to cover the factory installed optional saddle tank in a 72. in those truck the filler is in front of the wheel, but the part still fits. you can also sort of make out the stainless replacement sitting on the work table. it certainly isnt the most trick way to make it happen, but it fits the OEM style. if i had already had bodywork to acomplish on the bedside i would have either cut in a suburban filler and used a set up like the blazer, or done a filler door. this is still clean and not to fancy, but with no additional bondo required.

[1985-GMC]

Ok yeah I figured there wasn't going to be enough room in there but I like the way you're doing it, it'll still be very stock looking like that. I've seen someone on here do one that was pretty neat, they used a newer filler door hinge and modified it for their tail light and had the filler hidden inside.

Edit: durr... I should have read the first half of your post lol. Apparently you've seen it that way

[swamp rat]

Make some pie cuts to make a corner like the old 2 stroke exhaust to keep it tight to the inside of the bed, then make a box to cover it, some of the oem bed tanks options had a box cover running from the floor to almost the rail.