Yet another GMC build

[Kabwe]

Its looking great man.

[longbike]

Man that does look great! Lucky to be so far in your build! "someday I will be"

[G&R's57GMC]

Lookin' Gooood !

Great idea for the bed.

[Kim57]

looks real nice. I like the dash bezel.
Kim

[55metalmonkey]

looking great, can't wait till mine is that far along

[apache200]

Your truck is coming along very well.

[OKGMC4]

OK I've painted the grill twice and both times I slipped when polishing the face and burnt a little portion of paint with the buffer wheel. I simply don't care anymore and wanted to see it in the hood. Also, there are still some slight scratches in that hood but I get so darn afraid to burn through the clear with the rubbing compound and doing it by hand is no fun. I totally respect all you painters by trade. I don't think there is one panel without a little bug spot or bump spot or missed ding, etc. I have to fix three burn throughs at door jambs and one bang where I bumped it putting together the filler neck. Been painting and polishing for three weeks now and still have lots to do. This is tedious work!

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by OKGMC4

This is tedious work!

You got that right but you are doing a good job. Keep it going its worth it.

[apache200]

Your truck looks really good. cant wait to see it completed. Keep up the good work.

[Dieselwrencher]

That tedious work will pay off in the end, so enjoy all that hard work now. It does look sweet with the grill installed. Great job!

[OKGMC4]

Making progress. More assembly, paint, and buffing. Two of my paint fixes didn't work so great so I may put 4 or 5 coats of clear on the whole back of the cab and sand it back to smooth. Means more work but it would be the right way to do it.

[Kim57]

That's looking real nice. I like the insert in the hood.
Kim

[bensimmons_05]

I haven't checked in for a while, I was glad to see some paint!! Great color choice (along with all of your other great choices) This is the FUN PART!!!

[BC Toy chest]

Ohhh man that looks good!

[OKGMC4]

I really appreciate all the positive words...I constantly worry I'm building the worst piece of junk on the road. I guess it's a first time build thing. I've had to learn to weld and paint, and more than likely will have to borrow a sewing machine and learn to stitch so I can put the interior together as well.

Making a little progress. I painted the mustache because it was fast and because it would save me $250 for spray chrome plus shipping to Dallas for an almost irreplaceable piece. Plus, I bet the spray chrome looks good but will it look good next to actual chrome parts? Now I can't decide whether to paint my old bumper or order a shiny chrome one from LMC. Tried repairing a bad spot in the paint this morning and ran the clear on the last coat in a place that I already sanded a run out of. If I havn't mentioned it...I almost hope I never paint another car in this lifetime but I know I probably will do it again anyway.

[hotrod1]

how did you make a booth? Any suggestions on that note?

[Spackle100]

I like what you did with the mustache, I'd put a chrome bumper on that bad boy.

[OKGMC4]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

how did you make a booth? Any suggestions on that note?

I taped up a ton of plastic on the walls. The heavy 6 mil stuff from Lowes. Then I got some of the light duty plastic and covered whatever didn't need paint in the middle of the garage. I have 3 box fans. Two are taped up under the garage door with 20 x 20 filters to pull air out and 1 is taped up with a 20 x 20 air filter on the side door to help pull air in. I had to tape every hole, seam, anywhere where dirt could get in. Then I had to clean the garage very well, about three times. And there's still a couple spots in the paint where either dust or bugs found their way in. Most of those cut and buff out but it still aggravates you.

All in all, though, it's still been WAY cheaper than forking it out. One shop quoted me 10K to paint it. I've gone through three gallons of primer, 1.5 gallons of sealer, 2 gallons of color, 2.5 gallons of clear plus reducers, activators, rubbing and polishing compound, etc. Still only cost around 1K, maybe a hair more. I'm trying to cook a steak on a burger budget!

[Rods57]

Looks great! I am in the same spot as far as painting not being my strong point but i cant afford the big $'s for a show car finish. that's also what makes this a great hobby is that guys like us can learn how to do this stuff and save big dollars. keep up the good work i makes us all keep going....

[Kim57]

The gauges and bumper look real nice.
Kim

[OKGMC4]

Here's what I've come up with to run my two speed Tbird fan...

You have my old radiator hose adapter and my new one. In order to install the new BMW fan switch the new adapter had to be longer so it could be tapped to 14mm x 1.5 thread with a flat seat. You have to use a 14mm oil drain plug gasket to seal the switch.

The switch fits a 95 BMW 318i. It's available for $12 on RockAuto but after shipping it's $20. Autozone has it for $30 with a lifetime warranty and to me the warranty is worth it. I did, however, elect to have OReillys match the price because I don't like that other places electrical parts.

The plug is four parts that are available from BMW for $27.
61131378412 - plug housing
61130007445 - wire, small, x2
61130007446 - wire, large

Once the volvo fan relay is wired in this is how it's supposed to work...engine hits 195 and low speed comes on, then if it gets to 205 the high speed will come on until the temp hits 195 again. I'm wiring my compressor parallel to the low so the fan comes on when A/C triggered. There is an optional low temp switch(180/195) but I keep hearing how these LSx engines like to run hotter than a sbc. I like this setup because anyone can drive the truck with no worries. No special toggles to flip or special controllers to adjust.

I didn't do all this research myself so credit should be given here...

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=839089

and here...

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/...41-taurus-fan/

Hope this helps someone!

[WIDESIDE72]

i have a 55 Chevy big window that has been half finished for about 20 yrs, since I was 15. I hope it looks 1/2 this good some day!

[OKGMC4]

Originally Posted by WIDESIDE72

i have a 55 Chevy big window that has been half finished for about 20 yrs, since I was 15. I hope it looks 1/2 this good some day!

Thanks, I need all the ego boosting I can get. Means I don't have to take as many anti depressants! My biggest fear is to get frustrated and let it sit. Just want to drive it now, even if everything is not perfect.

[OKGMC4]

Something else I'm going to try...I robbed a set of door jamb switches from the same astro van I got my seat brackets from and put them in. If you drill the right size hole, GM jamb switches are actually self tapping. Very easy and when done my dome light will come on with an open door. Then I powered up my new dome light and it was disappointing how dim and yellow the stock bulb is in that thing. I measured the hole and figured I could get a 1x5 inch led panel in there. Found one (42 led board) on ebay for $10. Pull out the old bulb socket, drill four holes and use nylon bolts, spacers, and nuts, and now I'm going to have a super bright dome light.

[Rude Dude]

Do you have the ebay link to those LED panel?

Thanks