Ackattack's Pro touring restoration thread

[tk-mpl]

Did you get the intake off of an ebay store, do you mind posting name of seller. I had another one picked out, but it did not come with a blue filter and hoses.
Looking good..

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by tk-mpl

Did you get the intake off of an ebay store, do you mind posting name of seller. I had another one picked out, but it did not come with a blue filter and hoses.
Looking good..

yep, good ol' ebay. I got this one cause the tube is aluminum, not chrome.....I can always repolish it if needed.....chrome would probably chip.

http://stores.ebay.com/insys-usa

[Rokcrln]

Looking good! What does the rest of the cold air kit look like? Does it pull the air through the rad. support or down through the inner fender? I have a 5.3L for my Blazer and if I don't Turbo it I will be doing a C.A.I. as well.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Looking good! What does the rest of the cold air kit look like? Does it pull the air through the rad. support or down through the inner fender? I have a 5.3L for my Blazer and if I don't Turbo it I will be doing a C.A.I. as well.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Here's the other piece of the CAI.....it doesn't really fit. I may or may not use it. Basically the only place to get air is from around the headlight and other holes in the core support, so not a big supply of cold air.

[Ackattack]

Tonight I was finally able to get the fuel system up and working correctly. Man, aluminum line sure does flare a lot easier than stainless steel (go figure). So after I replaced my hard line and fittings, I tested it out, and no leaks!

So then I put the bed on, so now it looks like a truck!





I also got the holes drilled in the firewall for the HVAC:



I'm planning on running the lines kinds between the outer fender and the inner fender to kinda hide them. I thought of running them into the kick panel vent like someone else did (great idea) but decided not too (lots of effort and possibly more problems down the road, but definatly a cleaner look)

The other night I worked on installing the front sway bar. I worked on mounting it directly to the frame, but after getting it installed, I didn't like the way it worked. It would slide back and hit the bags when fully deflated and when fully inflated it pulled one of the bushings out of the retainer/clamp thing. So I ordered the short stands from ECE.

Speaking of ordering stuff, I ordered a bunch of little stuff that I need. I'm hoping I got all of the stuff that I'll need before paint. I also got some other things that were on my list.

I also got the A/C condenser mounted, and then the tranny cooler. Of course when I went to start making the lines for the tranny cooler (using -6 SS braided hoses) I realized I didn't have enough fittings. So it will go on my list for the next time I make a Summit order (I just got a bunch of the plumbing stuff for the fuel lines....but of course not the right fittings). I may see if the local napa sells them.

So my list of things to do before paint is getting pretty short. The two big things I have yet to do is finish installing the one piece windows (test fitting them at least) and leave the small triangle installed, so it gets painted body color, and figure out the gas filler. Now that I have the bed on, that will be the next priority.

Oh yes, I have a high hump tranny cover coming I'll have to install. Got it from a board member!

[68 short step]

lookin good

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Looking good keep up the killer work.

[Rokcrln]

Sounds good! Do you really need the entire high hump trany cover or could you smooth it down a bit? I have a high hump for my 2WD Blazer but plan on tweaking it a bit plus with the DM it moves the motor forward and up 2".

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[texanidiot25]

The truck looks absolutly awesome man! Love that stance and the wheel/tire combo is perfect

[abadsvt]

Looks SWEET!!! I like the wheels too!!!!

Josh

[Rokcrln]

I am sure it is back in here some place but what are the wheel and tire spec's.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

I am sure it is back in here some place but what are the wheel and tire spec's.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Rear:
315/35/20 on 20x10 with 5.75" BS

Front:
255/40/20 on 20x8.5 with 4.25 BS

Obviously the front tires tuck, but the inner fender is hitting on them when fully aired out. I'm not going to be able to drive with it fully dumped, nor had I planned to. I haven't tried turning the tires yet

[Ackattack]

Today's progress:

I finished up the initial install on the Brother's one piece windows. Kinda a PITA. I thought the instructions left a lot to be desired. I'll have to finish the install once everything is painted. I did find that I have some rust to repair under one of the door hinges too.

The other day I mounted up the fender, door, and cowl and everything didn't fit real well. So I moved the cab a little (it's not bolted down yet...) and set the door where it lines up nicely, then I installed the fender and cowl. I had to do a little "adjustment" to get the lower corner of the front fender to fit good.

I didn't really like the way the gap around the door was with the drip rail missing, so I took a little advice from Frizzle Fry and filled in some of the gap with some 3/16 rod. Seemed to really help fill the gap.





I also got my other fender and grill down from my storage area. And went ahead and threw on the grill just for kicks.



I now see what piece I'm going to have to get at the salvage yard to get rid of the blinkers (they'll be in the headlights)

Finally, I spent some time cleaning up the garage. The 900 square foot 3 car garage had so much stuff spread out in it that I couldn't get any other cars in there.....now I can get 3 in there. Here is a pick of the parts I have to go back on the truck....using it for storage:

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Sounds good! Do you really need the entire high hump trany cover or could you smooth it down a bit? I have a high hump for my 2WD Blazer but plan on tweaking it a bit plus with the DM it moves the motor forward and up 2".

Kevin
LFD Inc.

I could get away with making something else that wouldn't be quite so high, but the high hump will be easier, plus I won't have issues with the carpet not fitting.

[Frizzle Fry]

Lookin good man. Good call on the carpet.

[Ackattack]

So tonight I got the driver's side filler piece in. Nothing too exciting.

Then I started on cleaning up around the back window frame. I knew there was one spot I was going to have to fix. Well when I took the wire wheel to it I found that there are a lot more places that i'm going to have to fix. Hopefully it won't be too hard. I'll bend up a longer strip of sheetmetal, then as I cut out the rust, I'll just be able to cut out the right size of filler piece. Hopefully i can bust that out tomorrow night.

[djracer]

Sweet looking project. I just went through the entire thread. You may want to look where the lower felts go for the one piece window and do a little filling in there before paint. Mike Nutt said he wishes he would have. Thanks for documenting the project.

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by djracer

Sweet looking project. I just went through the entire thread. You may want to look where the lower felts go for the one piece window and do a little filling in there before paint. Mike Nutt said he wishes he would have. Thanks for documenting the project.

I kinda wondered about that area, but figured the felts covered it up. I guess I'll do a little searching on here to see what others have done or wish they had done. Thanks!

[Painter D]

Very cool truck. I like everything you are doing to it.

I'd also like to say thanks for posting a "how to" on widening your rear wheel tubs. I did mine almost identical to how you did yours. Being able to come back and look at this thread helped out.

Again , nice work ,and nice truck.

[crabalais]

Nice work, where did you get the tublar engine frame mounts?

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by crabalais

Nice work, where did you get the tublar engine frame mounts?

I can't remember....I'll do some checking


I managed to get the rust around the rear window cut out and replaced with new metal, welded, and cleaned up. Turned out pretty good. I didn't get any pictures though.

Earlier last week I got my van tilt column's neutral safety switch relocated. I went to check how it fit's and installs and I realized that I'm missing the support that goes on the firewall. I must have sold it with the non tilt steering columns that I sold. Oops!

So tomorrow I'll run by the salvage yard and hopefully get one of those brackets (this place has ~5 67-72s, so hopefully I'll be able to find one bracket. While I'm there, I'm also going to try to get a 67-68 upper grill insert to put in my lower grill, since my turn signals are in the head lights.

I'm also going to make some phone calls and talk to some shops about painting my truck. I have one shop in mind. I had this shop repair my corvette's front bumper (wife backed into it). So they did a good job on that, and was willing to take on a restoration paint job (several of the other body shops I went to don't even do restoration paint work.)

I also went by another shop that also came recommended a week or two ago. Talking to them, they said there average paint job is $14k!!! I don't think I want to pay that much for paint, since I'm going to drive this thing!

So we'll see what I find out this week. Before I choose a shop, I'm going to get some references from people who they've done restoration paint jobs for....see how it turned out, if it was on time and on budget.

[djracer]

Smart move on getting references. I personally would want to see the cars not just talk to someone.

[Hart_Rod]

$14K?!?! This might be a good time to buy a paint gun and teach yourself how to paint. Looks like you've got the skills, all you need is a little practice.......

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

$14K?!?! This might be a good time to buy a paint gun and teach yourself how to paint. Looks like you've got the skills, all you need is a little practice.......

It all depends on what a guy is wanting in the end. $14K for top-tier work that includes, stripping, prep/panel alignment, bodywork, painting (single color) & reassembly is not out of line. That's a bunch of work.

Also, the over-all affect on quality will be evident if a guy chooses to do paint/prep work in a non paint-friendly environment (dirt, dust, moisture, silicone contaminants, etc....).

Ackattack is doing a heck of a job though!

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

It all depends on what a guy is wanting in the end. $14K for top-tier work that includes, stripping, prep/panel alignment, bodywork, painting (single color) & reassembly is not out of line. That's a bunch of work.

Also, the over-all affect on quality will be evident if a guy chooses to do paint/prep work in a non paint-friendly environment (dirt, dust, moisture, silicone contaminants, etc....).

Ackattack is doing a heck of a job though!

Don't get me wrong, I know a top tier paint job is expensive (I've got a painter buddy that reminds me all the time, ). But if he plans on driving it a ton, spending that kind of money on a paint job would be wasted in my opinion. If you planning on showing it a lot, and want to be competitive, ya' better dig deep into those pockets.........