Classy Shak

[Dreamweaver]

Howdy Friends

Well I got a much anticipated package in the mail today.

John (Stylin-n-Profilin) sent me a set of his full fenders.

Now when these come they are a bit rough and need some sanding. I showed them to my wife and told her that there was a lot of sanding and by hand it would take all day, and that I wish I had that Ryobi belt sander that HD has for $119. Well she told me to bad, and proceeded to go to town to go shopping, I thought, she returned about 45 min later with the sander.



Well any way, I was in to big of a hurry to play with my new toys to snap a picture of the fenders as they came. So here they are after i got done sanding.








Ok now with the help of my home made .35 cent spacers (7 nickles taped under the fenders) I go them to a suitable ride height.

Now the first pictures here are with the axles at the original position.










Now these are with the axles moved up to the new wheel base.














Here you can see how much I moved them forward.





I would really like to thank John for making these for me, they are AWESOME... I love them.

~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Howdy All!!

Well I got another box in the mail from our ace machinist Tc1cat (Lynn)

First I messed up in the measuring of my front bumper so when Lynn sent me my bumper it was perfectly made to my spec. However when my specs are crap, I had to send the bumper back to Lynn who did what had to be done to save the day... Now I got the bumper back and the hood opens perfectly... Thanks a bunch Lynn.


Now if you remember I built a working steering box, and had Lynn make me the Drag Link and Steering Arm. Both of which turned out perfect. Next I needed some u-joints. again Lynn to the rescue.

Lynn built me two u-joints for the steering column, one for the stering box to the column and the other to connect the two parts of the steering column together, so now if I wanted I could even have a working tilt/telescopic steering wheel... Don't think I will go quite that far, you guys would have me commented..


Any way I am waiting on one more necessary part before I can mount any of this, so in the mean time here are some pictures of the joints.

Again big thanks to Lynn..

Here is the u-joint on the steering gear box, along with the Pittman arm Lynn made me.










~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Well this has been a eventful day to say the least.

First I got my custom made visor from Brian (Brian in PA) today. He did a perfect job. It turned out exactly like I wanted.





It came in the mail and like a flash I was all over installing it. I had already taken the truck apart AGAIN...(Boy if I had a buck for every time I took this thing apart and put it back together, I'd just about be able to pay for it...


Well that's when the crap started...

I made a king size DUMB *** mistake today. I went to move the axles forward and cut the frame as discussed earlier. Well I did not mark my reference point for where to move the axles up to BEFORE I took the truck apart. I did mark it, just after I had it was stripped. Well long story SHORT I marked the wrong place. Did not even notice it till I was almost done putting it back together, when I noticed that the axles were quite close to the rear sleeper Mounts... Well to say the least I think I got just about every cuss word known to man out at least twice.






Well I thought about leaving it like this, after all it is REAL 1:1 accurate now. But I just could not deal with it. I have a specific look I want for this truck and have already shortened it once, I was not going to try to live with it.

So I ordered another set of frame rails from Freddy.

Well I got a big box of much needed stuff from Tower today. In it I have a crap load or tubing for the shocks, I have some big tube that I use in the making of my stacks, I got the styrene I am going to use for my diamond tuck interior, I got some long .080" styrene so that I can complete the running boards in one piece, I got some much needed taps, and last but not least I got most of the stuff I need to build my drive lines. What I mean by most is some of the parts were to small so I have to send them back and get more of the other ones...(another lesson learned)

I also got the brass I needed to make my fender mounts for the fenders that I got from John (Stylin-N-Profilin). Then I got my visor from Brian of course, and I also got a small package from Bob at Scale Hardware... Yup, I went against what I first had planned and ALL BECAUSE OF BRIAN I had to get some rivets. I got the 1mm heads though my personal opinion is they are closer to stock size, and of course they are smaller which equals harder to handle..

Oh well not like I haven't drilled a million holes on this thing already what is a few extra. Ya know the bad part is with my OCD. No matter how much I tell myself not to, I can pretty much guarantee that come Monday at work I will be going over to one of the Pete's in the trucking company's yard next door and be counting the rivets on the hood....

Ok on to the fender mounts.

I used 1/8" square brass tube for these. along with a little angle and some 1/2" flat.

I built these almost exactly like the real 1:1 hangers are built.





Now the good thing about the frame screw up is I am just that much ahead on my next truck... It looks like it will have a 329 wheel base... Anyway I figured that the truck that gets these frames will have these fenders on them as well so I went ahead and partially mounted them.



My initial intent was to NOT have the bolts go all the way through. I took some 1/4 x .080 styrene strips and epoxied them on the inside of the fender knowing that the CA glue would not stick to the material they are made out of... Well neither does the epoxy.. So in interest of having a good strong connection I had to go through the fender. This is actually done on the real ones, they usually have a SS strip kinda like a top weight for mud flaps and then some SS carriage bolts.










Then I made a home made fifth wheel mount, These large sleeper truck's usually have fixed fifth wheels because they have more than enough weight on the steers and there is no need to add more.



I know that the stock set up for these have a bolt that goes all the way through from one side to the other on the 5th wheel. I did not want that so I used two separate bolts. Now if you just bolt the platform to the 5th wheel then you either get a tight 5th wheel or you get loose bolts. I took a piece of copper tube and cut it long enough to go through the mounting holes on the 5ht wheel and the platform that I made. This allows me to tighten the bolts while keeping completely free movement of the 5th wheel..



Well that's all the fun for today, so here is some pictures of the truck put back together in it's short version that WILL NOT be staying.





















~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

I spent the day working on my cab interior.

First I did the dash.








Then I figured that the stock steering column just was not going to cut it, so I made a Pete one.









I also made up some peddles out of brass and I added temporary gear shifts. The balls on the top of the pins will be painted purple and then mounted to a slightly larger diameter SS tube.










While I could not figure out how to make the steering wheel telescopic... I did make it so it tilts.







~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Now for the upholstery..

Diamond tuck all the way.



Boy those ugly screw heads.... What can I do about them.

Well even though sun visors don't do a dang thing for the lowrider driver.. They hide screws good.



And of course it would not be like me not to make them functional.








Well then I moved on to the rear cab corners.






Then finally the door panels.





Know my plan right now, this might change when the amount of work and the stupidity of doing it hits me, is to take a 1mm rivet and put them in each corner of each diamond, like buttons. The diamond tuck will be white and the buttons will be purple.

I still have not made up my mind on what will be what color on everything else, although I can say that what ever I paint one color or the other it will be the white or the purple...

The design on the doors will be purple. As for the rest. I think the seats will be white in the center with the purple on the sides. The dash I am thinking of leaving the bulk of it white with the dash face purple and then the brass part of the column also purple. The brake pulls and shift knobs will be purple.

Well I am almost done with the building part of the cab interior, all I have left is the CB.

I am also thinking of changing from the black marble floor to a white marble floor... What ya think of that?

~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Ok Gents...

Here it is... A working steering gear box.

To bad it is a bad gear ratio, this would be cool if it worked when driving... Oh well at least I did it and now ya all know it works..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp49CupXi4Y

~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Got the new frame rails on it again, and this is perfect I am real happy with the length now. Comes out to a 371" WB





As the video I posted yesterday shows, I got the steering hooked up, well all but the drag link.





The second u-joint under the dash.



I also got the shocks on and the fenders mounted.







And last but not least I got my inter-axle drive line in.



So that's it for now.

~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Well got one of the running boards completely finished tonight.

I started with making a piece to cover the fender mount and the gap between the fenders and the frame.



Then I just added the steps.








Now the fun part will be making the other side match.

~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Well after 5.5 months around 300-350 hrs. I am DONE with the styrene work.

Now all that is left is the body work, electronics, painting and chroming, and lots of details.






















~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Well not getting much done for now.

Waiting on some much needed parts.

I did get the rear drive shaft and one of the carrier bearings mounted.




~Mike~

[Tamiya Cowboy]

The best highest detailed build I have ever seen.. Glad to see it back on the board Mike and I cant wait for updates..

[Dreamweaver]

Howdy Folks..

Well I received a much needed and awaited part from Lynn (tc1cat) yesterday, and man was it beautifully made and exactly what I wanted.

THANKS LYNN


I sent Lynn a picture I drew up of a back bumper I wanted to have built. With out thinking twice about it Lynn said he could make it.


















I could not wait for the 5mm led's for the bumper so I put some 3mm in temporarily to see how they work. I made up a simple circuit that would allow the same lights to be both tail and stop and turn.

Here's a short Youtube.

Youtube Video

~Mike~

[Dreamweaver]

Originally Posted by Tamiya Cowboy

The best highest detailed build I have ever seen.. Glad to see it back on the board Mike and I cant wait for updates..

Thanks Paul, I'm glad to be back..

However updates will be at a much later date...

[Dreamweaver]

Well that's where I am at this point in time.

I am patiently waiting for Steve (ihbuilder) to make my Air Cleaners, Fuel Tanks, and Wheels.

Then I have to get the motor to Lynn for some machine work needed to put the steering servo inside the motor.

Then get the MFU and the electronics installed along with the drive motor and transmission. Once I get all that done and everything works right then I will paint her up and start the final assembly..

Now all that is looking like it won't happen for quite a while.

~Mike~

[Straywolf]

Wow this is one beautiful rig all the detail just wow i am awestruck so i gotta ask when you do the lights will the dashboard have lighted gauges and such?

Mike

[Dreamweaver]

Originally Posted by Straywolf

Wow this is one beautiful rig all the detail just wow i am awestruck so i gotta ask when you do the lights will the dashboard have lighted gauges and such?

Mike

Yes they will be back lit. The turn signal indicators and the high beam indicator will also work.

~Mike~

[Straywolf]

Originally Posted by Dreamweaver

Yes they will be back lit. The turn signal indicators and the high beam indicator will also work.

~Mike~

Sweet i cant wait to see this, would you mind showing us how to back light the dash i have been wanting to do some thing like this someday and i am not sure how to figure it out.

Again excellent work

Mike

[Dreamweaver]

Originally Posted by Straywolf

Sweet i cant wait to see this, would you mind showing us how to back light the dash i have been wanting to do some thing like this someday and i am not sure how to figure it out.

Again excellent work

Mike

Well I have no idea when I will be doing it but here is my idea..

I was thinking of making my own decals of the gauge faces on clear decal paper. Since printers do not print white that means the white numbers on the gauge face will be left clear for the light to come through. Then I will adhere them to a piece of clear overhead projector sheet and cut to size.

Next I will drill the holes in the dash in the appropriate spots and make them just a hair smaller diameter than the gauges I have just made. Then glue the gauges to the dash.

Next I will build a small box for behind the dash and light it with some 2x3 mm LED's. the inside of the box will be covered in aluminum foil to give it a reflective surface. The LED's will be mounted on the underside of the dash facing the box with the aluminum foil thus causing the light going through the gauges to be both uniform and slightly defused so as not to be so overwhelming.

As for the turn and high beam lights I will use the appropriate colored LED's sent threw fiber optics.

~Mike~

[Snowman]

Good to have you back among us, I missed classy shak

[Straywolf]

Originally Posted by Dreamweaver

Well I have no idea when I will be doing it but here is my idea..

I was thinking of making my own decals of the gauge faces on clear decal paper. Since printers do not print white that means the white numbers on the gauge face will be left clear for the light to come through. Then I will adhere them to a piece of clear overhead projector sheet and cut to size.

Next I will drill the holes in the dash in the appropriate spots and make them just a hair smaller diameter than the gauges I have just made. Then glue the gauges to the dash.

Next I will build a small box for behind the dash and light it with some 2x3 mm LED's. the inside of the box will be covered in aluminum foil to give it a reflective surface. The LED's will be mounted on the underside of the dash facing the box with the aluminum foil thus causing the light going through the gauges to be both uniform and slightly defused so as not to be so overwhelming.

As for the turn and high beam lights I will use the appropriate colored LED's sent threw fiber optics.

~Mike~

Sounds like you have the right idea about this i was wondering if foil would be reflective enough i was thinking of using something foil tape like the one in this link:

http://www.ecofoil.com/All-Products/...e-Tape-2-x-150

I know you can get this in any hardware store it is a metal tape with a paper backing to peel off and it's already glued, used to do AC work with my dad and we used this type of tape alot,and this tape will polish up pretty good, just a thought.

Mike