BlackTruck Build 65

[aarons428]

What brand is that transmission crossmember?

[JeffinMooresville]

American powertrain x-factor. I bought a Tremec 5 speed package from American powertrain and it was part of the package.

[JeffinMooresville]

Got out for road trip to get the windshield and back glass installed.



First time off the skates in a while… so was good to get an idea of stance.





Also got the rest of the floor done in FatMat in prep for carpet. Should be here next week.






Going to try to get out next week and get exhaust installed…. So I can focus on starting the engine !

I am trying to get the truck ready to take to Gatlinburg in May…. But I have a long way to go.

[JeffinMooresville]

Carpet came in, and was nice enough day t lay out in the sun to relax a little. This is second carpet I purchased from stock interiors, and really happy with the product and fit.







Will need to let it sit for a few days before final install.

[JeffinMooresville]

Ok, break in the rain here, and was able to get out and get exhaust system installed. Guys did a clean job and I am happy with results. I went with Flowmaster original 40’s, so looking forward to hearing what they sound like.






One more step closer to getting this boy started by year end.

[shipwrecked]

[grump]

Dang , that's purdy. You've done a nice job, keep it up.

[JeffinMooresville]

Making some progress getting ready for engine start. Also working on getting interior finished up before I put the doors on.

Got the seats installed, had to drill inside holes.



I bought a smaller mustang steering that I was going to use, but after getting seats in, I have plenty of room with the stock wheel and it is pretty good shape, so might try to “restore” it. It has some small cracks in the normal places, so any tips on this? I have watched YouTube vids, looks like enlarge the cracks to make a little room and use epoxy, sand and paint?



I also got the hole cut in that trans cover for the shifter… definite going to need longer shifter… this was one I had on an old hurst auto shifter that was in the 63.



Now to pull it all back out and put the carpet down for “final install”. I have to get heater installed while doors are out, and maybe get the fat mat installed on rear cab wall.

[My wife's nightmare]

Progress! I think you should keep the red wheel, kinda Christmasy
A buddy that does body work uses JB Weld after v-ing out the cracks. Really gotta get it clean before you paint it. There's many years of contamination on that steering wheel. Makes it tough for paint to stick. I figured you'd be making a shifter handle out of some of that exotic wood that's on the "top shelf"!!

[JeffinMooresville]

Checking things off the list, got the heater put back together and installed.



Put the fat mat on the back wall of the Cab while the seats are out. Also covered the trans cover.



And threw the carpet back in to let it settle out a little before I make final cuts for fit..



I have to paint the seat brackets… not sure If I wanna go black or go paint color. I have one more batch of stuff to paint ( front fenders and hood)…. So trying to get everything lined up that will need to be painted.

[JeffinMooresville]

Well, I was all set up to start the engine for first time this weekend… but didn’t happen.





Had an electrical issue…. And after troubleshooting for a while…. Determined that one of the busses in the fuse box had broken or burnt and was the circuit between inhibition and coil. Not sure if you can see the break in the bus between pink wires.



So we were dead in the water. I was able to do some additional testing and tested the fuel system… and after fixing small leak, everything looks good… so have to make another run at it now that dress rehearsal is over.

It is a speedway 22 circuit harness kit, so will call them on Monday and see if I can get a replacement bus. . In the interim, I pulled the bus out of the fusebox and made a jumper to the broken terminal….




Thanks to Doug …. Who came over to help. I honestly would not have a build without his expertise and help.

[JeffinMooresville]

Trying to get ready to put doors on so, worked on stuff that’s a pain when the doors are on. Got the fuel lines tucked up away from the exhaust, trans cover on and carpet in.



Molded carpet fits well, was able to get the seat bolt holes in the right position and initial fit. I hit a few areas with the heat gun to sit down better, but I was a little afraid of getting it too hot and maybe melting the carpet… so warmed it up and set some bricks on to see if that will flatten out a little bit. I need to cut the holes for the gas petal, but that is one of the areas that feels like it needs some settling.



Go the shifter hole cut, but it sits on the corner of the trans hump… so the boot might need a little tweaking to get it to sit right.

Also getting ready to put the bed on…. My fuel gauge wasn’t working, so I think I got that resolved. I got lucky on the bumper mounts… I ran the filler hose out the side and wasn’t sure if I was going to have to modify the bumper mount. I just had to trim small amount and fit like a charm.



I was able to test fit the bumper and it is chrome but pretty rough….gonna need some tic to get that cleaned up. We will see how that polishes up.

[JeffinMooresville]

Doug came over and helped me get the engine started a week ago or so. I had a couple of items to button up, got those done and fired her up today.

https://youtu.be/uvf_uALPl40

This was the initial burn in.

https://youtu.be/wFv3t0MQ8i0

[JeffinMooresville]

My buddy that is doing paint and body stopped by to help put the doors on. He obviously has done this 1000 times before…l nice to have multiple experts around to lend a hand.



Just the initial install /line-up, but gaps look pretty good…. Considering we didn’t do anything to the doors metal work wise specifically for the gap.





Now for the hard work of getting the windows and hardware installed. .I have read multiple threads on this process, guess I will go back and get a refresher course before I tackle the job.

[JeffinMooresville]

With the doors on, have to get ready for the window and inner door components. I got the latch installed and the operate smoothly…

Also pulled out all of the hardware and it is in rough shape. The window track had one of the tangs missing.



Finally a welding project in my skill range.

Putting new glass in, so had to pull the tracks off the old ones.



I know this isn’t very interesting, I like to capture here so I can keep up with progress. You get to the end ( hopefully soon) … and is interesting to go back and look at all the work involved in these builds.

[JeffinMooresville]

Ok, Mo better.

[JeffinMooresville]

Getting ready for for/window rebuild… went with all new glass cuz I wanted green tint all around.

Got the vent windows in the frame… used little pieces of the rubber tape as spacers to center in the track… and 3m 08609 window-weld Urethane as the sealant. Will clean up with razor when it cures up. Doug hooked me up with this technique and I have seen his windows and nice clean seal.



And used same technique on windows in the tracks.



Also got the vent window seals on the frames… the secret on these was get them all warm soapy watered up… you have to kind of compress them to get all of the holes to line up and fully seated in the track.



Been reading up on posts here on the techniques / sequence for the assembly process.

[JeffinMooresville]

Worked on the brakes this weekend. My initial test with rakes went bad… a bunch of leaks, parking break didn’t work etc. So regrouped , pulled the master cylinder and reworked all connections.

1st was to work on Parking brake, these drum style inside of the rotor just needed some adjusting… a lot easier to do with wheels off.



Next I pulled master cylinder and “reworked” all connection points… last time it seems like I was getting leaks at the factory flex cables.

Master cylinder is such a pain… awkward getting the bolts in… and it is tight fit with hydraulic clutch and firewall… this test is using denatured alcohol so I don’t get brake fluid everywhere.




Got fluid to all calipers… going to let it sit overnight and see if there are any leaks.





If no leaks, pull the master and go for final install with the real deal ! I still have adjustment and cleanup for the parking brake under the cab, but didn’t want to do it with truck up on jacks..

[JeffinMooresville]

brakes are not cooperating. Good news is that I got fluid to all the calipers and was able to get some pressure and no leaks. Bad news is that is it locked up brakes hard when I pump up for bleeding, but is not letting go. I thought maybe I needed a return spring on brake pedal, because if I pull back on it, it does release some…. But not all. Now I have the pedal disconnected and loose , so there is nothing holding the master cylinder pushrod and still won’t release. I bled some fluid out at each wheel and it released some… I can turn the wheels, but brakes are still rubbing.



So while I am pondering on that… I did get all the electrical operational…. Front and rear park/running lights, turn signals , headlights etc. I am going to use 67 tail lights so also wired reverse lights. Of course, they are not final installed in bed yet , but at least everything works as expected.

As part of my testing, I have a parking light bucket that is rusted up… and won’t take a bulb…. I let it soak a little bit with some PB blaster, but no luck.

It doesn’t appear that they sell repro’s, so I guess I am going to have to replace the bulb socket… anyone have a source/ tip for replacing these ?

[ratrapp]

maybe you need to adjust the master cylinder pushrod length.it may not be completely releasing.when it locks up,loosen the master cylinder mounting bolts a little and see if the brakes release.