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Real fine work.
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My Little Black Truck (Deuce ****)
- Thread starter Menaces Nemesis
- Start date
- 6,426
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- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Let Us know how many hours you have spent enjoying........
Don't be bashful
A successful effort like this is rewarded with those hours passed driving Her
We want to know about those hours spent too.
Don't be bashful
A successful effort like this is rewarded with those hours passed driving Her
We want to know about those hours spent too.
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Oh man... for the first 30 months I had the truck hardly a day went by that I didn't do something to the truck. It was an obsession. Regardless of weather, I worked my butt off to correct what had been done wrong, and to take care of the things that had been neglected, as well as making things the way I wanted them to be. I have no idea how many hours total I've put in, but just as an example/guestimation, I'd say I probably spent around a hundred hours just on the dash remodel/overlay/gauge restoration alone.
I drive it at least a few times a week on errands or to go to shooting competitions, and I put between 3k-5k miles a year on the odometer.
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UtahJohnny
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- Salt Lake City, Utah
Stunningly beautiful man, well done! I too have a black bobbed deuce, but you did an amazing job! #goals
Another Ahab
Well-known member
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Beautiful work!
How's it drive, is it squirrelly at all at speed?
How's it drive, is it squirrelly at all at speed?
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Thanks,
It steers and tracks wonderfully, but even with power steering, damper, and geometry improvements, at speed there is still some bump-steer encountered over bridge seams and the like. I believe that's just the nature of trying to tame the mass of 4' tires.
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SSGHillbilly
Member
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- Red creek, WV.
Yep, my same thoughts beautiful but just a show truck, must & has to be garage kept.
Redneck of Enon
Member
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- Chester , VA
truck is awesome......just goes to show lots of us that with time and lots of money and a great vision you can make your truck a masterpiece like this one .....Great Job !
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Thanks! as far as the time and money goes, it's all relative...
I know nice, stock deuces could be had for a couple grand years ago when the gubment was purging them, and that's where a lot of cost related perception comes from. I've tracked very closely, and I've got about $32k into the truck total. In comparison, many, many people are driving commonplace current production pickups that were $75k or more when new. Everytime I see a "King Ranch" or "Longhorn" fender badge, I think, yep, that was probably as much as my first mortgage. Heck, most folks who buy a new 4x4 Tacoma don't get it bought, taxed, and licensed for less than what I've got into my truck. I've worked on Vipers, more Cobras and Corvettes than I can count, Porsches, Mercedes/Maybachs, all manner of new and vintage sports cars, luxury cars, trucks, etc. I'd rather drive my truck than any other vehicle I've ever seen or worked on, and I honestly put more miles on this truck than any other vehivcle I own. Compared to what others pay for a "Dream Vehicle" (or even many daily-drivers) I got off cheap
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Decided to pimp the shift levers a bit more...
Installed an Eaton S-1794 Isolator to the transmission lever (the interior is insulated well enough that when going down the highway, with the windows rolled up, and vents closed, the shift lever was the loudest thing in the cab. It's really quiet now). Had to sleeve the lever to 13/16" to make the cut-and-weld isolator fit correctly. Didn't like the looks of the supplied hex bolt and nut used to attach the isolator halves, so I replaced them with a headed 3/8 pin that I grooved to accept an E-clip, like some other isolators I'd seen. Also added a matching black pearl knob to the transfer lever by turning and threading the last 1-1/4" of the lever tip to 3/8-24.
Installed an Eaton S-1794 Isolator to the transmission lever (the interior is insulated well enough that when going down the highway, with the windows rolled up, and vents closed, the shift lever was the loudest thing in the cab. It's really quiet now). Had to sleeve the lever to 13/16" to make the cut-and-weld isolator fit correctly. Didn't like the looks of the supplied hex bolt and nut used to attach the isolator halves, so I replaced them with a headed 3/8 pin that I grooved to accept an E-clip, like some other isolators I'd seen. Also added a matching black pearl knob to the transfer lever by turning and threading the last 1-1/4" of the lever tip to 3/8-24.
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Another Ahab
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That sure looks clean! Nice.
Is that just regular refrigerant/pipe insualtion you got there on the sticks?
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Yes. It's the stuff that isn't split along the length all the way through, so no need to peel/glue a seam
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What I'm doing to my truck is based on vehicles whose price tag usually start at about $500k. I expect to do it for about 1/10th the cost (or less).
Wow. Just wow. I am subscribing to this thread in case you do something more to it. Best looking one I've ever seen (and I don't usually like them bobbed). Also, I completely agree on buying and restoring or fixing is not only way cooler, but usually cheaper (cost relative) than getting something new with financing. Convinced my wife of that when we got our 16 year old a 1953 Chevy 3100. Father son project, barn find to driving for $2k. Glad to know I'm not alone in that line of thinking. Thanks for sharing!!
Another Ahab
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Please, Brother, not to hikack this thread at all, but:
- You GOT to post us a pic of that '53 Chevy
- 7,723
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Definitely a FIRST CLASS rework! So, do you have a set of rock lights planned for it? Not so much for crawling over rocks - but for the "wow factor"...
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Thanks!
I don't have any plans to add any additional lighting. I rarely, if ever, drive the 'ol boy in the dark, and I really like the clean, simple appearance.
Re; lighting.... many owners add to, and convert exterior lighting to LED, particularly headlights, and I'm sure they add a great deal of utility. But for this truck in particular, I just really like the soft, amber glow and look of the old-school incandescent headlights. And, since I did the H4 headlight harness upgrade, I can use $10 Wagner 4800's. I never let my idle get below 850 to keep the vibration down, and I believe it really helps with bulb longevity. I run the headlights every second the truck is driven, and haven't had to replace a burnt-out headlight yet
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- Charlotte NC
Thanks!
I don't have any plans to add any additional lighting. I rarely, if ever, drive the 'ol boy in the dark, and I really like the clean, simple appearance.
Re; lighting.... many owners add to, and convert exterior lighting to LED, particularly headlights, and I'm sure they add a great deal of utility. But for this truck in particular, I just really like the soft, amber glow and look of the old-school incandescent headlights. And, since I did the H4 headlight harness upgrade, I can use $10 Wagner 4800's. I never let my idle get below 850 to keep the vibration down, and I believe it really helps with bulb longevity. I run the headlights every second the truck is driven, and haven't had to replace a burnt-out headlight yet
It really is a gorgeous truck. Until I saw yours I hadn't been able to understand the WHY anybody would want to go from 6 or 10 wheels on the ground to 4. The idea of bobbed truck just didn't do it for me. This really is the exception. It looks like a pickup truck on steroids. You definitely spent a lot of time and effort on the small things when you finished the fabrication / mechanical. That Raptor Liner is cool stuff...
The "glow" of incandescent bulbs is pretty neat. Those are definitely appreciated when meeting another vehicle on the highway too! LEDs are neat if you do a lot of night runs through the countryside...
I am old enough to remember when going to a drive-in restaurant was the thing to do. That's were "goin crusin" came from. Everybody that had something fixed up like your truck would make laps around the Shoney's parking lot, then down the road about a quarter mile and take a lap through the Tasty Freeze. We had the "rumpity rumpity bumpity" sound going on back then. I was just imagining your truck making a lap (40 years ago). Again - Definitely COOL!
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Thanks!
Yessir, although I have complete respect for those who want their trucks as-original, a bobbed truck is about 19', the same length as a regular-cab longbed pickup. I really enjoy being able to park in a regular-sized spot at Home Depot, O'reilly's, etc. and my wife and I have really enjoyed taking the truck through the drive-thrus at the local Dairy Queen, Arby's, and Good Times. No way I'd be able to do that with the truck in standard configuration without curb-hopping and/or doing alot of landscaping damage
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