Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

:thumbs:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I give you Voodoo Blue. Everything went well Saturday - the weather was warm, sanding went well, and sealer, base, clear all laid down well. I got a group of runs on one lower fender corner and touched one of the doors on the inside with my suit, but other than that it looks awesome. The pictures just don't do it justice, it's louder than it looks. Saturday was the last day of 80s temps that we will have until spring, so I am relieved that all these parts are painted now. Getting all the surfaces of the cab was a workout though - I was sore yesterday.

Next steps - brakes, exhaust, fuel tank, fuel lines. Then I can set these parts on the frame.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Holy cow!! I bet you are stoked. That looks great. Congrats on the paint. Love the color.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks, I am very happy with it.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looks great man! Congrats. I like the color. :thumbs:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looks great, good job!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I don't know how I missed this... just an incredible paint job man! You, sprint9 and gringoloco have got me all fired up about spraying my own truck myself. If mine comes out half as nice as y'alls I'll be happy. :chevy:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks guys for the compliments. It was a huge relief when I shot the last coat of clear that day. I'm still as anxious to work on it, but not worried because I got all of that done just in time for the weather to cool off here.

cornerstone - spraying your own project is pretty rewarding. I don't know what kind of equipment you already have, but it does take some upfront investment. I've never had to deal with "paint jail", but it sounds awful from some of the stories I've heard. Doing your own bodywork and spraying is an awesome learning experience and it'll save you big time compared to sending it somewhere. You'll make mistakes, but you'll get better every time. If you're really interested in doing it yourself, I would recommend getting on the SPI forum and start reading. Great products at a great price and the best customer support.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I'll have a better update this week sometime. Saturday we worked on the rear brakes and we finished rebuilding one side and then were ready to do the other side when we remembered that I'm missing one wheel cylinder link. Back when I first bought the truck, there was a slight grinding noise in the rear driver side drum so we took it apart and found that link fell out of the cylinder and just sliding around on the inside of the drum and it was pretty much ruined. Fast forward to a few months ago when I bought new cylinders, springs, shoes, etc. and none of it came with new links as we found out Saturday. I called all the local parts stores and no one had one, eventually ordered it online. A small $5 part turned into $15 with shipping and held us up from finishing the brakes.

Once I accepted the fact that I wouldn't be able to put the rear end back together, we moved onto the fuel tank. I got a universal 16 gallon tank from Tanks Inc and I'm regretting not going for the Boyds. I didn't want to spend another $300 for the Boyds tank, but $300 didn't seem like much once we actually started looking at installing it. I had to trim about 1/2" off the bottom flange of the frame to get it in and we will probably use unistrut to run from the rear crossmember to the next forward crossmember so the tank has something to butt up against. The straps that came with the kit will be what actually holds it up. I had to modify the sender for the tank, still have to assemble the pump, and the filler is too short to get above the bed floor. The Boyds tank has those nice flanges on both sides for a positive attachment to the frame rails and it comes with the sender and pump pre-installed. I took it with a grain of salt since it is a universal kit so that's the price you pay to save some money. Just a bit of advice for others considering either of these tanks.

I'll take more pictures once I have the wheel cylinder link and the tank assembled.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I almost bought that set up. Glad I went with the Boyd's after hearing this. I then tried to save money on the radiator by buying the Cold Case when I knew I should have just ordered the Entropy. Ended up sending it all back and spent the money. I think I learned my lesson :)

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I mean, this setup will work just fine but I'm not happy with the install. Installing the sender and pump isn't a big deal, I just wish the tank had flanges I could have used to mount direct to the frame rails. I didn't think it would be such a big deal when I was shopping.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Cadillac engine, Cadillac seats. Snuck out at lunch today and grabbed a set of seats out of an Escalade that are in pretty good shape. Now I have to figure out how to wire them in. I would think the yellow connector is for airbags and the other one is for lumbar/forward/back/tilt and memory.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Nice seats man. I will be interested in this install so please detail this one!!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I will!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Those should be comfy!
You are correct, the yellow connector is for the airbags.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks for the tip on SPI. I've heard a ton of good things about them. Ill definitely get on their forums to see what else I can learn. As far as equipment goes I think I'm fairly set up. At this point I think I just need a quality paint gun and perhaps another drier for my air. I may want to rent a booth too, since my lighting and shop cleanliness are both not so great. Is that where you sprayed yours?

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I built a budget paint booth inside my dad's metal building. It's basically a stud framed booth with OSB lining and lots of lighting. I have a bunch of furnace filters on one end and a fan out the window. It works pretty well, but I need more CFM on my exhaust because it can get pretty foggy when I do clear. I wet the floor before I start and I open a new Tyvek suit and everything comes out really clean for being a low budget setup.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Finally got the fuel tank figured out. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Tanks Inc setup is okay, but not nearly as cool and easy as the Boyd tank. This is a 16 gallon universal tank and I had to trim the bottom flange of the passenger side frame rail for it to clear. I also had to assemble the pump and the sender. I ended up using two pieces of unistrut to create a surface for the tank to have something to push up against on the top. I used the straps that came with it and used the same rear hole in the rear crossmember for the unistrut and the strap and then drilled holes in the bottom flange of the front crossmember and used some long bolts. This way I can take it out fairly easy if I need to. I also put some rubber between the straps and the unistrut and the tank.

Fuel system is all plumbed in as well. I mounted the regulator/filter on the front side of the crossmember and routed everything as tight and out of the way as I could. I really struggled with the first couple fittings I put together before I saw a tip to use a heat gun to heat up the end of the hose prior to pushing it on the fitting and that saved me a couple hours of struggle. I knew to oil the fitting and the hose end, but the heat was key. You can buy a $300 tool that puts these ends together, but not worth it for me. I'm taking a gamble on the Russell Twist Lok hose and fittings and hoping not to have any fuel odor. If I do, it's not the end of the world if I have to redo it. I just have to finish plumbing in the fuel tank vent now.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

The biggest achievement of the weekend was the exhaust. I bought a 2.5" builders kit from Summit (natural finish) and used less than half of it. The Summit tubing was thicker than the Speed Engineering downpipes actually. It's a pretty simple routing - a 135 degree bend off the downpipe and then a straight run through the crossmember and into the black widow Venom 250 mufflers. The hangers I bought were intended for a system with more overhead clearance, but I installed them in a cantilever fashion. I left one half of the v-band clamp on the exits of the mufflers so I can finish up the tailpipes once the bed is on.

I used stainless wire on my mig welder with the same Argon/CO2 gas I've been using on mild steel and the welds came out fine. Maybe a little more spatter than with the correct gas, but just fine for exhaust on a driver. I had some silver engine paint leftover so I sprayed the welds for good measure. Also welded in an extra O2 bung for potential future wideband tuning.

My missing wheel cylinder link is supposed to show up today so I can finish up my rear drum rebuild and put the rear end back together tomorrow night. I'm on schedule to set the cab, doors, fenders, and grille this weekend!

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

The spray booth you made looked so good I thought you rented one out. Im on the SPI forum now, are there any particular threads you found to be most helpful?

At the pace you're at you'll be driving it soon.:metal:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks haha, it's cheap but it works. There isn't a particular thread to follow, they're each for different types of coatings. You'll see one for clear coat, one for primer, one for sealers, etc. But I spend the most time on primer and clearcoat and restorations. It just depends on what you want to learn about and what kind of questions you have. If you go to SPI's home page, they have a link to "the perfect paint job" which is a good overall approach to a paint job. From there, I dig through the threads and ask questions about specific topics.

And yes, I hope to have it running this winter and complete and driving in the spring.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

The missing link (literally) for my passenger side rear drum finally showed up so I was able to get the rear drum rebuild project wrapped up last night. Weeks ago I started by sandblasting the backing plate, painting it, then the debacle of finding the right brake cables, then the gasket debacle, and finally the wheel cylinder link. I also installed a residual pressure valve to the rear drums.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looking good...can't wait to see her all together.

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Moving right along man. Straight pipes I see. What you got planned for the tails?

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Yes, I am very motivated. I think I will run the pipes over the axle and out the back behind the tires since I have plenty of tubing and bends left.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Had a great day Saturday. We set the cab, doors, fenders, inner fenders, and grille. Then we installed the Honda door weatherstripping, dash pad, some sound deadening on the back of the cab, front brake cable, wiper motor, and mocked up the seats. The factory sheet metal comes together quite well and while the body gaps aren't perfect, they were far from perfect from the factory. I was happy that the cab mounts that I picked out ended up putting the cab in the right spot so everything to the front lined up. I only ended up putting one shim on each side for the fenders. To be honest, the front end (specifically the grille/splash shield) went together easier than it came apart. It's so much easier to reassemble a truck when there isn't 10 years between tear down and assembly!

The front end doesn't seem to be any lower than it was prior to cutting 1/2 a coil off. But maybe it will settle a little bit once I start driving it. And I may end up doing a drop spindle one day anyway.

Now onto interior and wiring!

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And for TA, some details on the seats. When I picked up the seats, I took both sides of the connector off the Escalade so I could have a plug and play setup. These seats are power with memory and heat, but I think I can only use the power function because a BCM is required for the heat and memory. No big deal though since I was planning on manual seats initially. I hooked up the big orange and black to a battery and confirmed that all of the movement functions work and to help in test fitting. I saw in sprint's build that he lined up the mounting holes with the front rib of the floor and I did the same thing and it's good reference point. From there, I centered the driver seat on the steering column and there is plenty of room for adjustment and a great amount of legroom. I haven't decided what I want to do for a console yet. We put the same vintage seats in my dad's 64 with a 08-13 center folding console (since they're much less creaky than the 99-06 folding consoles) but I'm not sure that I have enough width between the seats for it. I may end up building something anyway because I need to mount by bulky Gen 3 PCM and TAC module down there. I had the passenger seat all the way to the edge of the rib and I might be an inch or two short of being able to install a 08-13 console.

I forgot to take a picture with them in place.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looks great! I love the color in the sun.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Very nice, love it man, it's coming together nicely! And thanks for the info on the seats, I would really like to get rid of my bench seat and will use your notes when I do. Those seats are sweet :thumbs:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks guys. I'll post a picture when I have the seats installed, but it will be a couple months probably. Don't want the seats in the way before I'm done with the interior. I would roll it outside for a good picture in the sun, but it would be hard to push it back in.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Today I was waiting at a stoplight and a Voodoo Blue Tundra pulled along side me, I was crowing my neck to get a good look at it. I was thinking how good your truck must look in person. These pictures you just posted confirm it! :metal:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks man. I'm pretty happy with it and can't wait until I have all the parts in blue and out in the sun.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I got a few small things done this weekend.

I got the LS harness through the transmission tunnel which was a challenge but I got it done.

My carpet showed up, but was for a low tunnel as I suspected it would be so I have to return that and get the right one.

I also set the wiring fuse panel and wired up most of the main power in the engine bay. I used bolts to attach to the firewall instead of the supplied fasteners (basically wood screws) for a more solid attachment.

I also got the hydroboost and lines mocked up. I have a couple of the lines at NAPA right now to be modified to work. I made a new backing plate to attach the hydroboost to the firewall. I cut the clevis off the hydroboost pushrod and cut the OEM pushrod off at the threads and it should give me a good adjustment range. I've seen guys thread one pushrod or the other, but it was a lot easier to just cut the ends off both pushrods and weld the two together.

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Oh hydraboost.... How I wish I had thee.... Your setup is going to be much cleaner with that setup. I like how you welded the rod like that. I will remember that when I eventually convert to hydraboost.

I like seeing your bulkhead connection, it looks so clean. You bought the full OEM c10 harness from American Autowire right? I am still contemplating my move on this. I am thinking about keeping my cheaper wire harness(AA), sanding down and welding in a patch for the square bulkhead hole, and trying my hand at painting/blending... But this is a lot of work and it will mess up my lizard skin on the inner firewall a little bit.... Ugh. But now seeing your firewall, I feel like spending the extra $300 just to make it easier on me...

And it never gets old seeing that blue man ;) Keep up the good work!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks man.

I bought the Classic Update kit from them. So it has a few circuits for modern updates like power seats, power windows, power locks, and a couple others. I don't know what your harness is like, but having a harness made for your truck is easier for sure. How much easier? I don't know. But the classic update kit has a really nice main power harness and everything is about the right length or too long, so you don't end up short anywhere. It also has the correct connectors for things like the steering column, wiper motor, instrument cluster, lighting, etc.

The kit was $539, but prices may have just gone up. Have you already opened yours or is it eligible for return?