Is this the same guy that had your elky in paint jail?
Is this the same guy that had your elky in paint jail?
In reply to Crackers :
Yup.
Dusterbd13 said:I have a feeling that something like this will happen with the 20th anniversary of the challenge coming up. Sort of a class reunion if you will.
Damn man, I'm glad you said that. No promises from me, but I'm gonna pencil that in on my family calendar.
Today: fixed coolant leak.
Gutted cat and rehung exhaust (catalyst was brpken and turned sideways, so nfg for emissions)
Added taillights
Ran around the test loop.
Thing drives well-ish. Stops great, tons more power, rides better.
Tomorrow morning i get the frame welded. Then, onto prepping for paint.
Budget first:
previously was 1745.44
new money:
new trailer hitch: 20
console: 17.50 (pull-a-part)
door: 57.50
gallon high build primer: 95 (oriellys)
welding: 40
alpine components: had
sound deadening from mcmaster carr: 120 for 5 sheets
insulation: had
backup camera: had
autometers (had the trans temp, paid for narrowband) 13
relay and wiring, as well as flood lights: had
new floodlight bulbs: 9.97 from amazon
m14x1.5 studs (20) 24.00 amazon
new total: 2142.41
so, last real update we had a roller with a kick ass stance. Since then, it seems like I haven't gotten much done, but its that last 10 percent that takes 90 percent of the time....
20180404_195856 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
we had an issue with the un-reinforced frame getting bent. Got that straightened out, and the notched welded in by a pro. My 110v welder wouldn't touch this stuff....
20180403_212756 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180406_085153 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
we got the front end aligned (VERY rough), everything torqued and greased, wheel bearings set, cat converter gutted (catalyst was broken and turned sideways. NFG), exhaust rehung. Etc. so we got all that sorted. I then went on to get the airbags installed. Had to modify the lower mount, as the kit isnt supposed to work with a flip kit. But we got it done. Essentially I just added another leaf clamp on the lower plate. Had to move the whole setup forward about 5 inches for clearance. Anyway, got them in, the welded frame painted, bumpstops in, etc.
20180408_171749 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
whnile I was back there, I also got the relay for the auxiliry backup lights and backp camer wired in, as well as (temporarily and in the wrong place) one of the 100 watt floods. Holy crap we have backup lights. I need to tidy the wirig up, and when the hitch gest installed, the floods wil be mounted to it. Fill valves for the air bags wil be mounted to either side of the liscence plate on the bumper.
20180408_171756 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I also went ahead and added sound deadening and insulation to the drivers door, as I was in there to put oe of the alpine components in. (factory speaker died some time back) no pictures of the insulation, but will do a full writeup on sound deadening and insulation when I do the rest of the interior.
20180405_145340 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180405_145330 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I love overhead consoles. So I got one. Locating my backup camera monitor in the old garage door spot, and a pair of autometers in where the rear HVAC controls would be.
20180408_172130 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
lastly for this update, ive been prepping the cab for paint. That entails removing the baked on plasti dip that the pressure washer didnt remove. Lacquer thinner and a paper towel is doing the trick though. And the paint under the plastidip is in shockingly good shape. However, I found the passengers door is loaded with bondo, and bent a fair bet. Hard to get a picture of. But I bought another door. Made more sense than trying to fix this one.
20180406_164748 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180406_175302 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
art is shooting the bed tomorrow. But here's a couple of pictures of the tailgate, just because im incredibly happy with how it tuned out.
20180404_171828 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180404_171309 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I can't believe that is the same tailgate!
Awesome job... that truck is going to be incredible when it's all buttoned up.
viper red is slightly brighter than victory red.
That's a nice red!
I really like it. Quite a lot. And i usually hate reds. Exceptfor the duster. I love that one in red.
Im really stoked to see it with the bed back on. Art has the replacement passengers side door and us wirking out some wrinkles in it. I should have the bed back tonight or tomorrow night, and can see the whole picture then.
Oh, and i may have accidentally bought an 5.3....
The dark wheels help set it off. But I'm partial to red on vehicles. This looks like a shade that would look good on a lot of vehicles.
I'm usually not big on red or yellow but dark wheels and trim usually set it off really well
Stampie said:Actually kinda looks like a younger you.
I was trying to find a before pic of the tailgate and must have missed this the first time. I seriously think this might be my uncle. As in I forwarded it to my mother for verification.
He would undoubtedly be upset this picture is still circulating if that's the case. LOL
Dusterbd13 said:
Is this just top coating over the original red? Is there any variation over the primered corner?
In reply to Crackers :
There's some spots of etching primer there as well but primarily just a top coating over the original red. No color variation over the primer spot that I can tell. What's the grey primer spot over the dark green etching primer for that matter
Full update soon
I saw one of these at a traffic light yesterday. Original gold paint, just fading on top of the fenders, remnants of hand painted pin stripes, 15 inch wheels with nice fat tires. The truck was driven by a teenage kid and looked like the perfect "got it from my uncle" truck. It oozed cool.
I'm digging it
In reply to Dusterbd13 :
Me too... love the wheels.
Paint more!!!!!
Art has the passengers side door and bumpers. Ill finish plastidip removal and shake it down for the next couple of weeks. Then we paint the front half and hang the new door and bumpers. Then wetsand and buff the whole truck.
Im soooo looking forward to seeing it done.
The black stepside trim, the door handles, and the wheels all compliment each other really well!
Thank you! I think itll look even better with the black trim on the bumpers and tinted windows. Im debating what to do about the third brake light and taillights though.
In reply to Dusterbd13 :
My vote is for OEM. I think it will match just fine.
since last update, ive been busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.
First, I got the new fuel sending unit and pump assembly swapped in. the new pump died after about 3 seconds, so I hung the old pump on the new sender. Didn't fix the gas gauge issue. And I didn't take any pictures.
Then I moved on to the overhead console. I did a little bandsaw work to the camera monitor to give it more of a flat back. The way it was delivered was with a stand and knob attached, which wouldn't allow it to lay properly. Five seconds with the bandsaw, and....
20180410_082902 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
went ahead and used my hot glue gun to attach it to the console. Used the nubs and screws as the locations to glue.
20180410_082910 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180410_083340 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
then went on to cut up an old mud flap as a piece to fill in the hole left by the HVAC controls, and to mount my gauges in.
20180410_084232 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
we also got the rear cab wall painted. I scrubbed all the plastidip off, feathered out all the chips and gouges, primed the bare metal with etching primer...
20180409_184316 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
pulled it out in the driveway, ran 50 foot worth of air hose, wiped it down, masked it off, and had art shoot it.
20180410_173752 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180410_175952 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
color variation between viper red and victory red. Its a LOT more different in person.
20180410_182235 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
in the meantime, art had fixed all the rivet holes and damage on the bed, as well as sprayed it in high build and blocked it.
20180411_193026 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
he then painted it, I cut and clearanced the center bed support, and we put it on.
20180412_184323 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
when I got it home, I refinished the step pads with sem bumper and trim paint, installed the stake pocket plugs, cut down the bedliner, and reinstalled it all.
20180413_085947 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180413_085954 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I then went on to install the tonneau cover and tie down hooks. The tie down hooks are from harbor freight. I first used them in the el camino, and find them incredibly useful, especially since there's no place to hook a ratchet strap in this bed just like there wasn't in the elky. Im adding 8: front/back floors of the bed, and then on the side walls in plane with the floor ones. Gives so many attachment options that I haven't ever wished for anything else. I also Modified every single piece of attachment hardware on the tonneau cover to make it work. I believe this is due to the bedliner and the way it makes the cover clamps fit. But its done now.
20180414_191708 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180414_191717 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180414_184120 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180414_195245 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I also got the wheel from the elky installed. I couldn't get comfortable with the idea of a 23 year old explosive device manufactured by the lowest bidder staring me in the face. And the leather was trashed. I still need to work on it some, as it drags on the column plastic enough to make wheel return annual effort. Thinking there needs to be some trimming done.
20180414_194824 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
lastly, I need to give a huge THANK YOU to the staff at grassroots motorsports. See, I have a thing. I like decals on my back glass. The GRM Dork sticker is my favorite ive ever had. I got my original when we stopped at the GRM world headquarters on the way to taking my daughter to Disney. It was on the passengers bottom corner of the elky, and died with the truck. I was actually heartbroken over that sticker more than the truck. Also the memorial sticker to Walter B. Jones. I had reached out to the magazine about getting a new challenge specific windshield banner, as the windshield in this truck is cracked and pitted. While talking to them, I asked for permission to have the dork sticker cloned. Instead they sent me the whole registration packet of stickers/lanyard, as well as a new dork sticker. That may be the most awesome thing a company has ever done for me. Wouldn't even accept shipping charges. Hopefully this set of stickers stays for many, many years. I don't want to lose another set. Im also talking to mazduece about the stickers he made at the challenge of the names that were on the hood, as well as the super slow team logo as replacements for the glass of this truck. I may be radically changing what I bought, but don't want to lose its history. The goal for this truck is really to make what jeremy had intended, only nicer. Low, comfortable, capable, and awesome. A good drivabeater.
I will eave you with pictures of the decals provided by the most awesome company I have ever been involved with.
20180414_194849 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
You berkeleying nailed the stance. Happy I could help with that
Back end needs another half inch or so, but i think the bumpers and trailer hitch should do it.
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