Thanks! I have about 3 weeks of summer school left and hopefully will be hiring people at work so I can get a few consecutive days off. I really can see the end of the tunnel, despite it being a dim light. If I can get all the supplies, I think I can have the bed done and finished up in 2 hard days of work. The interior is just about as close, maybe 3 or 4 days of hard work away from being completed.

I do intend to make a tubular core support, since I can't fit the IC behind the stock grille. I would also like to try and get the A/C back in the truck (yep, I'm a wuss!).

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Ordered the valve spring compressor so I can do the springs and install the fuel system. Probably will throw the nitrous on the truck, if it doesn't sell. Just not sure how well I like the idea of nitrous on a manual trans, lmao. Would be nice on the dyno, but I don't plan on pulling or racing, so I imagine that's all.

I also found the perfect example of what I want to do with the wood for the bed floor. Basically, I want this same color scheme and pattern. Should look pretty dang nice!



ALSO, I am taking a week off work in July to work on the truck. Hopefully I can button up everything I need to button up and get to work on some of the more fun stuff.

 

WOW!!! This bed is gonna be sick!!!!!

 

I think I have effectively taken a truck and made it useless, haha. At least it will look good!

 

Not useless.. PERDY Of course I'd have an issue thowing any stone dust or loam or pretty much anything that would scape, scratch or discolor that Oak

 

Gearing up for a real busy week starting promptly Monday morning. I am ready to get this bad bit*h goin! Got a valve spring compressor so I can put in the new valve springs, while I am in there I will be tightening the ARP head studs to 125 ft/lbs. I will be installing my M4 Denny T pin and my 3800 rpm spring.

Will be finish welding the bed, and the plan was to sand blast it, but uhm... I cant get a sand blaster before then! Will be laying the wood out for the bed floor and possibly getting that all put together so I can stain and poly it up. Exhaust will be getting finished, too. Also need to get tail/brake/turn lights so I can get all the holes cut before the bed goes to paint. The goal is to have the bed off for paint by next weekend.

Inside, I need to wire the alarm system (if I keep it, probably will not), the sound system and all of the gauges. Need to cut the carpet so it fits better, and make some aluminum trim pieces for the carpet. Put the dash back together and test out the sound system!

Lastly, need to do a brake job and replace some of the front end parts. Not sure if I will get to this this week, or not.

Regardless, I am stoked to get back on this project!

 

ready to see it

 

 

Welp got some work done today. We started the day out with forming our game plan for the week.

Pops got the whole bed welded, and since I cannot seem to get a sandblaster, everything is pretty much done with the exception of cutting the tail light holes.

From there, we decided it would be best to start making the wood for the bed. We had a bunch of rough cut Douglas Fir sitting in the shop that needed planes, squared, and cut to width and length. So, that's about all we did today!

Pops planed the wood (while I took pictures... trust me, I did help!):


The we squared it all up and cut it to length:


Then once all that was done we mocked it all up on the truck:


We didn't finish enough wood, so tomorrow I am sure we will be doing this all again. I am hoping I can start doing something more in the interior.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Ya know... When I started building this truck 2 years ago my thought process was "eh, its just a truck, it doesn't need to be fancy." Two years later, a couple thousand hours of labor, and a whole bunch of money, its become part of who I am. My attention to every single detail has become dang near neurotic. Its no longer just a truck, it shows every detail of who I am. It showcases my skill and my creativity. I am so proud of the truck as a whole and of what I have learned through the build process. My new goal is to land in the pages of a major diesel magazine. So much for "just a truck!"

Thanks Diesel Bombers for being so supportive and helping to keep me motivated!!!

 

In the end you'll have a truck you can be proud of, congrats

 

Well, time for a dinner break update...

Today, we got the rest of the wood cut and I will be ready to start putting the first coat of stain on tonight.

We started the day out planing, cutting, and sizing more wood. Just like yesterday... no big deal.

From there, we got it all laid out on the bed:


Then we got the wood back out of the bed and started cutting some slots:


We also cut some 1" fiberboard to put in those slots. This is how the bed will be held together (lots of gorilla glue, too!):


This is an example of how it will go together, with a bead of glue run down the slot:


I got bored and put the stack on, she's about 4" too high in this picture:


And last but not least, I might get these lil buggers put in tonight if I have an energy left:


All in all, we are making good progress. I am SO excited to start staining the wood so I can see how it's going to turn out

Tomorrow we will have a bit of a late start, but I think we should be able to crank out the rest of the woodwork and possibly start on the front brakes.

And, I leave you with more of Dad's handy work... he left the truck out of gear (for some odd reason) and the truck rolled out of the garage. There was a construction trailer in front of the truck so dad popped the door open to jump in and stop it and the door hit the side of the garage door. No dents or anything so it will be an easy fix.