"Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion

[rustytruck50]

Looks great, Ken!! Really like the Bowtie on the GMC grille...cant explain why...probably because I haven't seen it done before! That grille is a bit of a unicorn. I hadn't seen one in a long time before you posted. Then, right after, a guy on Marketplace had one....funny how that works. Btw...glad to see you didn't let that silly little eye issue slow you down
Seriously, glad to hear you're doing better!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

The surgery was a bit uncomfortable, but the recovery was a test in my patience. Haveing to remain face down for such an extended period was no easy task.

Wow! Glad the surgery was successful. I must ask though.... How the heck did you remain face down for the extended period & what caused the 'detachment'?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Looks great, Ken!! Really like the Bowtie on the GMC grille...cant explain why...probably because I haven't seen it done before! That grille is a bit of a unicorn. I hadn't seen one in a long time before you posted. Then, right after, a guy on Marketplace had one....funny how that works. Btw...glad to see you didn't let that silly little eye issue slow you down
Seriously, glad to hear you're doing better!

Thank you sir. I won't say that I'm the first to do a bowtie in a GMC grill. I can say that its not common. Now that Key Parts is reproducing the 73-74 Chevrolet grill, that has become a very popular conversion. I decided to do it with a twist.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Wow! Glad the surgery was successful. I must ask though.... How the heck did you remain face down for the extended period & what caused the 'detachment'?

Surprisingly, its not painful so I have no idea when it acually started. From my research, I didnt have to "do" anything to have a detached retina. It is actually quite common in males, with near sited vision, over the age of 60.

How do you lay face down? Not comfortably, I assure you. I rented a masseuse style chair but it didn't work that well. Instead I sat in an arm chair and stacked pillows on my lap. I layed face down with a horse shoe shaped cushion to support my face.

I sucked it up for a week and was fortunate the doctor released my to be upright the following week.

[rodstored-72]

Ken, sorry to hear about the eye emergency. Very glad that it went well. I understand the sleeping discomfort. A few years ago I hurt 2 disks in my neck & the doctor had me sleep flat on my back on a "firm" surface IE: floor. aarrggg. I think we can let you take a few days off from the build updates.....

[Factory Guy]

I like it!

[N2TRUX]

Its been a while so lets get this up to date. i got Jake home from the bodyshop. Aaron allowed some of his helpers to spray the Tamco 2k while he was busy putting out fires on his day job. After two attempts, time and materials ran out so i picked it up. Its not as nice as the last time it was sprayed but it will be blocked a couple more times before the final color goes on.

[N2TRUX]

Chris worked on wiring the United Pacific LED lights while I pulled the front bumper, grill, etc apart. I wanted to update the lighting system without straying to far from the vintage look. I think I found a good compromise.

[N2TRUX]

The headlights are full LED with a a white halo for daytime running lights. The white halo changes to orange when the blinker is turned on. United Pacific doesn't offer complete park light assemblies so we used a LIX Lights inside Brothers Truck Parts housings with new lenses.

Heres the finshed product on my Instagram feed LINK

[N2TRUX]

After Christian got the front lights working he moved inside the cab. While I focused on the rear suspension, he laid out the Vibro Solutions acoustical dampener. He lined the perimeter of the roof skin with 2 mm sound deadner. He ran another strip down the middle of the cab.
He topped that with a strip of 7 mm acoustical dampener above the seating area on each side of the roof.

[N2TRUX]

The 7 mm material is a combination of 2 mm butyl resonance dampener combined with 5mm acoustic absorbing material. This same material is used in new cars to reduce interior noise.

Heres a short video showing the results. LINK

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

The 7 mm material is a combination of 2 mm butyl resonance dampener combined with 5mm acoustic absorbing material. This same material is used in new cars to reduce interior noise.

Heres a short video showing the results. LINK

I'm going to check the info out & might try it. The stuff I used on the dually worked well but it was a PITA.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I'm going to check the info out & might try it. The stuff I used on the dually worked well but it was a PITA.

Scoti when we finished the install you could literally hear the cab was quieter.

[moregrip]

the newer sound deadening products in black look alot better than the old aluminum stuff! Nice work!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Scoti when we finished the install you could literally hear the cab was quieter.

Originally Posted by moregrip

the newer sound deadening products in black look alot better than the old aluminum stuff! Nice work!

The products I used did as well. The big-block, 1 3/4" full length headers, & 3" exhaust is barely notable w/the doors shut. But, I would prefer something that's possibly easier to work with as the stuff I used was a PITA once everything was piled on top of each other.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

The products I used did as well. The big-block, 1 3/4" full length headers, & 3" exhaust is barely notable w/the doors shut. But, I would prefer something that's possibly easier to work with as the stuff I used was a PITA once everything was piled on top of each other.

The 2 mm is very pliable. It is indented with small square in a grid pattern to make it very flexible.

The 7 mm is a bit harder to work with. Its a 5 mm high density "felt" type material that is layered on 2 mm butyl. We used a small roller and the side of a spray paint can to conform it to the curves.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

The 2 mm is very pliable. It is indented with small square in a grid pattern to make it very flexible.

The 7 mm is a bit harder to work with. Its a 5 mm high density "felt" type material that is layered on 2 mm butyl. We used a small roller and the side of a spray paint can to conform it to the curves.

That sounds like the difference between our installs. Mine has the vibration isolation material; then dense, close cell foam for sound isolation, & then that's topped w/a MLV sheeting/noise barrier. Once the carpet was added (that still had jute padding in some areas) it was a handful to get things in place. Seat bracket holes, console mounting, door sill trim, air-line routing, seatbelt mounts etc.... I know you know how that all plays out.

I haven't purchased the materials beyond the vibration isolation/butyl pads leftover from the Dually (I ordered enough for two builds @ the time). So I'm prob going to give the stuff a try on the 64.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

That sounds like the difference between our installs. Mine has the vibration isolation material; then dense, close cell foam for sound isolation, & then that's topped w/a MLV sheeting/noise barrier.....

Thats close to what I will have on the floor. I plan to use 2 mm butyl along the outer edge where the rockers reduce resonance. In the middle of the floor pan where resonance and heat transfer is a concern, I will go with 5 mm butyl. All of this will be topped with Vibro 6 mm high density foam.

[aggie91]

Looks good Ken. Looks like my progress on Henry has need non-existent for the last few weeks, as the weather has not cooperated with us here in East Texas. Without a shop or garage, it is hard to get anything done in the rain. I hope to catch up with y'all next weekend!

[zden]

Went to LST last Saturday. My wife asked me "how many times are we gonna pass this same truck" hahaha. Jake looked just as good in person. Keep up the good work!

[TKCR]

Hey Ken,
What would you suggest using to cover all the openings on the doors, before putting the panel back on? I looked that stuff up, that you used on Scarlet, but can’t get it here in the US anymore.

[TKCR]

Nevermind Ken, I went back thru your post on Scarlet. I must have passed over where you used this also.. This is what I’ll use! I hope I can make it look as nice as yours, lol.

[LT7A]

Hey Ken, I hope you and your family are doing well during this covid business. Checking to see if you guys have gotten some time in on this rig. I always enjoy watching the process. I probably have more notes on various products from your builds than any others. Hope you can make time to catch us up.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Hey Ken, I hope you and your family are doing well during this covid business. Checking to see if you guys have gotten some time in on this rig. I always enjoy watching the process. I probably have more notes on various products from your builds than any others. Hope you can make time to catch us up.

Unfortunatly this pandemic fiasco has not been kind to me or my company. I have essentially been with zero income for about 10 weeks now. Consequently I have shifted gears and gone in to hustle mode.

What that means is I cant justify spending time or money on anything that doesnt net a return on my effort and investment. I have been buying late model trucks to detail and sell. Its not something I necessarily enjoy doing, but it keeps me busy during a time when I cant do much else.

My hopes are this will pass soon and I can get back to working on Jake.

[LT7A]

Sorry to hear it and I certainly understand the situation. I'm lucky to be in a spot where my trucks need more elbow grease than anything else, haha. Helping me keep from going too crazy. The numbers with the virus seem to be going in the right direction in a lot of places so hopefully you'll be back up and running soon. In the meantime, if you have any interest in starting a thread with your late model spiff-ups, I'd be interested to watch the parade.