Projects The LeGrange Produce Tribute Truck build

Looking good!

 

Chris--You have the right idea on the `Ground Zero` idea. It also looks to me like you have much more gap on the p*** top of the hood versus the bottom corner or drivers side in general. Sometimes you have to move the cab a little to one side at the front, then move the radiator a little to the opposite side to get the hood to fit. Larger holes will help, and your Radiator may also need a shim under one side to tilt the unit slightly. Don`t forget--you will be hard pressed to notice alot of small `fudges` but a big wedge/shim/tilt will be obvious.....

There is no easy way, here. Just alot of time and thought. Believe me, I have done alot of this over the years, and on painted/finished cars too.....Bear down. You can do this....

 

Thanks. I started piddling today. I'll post some updates later this week. A lot of small , insignificant stuff. I'm taking a break from the body alignment.

 

Great job, Chris... great thread & good looking truck... lots of good information... thanks for taking the time to post...

 

Not too much progress lately. I prepped the front fenders and sprayed the inside with bed liner.

Then I prepped the outside.

The wife helped me out and she wrapped up the grille and sprayed the insert satin black for me.

I did throw some black paint on the Caddy air cleaner I picked up from Speedy Bill's garage sale area. Now to get it to Kyle Ambrose to stripe it!

 

I bought an abs headliner insert from the now defunct company "Rod Doors". The guy was nice enough to ship me one. He had one left over , so he shipped it to me. The fit was so-so, but it is better than the original cardboard headliner. I had to use short screws, much like the originals, to help keep it somewhat in shape. I sprayed it with satin brown fusion paint. Hopefully it will hold up.

I have ordered an LED dome light for a 55-60 Chevy. I think it should be a pretty good fit. It's supposed to have 24 small led's in a stock looking housing.
It's been slow going, but hopefully I will pick up some steam. I'm having a hard time getting rolling.

 

So I guess now that you painted the fenders you are feeling pretty good about the fit or do you still need to fiddle with that some more?

 

No, the hood still doesn't fit right, but I will make it happen.

 

Getting close!

 

I just make a list and try and accomplish 3 things every time we go out to the shop. No matter how insignificant it may seem.

 

So, I took a 3 month sabatical because of burnout. I have started back on the truck. I have been spending a lot of time on things that you really can't see much progress on. I have most of the under seat box done. I added some insulated lugs for my hot posts and my grounds. It's a pet peeve of mine. I like things organized and with the shortest possible run. If you remember, I added a slide out tray to hold my fuse panel, so I don't have to stand on my head to check fuses, if I am out on the side of the road someday. On the back of the seat box, I added jumper cable points to keep from having to pull the seat if the battery goes south.


I wanted a stereo system that didn't use a head unit, so I used Ryan's post he did a long time ago and mimicked it. I modified it a bit. I used an amp with the volume control and I slaved in a box that basically is a converter box for my Iphone. It charges while it is plugged in much like if it is plugged into your computer. It's all out of sight and hopefully won't detract from the overall vibe I am after.


I mounted some 5.5" speakers up high in the kick panels to try and sort of hide them from view. I found some generic speaker covers on Amazon and painted them to match. Just kinda want them to go away where you don't even notice them. The volume knob is mounted in the overhead, so it's convenient.

On the seat base I covered it in carpet and mounted a couple of small 8" subs in it. Nothing fancy. I am no stereo guy. This is the first hot rod I have ever had a radio in, so this is out of my comfort zone.


I should be closing on the wiring this week, hoping to get it fired off this month. Wish me luck.

 

I had a big amp like that in a car (back in the 90's), and that thing would generate some heat. I'm wondering about the heat the amp will create in an enclosure.

Maybe you could but a computer fan in the riser on the side as a vent

 

I have thought about that. I figured I would see how much heat it produces first. I have it standing up about 1/2" above the floor on rubber spacers to allow air to circulate. Computer fans are cheap.

 

I did Ryan's iPod set up in the Merc and while it works fine, there is no pre-amp to adjust the volume, other than the volume control on the iPod. Also, no way to adjust the fade, b***, treble, etc. I like your idea of an amp with volume control...that would be a big help.

 

I don't have a pre-amp. I just bought the control box.


I'll use the settings on the amp to sort of set up the sound and then lock it down and leave it.

 

Here is the Iphone converter box.

 

Hey Root, any chance for a model/part number for that converter box. All I can find is the iSimple is75, which has the old style iPhone connector, not the Lightning type connector of the iPhone 5 and up.

 

Sure man.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_74458_iSimple-JamLink-CAR-IS7505.html

 

Looks great Chris, I really like the wood side boards on the bed.......keep up the good work.

 

Nice truck !! Great job !!

Jim

 

Glad to see you back on the project! Looking forward to a ride soon.

 

Glad to see this thing back on track. Looking forward to seeing it on the ROAD!!!

 

I'm trying....really I am.

 

Looks great. Glad you are back at it.

 

Nice rig! Looks good.

 

Well, as usual the LeGrange luck has struck. I spent 2 days trying to get the grill to fit correctly.

This was the first time I had ever tried a 35 grille. I almost always use a 36.
My wife mentioned Ishould try the 36 grille I had and I basically told her " I know what I am dong".

So, a few hours later I tried her suggestion. The pic above is 10 minutes after I started installing. Moral of the story? Always listen to Mama.
I had purchased my first brand new radiator ever. Bought a Walker. I was proud. Then only to find out that I had punctured the radiator with the little grille trim clip. I literally thought I was gonna hurl.

I took it to a local shop to get it repaired after all the excitement, and of course, they made it worse. I sent it back to Walker to get it repaired. So here we are for a week or so.

They were kind enough to repair the damage done by the radiator shop and shipped it back.

So, that was a small set back, but I think we got it now.
Luckily for me, I am a 35-36 hoarder, so I grabbed one of my grilles off the wall and started in on it.

I have had this grille on the wall for about 10 years. I bought it off of a fellow hamber a long time ago. It gives me plenty of clearance. It's in pretty good shape, so I should have it in paint by the weekend.

I did try a new twist on the floor boards. I bought a reproduction OEM styled transmission cover panel. I ordered it without any holes in it. It worked out perfect for the floor mounted shifter. I drilled in a few holes and it is plenty stout and clears everything beautifully. Mama Root s***ched me up a boot out of the material we had left over. I added nutplates to the bottom side so, we can use #10 stainless screws in the trim ring.

I am trying to have this pig on the road for the Northwest Arkansas Hot Rod Hundred, but it will be close.

 

Coo, build, lots of use usefull tips, and yeh, my wife does that to me as well....

 

Wow, what a cool build with an even better story of the motivation behind it. I will be keeping an eye on this thread! All the headaches will eventually be forgotten when you are driving the truck down the road.

 

This is being built to replace my worn out 2002 F150. I plan on driving this every day to work, so I started thinking that maybe I should invest in a 3rd brake light. As street roddy as it seems, I feel like the cell phones and texting have made driving a lot bigger risk, so I wanted one about eye level.

I strugglerd with this and finally saw a 41 Ford LED tail light on Speedy Bills website for cheap, so I bought it.
I decided to mount it on the trunk lid. This thing is a flush mount, which is good. I didn't wanna punch a bunch of 1/2" holes etc for mounting. It has a bout 50 LEDS in it and is potted in a clear epoxy.

I laid out the mount holes on the lid. This has a couple of studs that screw into the cast bezel.

I ran the wire up through the inside of the trunk and along the lid.

Added a grommet and mounted the light. Not groundbrreaking, but another thing off the list.


Not too bad, I guess. If it saves my truck, it will be worth it.

 

I also started wiring up the tail lights. I tend to lean towards terminal strips, just for ease in troubleshooting and almost everything I own has a hitch and trailer brakes. I used the old rear crossmember to shield the wiring and kind of hide everything.