Checking out how the bed looks with the new wheels

The next thing we need to do on the truck is to modify the bed rails to fit the new rear tires. This requires cutting out access for the tires. In order to visualize and measure the bed for modification, we decided it was time to mount one of the rear tires and place the bed onto the truck. This has given us a chance to measure how much to cut into the bed rails as well as to determine how deep the new inner fenders will need to be to cover the rear tires. I think the truck really looks great! Take a look, I think you'll agree!

These are awesome Dad... :)

New rear tire fit perfectly! Right after we put this on and I stepped back to take a look at it, Dad said to me.. "Oh no Dustin, the tire is rubbing against the frame!" I ran over to it and said "You've gotta be kidding".. and he said.. "HAH! Gotcha!" Not cool.. My heart almost stopped. ;)

Jen's Dad Mike helped my Dad and I lift the bed onto the back of the truck

As you can see, the new tires sit pretty far into the bed so we'll need to install fairly deep inner fender tubs in the bed so the tires have the clearance needed.

Everything is coming along really well! We're having a great time too!

This is a good shot of the truck with the bed sitting in its temporary position over the wheels..

I have to say.. I've really enjoyed working on the truck with Dad.. He has a real knack for this type of stuff and really keeps me motivated to work on it with him. I'm learning a ton about restoration and how to make the best of what we have on the truck. It really makes me happy to see how much my Dad enjoys this. Hopefully by summer we'll have the truck ready to drive! Keep your fingers crossed!!

Work on the front end

Dad has been looking forward to putting the fenders and front end onto the new truck, and I have to say after we put the first fender on I could totally see why.. Its Thunderpig!!!

New fenders and original grill assembly installed. Pretty sweet huh!

Its neat to see the truck coming back to life..

The hood required minimal repair to the outer front edge of the hood.. This picture was taken after it was primered, so its hard to tell where it was patched.

Zach loves to play inside of the truck or anywhere near the truck..

He's our helper :)

All done playing in here.. time to explore something else!

Door fits nicely and aligns well with the new fenders. Here you can see a minor dent was repaired and the original antenna opening has been filled (new antenna will be located at the rear of the cab just behind the passenger side door)

Working on the Bed

Dad has been hard at work the past few weeks. He's made a lot of progress on smoothing out the bed rails and fenders, repairing the rust damage..

For Dad, welding seems to be like riding a bike.. as soon as you start pedaling, as long as you don't stop, you'll just get better and better! The bed looks awesome! Take a look for yourself!

Welding in a new rail cap to cover the old stake pockets

Smile! You're on camera! :)

Cleaning up the bed rail with a layer of bondo

The fenders look brand new. All of the dings and dents have been repaired and the inside edges replaced (they were heavily pitted with rust previously)

I came out to the garage and Dad had pretty much put the bed together! Here is a shot with the new bed header installed.. The old one had too much damage to repair

Bed came together quite well! We're making progress here!

Patching up the rear of the bed rails to work with the new tailgate

What do you think of our new tail gate? It has the embossed Chevy bow tie which helps modernize it without taking away the classic look of the truck. The new tail gate has a modern hidden handle on the inside of the tailgate as well as hidden bracket arms. Very cool.. No more chains!

Happy Birthday Dad.. The cab is finished!

Today on Dad's birthday we had Jeanette's famous oatmeal chocolate chip cake as his birthday cake, along with lots of fun gifts for Zach to help Dad open.. We also took a trip to Horvath Hotrods to check out the progress of the cab and to bolt it onto the chassis. The team at Horvath Hotrods never seem to do anything but amaze us. They've been working on the cab for a few weeks now re-working the firewall, replacing/repairing the floor and several rusted body panels as well as smoothing out the dash and making a new antenna mount.

Celebrating Glen's birthday.. You can see Zach waiting patiently for his chance to help blow out the candles

Zach could hardly wait to help Grandpa blow out his candles

Yep. Zach helped Grandpa open all of the best presents.. but the coolest was still ahead!

This was Grandpa's big gift.. the Cab completed, sitting in the paint booth waiting for us to pick it up!

Both Cab corners were replaced, and they were perfectly matched and welded to the cab.

The new firewall and floorboards look great from inside the cab.. You can also see the nice clean dashboard. The knobs holes (now obsolete with the new engine -Choke & Throttle) have been filled in as well as the stereo opening.

This is a good view of the cab once it was on the lift.. the firewall now has a wider setback to make room for the engine.

Cab being lowered onto the chassis.

Mounting the cab to the frame.

Setting the passenger door into the frame to make sure the cab was still properly aligned

Setting the drivers side door in place with Joe.. A perfect fit!

Checking out the truck.. So cool!

Returning to the house with the cab now attached

Time to roll this bad boy off of the trailer so we can get to work on it!

smoothing the firewall and a new antenna location

Here are a few more pictures of progress being made on the cab..

The firewall has been cleaned up and a fresh new coat of bondo applied

If you look closely in the cab, you can see that the dashboard has been cleaned up (unused knob locations have been filled in as well as the opening for the stereo..

The original opening was way too large for a modern stereo and needed to be patched for a proper fit. Rather than making the gap smaller we decided to fill it in all together. We may relocate the stereo to the glove box, but if not we can always cut the opening to fit a stereo later.

This is a new opening for the antenna mast which will sit on the rear of the cab on the passenger side. It now has a recess for an automatic antenna assembly. It should look pretty slick once its all installed.

Firewall rework and cab customization

Today I received these pictures from Horvath Hotrods. Joe and his team have been working hard at redoing our firewall panel to allow additional clearance for the 454 engine.

So if you missed the comments at the end of my previous posting (Cab Work and Alignment on Chassis) you might be asking.. why are you having to redo the firewall? Well when we ordered the new firewall we told the manufacturer we were putting in a Big Block engine into the truck. Our assumption was that Bitchin Products (the manufacturer of the firewall skin panel) would have given us a panel that would accommodate the Big Block engine, however after the new panel was all welded in (looking ready to go) we went to fit the cab to the chassis and found out that there wasn't enough clearance between the firewall and the engine.. This meant there was no way we could make the current firewall work.. I called the manufacturer up only to find out that they really only have one firewall for the 55-59 series Chevy trucks.. They said that its somewhere between a BB and a SB. Well I would have to say its definitely a good fit for a Small Block but no where close to what we needed for the Big Block...

The funny part was that when I asked the company for a solution, the technician told me the easiest remedy would be to cut the motor mounts and move the entire engine 2" closer to the front of the chassis and reweld it in place. I laughed pretty hard on the phone, which I'm sure didn't make the guy too happy. You see that would have been quite a project. Luckily Joe and his guys at Horvath were willing to take on the task of reworking the firewall (which was by far the easier more affordable option than moving the engine.. hah).

Here are some pictures of the the firewall, toe boards, transmission cover, and some other custom work.

The reworked firewall has an additional 7" of clearance in the center to accommodate the dimensions of the engine..

Here you can see the toe board and transmisson access plate.. Looks awesome.

Another view of the interior of the cab. The cross beams were put in place to hold the cab in place without it twisting or coming out of tolerance (critical for fitting doors, etc.)

Attaching the new cab corners to the cab.

Patching the original gas tank opening. The new tank is now in the bed of the truck.

I can't wait to see this all fit together when we're done.. This is gonna be a fun truck.

New Wheels!

Today we picked up our new wheels and tires from Coy's Custom Wheels & Tires. The tires look BAD A$$!

We picked these up a little sooner than expected because the price of the rear wheels kept increasing every time I would call the shop.. We figured we'd need the rear tires available early anyhow to get as accurate of a fit as possible when we cut out the opening in the bed panels for the wheel tubs to make room for all of the rubber you see below.

Rear tire is a Mickey Thompson 29x18R20LT mounted on a 20x14 wheel. The front tire is a Mickey Thompson 26x8R18LT mounted on an 18x7 wheel.

Check out how huge these tires are! They barely fit in the back of the 4-runner!

Sitting next to the current tires on the chassis.. BAD! I love it!

New tires are slightly smaller to give the front a slight rake downward giving the truck a more aggressive stance.

Cab Work and Alignment on Chassis

Today we took the chassis to Horvath Hotrods in Spanish Fork to check out the progress on the cab. Horvath has had the cab for a few weeks now and have sand blasted it and installed the new cab floor and firewall. We figured they could do the job easier than we can since they have a lift to be able to rotate the cab at the right angles to make the welds.

So we loaded the chassis onto the trailer and headed to Spanish Fork!

Zach is a pro at supervising projects now. He checks the straps and looks for anything out of place. He loves hanging out with the guys.

When we got to Horvath, we unloaded the chassis and rolled it over to where the Cab was.

This is where the fun started.. We were able to lower the cab onto the chassis to see how it would look and to fit it to make sure it would bolt onto the chassis.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a lift in your garage? Awesome.

As the cab was coming down onto the chassis we were busy checking clearances, making sure it was ligned up.. and starting to realize.. this is really happening! We're rebuilding a truck!

As you probably noticed from this picture we picked up a new firewall that is a much cleaner style than the original. Its nice gauge steel and should last a long time!

Check it out! Looks like a truck again huh!

Dad, Dave, and Dustin all smiling about how happy we are to finally get to this moment. Thunderpig will live again!!!

Only problem is that the firewall appears to be a little tight.. see how the recessed piece in the middle doesn't quite clear the heads of the engine? Not good. We think the firewall maker may have sent us a firewall for a small block engine, and not a big block engine.. Which means we need to get them on the phone ASAP to have them send us the correct firewall.. Bummer since its already welded in and looks amazing.. If this is indeed the wrong firewall we'll need to cut this firewall out and weld in a different one.. If this is the only firewall for our truck then we'll have to modify the existing firewall to make it fit. Uuugh.

Only 21 inches of clearance.. We need about 4 more inches on both sides to have a comfortable distance from the cab and engine.

Minor set back.. Hopefully we'll get this one figured out soon so we can get the cab on and start working on the wiring and fuel lines.