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    Results 81 to 100 of 112
    1. #81
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Not a lot, but I do now have a mostly complete door opening and got the driver's door on. I used my jig that I made to position the bottom hinge in place.
      I need to add a little piece in the kick panel area, and the fender well to floor transition before I can put the floor in...BUT, the rocker panel lined up with everything, but when I hung the door, it seems like it's in about 1/6" at the bottom. Now, the door that was on it had bad hinge pin sleeves, and sagged quite a bit, (which I have since replaced with new bushings and it opens and closes beautifully.) But, It was tweaked at the top rear corner and I'm wondering if that's why. I'm going to throw one of my old convertible doors on it since they were in great shape, and see if they fit better.

      I've been extremely busy since May working on other people's cars, so I haven't gotten a chance to play with my stuff. I don't really seeing me making any significant progress until at least mid October. My weekends are mostly booked until then. I hope (before winter) to pitch a lot of stuff I don't need anymore, and take down the wheelchair ramp in our garage to give me some room to work, and hopefully by spring next year, have it at least running/registered so I can park it outside and tell my neighbors lol

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      I think I have some more pics on my Flickr account.

      Here's a '70 Chevelle I'm working on right now:

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      After that, I have a trunk build in a G8 GT I worked on a couple months ago.

      Jay

    2. #82
      Join Date
      Nov 2018
      Location
      Oregon
      Posts
      230
      I know the feeling. I have been doing everyone else's cars for the last 20 years and now it is finally my turn. But now it is the house's turn according to the wife. lol
      You do stereo work for a living? Looks good!

    3. #83
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Yep. I've been doing car audio/security/accessories since the mid 90s. I've been working on my own cars since the late 80's.
      I'm super busy currently, but the Chevelle is almost done (supposed to be done tomorrow, customer might pick up Saturday morning for the Woodward Dream Cruise...
      which I'm kind of pushing for, since a) We're located on Woodward Ave. and b) I will be on my way to New York. lol)

      Jay

    4. #84
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Thought I'd throw up some final pics of the Chevelle trunk, in case anyone wanted to see it.

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      Jay

    5. #85
      Join Date
      Nov 2018
      Location
      Oregon
      Posts
      230
      Nice looks awesome!



    6. #86
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      OK. It only took a global pandemic, but my truck now has a floor. I'm going to pretend the other side is fine. lol



      I had a hard time getting my welder settings right, so the welds aren't pretty, but hey, it's a floor.























      And, while doing some of the welding, I had a ball of weld spatter land on my pinky finger nail and melt part way through my nail. Ouch.







      So, yeah, they're ugly (I had some problems at first, and blew through in a few places, but it's solid.) I'm going to hit them with the grinder and cover it in seam sealer. There will be sound deadener and carpet over it, so you can't see it anyway. I'll clean up the under side when I pull the cab for some other stuff.



      But overall, I'm happy. I should be able to put the seat, column and pedals in and figure out where to mount my Trailblazer shifter and parking brake handle.



      This will probably be a rainy day project for the next few weeks, since I have some other stuff I need to work on.



      Jay

    7. #87
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Looks like I need to shorten the column by about 4-5" to put it in a comfortable position. One the upside I think that will do a lot to keep it from feeling so cramped in the cab.
      I also need to extend the brake booster rod about 1/4 to 1/2" to put the brake pedal up far enough I don't catch it with my foot when switching pedals. The gas pedal can really only go where it is, to leave me enough clearance for carpet and stuff. if I move it down toward the floor, I won't be able to get full throttle on the DBW pedal.

      I started playing around with locations for the shifter and parking brake.
      Since I want this to go together and come apart like factory, I made some mounts out of 1/8" C-channel that hold some captive bolts. I even added speed holes. lol







      I welded the bolts to the mounts after the pics.

      I stuck an extra truck cluster in about the spot it's going to go, and I think I can work with this, especially if I can shorten the column.



      Then I kinda started playing with vent and defroster placement, I think I like where it's headed.

      Jay

    8. #88
      Join Date
      Oct 2015
      Posts
      362
      Country Flag: United States
      Great project. Is that a flux core welder?
      My half a$$ed build thread.https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...elle-6-0-4L60E

      Tighten it till it strips & back it off a quarter turn.

    9. #89
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      No. I'm just not a very good welder, and some of the metal was thin (being 30 years old) so I had some blow through. Had a hard time getting the welder settings right.
      It's ugly, but it's solid now. I'll hit it with a grinder and seam sealer and it will be fine. Especially after sound deadener and carpet.
      The welder is an Eastwood 135 with C25 gas. I also forget to turn the gas on about 50% of the time, but I recognize it pretty quick, now. lol

      Jay

    10. #90
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Today, I finished up mounting the on the shifter, and started on the hand brake.

      The brackets I made for the shifter kinda floated over the edge because of the shape of the floor, so I made a support that tied it into the floor. I put a speed home in it, too. lol
      Didn't get a pic. I'll post one tomorrow after I get the parking brake sorted.

      A user on S10forum gave me a parking brake and support bracket he plasma'd out of a parts truck he had. I started by separating the floor from the support bracket.





      Then I determined position, which isn't as ideal as I'd like, I had to move it toward the driver's side, so there would be enough room between the passenger seat to build the side of the center console. That just means I might not have room for a convenient cupholder, but I'm still optimistic. lol

      I cut the floor for clearance and made templates to extend the tunnel, and give it a little more height so I have clearance for the parking brake cables over the driveshaft.

      I'll cut them up and get them in tomorrow. I'm making them out of 16ga, and the factory bracket will attach underneath.





      More tomorrow.

      Jay

    11. #91
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      OK. So over the last couple days, I duplicated my template in 16ga. I made it in 3 pieces, and I had JUST enough material to do it. I had 2 pieces of 6x18" 16ga to work with.


      16ga is a pain to bend. First I just tried to do it over the edge of my "table." That didn't work. Then I clamped a piece of 1/8" thick 2x2" angle iron and a piece of 1" square tubing to the hand rail on the handicapped ramp in our garage.
      That didn't work much better. I tried a small sledge hammer. It just kinda made it wavy. So, I beat it back to flat, and used the grinder to thin the metal a little to make it easier to bend.








      Tacked it together and verified fitment with the parking brake so I could see how it sits in the truck. It looks close to the shifter in Drive, (and it IS closer than I'd like) but the mechanism had to go there to leave me enough room on either side for the sides of the console I'm going to build and clear the seats and seatbelts (which are integrated onto the seats I'm using.)


      I sprayed the last of my weld thru primer on the bottom, where the reinforcement goes, and did the rest in regular automotive spray can primer. I seam sealed the edges, as well.





      While I was waiting for paint to dry this morning, I filled in the hole from the factory parking brake cable. I used some metal from when I cut off the factory rocker panel so the gauge matches.








      I painted the underside of the tunnel, and the top of the reinforcement black. The reinforcement, got a coat of Rust Reformer, first. I won't be able to get up there later, so I wanted to make sure there wasn't any bare metal.





      Then I ran a bead of seam sealer around the top of the reinforcement (like it had from the factory). I bolted it together and waited til this morning. I welded it through the original weld spots. After that I used Rust Reformer and flat black paint to seal it up.








      Then I put it in place and marked it out on the floor. I left 3/4" toward the inside and punched a bunch of holes in the lip before cleaning the paint off.








      Then I welded the spot welds at the front and tacked the rear, and couple of spots on the driver's side. Then I went under the truck and beat the 3/4" lip I left up to match. This serves two purposes...I can make sure it's attached to the body, which will help support the factory seat belt mounts and it closes up the slight gap at the bottom (so the seam sealer won't ooze under the truck.) On the up side, it closes up the gap tight enough I could probably just stitch weld it
      and cut the excess lip from underneath.





      I have to pull the passenger seat to finish the other side, which means pulling the truck out of the garage (I can't open the passenger side door where it's at) and it was raining today.


      Jay

    12. #92
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      OK, so I had to make a supply run yesterday, so I got back later than I intended. My plans were to pull the engine out of the frame, reinstall the H3 pan and notch the frame so I could load it and unload it without having to unbolt the body. But, I didn't get back until like 4, and knowing that things weren't going to go as hoped, I decided to wait until today....aaaaannnndddd, it's raining. I don't have much room in the garage, so I have to work outside.



      Yesterday, I did make a "thing" so I can use my engine hoist to lift the cab off the frame so I can clean up the bottom of the floor, and work on shaving the firewall. So, it wasn't a total loss.



      This morning, I went out and it was drizzling. It wasn't *supposed* to rain, but I figured I'd start with stuff that didn't require me to move the truck outside.



      I pulled the valley cover so I could install my Dirty Dingo lift plate.



      Knock sensors (before I pulled the plate):











      Under the valley cover:







      Bottom of the valley cover:







      Knock Sensors:











      So, I guess this will be my mock up engine. lol



      I was thinking I'd get it running on this one, then buy a better one and swap them...looks like I might be rebuilding this one or replacing it sooner than expected. Not sure if I want to stick with an LQ4 or do an Aluminum block 5.3



      I drove the truck this engine came out of home with no major issues. Kind of a bummer.



      It's raining, and I have bare metal on the cab, so not expecting to get much done today.



      Jay

    13. #93
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      The weather seemed like it was going to come back around. It got sunny and in the 60s, so I went back out and pulled the engine. The engine hasn't had an oil pan on it for probably 2 years. I couldn't get the engine/trans in as a unit without pulling the cab. The H3 pan would hit the crossmember, and I needed the space. Now I'm trying to put parts back on the truck where I can since they take up space in my tiny work area. Anyway, I've cut a lot of wood, ground metal, welded etc, with the pan off (and sitting right side up in a corner), so the pan was full of crap. I cleaned it all out before putting it back on. When I tried to install the pickup tube brace in, it didn't seem to want to fit right, so I took it back out. So, I stuck some nice new parts on my old crappy engine. lol



      I have a transmission dipstick for it, but it doesn't line up with the back of the head. I may have tweaked it trying to make it clear the S-10 firewall. I installed it, but I may have to swap it for something else.



      I threw a new oil filter on it too.













      And then (while I had the engine and trans hanging off my hoist) it decided it wanted to rain again. I had everything out in the driveway. And we have a brick driveway.

      Makes moving the hoist a real PITA. But I put the motor next to the truck so hopefully tomorrow, I can notch the frame and possibly put it back.



      I hope to pull the cab this week.



      Jay

    14. #94
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Got some time today to start notching the crossmember. Took a while to cut out with an angle grinder, with the cab still on. Got it cut along the seam where there is an extra layer on the inside. Smoothed it out with a flap disc. Hit the inside with the grinder to knock the loose rust down and painted the inside with Rust Reformer.











      Also, took a pic of the piece I made to lift the cab with the engine hoist.







      Then I started cutting the 2 main pieces of the notch with my angle grinder. Aaaannndddd....caught myself on fire. lol Never had that happen before.







      Made the piece that goes on the bottom, and the weather started going south, so I finished it up and packed everything away back in the garage.







      I also made the piece that goes on the front edge, but I forgot to take pics.



      How I'm going to do this is: I'm using 3" wide plate (and really needed 4" but couldn't get any locally with the quarantine) So, the front plate and the bottom plate are about 1/2" apart. So, my plan is to tack these 2 pieces to the frame. Build all the little filler pieces and tack them to the front/bottom, and then cut it back out of the truck. This will allow me to cut off any excess on the back, weld the back and maybe paint it or something. Then I should be able to put it back in the truck and fully weld it in as one piece. It's an odd shape because I'm working with what I had. It gets me a couple inches of depth and and about 4-4.5" front-to-back clearance. That should get me the last little bit of clearance that I need to put the engine/trans in/out as a unit. It makes sense in my head. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I should be able to finish it up.



      Jay

    15. #95
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      A lot faster now that I can't go to work. lol Stay at home order just got extended until 4/30.



      This morning it was 45ish degrees so I figured I'd work on my frame some more.







      After I got it tacked, and pulled back out, I started on templates to fill the gaps. But then it got cold (windchill in the 30's) and I decided to call it a day.











      Off and on, we also got this:







      Hopefully it will be better tomorrow, but it's supposed to rain and be in the mid 40's for the next couple days.



      I also ordered a Dayco 87629 hose from Amazon for like $6. Worked great to loop the heater core lines on the water pump after I trimmed the smaller leg down. Cheaper than some of the other options I've seen.



      Jay

    16. #96
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Well, I got a little time over the last couple of days so here's what I did:



      I got everything cut out and welded on the front side.











      then I fully welded the seams on the back side. I had to grind the edges some so it would fit back in the frame.







      Welded it to the frame.







      Ground the outer welds down smooth and threw a heavy coat of primer on it.







      Strictly speaking, this was probably not necessary...I could have removed the transmission from the engine and put it in by itself, but I wanted to be able to pull it as a unit.



      Supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, so probably won't get much done.



      Jay

    17. #97
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      So, the weather didn't cooperate much, and yesterday and today were the first days I got to work on anything.

      Yesterday, I made some modifications to my throttle pedal assembly. It would rock left/right on the firewall with just 2 bolts holding it on. Not super bad, but I didn't care for it. So, I made a plate out of 16ga and welded it to the pedal assembly, and it gave me a third hole to mount further over and make everything much more stable.















      I also got my order from Benchmark Abrasives, so I got to try out their flap discs and cutoff wheels and OMG they work so much better than the HF/HD/Menards stuff I've been using. Highly recommend.



      I also had mentioned previously that I used the wrong base when I built my steering column, so it didn't lay right on the firewall. Turns out the tilt column I used as a base was from an '88 S-10 and apparently it's different. I managed to get the firewall mount off one of my old columns, so I'm going to cut the wrong one off the column and adapt the correct one, as well as move the column down (on the same angle, basically sliding it through the hole, but away from me by about 4" or so). I had planned to do it today, but spent 4 hours rearranging the garage before moving on to truck stuff.



      But today, I knocked all the welds down on my floor, welded up a couple of spots I missed and covered everything in a black primer so that I can seam seal everything when I finish welding underneath.



















      Then I bolted my seats back in. I've been trying to figure out exactly what they're from since I bought the original green truck like 5 years ago. I was told they were Toyota seats. I was watching a video on YouTube the other day and the guy had a second gen MR2, and his seats look just like these. I plan to dye them black eventually (or buy leather covers).







      In case anyone was wondering, here's my work space:







      lol.



      Tomorrow, I plan to work on mocking up the steering column/pedals/parking brake/shifter.



      Jay

    18. #98
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Started today by cutting out a whole for the shifter cable to fit through. It's very close to the factory drain plug in the floor, but my replacement floor pan didn't have it cut out.



      (Sorry some of the pics are washed out, it was sunny today)











      Then I put the seat back in, bolted in the shifter and parking brake.

      After that, I cut the firewall mount off the column, and bolted the proper one to the firewall.



      Then I took the pedal mount and duplicated the right side slot 4" further down.







      Slid the column through the firewall mount and bolted it up on the right side where I put the new slot and marked the left side. But there wasn't any metal to put a bolt through. So, I cut part of the mount and folded it down.







      (didn't get a pic of it folded, and yes, I'm going to fill the hole back in.)







      I kept the angles the same, the bottom of the column just sticks further into the engine bay.







      For some reason, I was worried the angle to the steering box was going to be stupid steep, but they almost point directly at each other. Hopefully it clears the headers.



      Now, by moving it further down it's in a comfortable position for me...but the high beam switch had to come off to clear the brake pedal arm. I think I'm going to extend the arm and put the switch in a slightly different spot to clear.

      I could also do a floor mount high beam switch, if it comes to it.



      Then I stuck some of the parts I am going to use in to get an idea of placement.



      2003 Silverado cluster, Trailblazer shifter, shift cable, and parking brake, custom mish-mash steering column with an '07ish Cobalt LT steering wheel.







      Saturn SC1 or 2 (I forget, @Harley picked it up for me) power window/mirror switch/change holder.







      I'm planning to use the Silverado parking light switch. I was thinking of using 07-10 Jeep Wrangler JK dash vents, because I like how they mount. But the passenger vents from the Silverado might work too. I ordered 2 more of those just in case.



      Then I went shopping for Jeep vents. all 4 were between $200-300!!! I got a set of similar chrome-ringed vents from a Jeep Commander for $42. Jeep tax, I guess.



      I currently have a Silverado heater control set, but I didn't grab the motors for the HVAC box before I scrapped it. I might try to get 2nd gen S-10 parts when the junkyards open back up, or maybe Colorado/Canyon stuff.



      I also picked up 6' of 1.25" square tubing to use as a dash support so I can mount things to it like the cluster, radio, heater controls, etc.



      I'm planning to shave the firewall except the brake booster, and build my own HVAC box. Something like they did on Project Binky.



      We'll see how it goes.

      Only thing is, now I want to move the gas pedal a little (maybe up an inch or so and back toward the firewall a couple inches.)


      Jay

    19. #99
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Spent the last couple of hours doing my best Nik Blackhurst impression. (If you don't get the reference, go here: )



      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hCP...5MTQg1qjtxA_nq






















      I'll probably build this in metal when my sheet of steel gets here. I only have 22ga and 16ga. I'm probably going to make the whole thing out of 18 or 20ga and then make the plate that the motor mounts to out of 16ga. and weld it together. Looks like I shouldn't need to trim much (if any) metal in the cowl. The plan for the brackets if that I will bolt down into them (rivnuts or captive nuts welded on) and the bottom bracket will have a stud welded up from underneath, so I don't have any visible fasteners. Fingers crossed it works when it comes to it.



      Jay

    20. #100
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      435
      Country Flag: United States
      Wow. I ordered some right side rocker panels (because I couldn't ignore the rust) from Tabco on Thursday. My order shipped Thursday at 9pm and arrived today (Saturday). Gotta say I'm impressed. Last time their shipping was very slow.



      I also got the high beam switch moved on top of the steering column, and out of the way of the brake pedal arm.

      To do so, I cut up an old ignition switch (the lower part that the wires connect to) since the high beam switch mounts to it. Then I welded screws from the back side of the bracket, plug welded it to the column on top, and extended the arm with another high-beam arm I had. I need to adjust the switch (it's a little touchy when the wheel is tilted all the way down) but it works.



      Zipties were used to mock it up.



















      I just need a P-clip to keep the rod from flexing, but it works. Works without it, but it would be better if it had one.



      I also repositioned the gas pedal. If you had seen the way I did it before, I chopped the end off the Silverado pedal arm, drilled a hole in it and then welded the lower part of the S-10 arm to it. Well, it put the gas pedal way out in front of the brake pedal because I eye-balled it without the brake pedal in, I think. So, I cut the old S-10 pedal off, grabbed another one from my stash, and welded it in about 1.25" higher and rotated it so that the gas pedal sits behind the brake pedal like my other 2 cars are. Makes for a WAY more comfortable pedal position. I didn't take any pics, because it looks about the same.

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