Next up is a moment I have been waiting for. It is time to test the freshly assembled grill to see how it looks. I have literally been anticipating this moment for a few years as it will allow the final front end look to be seen!
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Next up is the train horns!
First thing is to make the bracket for mounting. Upon test fitting, I find out I need a spacer as the trumpets hit the mounting bracket. So I will make the spacer that is needed. So I start with an aluminum core and cut it to size:
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Center drill it so I have something to go off of as center for machining:
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Then stuff it into the mill to make the bolt circle:
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Then back into the lathe for final clean up and breaking of the edges for clean finish:
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Then testing onto the horns:
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As of this writing, the horns now have to be installed once the running boards are done. For now, they wait with the bracket ready. 🙂
And to bring us right up to date, it is time for the cold air box! So I started with drawing the required components onto the sheetmetal and then cut them out:
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Then start test fitting:
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That is current condition of the cold air intake. This weekend will mark the completion of the box now that it can go back in as the rad and all is complete. Final hole positioning for the filter couldn’t be done until I knew where all of the rad and IC hoses were to go.
And, progress also has been made on the rear doors. The drivers rear door is now complete with power locks and power window. The passengers side was converted to power door lock and window, but before the window part could be complete, disaster struck. Somehow, the glass exploded. Dad opened the rear door and all we heard in the show was an explosion. This was the result:
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If you know of any good clean rear door glass, please let me know. It would seem I am in the market. 😉
So, that brings you up to speed for the start of April!
Well, hopefully this will be the final winter on this bugger now! Or so I hope! Have started making progress again. Yes I know….it’s about time I started this thread up again. May allowed me a few things to chip away at. They were starting on the running boards, interior wiring, and random odds and ends.
As no one really makes running boards for these trucks anymore, I had to get creative. I could have gotten the extruded type but those lack style in my opinion (have those on the 1990). So, I looked up Deezee boards and found that if I got a front off a 2010 F150 it would be long enough for the crew’s cab so I would be able to trim to length (could not get exact needed length). I also found the rear off a 2008 Chevy dually would be just longer than what I needed for the rear. So, the mods began.
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Marks were made and then the step pad was removed for cutting of the board:
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Haircut!!
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Now that the general length is right, it is time to fabricate the brackets to hold them. As there mounts are clearly different from ford and chev, it was time to start getting creative. The brackets are all ¼” plate and now have a top and bottom here. All I have to do is mount them to the frame, and the board; then I can do final height adjustment and welding.
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As my buddy is skilled with Solidworks, he did up this snappy drawing to show how it would work.
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So the brackets that were included with the kit were cut to now Gen 1 Dodge specs:
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Machined to exact tolerances:
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And then tack welded and tested to ensure they fit with the boards perfectly situated:
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The front boards also required a haircut as they were designed for a F150 cab length:
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And the result of how it sits:
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Small little update as I upload more photos. Been making GREAT progress! Next up was the rear door. As you recall the glass was shattered….. Thanks to a helpful TDR member in western Canada, I got some glass for the door so it was time to clean out the old glass and install ever so carefully the replacement glass.
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Also the final mounts were finished for the rear power windows:
Next up was dealing with all the upside down Hella lights. That was now taken care of with some custom printed high quality to prevent stone blasting, decals. The Mopar ones are off the 90 to give an idea of what else can be done with these covers to make them look good. Those have been on the 90 for 3 years worth of driving and are still perfect. The hope is to inspire more being done this way.
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So, what use to look like this….
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Now looks like this:
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For the interior, it was time for wiring and fabrication of gauge pods. The A pillar pods were first, followed by the dash, and then the roof panel.
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And the result of those two:
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Next is the roof pod, designed for the gen 3 trucks. It requires a LOT of cutting and hacking to make it fit the gen 1 roofline. First is cut out the back end reinforcing panel, then shave down the sides while continually testing it against the roof curvature. To do that required headliner test fitting so trim was installed and a temp headliner was stuck in:
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And what it looks like hacked:
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