Calf's 69 Crew build, and CNM67's 67 shorty build

[Calfdemon]

What I was suggesting was something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Round-H6024-G ... e2&vxp=mtr

Looks like an old sealed beam and uses H4 bulb.
Those may not have all the features of current truck headlights but would be brighter and from some of the video reviews of similar lights I've seen on youtube they're a definite improvement in pattern over original or sealed beam halogens.

Maybe if enough people ask Scott Drake would make a 7" round H4 housing with the FoMoCo script, though personally I'm not that fussy.

Sadly enough, that was the kind of headlights that I thought I was buying.. It just shows my ignorance when it comes to headlights. So if I understand correctly, our old sealed beam headlights are halogen too? So the upgrade (halogen wise) is to go with the H4 bulbs... I think I am understanding it a little better now. So these headlights I bought are not going to be any brighter than the headlights I already have and I pretty much just paid for a cool FoMoCo emblem. They have not shipped yet, so I will check with Amazon and see if I can cancel the order and then pick up the pair on ebay with the H4 bulbs.

Thanks for the link!

EDIT: So I call Amazon and they are already shipping ONE headlight to me, but the 2nd headlight was on backorder and I was not going to see it until mid-October. They were able to cancel my back ordered headlight and when the single headlight comes, I will just refuse it or send it back. Just clicked BUY IT NOW on ebay and those H4 lights should be here on Thursday.

[Calfdemon]

Got home later again today than I had hoped, so another day of only a little progress. But all progress is good progress, right?

I am pretty much just taking on little things here and there that have to get done while I wait for my new door lock kit to arrive. Then I will dive into that headache and once that is done, I can get a LOT accomplished inside by putting everything back together. I ordered the MES door lock kit from A1 Electric which is also located in SoCal, so there is a good chance my kit will be here tomorrow or Wednesday.

In the meantime, I got the ceramic headlight plugs I ordered and replaced my plastic plugs by cutting them out and wiring in the new ones. I then put the headlight buckets back together and installed my stock headlights to make sure everything worked. No problems.... I am not going to bother adjusting them as my new H4 headlights are supposed to be here on Thursday, but they also are coming from SoCal, so they may be here sooner too. So then I will put those in and get everything adjusted properly.

Anyway, here are a couple pics with the complete grille... You can also see my clear blinker lenses in the first picture and then how yellow they get with the amber LED bulbs.






I still did not get to the bumper and that is bugging me. Hopefully tomorrow it will be on, unless I get distracted again by something else.

[Calfdemon]

No bumper once again...

I got home and 2 packages were on the porch. The replacement window switches came from Spal, and my auto lock kit came from A1 Electric. I replaced all the switches and the windows work flawlessly.

I examined the new lock kit and figured I can use some of the wiring that is already run to make the new install a little easier. Unfortunately, this means cutting up the wiring from the old kit so I can splice the new kit into it which makes the old kit worthless, but the time and work it saves is worth more to me than money I spent on the old kit 2 years ago... So no big deal. Anyway, I will be working on the new locks for the next few days after work. All other updates will be on hold while I get these doors squared away. But once they are working, then things will start rolling!

[Ralphatlarge87]

Good to see your making progress. After I saw how nice your truck is it has giving me new motivation to get going on my crew. I think I got more done this week than in the past 6 months! I installed all the missing a/c parts you hooked me up with and had new hoses made. Once I get my hands on some r12 next week I'm ready to rock. Also my power window kit showed up today so I'll be busy tomorrow P/s the cab lights and mirrors rock!

[Calfdemon]

Good to see your making progress. After I saw how nice your truck is it has giving me new motivation to get going on my crew. I think I got more done this week than in the past 6 months! I installed all the missing a/c parts you hooked me up with and had new hoses made. Once I get my hands on some r12 next week I'm ready to rock. Also my power window kit showed up today so I'll be busy tomorrow P/s the cab lights and mirrors rock!

Awesome! Glad to hear. Hopefully the A/C system will work without much work. As for the windows, let me know if you need any help with any of it or any pictures for reference. I currently have my door panels off while I work on the door locks, so now is a perfect time to see how mine are hooked up. You can come by to look at anything you need as well.

I will be working on my truck every day after work and both days this weekend. So give me a call if you need anything! If all goes well, it should be moving under its own power this weekend for the first time in over 2 years when I pulled the motor.

[Calfdemon]

A quick update on my power lock situation. I have all of the wiring run and have 3 of the doors hooked up. Both front doors and the rear drivers side door. Once I got the actuators adjusted properly per the instructions, all 3 of those doors work great. I would be done, but the rear crew cab doors need to have the window regulators removed in order to remove the door latch and lock mechs. So the rear door took a lot of time to take apart and get back together.

I will say this for anyone contemplating doing power locks in a bumpside.. The way our doors are designed, this is NOT an easy job. But it can be done with a lot of patience and willingness to take all of the innards out of the door every time you need to change something. If this was a standard cab, it would not be that big of a deal, but the rear doors on a crew cab are a nightmare inside. And the whole reason I am doing power locks is BECAUSE it is a crew cab.

Tomorrow I will do the rear passenger door and make sure all 4 doors are working as they should, before I tackle the alarm install with keyless entry. Then I can install my stereo and put my dash back together. Right now, I have the dash all apart so I could re-access the wiring. I hate doing things more than once, but again, you get what you pay for. My $45 Commando lock set is crap. My $150 MES lock set (with keyless and alarm) works GREAT!!

[Calfdemon]

Spent 7 hours today trying to get these damn power locks to work together. I FINALLY got them working (for the most part). There were adjustments, followed by more adjustments, followed by even more adjustments. Not so much due to the lock kit, but because of the design of our trucks and the rod lock assembly inside.

Anyway, not to bore you all with details, but I now have all 4 doors working as long as the rear passenger window is not rolled all the way to the top. Basically, when the rear passenger window rolls all the way up, the torque on the power window motor slightly warps the metal behind the door panel where the window regulator mounts. When the door warps, it changes the angle that the door lock actuator is mounted and effects the pull on the rod, causing it to fail to lock that door. So as long as I leave that window down about 1/4 inch, the lock works fine. I can deal with that after the headache that this install has been.

Now I need to dive into the alarm system so I have keyless entry. I could care less about the siren part of the alarm, but I want to be able to lock and unlock the doors with the key fob. So hopefully that goes quickly tomorrow and then I can get the brakes bled and get this beast moving under its own power.

Also, thanks to Jamesingarage, I now have the crew cab only rear carpet trim that I was missing. These came in today's mail!


I took a few minutes to straighten them out, clean them, and then paint them. They are now ready for install after I cut my carpet at the rear steps. Another project for this weekend!

[sargentrs]

Way to go Rich! On the home stretch

[guhfluh]

Lots of progress!

Before you tear the door apart one more time, try it with the door panel fully installed and all hardware. There is a huge difference in how much the door bows with and without the rear panels. I noticed the same issue when rebuilding my rear doors and regulators.

I mentioned the poor beam pattern because the housings with H4 bulbs are designed for incandescent H4 bulbs and not LED or HID retrofit H4 bulbs. If the housing is designed for H4 incandescent bulbs, you'll get the best output and pattern from an incandescent bulb upgrade, my personal choice being Silverstars. See how you like the stock H4 bulbs that come with the kit, then try Silverstar bulbs before LED is my suggestion.

[Calfdemon]

Lots of progress!

Before you tear the door apart one more time, try it with the door panel fully installed and all hardware. There is a huge difference in how much the door bows with and without the rear panels. I noticed the same issue when rebuilding my rear doors and regulators.

I mentioned the poor beam pattern because the housings with H4 bulbs are designed for incandescent H4 bulbs and not LED or HID retrofit H4 bulbs. If the housing is designed for H4 incandescent bulbs, you'll get the best output and pattern from an incandescent bulb upgrade, my personal choice being Silverstars. See how you like the stock H4 bulbs that come with the kit, then try Silverstar bulbs before LED is my suggestion.

The way I finally have it "working" is with the door panels on already. So it is good enough as I really do not see any solution to the flex of the door. I figured out the workaround by leaving the window down a quarter of an inch. In SoCal where there is hardly any rain, and snow or extreme cold weather doesn't exist, it really does not matter. Besides, I can roll the window up all the way while driving. I just need it down that little bit to make sure it auto locks. If I have to roll it all the way up, I can always manually lock it.

As for the bulb suggestion, thanks! I will look into those when it comes time to needing new bulbs!

[Calfdemon]

Today, I got the alarm/keyless entry hooked up and it worked great the first time. So that is done. I hooked up what I had to for now with the alarm, but there are still a lot of options I can hook up later if I choose to dive back into it (flashing lights, starter kill, door switches, etc...). For now, the key fob locks and unlocks the doors and that is what I care about.

I have most of the doors put back together, but have not put the trim or armrests on yet. I will get to those later. But since I finished all of my wiring, I got the stereo installed and buttoned up the dash. It finally looks like a nice dash instead of a messy pile of spaghetti.... The cord hanging down is for my iPod which will go to my center console.



I also cut my carpet at the steps and got my trim pieces installed to hold the carpet down where it overlaps. Looks a lot better now:



Once all that was done, I got the front seat out of the house and got it bolted down in the truck. I still have to do the front seatbelts and a few things on the doors (trim, fuzzies, armrests), but overall, the cab is pretty much done.


Tomorrow, I need to run out and get the vacuum lines for my motor, and then get the brakes hooked up and bled. After that, I will back it out of the driveway for its maiden voyage and see if it is ready to hit the main streets! If so, then this week it will be at the exhaust shop, the tire shop, and I will finish hooking up the AC and get it charged. After that, back to the body shop to fix the couple of scratches I caused. But the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!!

[Heirloom]

I haven't seen a Mooneyes foot shaped gas pedal in use in a looong time.

[jimmy828]

I must say that thing is sweet.I know you are a happy camper to seeing it almost done. I also have some scratches that i have caused (many of them) installing parts back on truck that i will have to address later. on your truck.

[Calfdemon]

I must say that thing is sweet.I know you are a happy camper to seeing it almost done. I also have some scratches that i have caused (many of them) installing parts back on truck that i will have to address later. on your truck.

Thanks!!

I haven't seen a Mooneyes foot shaped gas pedal in use in a looong time.

If you look closely, I even have a mini left footed version on the high beam switch!

[Calfdemon]

An update of celebration and joy!! I will let the pictures and videos tell the story.

Finished putting the trim and armrests on my doors. Now the doors are complete:





Not sure if I ever put a picture of my classic hood ornament up. From the movie "Convoy" for us old folks, and also from the movie "Death Proof" for the younger crowd. Anyway, my original plan was to put him on my dash, looking back into the cab. But the lid of the toolbox in the bed is a better spot and he keeps an eye out for tailgaters!


Got the brakes bled and have an awesome brake pedal now. The brakes were all dialed in and got all my vacuum lines hooked up. After a bunch of ATF fluid, the maiden voyage out of the driveway happened. Click on the picture below to see the video.


Once we checked all the fluids on level ground, we took it for a few laps around the neighborhood. I am sure everyone loved the open headers, but I don't care. CNM67 and I were having a great time. Click below to see the next video!


I am extremely happy with the brakes, steering, suspension, motor, and transmission. I need to do some adjustment regarding when it is shifting, but overall, the truck drives AWESOME and way better than it did when I bought it. I still have the Moog steering stabilizer to install later, so the steering should get even better once that is done.

Got it home and installed the front seat belts (no photos) and the window fuzzies. A few adjustments here and there and a few more odds and ends before it got dark. Parked it on the street in front of my house and took some gratuitous shots at night with it on the street.




Finally got that front bumper on...



And a night shot of my F600 dash with the green LED lights in it...



So as you can imagine, I am pretty happy today. I bought this truck 3 years ago in September of 2011, and here in September of 2014, it is 98% done and driving once again. There is still a little bit to do here and there and there will always be little projects I will want to do, but it is driving. So the major things are done! I will get the exhaust done this week and get started on my wheels.

The one thing that is pissing me off is I have had a PNO (promise not to operate) on file with the DMV for the past 2 years, so my registration fees have been suspended. But to legally drive it, I need to pay this years registration in full, and in our lovely state, a 1 ton truck from 1969 costs $275 a year to register. Yeah, you read that right. Anyway, my registration is due again in February. So I need to pay $275 now and then will have to pay $275 in February again. I hate this state...

Anyway.... I will still be knocking out a bunch the next few weeks and updating as I go. I am trying to get everything done before a car show I want to get it in on Oct. 11th. So 3 more weeks to squeeze it all in there... Not looking forward to detailing this pig.