Project Pancho Villa - 1978 SWB

[1976HighSierra]

sick truck!

[CHEESE]

Very clean!!!

[menace121978]

looking sweet buddy! awesome progress... finish line is ahead

[joe231]

very nice work!!
I can't wait to see the custom aluminum

[JohnC]

It's looking great man. I'm getting excited to see it finished.

[bigbadjohn84]

man that thing is sick! cant wait to see it all together! beautiful!

[Slick67]

Incredible detail. Love it! I just sent the link to my freind who just picked up a 78'. Can't wait to get him on here!!

[BruthaMan]

Been out of pocket for a while. We're picking back up tomorrow.

Stuck on a couple of things, maybe you guys can share some advice.

One...the one piece window. Man, this thing has turned into a nightmare! Having a heck of a time on the driver door, getting it to align without having to slide it around/move it, once it's up. I think we're going to take it back out tomorrow and try to move everything over a quarter to half inch.

Fan switch. This pesky little bugger! OK, so for the ac control unit, I have a brand new NOS switch. Four positions on the switch. We have everything hooked up, a new four switch relay. Low is fine, next up is fine, next up is fine, but when you get to full high speed on the fan switch....snap, the fuse blows every time. I'm not one to settle for three speeds, I want all the AC/Air I can get coming through the cab to ventilate on the hot summer days, or after a hearty lunch of mexican food!

These two things have consumed enormous amounts of time, which really sucks because we're just right there at the end!

I'll get some more pics up tomorrow!

[joe14]

what size rims are you running and size of tires....that really looks good..if you dont mind to telling us....

[turbo350]

Incredible project! You have far more time, ambition and $$$ than I. Can't wait to see it done.

[BruthaMan]

Thanks Guys!

Wheels are stock 15" rallies with 275/60/15 tires. Have had a few emails over the past few months about the spinners. I got the spinners on Ebay. Do a search for "fluted spinner" on ebay motors.

We're almost there. One piece window with power went in on the passenger door with no problem. Still struggling with the driver side, but "just" about got it today. Hoping we'll get it tomorrow morning.

I worked on the custom Rod Doors today. They were already covered by my upholstery guy a while back. Cut and slotted them for a custom power window/door lock setup arm rest.




The armrest is in a medium gray ostrich skin, same as the lower section. For the lower section, I added a chevy emblem for some character and bling.





Here's the second arm rest cover. The dremel tool is your best friend here!





Here's a shot from the backside. I picked up the window/door lock switches from Watson's StreetWorks.




Here's a pic with it all snugged down.





This next piece worked out really well. For all the stuff I've bought off Ebay, NOS, the hardest piece I tried to locate was an NOS dash insert piece. I had bought an aftermarket one, plastic with a painted "brushed aluminum" look, but just wasn't good enough. I didn't like the billet after markets because they cover up the AC vents.

So I called a local fabricator who came out and looked at the plastic one I had, took it with him, and fabbed up a really nice billet dash insert! Fabbed that and wiring harness cover (fuse box) for $175!

Here's a pic of it. Not the best pic, but gives an idea of how it looks:





Have to throw this one in! One thing I hate when new boxes arrive, more than anything, are PEANUTS! I despise those little pesky clingy pieces of nuisance! My Grandson, however, loves to play in the boxes with them. Snapped this pick after an LMC box came in. He likes to "take a bath" in the box with peanuts!




We're just about there! Hoping we can get this driver side window aligned and finished tomorrow, finish up the fat mat on the doors, wire up the switches for power window/door lock and the remote key/lock setup, get the door panels on, put the dash and ac vents in and get the interior finished up.


Back her out, put in water in the radiator, start up and run for a bit and check for any leaks. If all goes well, drain water and add in anti-freeze/water/water wetter.

Put front fenders on and run wire looms for headlights, which are already in place.

Add front valance, grill and hood hinges (I bought some chrome/powder coat hinges/springs that should be in any day now).

From there, we're waiting on the hood and tailgate from the painter, which should be done next week.

From there, need to get it over and have the exhaust put in, a front end alignment, inspection sticker and finally, some behind the wheel time! It's really that close. Looks like we'll have the complete frame-off done in eleven months. What a trip!

[silvereagle07]

Bruthaman, the truck is looking awesome! The details really make it nice. I can't wait to see the finished product. How does the custom dash insert fit? It looks great. Do you have any pics of it installed or the harness cover?

[Jonboy]

I must have missed the kids in the LMC catalog. What page were they on?

I understand about the peanuts. Growing up, my grandparents were Motorola dealers. Everything that was shipped was packaged in bubble wrap first. I think they may have used it as a babysitter. 35 years later, I have to pop at least a few whenever I see some.

The truck sounds like it is coming along really well. I like the way the dash insert looks. Very trick.

[JohnC]

Glad to hear you are near the finish line man. I can't wait.

That dash insert turned out awesome. You may have some interest come from that and get the guy some business. I can't wait to see it in the truck. The door panels turned out really good too. Keep it up man your almost there!!!

[BruthaMan]

silvereagle07 - Hoping to have those tomorrow. Just haven't gotten around to the firewall fusebox cover yet. We went to mount the insert and used some speed nuts that were too small (kinda knew it, but was too anxious) and two of the tabs broke. Jeff, the guy that made it for me, stopped by today, took it back to his shop, and fixed them for us. We should be putting the dash in tomorrow, finally!

Jonboy - It's not in LMC, LOL, but I should probably send it to them! My grandson loves to play in the boxes of peanuts and I snapped the pic of him one day.

JohnC - Thanks bud, really appreciate your encouragement through the build. I just know we'd be good friends if you lived closer!


Progress the past few weeks has been painfully slow. Really expected to have it done by now, but we spent an entire week on the driver side door panel with the one piece window and getting it lined up. The passenger side went well, no problem, but the driver side was a royal pain!

The rod door panels are nice, but we had to do quite a bit of trimming and tweaking on them as well. Most notably the top corners...there is a lip there that we had to grind down and tuck just a little for a smooth fit. Dremel tool was a life saver there!

Here's an update of where we are:

Drivers side door. Finished up the power windows and door locks and added in a keyless entry system. Laid down fatmat on the inside of the door to help reduce noise and some on the outside to cover up various holes. Kent (my friend that's helping me) did most of the hard work on the doors. He has a lot more patience than I do.





Put the new dash in, with the custom dash insert for a test fit. Progress was going so slow, we wanted to do something to make it "seem" like we were making progress!





New gauge bezel on for a test fit:





Finally, for almost two weeks of prep time on the doors, windows, locks, keyless entry, along with constant test fits and measurements to drill holes, we have the passenger side door panel finished!

The the power window/door switches are custom. The door pull is from Billet Specialties and the Chevrolet emblem and billet door lock knob from Ebay.













We put the passenger side fender on earlier today for a test fit. Here's a side shot of how it's looking:





Hoping to have the rest of the interior done tomorrow. Just the driver side "rod door" panel, the dash and insert plate, and it's done.

Driver side fender on, then we're going to back her out of the garage, run some water in the radiator and break in the motor and check for any leaks (fingers crossed!).

Hood and tailgate should be in Friday! Next week to the exhaust shop to get the exhaust system installed, a visit to Midas for a front end alignment, inspection sticker, tags. It's just about done!

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by BruthaMan

JohnC - Thanks bud, really appreciate your encouragement through the build. I just know we'd be good friends if you lived closer!

That hurts man. We can't be good friends because of our locations? Just messing with ya!

The feeling is mutual. Seeing your progress on your truck motivates me on mine. That last shot of yours is sweet man. I can't wait to see some of it all together.

Keep it going man!!!!

[Jonboy]

Beautiful. Can't wait to see it finished.

[menace121978]

that is awesome! very well done Wade hope mine turns out that clean and those door panels are a work of art

can you post a few pics of the seats and console for us? cant stop staring at the pics. that bezel is sweet!

[OARNGESI]

Really nice

[BruthaMan]

Another few days, a little more progress.

Finally, finally got the interior finished! Here's some pics, from the driver seat area, looking at various views of the interior:

























Bleeding the brakes today. Brand new brake system, new stainless lines, master cylinder, proportioning value. This little gem from harbor freight is making it a lot easier. Way, way too much air in a new system for doing by hand.

[joe231]

very nice!
where did you get that dash trim? is it chrome or polished aluminum?

[JohnC]

Glad to see the finished interior man. It looks amazing. I can't wait to see video of this thing. I may have to make a road trip out to the panhandle some weekend and check it out. Keep the momentum going man!!!!

[BruthaMan]

Originally Posted by joe231

very nice!
where did you get that dash trim? is it chrome or polished aluminum?

It's polished aluminum. I had an aftermarket one and didn't like it, couldn't find an NOS one, so asked a local fabricator if he could do something and that's what he came up with. Not quite perfect, but miles better looking than what I had and I have access to the vents, so I can hog them all over to the driver side during the summer!

Originally Posted by JohnC

Glad to see the finished interior man. It looks amazing. I can't wait to see video of this thing. I may have to make a road trip out to the panhandle some weekend and check it out. Keep the momentum going man!!!!

It really came out better than I expected! I've been using some Zaino "Leather in a Bottle" on the seats and door panel. It's the closest thing I've ever found to that "new car smell". It smells good up in there!

Yeah, bring it on down to Amarillo. I'll buy ya dinner and a few beers!

Wade

[JohnC]

Sounds like a plan man. May try and talk Joe, and a couple of the other local board guys to make a road trip out of it.

[joe231]

Originally Posted by BruthaMan

It's polished aluminum. I had an aftermarket one and didn't like it, couldn't find an NOS one, so asked a local fabricator if he could do something and that's what he came up with. Not quite perfect, but miles better looking than what I had and I have access to the vents, so I can hog them all over to the driver side during the summer!




It really came out better than I expected! I've been using some Zaino "Leather in a Bottle" on the seats and door panel. It's the closest thing I've ever found to that "new car smell". It smells good up in there!

Yeah, bring it on down to Amarillo. I'll buy ya dinner and a few beers!

Wade

It looks nice!! I like it!

EDIT:
I just went back and re-read... sorry for asking a redundant question about the insert...

Originally Posted by JohnC

Sounds like a plan man. May try and talk Joe, and a couple of the other local board guys to make a road trip out of it.

somebody say "ROAD-TRIP"!!!!

I spent some time growing up in Canyon, Tx. and I have some family in Amarillo.....
My grandparents had a big farm outside of Canyon...I loved that place.
My dad helped build the interstate going around canyon when I was a kid....sorry, just some random info about me