The Brown Truck

[66-PMD-GMC]

Those are the hub caps I want.
Nice!
You are really putting a lot of quality work into that ride.

[CVA59]

You did an excellent job!!

[jrblanke]

Wow! great job on your truck! Enjoy driving it! The hard work has paid off!

James

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

I'm very impressed. Something to be proud of.
Posted via Mobile Device

Originally Posted by jimmydean

Wow, congrats. A job well done.

So what gets built next?

Originally Posted by 66-PMD-GMC

Those are the hub caps I want.
Nice!
You are really putting a lot of quality work into that ride.

Originally Posted by CVA59

You did an excellent job!!

Originally Posted by jrblanke

Wow! great job on your truck! Enjoy driving it! The hard work has paid off!

James

Thanks everyone!!

I spent a bunch of time on loose ends yesterday. I hope I'm not the only one who manages to put scratches in his brand new paint.... Sometimes I feel like a bull in a china shop.

I got the panel alignment mostly worked out, and tied up some more loose ends. I'm still fighting with my tach and speedometer. My speedo reads about 10% too slow, but I have the correct speedo gears in the transmission??? I'm going to try to get a couple more driven gears for it and experiment, but it bothers me that it won't match what the calculation tells me it should be.

Should get the tailgate back this week, and get the truck buffed. I'm getting more and more comfortable driving it, less fear that some catastrophe is going to happen. I'll post more pics soon.

[pope]

I finally got a chance to load the pictures, the truck looks great!

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by pope

I finally got a chance to load the pictures, the truck looks great!

Thanks!! It's been a while since my last update. Over the last few weeks I've been doing adjustments, etc. to the sheet metal, getting my a/c charged up, finishing the bed wood, and most importantly, installing my seats. I'm pretty lucky to have an uncle who is an upholsterer. He didn't enjoy doing the job, but he did it for me at a very discounted cost.

[Captainfab]

Wow, the seats look great

[pdxhall]

I agree, the seats are fantastic. Your uncle may have not wanted to do it but it didn't stop him from doing a killer job.

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Wow, the seats look great

Originally Posted by pdxhall

I agree, the seats are fantastic. Your uncle may have not wanted to do it but it didn't stop him from doing a killer job.

Thanks! I'm really happy with how they turned out. I showed the truck for the first time at the annual Burn the Point car show and parade this weekend. It was a lot of fun.

[SFTorange]

I've had some trouble with high temperatures despite all my efforts to make it run cool. I did some research the other night and found out that repop temp senders are notoriously inaccurate. I ordered a NOS unit from American Classic to see if it solves my problems.

[Alan's Classic]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Wow, the seats look great

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Thanks! They make the ride a lot more comfortable.

[SFTorange]

Here's a pic from the parade a few weeks ago

[chad64chevy]

hey i got a question are you going to put the jump seat in the middle? or leave it out? was wondering cause you have no armrest in the truck! well there is, if you drive right handed,lol!!

[AZ66GMC]

The truck looks awesome



.

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

hey i got a question are you going to put the jump seat in the middle? or leave it out? was wondering cause you have no armrest in the truck! well there is, if you drive right handed,lol!!

I now have the matching jump seat/center console setup installed in the truck. It sure is nice to have the armrest, cupholders, and extra storage! I'll post a pic soon.

Originally Posted by AZ66GMC

The truck looks awesome



.

Thanks! I'm having a great time racking up the miles.

[pope]

Good to see you're showing the truck. You have done a first class job on it.

[pope]

Now that you have had a chance to run it, what is your opinion of the Vintage Air system that you installed? I am looking at putting one of their systems in my truck and would like to know what your thoughts are.

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by pope

Good to see you're showing the truck. You have done a first class job on it.

Thanks! It's been a blast.

Originally Posted by pope

Now that you have had a chance to run it, what is your opinion of the Vintage Air system that you installed? I am looking at putting one of their systems in my truck and would like to know what your thoughts are.

I still need to get some accurate temperature measurements, but I've been very happy with it. On a hot day, there's a lot of competition with the sun heating up the cab through all of the windows, but it keeps things very comfortable. I would definitely recommend the vintage air kit, and I think they're working on a Gen IV sure-fit system for our trucks. It really wasn't that difficult to make the universal kit work, and the electronic controls were a snap. Mark (Coolair) was a big help, since he works in their tech department.

[Dino Driver]

Is there a reason you went with Vintage Air over the other companies that are out there?

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by Dino Driver

Is there a reason you went with Vintage Air over the other companies that are out there?

I spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with the a/c system. Ultimately I went with the Vinatge Air Gen IV Magnum system for two reasons. First, I was able to retain my factory deluxe controls which was very important. Second, the Gen IV system is the newest, most advanced system as far as I can tell. It seems like the a/c systems built for our trucks are all using some pretty old technology, and I liked the idea of having electronic controls.

I talk in detail in post #161 about my a/c system.

So far, I feel like I made the right choice. I just need to have my windows tinted to reduce heat from the sun.

[SFTorange]

Thought I'd repost this here...

[pope]

Wow! Very nice!

[SFTorange]

Hard to believe its been this long since I've posted an update. Since the truck's been on the road, I've kept fine tuning things (and of course finding ways to scratch my new paint!). Here are some pics of what I've done..

I installed arm rests (I like the '55-'65 design a lot better). They match great and make it a lot easier to get the doors closed.



Here's a picture with the jump seat installed. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out with the seats. I'm 6'4, so it's a bit tight, but manageable, and the storage/cupholders are great.



I installed a receiver hitch a couple of weeks ago. It was a snap, and worked great with the underbed tank. I used the Reese Towpower 33065 33 Series Class III / IV Professional Hitch Receiver from Amazon. It worked great for $144.99. My next project is trailer wiring.



I debated a lot about what steering wheel to use, and I finally landed on this Camaro replica wheel. Someday I'll have to figure out how to cut down an original. They're just too big in diameter for a truck with power steering. I also went through my gauges and installed a new lens and stickers over the gauge faces. I was having trouble with my temp gauge (reproduction original) reading too hot. I installed this sending unit from Lectric Limited, and now it reads where it should.

[66farmer]

Good to see you back. I like your seats but I,m 6'5" and you said it's a little tight for you. How is it to tight are you seating up to much or just to close to the steering wheel. Do you think there is some thing you can change to give yourself more room.
Thanks