Projects The LeGrange Produce Tribute Truck build

As I get older I start to crave some of the creature comforts that my daily has, namely AC. It averages 100+ here in the summer starting about May through the end of August at about 45% humidity. This is the first hot rod I have ever owned that will have AC. We plan on traveling a lot on this one, so it is a must. The hardest part is finding a place to put everything. I opted for the Vintage Air AC unit, just because they have done a ton of them.
The downside is that I lose my cowl vent, which really bummed me out and also, the glove box. I still have to fab all the lines and wire it, so it will be a while before I can ops check it to see how well it cools.

 

Looks great Root.

No cowl vent? Surely you can figure out a way to keep that!

 

Lookin' good man!! Makes me itchy for a cool old pickup....but with all the other projects I have sitting here, I'll just have to live vicariously through you.

 

I'll address it after it's all done. With any luck, you will be seeing it in person in October.

 

I have used power vent controls on both my 40 and my 53 F100. Sure is nice to have in the spring and fall.

 

I can say that on my Merc, the builder whoever he was, removed all the vents during the build. Not the end of the world, but I don't always care to run the AC and without it running, there is precious little air flow which naturally makes it much warmer than it needs to be on a nice day. I intend to correct that little misstep and put vents back in.

 

Trunk looks awesome root!!

 

The problem is actually in the control panel. To center it up on the dash, it gets into the cowl vent track. I should have looked BEFORE I cut into the dash.

 

I'm pretty stoked. I just got my seat and door panels back from the upholstery guy. It's exactly what I told him I wanted. I used Nassimi Symphony. It's a 36 oz vinyl that was referred to me, by what else, the HAMB. It acts likea waxed leather. It's not cheap, but it is very nice material. Here's a link to the material. http://www.symphonycollection.com/I...onyProductDetails&CN=SymphonyProductDetailsId I advise you to order sample pieces to check your color. The monitor color is so much different, I would have ordered the wrong color.

Here's a before and after of the seat.

 

Nice transformation! Did they spray or wrap the plastic pieces?

 

He wrapped them. I figured I would have to paint them, but he surprised me.

 

Your seat and door panels look very nice, can't wait to see them installed.

 

Boy that looks good.

 

nice Tojo leather there bubba

 

Thank you...thank you very much...in my best Elvis voice.

 

It will go good with the colors of the new England fall foliage.

 

So, progress is slow. I did get one of the doors completed with regulators, new fuzzies, new glass etc. Threw some fat mat on the door for dampening and had to try out my new door panel. I covered the seat base as well. I ended up with extra carpet so I glued it to the back wall of he cab for sound deadening. Plus it kinda reminds me of the old 70's vans I grew up with.


I bought the wiring loom extension from Haywire, so that I could put the panel under the seat. It came in and we had some issues, so a tech call is in order for Monday morning. So, I had to resort to doing some of the less glamorous and more menial tasks, so I installed my spare tire carrier and spare. Big whoop, I know..........



I did go ahead and wire up the Vintage Air AC unit. I still have a lot of wiring to accomplish, but finishing the cab interior os a priority.

 

I'm liking the progress. Keep pushing ahead!

 

Looking good. You're gonna beat me to the street!

 

I am doubting that.....

 

Looks like it's coming along nicely!
I think I missed it, but what seat did you use?

 

Damn Root, that is looking fine!

 

It's a mid 90's Dodge minivan. 3rd row I believe. It had the plastic hootis on the back for hanging Wally World sacks.

 

Looks great! I need to come check it out in person.

 

Ok fellas, It's been a while. It's been sort of slow going because it's freaking hot.

I did finally get the motor and tranny stabbed this weekend. I'll do a little write up on the motor later. The main thing folks were curious about was the 200-4R overdrive tranny install. Well, I gt it done this weekend and it really wasn't as bad as I had expected. I did have to trim some on the lower flange of the X member and I carved up my Chassis Engineering wishbone plate pretty good, but it is still plenty sturdy.

I had the TH350 transmission plate installed and then I changed horses in mid stream, which ended up not being that big of a deal really. I plan on driving the crap out of this pickup , so an overdrive was mandatory. The 200-4R and the TH-350 share some similarities. For instance, the footprint is pretty much the same. I was able to use an existing driveshaft that I had from a 36 p/u that had a TH350 in it.
The transmission mount was also the same as the TH350.

First I trimmed the lower flange to clear the oil pan.

I trimmed about 1/3 of the Chassis Engineering plate off of the front. I ground the tranny mount plate off the CE pice to reuse on my new design.

So, after some trial fitting, I smoothed up my hatchet cuts and threw some rattle can paint on the pieces.

You can see the tranny mount plate after I transferred the piece.


The problem was that I lost the split wishbone mount points. I started digging around in my stash and I found an old 216 motor mount that I had been hanging on to for some unknown reason.


I welded up the holes and trimmed a small portion off the top to square it up. I cut the tapered bung out of the old CE plate, transferred it to the bottom side of the motor mount plate.


Popped a couple of 5/16 holes in it and mounted it. The pics are kinda hard to see. I used an existing hole in the frame for the forward mount bolt.


I'll post a couple of pics from different angles to kinda show the mounting.

I wanted a factory looking mount that would hold up and I think this should work out. Only time will tell.

 

I'll post a few shots from the underside after it is all back together.

The driver's side may prove to be more difficult. I have a lot less room on this side and the speedo cable or pulse adapter will have to come out through the frame. I cut a 1-3/8" hole to access it. I didn't get to finish, because I still need another motor mount to get it all done.

 

That motor mount is pretty trick. Do you think widening the wishbone triangle will effect geometry at all?

 

Nah, it's only about 2" wider than previously.

 

Love it! I can't believe this thread has been floating around for a year and I have missed it. Great story.

 

Nice install Chris! I don't know diddly about transmissions other than I like them to work and that I do like the 700R4 in my Merc. My new Chevy has a '58 235 with a Buffalo adapter to mount a Turbo 350. It runs nice, but winds higher than I'd like at 70-75 on the interstate, so I've been thinking about an overdrive. I'm encouraged to hear you say the 200R4 is pretty close in size to the T350. Reckon that would be a good tranny choice behind the 235 without a huge barrel load of work?