LFD's low buck truck build!

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by Dadsredwagon

great threead!!!! quick question, were you able to track down the rust form the kick panel area? my 65 has the same area but bigger problem, was curiuos if you traked down the leak if any?

thx

I have not even looked yet, this thing is in too good of shape to start digging and find out what the real truck looks like

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Well I washed the truck today (with alot of water) and I did not find a single water leak So I am thinking the rust in the kick panels is from leaves being built up in the air boxes.

I also pulled the cluster out so I could put in a new cluster that came with the truck. It also came with a new lense and bezel. The only thing is this cluster has the air gauge and the lense has the Vac label but for the price I can not complain and I will be using it for the rear load bags. Before I put in the cluster I need to replace the vent ducting and run a few more speaker wires. I am also trying out some Bituthene on the floor just in a small spot to see if it gives off any smell when it heats up. If not then the entire inside will get covered under the carpet. It is about 25% the cost of Dyna mat and has 90% of the same qualitys. Plus I have a 50' roll left over from my roof that I would like to use if it works. Also when I pulled the front tire for the box change yesterday I noticed how light the wheel was then noticed it is a US Indy Mag. I remember the name but can not place it. Does anyone remember what the deal is with them? They are 8 1/2's

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[basketcase]

I had some Indy mags on my new 442 in 1967. They were an open spoke deep dish wheel that was real popular in Indianapolis at the time. I'm not sure if it was the same company or not.

Tom

[msgross]

nice clusters....those going in the trash!!! didn't figure...

I've been looking for the vac gauge and tin

[Rokcrln]

Well today was one of those expensive one's but it will do alot for the build. I called up ECE and spoke with Jerry (very helpfull). I told him about this build and that we are trying to do it for alot less then the average build. He spent alot of time going over parts and prices for me so I could order what I fent was the best bang for the buck. I will post prices when the parts show up with my invoice. First parts were the 2.5" drop spindles and 2" drop springs. Next is a new cargo light switch and new screws for the cargo mounting. I ordered a new set of vent tubes for the heater and A/C vents. Mine are all falling apart so I will replace them and let you know what I find out in the process. Then I will be rebuilding both doors, window felts, window regulators, window scrappers and vent window rebuild kits. I asked about just replacement vents and I was told that they will not sell them because they do not fit very well. I will try and do a full HOW-TO on the vents for others to follow and put it in the FAQ section. Also Jerry told me mmost people will just replace the window regulater because they are $39 new or $18 for just the three rollers needed for one door. But hey for $21 per door I fent it was worth a try and should work out great as long as the wear does not extend beyond the rollers. I also got new door panel mounting screws because half of mine are stripped and will not come out so I will show a few different ways to get this done. Last would be the sway bar bushings so I can get this thing to handle better than a barn door on a windy day All in all it should be about $750 or so but I will list prices and part numbers as we go along. As for the frame and bed chop and shortening this will be done after Project Lemon drop is painted and before "Project Trazer" comes back for its solid chopped roof.

Stay tuned.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[extd56]

Kevin,

I need the radiator support mounts off the frame for my crew cab truck. Let me know if you still have them and not spoken for. Also if you need some 2 part paint for your floor let me know

[agronomya]

Can't wait for you to start your doors. I need to get that done and once I get the old tax refund I'll order up some parts. Good luck with the rest of it and I'm lovin the build.

AA

[Rokcrln]

I love seeing packages when I get home! I took the rest of what was left from the parts truck to the scrap yard today and made $34 Then I get home and MR. Brown had stopped by and left me a few gifts. I did not know that ECE had their own spindles made just for them. It was all packed very well and came in three boxes with out damage. Their was also a note letting me know that I had two parts that were back ordered (thanks Jerry). I will be starting on the dash vents first then head onto the doors when I get some free time. I will do the front suspention when I finish up Lemon Drop. So for now they get to keep all my parts in the corner company! I noticed that part of the vent window kit included a blind rivit kit that I will be able to use for part of Lemon Drop's build .

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Well the vent job turned out to be a bigger project than I thought it would be. In order to get to everything I decided to remove the radio (I also wanted to see if the dash was cut at all) an it made it much easier to get to the center vent. I also found that all but one tube was broke in several places and one tube to the center vent was not even their. I also thought it would be a good idea to draw a simple routing for the vents before removing everything. Then I decided to remove the lower duct work so I could clean it out (the water was black that came out of the inside) with warm water and a soft paint brush. Everything worked alot smoother after it was dried. That is about as far as I got tonight and I will try and finish it up on Friday after work. Also one of the best work lights I have come accross so far is this light by Craftsman that my brother got me for Christmass.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

I also removed a two guage set up that was under the dash so I could get to the bolts for the controls and I am glad I did. I found a small oil leak that now I can fix before it gets on my new carpet. Then when I removed the lower vent box I found a burned out switch that I will replace one of these days. It is for the A/C side of the system that will not be hoked up for awhile.

Kevin
LFD inc.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Also one of the best work lights I have come accross so far is this light by Craftsman that my brother got me for Christmas.

Just so you know its not a 'drop' light. The lens breaks very easily. Guess how I know

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Just so you know its not a 'drop' light. The lens breaks very easily. Guess how I know

That is why I said "Work Light" But yes I have not YET dropped it. The magnet is real nice but I would put a piece of felt on it to keep it from scraping the paint. For out trucks (real trucks are made of all metal) that mag works out great. I was out in the drivway working on this last night in 30ish (temp has nothing to do with anything other than being cold) weather and had that in the cab for light while I was tearing everything apart and it was like having another hand!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Well teh duct work sure is tight in their! But it is all complete and if you tackle this the bigest thing I can say is take a bunch of pic's before you take it apart and as you go. I had a hell of a time figuring out the cables and then just getting it all back in place. One extra thing I did was installed a sterio deck while I was up intheir because after it was done you would not get one to fit with out removing a few things. I first installed the drivers A/C vent and tube then the drivers defrost went next. After that I put in the center dash A/C vent and tubes in the the pass side defrost and last but not least the pass A/C vent.
ECE's vent tube were a perfect fit and all cut to length. They are also alot better then the ones that came with my Vintage Air kit. They feel like oiled Denem or somthing simular. Their was no need for clips or tie wraps to keep the tubes in place because they fit so tight you have to twist them in place (they kind of screw on to the ducting). Then before I replaced the controls I installed a new sterio deck. I found that to get the controls back in I had to remove the mounting bracket from the controls and reinstall it after it was slipped into place. PS. if you remove the ash tray it will make things a bit easier to reach around while working.

I would say that the Vent replacement (no sterio) took about 5-8 hours depending if you want to clean parts as you go like I did.
ECE A/C and Defroster hose duct set part # 10-AA06 and it was $59.00 and worth every penny IMHO.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Total $663.71
and 31hrs

[Rokcrln]

Sorry but it had to be done!

I know it was an uncut dash but in calling around for a new head unit I found out that they do not even make two knob radios any more. You can go with somthing like classic car audio but they are 2-3 times as much as a new style CD player. Since this project is "Low Buck" I can not go out and spend 3xs more then needed to get to our goal. Plus I can always undo what I did today if I decide it is needed. I also had some 5" speakers laying around so I added them to the doors along with a new pair of 6x9's. The door was already cut for 6x9's so it wasn't like I cut "good" doors I did need to cut the hole a bit larger so the speaker could mount from the front. The old ones were placed behind the door skin and that is one reason they did not last. Also if you are installing door speakers do not set them any further forward then I show because the door inner structure is at that location.

The deck is a JVC KD-G420 20W RMS X 4 (50W X 4 max). It will comtrol a CD changer, MP3 and has a AUX input jack in the front for an Ipod or other. It is a flip down face CD player and the face aslo comes off. It ran $124.99 and did not need a wiring kit to be installed like most newer cars do.

The speakers are Kenwood KFC-6903ie 300W max. I went with these because the old ones were shot from getting wet and the paper cone rotted away. These have a plastic type cone and are 3way speakers that sound alot better then they are. I payed $89.99 for these.
For some a sterio may not be needed but if it is this is a fairly cheap way to go and it still sounds very nice. So if a sterio is not for you then disreguard the $215 spent today!
It took me about 3hrs to install the deck and speakers. It was made much easier by doing this at the same time as the vent tubes.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Build Total $878.69
and 34hrs

[Rokcrln]

Oh the first pic in the last post was how the PO had wired up his bumpin system Spend the few $ and get the right size conectors for the job.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Rokcrln]

Rusty door panel screws are alot of fun but not that hard to fix, lets see how!

I pulled the door panels today because I saw that most of the screws were stripped or rusted out. First thing I did was removed the door handles with my trusty cheap handle clip remover. For those who have never doe this before you will want to go to your local parts store and get a door handle clip remover. You slide it behind the handle and pop out the C clip that holds the handles on.
They if your panels screws look like mine or worse follow along and see what I came up with today. First take a 3/8" drill and drill out the head for the screw untill it falls off. If your panels are covered like mine you will want to start with an 1/8" bit and work your way up untill the head comes off or you will damage your panels like I did. I knew my panels were rusted beyond repair so I just went at it with the 3/8". Once your panels are off you might be able to remove the remaining screw with Vise grips like I did. Even know I still had a 3 out of 8 screw nuts that were usable I decided to replace all of them one I figured out how I wanted to do it. I just took a center pundh and poped out the remaining 3 nuts. Then to replace fix the nuts I used these panel nut made for wood. I ground off the four spikes off the back so they would sit flush on the doors. I also ground a small area around all the areas I wanted to fix including one Door arm rest nut that was sitting in the bottom of the door I then used my large center punch to hold the nuts in place and also to protect the threads from weld splater. I just tacked the nuts in two to three places then ground them smooth and painted them so they would not rust. I had a set of plain black door panels in my attic so I put those on for now untill I can find some decent CST panels to put back on. From start to finish it only took about 30 minutes per door from start to finish and broke the bank with a whopping $4.00

Kevin
LFD Inc.
Build total $882.69
and 35hrs

[Rokcrln]

And

[Rokcrln]

Also while I had the panels off I cleaned out the doors, vacumed and used compressed air to get out all loose build up. I also used a small flat screwdriver to get down in the door seam before the vac came out. After it was all clean I bug bomed the door bottoms with Rust Tough spray can paint to help prevent and rust from comming to visit. These doors were in real nice shape except for the panel mounting nut but that is all fixed and the new screws from ECE for $6.00 (part #05-6720015) for both doors are holding everything together. $3.95 for the can of paint.

Kevin
LFD Inc

Build total $892.64
And 35hrs

[gringoloco]

Even your shade-tree work looks good!

[Hart_Rod]

How are you going to run the wires to the speakers in the doors??

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

How are you going to run the wires to the speakers in the doors??

I just pulled new wires thru the holes that were their. I did up th esize of the wires for two good reasons~
1) the bigger wire has thincker coating on it for protection from the edge of the hole.
2) right now I am only running off deck power but may add more down the road so I wanted to only do this once!

With the wire comming out at different heights it make for less wear on the wires because they just slightly twist from open to shut. If you came out of the cab and went into the door at the same point you would have the wires trying to slide in and out of the door or bending in half every time you open and shut. This is still not the best way but it is CHEAP and that is the name of this game!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[jimmydean]

Nice work, Kevin. I hope to start on my doors this weekend and that's some good info right there. Is the door relay tight? My passenger side is great, but my driver is shot.

I am building my door panels so I don't have to cut the door bottoms. I'm cutting the hell out of my dash though

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by jimmydean

Is the door relay tight? My passenger side is great, but my driver is shot.

door relay

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[ERASER5]

never mind

[Bob Moore]

I think he is talking about the inside door handle mechanism - sometimes called a remote or relay. The hardened post wears out the softer housing as you use the handle to open the door. As a lot of these trucks were used as work trucks (often only the driver) the drivers side got a lot more use than the passenger side. If you can find a 4door car from the 60's often the rear door will have an interchangable relay. For you 72 door guys the newer vans have relays with the longer shaft to clear the plastic door panels.