53 Is back from the Body Shop

Thanks for the kind words guys. I moved back inside the cab again trying get the dash buttoned up, I don't know how much more stuff I can fit back there. I need to fit my radio and speakers and that should be about it. Tomorrow I have the day offf and I am going to wire in my alarm and kill switch, It would sure make my life easier if people would act they way their supposed to. I kinda goofed up on where I put my fuse panel. It's in kind of a not so nice place to get at right now but out of sight. Problem is I realized tonight that my air conditioning vent and hose go in front of the fuse box as well which would make it almost impossible to get at. I may just forget about that vent for now, I think the other vents should cool the cab down just fine.

Can't have too many vents on a hot day.

Can't you just make the duct easy to remove? After all, how often do you need to get at the fuse box?

“……Can't you just make the duct easy to remove?........”

That’s a thought. Just thinking (typing) out loud, but it might be possible to hose clamp the defrosted end to the dash duct (so it doesn’t accidently pull off). Then split the flexible ducting somewhere where it’s convenient to pull it apart so that it can be pulled out of the way to access the fuse box. For the slip joint to connect/disconnect the flexible ducting together I’d probably just use a small sheet of really thin aluminum (something like roof flashing) rolled into a tube the appropriate size to slip inside the ducting and pop riveted together to hold it in shape.

Like I said just thinking out loud.

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Some solutions are so simple it takes someone else to point them out. Good thinking, that shouldn't be hard to do. A couple wing nuts on the back side of the dash and problem fixed.

shop vac hose and tubing

Yup what jerry said. Shop vacs have the smooth wedge in connectors that pretty much stay connected until they recieve a good tug!

I think I got the dash mostly done this week, everything is tucked away and just the reverse lights are left. I have a few wires hanging down from the dash but that's because I ran out of zip ties. Finally got my speedo in permanently and routed the GPS antenna behind the grill. The body shop lost my ashtray knob so I need to get another one of them. It kinda sucks, I like putting original stuff back on. The radio is pretty sweet, looks old school till you turn it on and then the digital shows up in the back ground. I have the speaker kit from them in the dash and it actually sounds a lot better than I thought it would.

I really like the almost stock direction you went with the dash! It looks just right in there.


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Progress is a good thing.........

That looks really nice! I've heard good things about the speed hut gauges so that should work out great for you too.

DITTO ABOVE COMPLIMENTS, HAS A NICE STOCK LOOK TO IT. lIKE THE WHITE CHEVY LETTERING TOO!

Yep, me too, absolutely stunning Sir. Heck, I do like the radio idea too as that does finish it of completely.

Just checked out the GPS speedometer at Speed Hut very cool!

I did the GPS speedo a few years back. As JB says, "works a treat!":LOL::LOL:

I'll echo all the other comments re; the dash. NICE!:)

Thanks so much for all the compliments on the dash, makes me think that I am going in the right direction. I am trying to keep this whole pickup as stock as possible with some modern and subtle upgrades without taking away the old school feel. I choose the white lettering for the dash because I wanted something to tie into the white gauges. Thanks for the input on the gauges, its nice to hear from a real user. I looked on the internet for about a week trying to find a negative comment on the GPS Speedhut gauges and I never did find one. I wanted to test them out when I got them so I took the antennae that was supposed to be out in the open, and I buried it in the bottom of the trunk in my work car and closed the lid. It picked up signal right away so that was a good sign.

"Sometimes" mine will lose sat signal - like when going through a tunnel.
But by and large, I've got no complaint(s) and I keep the antenna under the dash , out of site.

I had one of those days today. Plan was to wire up dome light and put in door switches for it. Install center chrome piece in the windshield. Install horn and install drivers door window. I got the dome light wired in and then found out there is no place in my door jam that will work with the door switches. Moved on to the window. The glass setting tape I have is too wide and it distorted the bottom rail to the point where the roller would not work . Decided to glue all the door windows in instead when I get the pass bottom rail in that was back ordered. Couldn't get the windshield center strip in because the screws that came with it are too short. Moved on to the horn that came off a 90's Chevy pickup, not enough room in the place where it needs to go, I need a smaller horn. Had the hood open and realized my alt is energized with the key turned backwards to the radio only position ( thank you EZ wire ) . Closed the hood and seen that I put a subtle ripple it from working on the windshield strip that wouldn't go on. To finish off the night , I had to go to the Batman Lego movie tonight :CRY: On the good side, my wife put sound mat on the back of the cab today, that went well:LOL: Time for beer and ice cream.

Beer and Ice Cream.... unusual combo.

Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield. You'll gain the upper hand I'm sure, sorry to hear of these "bumps in the road".

Also, sorry to hear about the setbacks. I'm sure you'll get it sorted, though. The dash looks great and I like the radio, too.

Glad to hear of someone else that couldn't find anything negative about the Speedhut instruments. That's what I intend to use in my project. The range of options for them is fantastic.

I am learning that I appreciate the little things on peoples rides though. I'm finding out that it can take just as long to put in something as simple as a dome lite as it does to put on a front clip. I know which one looks more impressive after a day of work though .:LOL: I just had ice cream last night though. I was told awhile back that my grandpa would go to the cafe in town and everyone would order coffee and cake. Not my grandpa, he would order cake and beer :HMMM: I don't think it would mix so well.:LOL:

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has situations like yours. My weekend was really similar to yours as in this won't work. Fix that, on to this, fix that, then that, and this. It's never ending. Haha

Went on a service call at work to a town near by me to work on a tractor and I also needed to get a front radiator splash pan off an stripped out 3600 from there. Wasn't too bad to get off and when I got home I quick sandblasted it and was going to paint it, then I thought I better see if it fits good first. Good thing because it will need some re vamping to get it to work right because of my radiator. My fender wells also seem to be a bit different as they don't have some holes that the other pickup did for the splash pan. I ran into this b/f with this and how fenders bolt on. I picked up my fender wells from Craigslist and they may be off a older 3100 and just a bit different but workable.

Got my splash pan sand blasted, trimmed to fit and painted. Can you guess by the pics which side was pitted up? It's not a show piece so I am fine with it. I was drilling out some holes in it before I painted and the 5/16 bit caught the bit ran into my hand pretty good. I think it would have been a stitches thing during the day but I wasn't going to make an emergency visit over it $$$$$$$$.

That had to hurt, hope your tetanus shorts are up to date.

Ouch! I say that a lot out in the shop, BTW. +1 on the tetanus shot.

The pan looks good, though.

You can't take on a project like that without spilling a little blood. Lets hope it heals quickly, spring cruising is around the corner!

Times four. OUCH!

We've all done it tho'... take care and watch for infections..

I call it the blood price, every time I take off a rusted bolt on the 48 ford I usually end up with a cut somewhere!

Man, sorry to see the injury. I almost had a tard moment my self the other day when I was trying to drill out a ring terminal and the drill bit caught and ripped it out of the vice. My finger almost got the bad end of that. Those drills can mess you up so quick it is nuts. Nice work on the apron. Quit sending that white mess down here too. It has been snowing the past 2 mornings. It is March now. :LOL:

drilling out ring terminals ... that certified certain death!:LOL::LOL:

But we've all certainly done that once or twice on a Sunday afternoon, or at 10 pm! :LOL::LOL:

To be honest, I've been a mech for a lot of years now and I don't hurt myself nearly as often as I used to. I think a person learns how to do things after awhile and not get hurt, but they still get you from time to time ( aka ring terminals:LOL:) My hand is healing up nicely thanks to my wife saying I should take a latex glove and cut the fingers off and wear that at work to keep it clean. That worked great. It actually never hurt that bad, I guess the nerve endings only go down so deep :( It pretty much just feels like a bruised hand after a person is dumb and used their palm for a hammer. Went to a HS band concert tonight and hopefully get to work on the 53 tomorrow night and Sat.

I'm trying to get in the habit of wearing thin latex gloves when working around oil/grease, but it is a hard habit to beat. These dirty diesels make your skin very unique looking. :LOL:

Had a good day working on the 53,I got the door windows glued in their tracks. FYI I am a messy painter and anything to do with a caulk gun so there will need to be some razor blading later. I traced my alt wire that was energized with the key backwards and had to clip it out of the fuse box and run it to the key switch. I don't know how much more a Painless harness is over an EZ , but it's probably worth it, not a fan of EZ anymore for more than just this reason. I finally removed the front coils to cut them down a bit. They had my shocks topped out and there was so much spring stuffed in there I had no bounce. I ended up cutting one coil out which seems about right. I finally got to use my floor tie downs in my shop 10 yrs after I built the shed:LOL: They worked awesome for taking the springs in and out. I put my dome light switches in the door jams. I kept them to the inside a bit so the door wouldn't have to slide on them too much when closing. The Mrs and I put the radiator splash pan on last night and then we got the front bumper and splash pan on. And my hand is healing up nicely after tying to drill though it Wed.:)

one more pic of the splash pan

I keep corona oitment on hand. Heals faster than anything else.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shine

I keep corona oitment on hand. Heals faster than anything else.

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Never heard of it although I don't check a lot of ointment brands , I'll pick some up if I see it though.

It's a farm thing. Strong antibiotic salve . Used for everything. Granma would glue your finger back on with it.

Dunno if they still make it, but KIPP for burns, in a round tin. Works wonders.
Just a tangent. That's opposite over adjacent, by the way.

Good to see and hear you're making progress! The wife has me doing a wood project... 8-(

Up this way for a antiseptic salve we use a product called Bag Balm... Bag Balm the original rescue balm for even the toughest dry skin - Bag Balm originally used to treat cow teats..

Udder Balm from Farm and Fleet

For drilling those holes bigger in thin material-get some of those step drills--they are a little pricy, but you only need a couple
---diffinently cheaper than stitches