The anticipation is killing me

 

I don't want to say anything yet, because I am not sure if it will actually be happening... Gotta get a price first and think the finances through for a bit. Then I might reveal a bit more about it.

 

Took the trip back to the shop today to see what I could get done... turned out to be a pretty productive day, just tying up some loose ends that needed done.

Started out the day with inspecting the bed wood we glued together last time, as well as gluing some more together. This is how it turned out:


From there, I finished the plate that will hold the spare tire:




Then we got the bed off for the final batch of various welding. I did finish up welding the headache bar on, though some of the welds are pretty crappy, so I need to try to get them fixed.

While the bed was off, I pulled the truck out and let it idle til she was warm. First time she has been warm since last fall!


Also, I fitted the low profile, LED turn signals. They turned out pretty well, though I am not sure if I want to paint the silver surround, or leave it (I hate chrome!):




I installed the fuel pin as well. This is the M&H M4 pin (foreground), compared to what setting the stock pin was on:


Then I got my amp installed on the amp tray and got the amp tray put between the seats:


I then installed the center console on top of the amp tray:


And last, but certainly not least... I put the hood ornament back on!


All in all a very productive day doing alot of small things I needed to get done. Went to the truck pulls tonight for some added motivation, too. Unfortunately, school will begin on the 20th of this month. The intention is to have the bed ready to go to the body shop shortly after that. The shop needs to fix some paint on the cab as well as paint the bed, so I figure it will take them a minimum of a month, so hopefully it can be in by the end of August...

 

Looks great. Keep up the good work!

 

"Also, I fitted the low profile, LED turn signals. They turned out pretty well, though I am not sure if I want to paint the silver surround, or leave it (I hate chrome!):"

Black it out, it's the new chrome

 

Leave them chrome. Doesn't look like too much to hate, and it accents your mirrors and door handles (and dingy hub dialout ). I think painting them would be tricky given it's right on the line like it is. Looks good though!

 

Not sure if I wanna go black, or if I wanna go with the gunmetal body color... Probably just rattle can it in black, though.

 

Well you could try the black, and if you don't like it, have 'em squirt it for you when you drop the truck off for paint?

 

Wish I could have the truck done for Scheid's this month... would be nice to take her down and bring back a trophy or two in the show... Definitely not going to get her done in time though, .

In other news I will be going back this coming Saturday to work on her. Plans as of now include blasting the bed. Should be able to get that done if everything works as it should... Then I will begin bondoing a few places on the bed. Interior really just needs put together and wired so that won't take more than a day to get buttoned up.

Super excited right now! Wish I could be back working on her today, but I have some things to take care of before school starts

 

So... when I can't work on the truck I get bored and look up interesting things. Just when I think I found the end of the internet, I find some morsel of awesome. Today I was looking at CNC plasma cutters, out of pure boredom and the desire to be able to cut flanges and junk in my own garage. Well... a plasma CNC is about $7k minimum.

So I googled DIY 3 Axis CNC machine. And I came up with this:
Easy to Build Desk Top 3 Axis CNC Milling Machine

And this to build the controller:
Easy to build CNC Mill Stepper Motor and Driver circuits

Of course this is a very small scale CNC intended for plastics and foams, but the idea could be applied on a much larger scale with a much more powerful milling motor. I would really only need a 2 axis if I were to hook a plasma cutter to it (and obviously would have to use a different style of table). I think I will look into it further and see if it is actually feasible. Might try to make the small version here in the apartment because I could use it to carve out styrofoam so I can make some fiberglass and carbon fiber molds.

Anyway, here is a picture of the 12 Valve exhaust manifold flange ready to cut



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Anyone have any experience bending their own injector lines? I know a bit about it, but I have never tried it. I am thinking about making a custom intake manifold, which would require the lines to be changed up.

The things I know so far:
1) They all have to be the same length, this is CRITICAL.
2) I do not want to go too big on the VE pump, in fear of not maintaining high enough pressure.
3) They should be mild steel because stainless has an affinity to crack.

Now, my question is this, can I use regular steel brake line? I would assume brake line is built to hold about 3,000-5,000 psi of brake fluid, whereas an injection pump turns out about 20,000 to 30,000 psi, right? Second, what kind of flare would I need on the fittings?

Might be a while before I get this project going, focusing on getting it on the road right now, but figure I could save up for the parts and stuff to do it. Looking at an individual runner design for the intake manifold, since I can weld pretty much anything now