The Truck Project Thread

The cab's in excellent shape surface-wise. The hood's got the typical spider cracking going on in the paint, but as I did with my other 78, we gel coated the entire hood and solved that problem.

The main thing to remember on any aluminum surface NorMech, is there's no substitute for stripping it completely. If you don't, the paint will inevitably eventually fall off. We worked on the 78 rollback paint prep for days on end to get it stripped, and the final result was worth it...

Nobody seems to have any input here for the Unibilt rings and boot project for me. I found some other info elsewhere that's helped. A guy did his and he did cut the rings 4" in height (like I suspected would be the proper way to do this,) so the roof cap doesn't have to be compromised so much. I don't care so much about the height of the hole, the width is the focus for the seats getting back in the bunk more.

Today I hope to be finished with the air line replacing job behind the dash. I can't wait to get out of that area...it's been painful to put it politely.

 

Looking at the pictures I think I would also narrow up the Uniblt ring. I'm no engineer but I don't like the looks of the ring so close to the corners of the cab. Not to scare you but the guys who have done a ring on 359s have to install factory corner braces in the roof area of the 359s. The braces are from a Unibilt 379s. I have heard of windshields popping out and the cabs cracking w/o the braces in the corners.

 

I know what you're saying bigguns, but the whole concept of the wide hole is to allow the seats to protrude into the bunk. It's right at the correct width as it sits, at 68" wide now which is what it needs to be for the seat to miss it.

There are already corner braces in the A model cab, to stiffen up corners for exhaust bracketry so I'm all set there. I had to nip a little off them to clear them for the ring to set flush, that's about it. Keeping in mind the ring itself is structural too, so once I weld the cuts they'll be good.

I made the executive decision yesterday and I removed 7.5" from the height of the rings, and cut the hole to what is shown now. That was the right thing to do in my opinion, as I didn't have to touch the roof cap, and now I don't have to mess with that $2,000.00 headliner anymore either.

 

Being retired, I don't miss anything about the road. But I wouldn't mind being 10 years younger and having a big o'l shop and a W900 or 359, to play with.

Keep this thread alive!! it's great!!

 

its a working work in progress....where do i start...lol!

 

hey NM,are you keeping the spoked wheels (budds?) i would. blast em clean and paint em up.