Canadian Rustbucket 66

[rustbucket66]

A bit of progress. I have the air conditioning plumbed and wired, still have to tidy up some wiring and get some pulleys that will work with all the accessories. I would have liked to have the hoses more out of sight, but the heater and a/c lines come out of the firewall together, and they are pretty close to the compressor, so no choice. The brackets I used are for a car with low hood clearance, and is over on the passenger side of the engine. The original bracket that came with the kit had the compressor sort of on top of the intake manifold, and interfered with the air cleaner. I plan to make a dash extension out of fibreglass to mount the vents into. I don't really want to cut any holes in the dash for the vents, so I will build a fibreglass panel to run along the bottom of the dash.

[1enick72]

great work, nice build

[rustbucket66]

Thanks for the nice words. Got the steering wheel back from the painter. I got a steering wheel repair kit, and must have fixed over a dozen cracks and damaged areas before letting my painter have it. Nice to have it one color and no cracks..... for now. Put it back together and onto the column. I hope to have my hands on this wheel a lot. And often.

[northern 85]

Everything is looking really nice,its going to be one classy hotrod truck!

[lenguini]

Looks great ! So where did you end up going for the Chrome and if you dont mind me asking what did they charge for the job ?Tripple Chrome plate,show ?

Cheers,
Mr.Ed

Originally Posted by rustbucket66

Just got the bumpers back, and installed the front one. no bolt holes or liscense plate holes. The rear is the same, with the mounting studs showing on the backside.

[Grizz1963]

Just read through your build thread and have to say, if I knew what I was doing, I would build your truck.

I love the little details, like the aerial and am mad about the tailgate and design.

[rustbucket66]

Another big day, for me anyways. Set the box on the chassis and put they braces in where they belong. The box hasn't been on the frame for years now. I have to make sure the tires don't rub, align and drill holes for the moldings, and make a mock fuel tank before it goes for paint.

[williamsboys]

Very nice build dude
Posted via Mobile Device

[rustbucket66]

Oh ya, pictures. Inside the box, the stake holes have been shaved off, and the stake holes on top the boxsides are filled. Put the rear tires on and had to trim a bit off the fender lip to give good clearance.

[rustbucket66]

Next, I am building a mock fuel tank out of dense styrofoam. I've got it on the jack and it needs trimed off on the bottom. The shot from the top shows it in there. There is afair amount of adjustment and trimming to do, but once I get the right size and shape, I can get tanks made and know they will fit.

[rustbucket66]

Here is what I made to cut the styrofoam. Made this frame up, then strung a piano wire with a loop on each end. I ran electrical wires to each loop, and then hook the red and black clamp shown here to a battery to get the wire hot. Just hold the wire against the two straightedges for a straight cut. I've done a fair amount of work with fibreglass, and have used this styrofoam to make molds with. The second picture shows the block with the piece cut off.

[rustbucket66]

Now it fits a little better. I have cut along the bottom edge on a 45 also. You won't see the tanks unless you are on your hands and knees. At the rear where it goes against the frame, I had to cut a section off the side, because the frame starts going outward at that point. In the next picture, notice the beercan, where the filler will be. The gas pump spouts at gas stations have the filler arced on kind of a 45, so it is easy to put the spout in there and fill it up. I keep an upside down soup can over the spout and gascap to protect them from road splash. I used to have tanks like this on here previous, so this isn't my first time doing this. The first tanks were rusty, and i had to scrap them. The new ones will be stainless. Notice from the side you can't see the filler at all. No gas caps on the box floor, no gas tank doors on the body, and I can put a spare tire at the rear between the framerails. There will be 2 tanks, one on each side, and a gas tank selenoid and switch from the 73-80 Chevy trucks. A sender on each tank also. I am guessing that each tank will hold 15-20 gallons fairly easily. The mounting brackets aren't built yet, but I have a few ideas.

[rustbucket66]

Last thing to do before the box comes back off for paint. I taped the moldings on, to make sure they are straight and marked where they were with a felt pen. Then take them back off and drill all the holes for the molding clips.

[Bomp]

Man thats Nice.

[88Lt1wagon]

I really like your gas tank design, ideally I'll run something like that eventually. Keep on keepin on

[rustbucket66]

Thanks for the comments guys. Bomp, I have been following your build for a while now. You certainly listen to a different station than everybody else. You've done a heck of a lot of quality work, and you're not scared of spending long hours on each part. I admire your work and you have some cool ideas.

[Killick]

Your build looks excellent! Will be watching to see it running around when the weather is a bit more co-operative

[Captainfab]

I've gotten a little behind on your build. I have to say that your box is absolutely awesome Your sheetmetal guy is certainly very talented.

It's too bad we can't all have new box sides like that.

[markeb01]

I’m blown away by your engine compartment and overall build. The details and color selections are striking. I haven’t seen bumpers that beautiful since the 1950’s. And the whole tailgate/bed stuff is unbelievable. Outstanding!

[rustbucket66]

Wow, thank you for the comments guys, I appreciate it. Great motivation. I've started to install some wiring protectors that go through the cab and into the doors. The wires are for the window switch. First had to hack away some of the door support bracket to get the holesaw access to the front of the door. Man, I've done some cruel and evil things to these doors. First a big hole for the elec windows, and now this. You might notice the window track at the front of the door. That is for the one pieceside glass without a vent window. A lot of changes to the door itself. The first pic shows the wiring protectors that I will use. Next two show the inside of the door at the front, with a piece cut away for clearance. Next is the door jamb with both holes made.

[rustbucket66]

First 2 pics shows the thing installed from inside the door, and in the door jam. The next shows the part that goes through the cab side of the door jam. You can see the nut through the hole. I had to make it that big to get my fingers in to start the nut, and to get a wrench in there to tighten it. Installed a rubber grommet for the hole, and it's ready for wires. There will be a side panel over top of the hole that has a speaker in it. Now, do it again on the other side.

[chad64chevy]

all i got to say it WOW!! alot of detail went into the bed, and is amazing!! i went thru about half of your thread before i realize it was a lwb, anyways keep up the great work, you will have one of the cools trucks for sure!!

[66farmer]

Hey what's going on no update in a mouth. Do you have that truck finished .

[rustbucket66]

Has it been a month? I have been messing with the thing fairly regular. I have a few new parts in the engine compartment. The filler cap, pulleys, alternator, battery cables are on now. I hid the wires on the firewall for the A/C in the tube that is clamped to the firewall. It keeps the wires out of sight and looks cleaner. I also got the new chrome flags and engine piece for the air cleaner. Just a 283 powerglide, not going to be a tire burner, just a driver.

[allaboutchevelles]

Very Nice. Thats one clean engine bay. I love the old school valve covers and air cleaner.