'78 K20 to C10. Almost 20 years in the making.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by cruizin01

I was pretty sure this is a later bezel. It doesn't have the cutout for the wiper.. why do you think its earlier?

Thanks again for the kind words. Im pretty hard on myself so its nice to hear good things.

I guess I was just assuming, because your truck is a 78. But I'll admit, I've been wrong before.
BTW, I don't remember if you said where you got your dash pad? I'm kicking around the idea of a new pad. What was the SEM color that you used?

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I guess I was just assuming, because your truck is a 78. But I'll admit, I've been wrong before.
BTW, I don't remember if you said where you got your dash pad? I'm kicking around the idea of a new pad. What was the SEM color that you used?

The bezel was NOS. Im thinking it said 84-87 or something on the back. Its definitely not pre-80 as it would have a rectangular slot for a wiper switch.

The dash pad was NOS as well. Im lucky I got one back in the day when they were available. I wish I had bought 100 of them. lol.

The color is Medium Gray 15393. It doesn't match the color chip by far but that's what the door panels and dash is sprayed with. The seat is just slightly lighter as I mixed it with some other gray I had.

[TKCR]

I called Cheyenne Parts about a dash pad. He said they used SEM 39183 Med Grey. But when I look that up, it's a bumper coat paint. But anyways, I ordered the SEM paint from Summit. Got a can of the 39183, I also got a can of the 159393 & 15383. I'm going to see what matches my door panels the best. My door panels are lighter, like yours, maybe not as light. And then my dash pad is a bit darker, from where I painted it charcoal.
Thanks for the info

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I called Cheyenne Parts about a dash pad. He said they used SEM 39183 Med Grey. But when I look that up, it's a bumper coat paint. But anyways, I ordered the SEM paint from Summit. Got a can of the 39183, I also got a can of the 159393 & 15383. I'm going to see what matches my door panels the best. My door panels are lighter, like yours, maybe not as light. And then my dash pad is a bit darker, from where I painted it charcoal.
Thanks for the info

Yeah it wouldn't make any sense why they would use 39183. The color coat works really well on the vinyl stuff. You can't scrape it off unless you really go at it with something hard.

Ive been buying my stuff from Route 66 Auto Color. They were the only ones that I could find that mixed the Color Coat. Their service is really good too. But yeah if you are just testing colors the aerosol is the way to go.

The 15393 is gonna be too light. The color chip will probably match what you have but its off. This stuff is weird, when it dries on the can its way darker than when you spray it. Its like SEM didn't spray the color for the chips but dipped them. That's what stinks because I can't touch up the areas I messed up. I'll have to respray that small area.

Let me know if you need any help/tips. I sprayed quite a bit of this stuff on the interior.

[LT7A]

I'll throw in my two cents on the door panels. But first I want to say that the truck is coming together very nicely. Your attention to detail is going to pay off.

The place to add detail to the door panels is in the "inset" around the handles. That can be painted a contrasting gray, probably darker, and the perimeter trim another color as well. Black is an easy answer but a metallic gun metal might be the topper. With the width of that trim, spraycan pseudo-chrome won't cut it, but a darker metallic like gunmetal, or even better may be a titanium, will look really nice. Use your OEM armrests that fit. No need to provide contrast there and feature them.

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I'll throw in my two cents on the door panels. But first I want to say that the truck is coming together very nicely. You attention to detail is going to pay off.

The place to add detail to the door panels is in the "inset" around the handles. That can be painted a contrasting gray, probably darker, and the perimeter trim another color as well. Black is an easy answer but a metallic gun metal might be the topper. With the width of that trim, spraycan pseudo-chrome won't cut it, but a darker metallic like gunmetal, or even better may be a titanium, will look really nice. Use your OEM armrests that fit. No need to provide contrast there and feature them.

Thanks so much. I get what you mean and I like the idea. Ill kick around some ideas and go from there.

[cruizin01]

My good buddy came over yesterday and we knocked out the back slider. Neither of us really had any idea what we were doing. I watched a couple youtube videos but that was it. We struggled at first but eventually with enough elbow grease and some silicone spray we got it in place. Super stoked we didn't break anything or tear the seal. The corners sit just a little funny and have a different gloss than the rest but Im ok with it. The seal was a Precision Seal.



Thinking today I can pull the truck out and give her a bath. Maybe start the process of detailing the thing. Can't do much else until I get the hood back. Starting to get frustrated with that...

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by cruizin01

Yeah it wouldn't make any sense why they would use 39183. The color coat works really well on the vinyl stuff. You can't scrape it off unless you really go at it with something hard.

The 15393 is gonna be too light. The color chip will probably match what you have but its off. This stuff is weird, when it dries on the can its way darker than when you spray it. Its like SEM didn't spray the color for the chips but dipped them. That's what stinks because I can't touch up the areas I messed up. I'll have to respray that small area.

Let me know if you need any help/tips. I sprayed quite a bit of this stuff on the interior.

The paint came yesterday from Summit, so I spray an extra piece of headliner trim I had. And here are the results. You are right about the 159393 being lighter than the cap. But I believe the Bumper Coat Med Grey 39183 will work.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by cruizin01

My good buddy came over yesterday and we knocked out the back slider. Neither of us really had any idea what we were doing. I watched a couple youtube videos but that was it. We struggled at first but eventually with enough elbow grease and some silicone spray we got it in place. Super stoked we didn't break anything or tear the seal. The corners sit just a little funny and have a different gloss than the rest but Im ok with it. The seal was a Precision Seal.



Thinking today I can pull the truck out and give her a bath. Maybe start the process of detailing the thing. Can't do much else until I get the hood back. Starting to get frustrated with that...

Looks good!!

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by TKCR

The paint came yesterday from Summit, so I spray an extra piece of headliner trim I had. And here are the results. You are right about the 159393 being lighter than the cap. But I believe the Bumper Coat Med Grey 39183 will work.

yep. I think that 39183 would match up fine.

[cruizin01]

Im just gonna keep pretending there is a hood on this thing until it happens.




Truck got a quick bath today before the rain came. I cant start the process now of getting the paint cleaned, polished and sealed.

I did have the truck in the driveway for a few minutes to test out the brakes as Im pretty close to driving it. Something is up with them. Pretty spongy feeling. Minimal grab. When I depress the pedal it sounds like Im pushing on an airbag thats letting the air out. So I may bleed the brakes again but Im curious about whether the booster is working correctly.

[The Norwegian]

What an amazing build ! Could you tell us what year and model jeep fan you used ?

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by The Norwegian

What an amazing build ! Could you tell us what year and model jeep fan you used ?

I appreciate it.

Early Jeep Grand Cherokee's. I think the interchange part number is CH3116115

[cruizin01]

Friday night was a great night. My buddy came over and convinced me we should go for a test drive. So we pulled out the driveway and up the road we go. When my junk yard trans shifted smoothly into 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear I was relieved. The truck rides like a dream. Super impressed with the ride quality. BUT, my headers have to go. We dragged them over several very small bumps in the road. So Im ordering some mid-length headers right now. Was hoping I could get by but they just arent gonna work. Everything else on the truck seemed to work well. It definitely needs a shorter gear for what Im trying to do with the truck. It does like 30-35mph in first gear. Luckily the truck makes good torque so its no slouch. The trans does a nice 1-2 chirp the tires shift. I need to adjust the rpm that the trans shifts because the sniper is cutting fuel in 2nd before the trans shifts. We did a couple burnouts and a big ole donut before heading back home. Success.

Spent hours and hours this past week trying to get the paint corrected on the truck. It had lots of scratches and a few chips from years of being uncovered in the garage. Even using microfiber pads and a pretty aggressive compound many of the scratches buffed out pretty hard. I had to go over the truck several times to remove 80-90% of the defects.

I finally got it to where I was happy with it so I washed it up yesterday to prep it for some sealant. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol only to realize some of microfiber towels I was using scratch the paint back up. So I had to go back over several spots again to clean it up. Anyway, its done and I can seal it today.

I should have my hood and other parts back this week. The bodyshop said they'll be spraying it this week. Pretty stoked for that.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Looks real good. The stereo install is a nice alternative to hacking the bezel.

That's for sure. Hacked up my dash last year to fit a DIN radio, and then later learned I could get Sirius XM on my iPhone for a $5/mo adder to my bill. Or at least I should have sprung for a RetroSound radio. Thirty years from now some future owner will say, "What the heck was that moron thinking?"

At least it turned out pretty well.

[cruizin01]

Couple small updates.

Pulled the old long tubes off the truck so I could swap them out. Stinks as they are pretty much new but can't use them.


Decided one some Sanderson's Headers to replace them with. I was going to buy the black coated ones but they weren't in stock so I bought the bare headers. Once they are completely fitted and installed Ill pull them back off and coat them with some VHT.



The new headers fit pretty well. Once small spot on the LH side motor mount clam shell that needs clearance. Then on the RH side I need to crush the header tube just slightly to clear the clam shell. I basically used a large socket in the vice to make a pretty clean crush. Fits fine now.




My next step is to build the exhaust from the headers back to the mufflers. I've bought some elbows and straight pipe. Ill use that in conjunction with some of the old pipes to build the new stuff. I also purchased an H pipe kit from Summit so that I can implement that into the exhaust as well.

So this week I decided to bite the bullet and get a new welder. I've done little bits of exhaust work but always had a $hit welder so I stepped up my game. Its just a little 110v Hobart but will do upto 1/4" steel which is all I'll ever do. I already have gas so I can go to town with it hopefully this weekend.



I also got a few painted pieces back from the body shop. Everything but the hood.... They got it painted but it didn't turn out. They are having problems getting such a large flat hood blocked out and smooth without any defects. So they have to go back and rework it.

Anyway, I installed the new lower valance with the parking lamps. I had a little bit of a fitment issue on the LH side with the lamp fitting up next to the fender but I reworked it a little and Im ok with it now. Definitely cleans up the front end. I don't love the clear lenses so I may look into some amber ones at some point or maybe Ill try and tint them or something.

[HunterRotten]

Dad told me to check out your thread. I also have a 1978 build with a sniper big block. I got some of the black coated BB8 headers. I had similar fitnent problems as you, and my ceramic coat has failed with less than 500 miles of use. You are probably better off with the painted ones. Sanderson said they would repair if I paid shipping and the ceramic coat process. Needless to say, I won't be buying Sanderson ceramic coated headers for $600 again.

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by HunterRotten

Dad told me to check out your thread. I also have a 1978 build with a sniper big block. I got some of the black coated BB8 headers. I had similar fitnent problems as you, and my ceramic coat has failed with less than 500 miles of use. You are probably better off with the painted ones. Sanderson said they would repair if I paid shipping and the ceramic coat process. Needless to say, I won't be buying Sanderson ceramic coated headers for $600 again.

Ive been following your thread, thats how I found these headers. But wow, that stinks. Im relieved now I didnt buy the black ones. At least if the VHT fails i wont be out much except for my time. Thanks for the tip.

[cruizin01]

I spent the last 2 weekends finishing up the exhaust on the truck. Everything went pretty well. I was surprised I was able to get everything setup, cut, tacked, finished welded, coated and reinstalled. This is the first exhaust Ive ever built and I have very minimal experience welding. So keep all that in mind. Im overly pleased and Im pretty hard on myself.









Everything here is finish welded and cleaned up ready for some paint. I wish I could just leave them this nice shiny finish but they would just rust in a heartbeat. I went ahead and just sprayed them with VHT high heat to try and help keep the welds from rusting.



After test fitting and making small modifications to the headers I wiped them down and sprayed about 3 coats of VHT on them. I then put them on the grill one at a time and did the 200*, 450*, and ~600* temps for about 20 min each. I figure that was better than just running them on the truck. I then put some painters tape on the headers and carefully put them on the truck. Sanderson doesn't recommend gaskets so I bought their recommended sealer and applied it then hand tightened the bolts and let it setup overnight. I then retorqued everything in place.



I reinstalled the exhaust this past Saturday. Everything went back together pretty well. One side went together sorta tight but I was able to get it close and then the H pipe clamped in place. It has a hands amount of clearance between it and the bottom of the cab.

The new exhaust has plenty of clearance compared to the old setup which was about 2" off the ground. My only other worry is the trans mount. Ill eventually get one of the custom ones that loops up and over the exhaust.




Once everything was mounted up and plugs reinstalled, etc I started the truck up and didn't find any leaks or weird noise which was excellent.

Yesterday I cleaned up my garage and workspace. Decided to get a HF cart for $30 and modify my work bench to contain my welder and cart. Its not super pretty but its functional.



My grand parents stopped by for a few minutes and I surprised them with a quick ride in my truck. My grandfather is a wonderful man and had been very influential in my life. He continued to push me to finish the truck so this was a LONG time coming. He was stoked, none the less.




I'm still waiting on my hood. If I didn't already mention it the body shop got it painted but didn't get it blocked well enough and it looks like poo, so they are redoing it. In the meantime I need to get another hood so I can drive the truck. I think Im just gonna get a repop hood from Jegs for $200. Their distribution hub is close to me so I can just pick it up. Ill just install it as is then swap it when my original hood is done.

[Hankster]

Originally Posted by cruizin01

Couple small updates.

Pulled the old long tubes off the truck so I could swap them out. Stinks as they are pretty much new but can't use them.

Dude your attention to detail is amazing. truck is beautiful. Do you still have the old long tube headers? If you do i may be interested in buying them if you would be willing to ship them.

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by Hankster

Dude your attention to detail is amazing. truck is beautiful. Do you still have the old long tube headers? If you do i may be interested in buying them if you would be willing to ship them.

Sorry I don't. I punted them on CL a couple days ago. Thanks for asking. Thanks for the kind words.

[TKCR]

That's awesome that your grandparents got to see and ride in the truck.

[MikeB]

Nice job on the exhaust system fab! Glad to see you used sections of mandrel bends. I made my own head pipes using mandrel bends when my truck had 96-up cast iron manifolds. The welds weren't quite as nice as yours though.

Ended up doing it again after installing high-tuck headers.



Man, I hate that crossmember, which is high on one side, low on the other. May someday get this one: https://www.ifabspeed.com/product-pa...e-dd9b12240478

[cruizin01]

Originally Posted by MikeB

Nice job on the exhaust system fab! Glad to see you used sections of mandrel bends. I made my own head pipes using mandrel bends when my truck had 96-up cast iron manifolds. The welds weren't quite as nice as yours though.

Ended up doing it again after installing high-tuck headers.



Man, I hate that crossmember, which is high on one side, low on the other. May someday get this one: https://www.ifabspeed.com/product-pa...e-dd9b12240478

Hey thanks. Not all my welds were all that nice. I chose to post the good ones. lol.

Thats the same crossmember Ive been looking at. I wish I would have bought that one to begin with. Once I recoup my bank account a bit Ill swap it out.

[cruizin01]

Had a good day yesterday followed by a let down.

I bought a cheap repop hood from Jegs to run on the truck until I get my original back from paint.

I got it fit decent, not great. I had to remove the hood springs to get the hinges to sit down far enough for the hood to sit flush.

So yesterday I drove to work. Everything went pretty good. Was nervous but didn't have any issues. Then after work I stuck it on our alignment rack so I could set the toe. The camber was pretty decent at just over -1* so I left that alone. The caster is off a little from one side to the other but I didn't really have the time I needed to adjust it. The toe was off so I get it set at about -1/8" side to side. I need to drive it a little more to see if I like the handling at that toe. If its too "responsive" Ill toe it back "in" a little.

So on the way home I got stuck in stop and go traffic for about 20 minutes. The coolant temp got to 220* but not any higher. As traffic was clearing up I took off from a stop and the truck spit, sputtered and died. After pulling off I realized my fuel pump in the fitech sump wasn't turning on. It was also super HOT. Like I couldn't put my hand on it. The pump failed but I can't determine yet if the pump was failing and got the sump super hot or the opposite. The tank was full so fuel should have been circulating keeping the sump cool but maybe something is going on that I haven't figured out yet.

I also need to look into the cooling system. I may bump the fan kick on temp down and see if that helps. I don't really know what t-stat is in the truck either. Or my jeep fan just isn't capable of keep up..

Regardless I had to get flat bedded home 3 miles.. sigh. oh well. $hit happens.