Thread: Shop Truck (True Spirit) Project

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Mike in case a heavy load shifts and hits the tail gate , you are really going to work this truck . It looks so good I would be shy of a rock chip LOL.

They are no fun unless you can play with them.

The bolts are over built basically just for piece of mind (plus I kind of got a kick out of building them from a hand full metal).

As I mentioned before I really like the looks of a nicely done wood bed, unfortunately in my case I think I would turn it into a very ugly wood bed in short order. So it gets diamond plate.

All the holes that would be in the wood bed were drilled into the plywood and diamond plate.

There was enough left over from a 4 X 8 sheet to also cover the inside of the tailgate. Unfortunately I did have to buy some extra to do the 4 corner pieces I made to fill the floor out. It’s really hard to get a good picture that does the bed justice but I am very happy with the way it turned out. I also put 8 tie down eyes (4 on each side) in while I was at it (makes it a snap to hook up to the chain hoist when I’m ready to install it).

I also got the fenders, steps and tailgate installed (I figured out a couple of neat tricks to be able to do it by myself WITHOUT scratching the paint). The stainless fender bolts/washers look pretty good too.

I’m calling the bed done for now and put it out in back in the shed for now so I have some room to start on the prep and painting on the front sheet metal.

Mike you'll have to let us know if you need sun glasses to look out the rear view mirror. The chrome gas cap on my Harley is bad enough when the sun's at the right angle!
Nice job though. Gives it a great finished look, and should be pretty bullet proof with loads!

Funny that you should mention that Steve. The afternoon I got the plate layed in I had the west door to the garage open. The sun hit the bed just right and amlost blinded me

I have a roll up aluminum bed cover on order for it that is flat mat black that should prevent any problems most of the time.

You can lay in there an work on your tan. Nice job on the entire bed. You REALLY aren't going to put anything inside that pretty thing, are you?

Don

The bed cover will also hide the scars it will eventually get (besides where else am I supposed to hide the bodies )

That bed looks great! It shouldn't be too easy to keep it nice. White is forgiving, touches up easily too, and the dock plate will take most of the wear on the ribs.

If it is not already too late, I have a suggestion... In the early 90's Dodge made a reinforcement plate for the cowl of the truck that dealers were suposed to install if the customer complained about rattles (TSB, not a recall) These were mostly for the Cummins trucks, because of the vibrations from the Diesel, but I added them to my Gasser trucks, and they help stiffen up the cab, and reduce the creaks groans and rattles of an old truck with a mostly tin interior. They were 2 stamped plates that were meant to be installed on the cowl just below the windshield posts. They fit under the fenders, and is you have not yetinstalled the front clip, it is like a 5 minute job. I will see if I can find the part # for you. Murf

Looks great Mike!!! Going to be a really nice truck when you get it all put together!

TSB 23-63-94 to correct for the irritating cowl rattle.

The TSB states the symptom/condition to be, "Cracking or popping sounds coming from the cowl area at the lower corners of the windshield."

The kit consist of:

Cowl Reinforcement P/N 4797019 (left side - correct part number)
Or
Cowl reinforcement P/N 4797018 (right side - correct part number)
3/16" Structual rivets P/N 4746924 (3 req'd per side)
3M Panel Adhesive Compound 30

Found the #s, but I am not sure if they are still available.

I appreciate that, but the TSB appears to only apply to the 94-01 bodies.

Originally Posted by Mike P

I appreciate that, but the TSB appears to only apply to the 94-01 bodies.

The TSB is for the 1st gen Cummins Ram, 89-93. If you look at your cab compared to the 89-93 the Cowl is Identical. I did this mod on a 79 Ramcharger, a 78 Lil Red Express, and a 85 Crewcab. It is definately worth the extra 10 minutes while the truck is apart. Look into it. Murf

I got the second batch of painting done today, the core support and the inner fenders, dash, front valance and cowl vent, plus the hinges.

I figure 2 more weekends and the painting will be done. All that should be left is the inside of the cab, inside of the doors and bottom of the hood, then the exterior of the cab, doors hood and the front fenders.

More good looking parts, Mike!!!! I'm jealous, sure do want to get back on my truck someday!!!!!!!