"Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion

[N2TRUX]

While the box was curing I went to work on the back of the bumper. Yeah I know its a bit anal, but I really hate how the back side of the bumper looks after it's been in the weather. The thin areas of plating quickly discolor and are prone to rust.
To prevent that from happening I clean the surface thoroughly and scuff it down with a fresh pad of green Scotch Brite.

[N2TRUX]

After another wipe down and a blast of air to clean up debris. This was followed by a few layers of primer. I'll let this cure over night before scuffing again

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Wikid61

The black will allow the tag's silver to stand out more, almost floating alone for a 3-D look. On a side note I see these 2x4's made into stands both of make shift work bench & under the truck's wheels. What are their lengths? Thank-you.

I have always sprayed the box bright silver to emulate the factory look. This time i decided to stay satin black. I'll try it for a while to see if I like it.

The wheel stand was my first attempt. I will have to check the length since its been a while since I built it.

[N2TRUX]

Tonight Chris came over and gave me a hand hanging the rear bumper. I have never had a rear bumper installed since I owned the truck but I had a feeling it might not be a bolt on deal.

[N2TRUX]

Due to the short bed conversion the brackets didn't exactly fall in to place. Its positioned a bit to high, and needs to tuck in but the leaf spring hanger are preventing that. We moved it around a bit and locked the brackets down

[N2TRUX]

We hung the bumper and played with the position a bit more. We got it as close as we could for now. When we get back from C10 Nationals the frame rails will be stripped again to hand the Ridetech 4 link with coilover. We will make necessary adjustments and get the position correct at that point.

[N2TRUX]

I pulled the bumper off of the brackets and set it aside. I scuffed the brackets and hit them with a couple coats of Krylon to cover our install scratches.

I flipped the bumper over and scuffed it down again. It got several coats of bright aluminum paint and left to dry.

[Dads79GMC]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

I pulled the bumper off of the brackets and set it aside. I scuffed the brackets and hit them with a couple coats of Krylon to cover our install scratches.

I flipped the bumper over and scuffed it down again. It got several coats of bright aluminum paint and left to dry.

Probably a good idea there. I may have to do this myself.
Mike

[N2TRUX]

It's been a hectic week so let's get caught up. I needed a set of bumper bolts to hang the bumper, so I ordered a set from Summit Racing. Turns out they were wrong so I bought a set locally at Outback Truck parts.

They had what I needed, but I wasnt satisfied with the full finish. I spent some time polish the heads. While I was at it I did the same for the plate box bolts.

[N2TRUX]

With the bolt heads polished I could do final assembly on the bumper. I bolted the license plate to the box, then put the box in place with the new bolts.

[N2TRUX]

Chris came by and helped me hang the bumper. Once we got it squarely in place I installed one of my tailgate bands to see how it looked. I started with the narrow Cheyenne band to see if I liked it now that the bumper was on.

[N2TRUX]

It seemed a bit to plain with the sidemolding to enhance it. I decided to put the early Silverado band on see which one I liked best.

[N2TRUX]

So I'm still undecided which band to run for this show. No matter what, the final decision wont be made till I put the trim on. Until then which one do you prefer?
Top or bottom?

[N2TRUX]

Another view

[Wikid61]

The large insert overpowers the area. Small band is subtle.

[Greenlee]

I like the narrow band. It’s different since you never see those.

[OlySezHey]

The ol' school look of the narrow band looks better imo.

[N2TRUX]

I guess y'all will have to wait and see which one stays. Keep in mind the final decision wont be maid till the sidemolding goes on.

[N2TRUX]

Wow, what a crazy weekend. We bounced back and forth between several projects.
Saturday morning I went to see Jaime Villalobos at Cypress Auto Interiors to pick up the inserts he had covered for me

[N2TRUX]

After leaving with my newly covered inserts I headed home to work on the plastic pieces. I gave each piece a thorough scrubbing with soapy water, rinsed and repeated. Its tedious work but is truly necessary to ensure a clean surface. I gave them a blow dry with my leaf blower and layed them in the sun to finish the process.

[N2TRUX]

Once all the pieces dried, I sprayed the back and front with SEM primer. I gave each piece two wet coats and laid them on my trailer to bake in the sun. Unfortunately it got dark and I didn't get pics before bringing them inside.

[N2TRUX]

Between coats of primer I opened up a shipment I had received from Brothers Truck Parts. There were a few final pieces of the interior puzzle that I desperately needed to complete the package.
One of those parts were a new a/c vent.

[Wikid61]

Those aluminum pieces tie in that smaller tailgate insert.

[N2TRUX]

You might ask why one would get a brand new part, and immediately take it apart? Especially when you consider these parts are the very well made.
I have found that there is a minor modification that can be made to greatly improve the function of the a/c vents.
To compound the foam disc that's designed to keep the vent aimed where you set it is too soft and too thin to be effective. I can't do anything about the vent location, but I do have a cure for the vents staying where you direct them to.

[N2TRUX]

I found a fiber disc that's used as a furniture glide. I shopped till I located a size that was very close to the foam washer in the vent. Gently peel the old one off. Dont worry about the adhesive backing left behind unless it balls up.
I use a pencil tip soldering iron to burn a hole in the middle that's big enough to fit over the spindle.