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Greg's '35 Hot Rod Truck
This thread will cover my build and focus mostly on unique items that might help other builders. May of the other posts on this forum have helped me throughout the build with tips and ideas to make a truck that I am proud of. Thank you for all your great ideas!
First the build description:
Factory Five 35 Hot Rod Truck kit: Gen 2 Truck kit, Full fendered, Hood and engine side covers, Wilwood 12.88 front brakes, Koni Double Adjustable shocks, Electric power steering, 3 Link rear suspension, Ididit tilt steering column, Low Back Vintage Racing Seats (Kirkey), and Sound insulation kit.
BluePrint Engine package: 400 cu in Small Block Chevy, with Holley Sniper EFI (518 hp, 528 lb-ft torque), and TCI Automatic Transmission StreetFighter 700R4
Rear Axle Ford 8.8 from 2005 Mustang GT, with 3.31 to 1 gear ratio
Rocket Racing Hypershot Wheels: 18 x 8 front with 5.0 backspacing (added 1 spacer for more inner fender clearance) and 18 x 11 rear with 7.0 backspacing
Nitto NT555 G2 tires 245/45 ZR18 front and 285/40 ZR18 rear
Wipers Specialty Power Windows WWK-21, with bent stainless steel arms and flex blades for curved glass
Heater Vintage Air Gen II with defrost
Final Body and Paint by Kens Custom Auto Body in Yuba City, CA (color is 2013 BMW LeMans Blue)
Timeline:
Factory Five Kit ordered 1/18/2020
BluePrint Engine & Transmission ordered 1/18/2020
BluePrint Engine & Transmission delivered 3/12/2020
Factory Five Kit delivered 5/14/2020
Go Cart of the Chassis 12/3/2020
Delivered to Kens Custom Auto Body for final body work and paint 5/27/2021
Body and Paint Complete 11/12/2021
California Registration started 11/23/2021
California Registration completed 1/24/2022
It has been a fun and rewarding journey!
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Last edited by Sbda4; 02-12-2022 at 12:47 AM.
Reason: Add pictures
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Front Bumper
Front bumper to protect grill from curb damage. Includes structure that ties to front suspension bolts and to bottom of chassis. The under-chassis bumper structure provides a solid jack point under the front center of the vehicle.
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Reinforced Doors
There were several gaps between the outer door skin and the inner door skin. Used panel bond to glue outer skin to inner skin where there were gaps. Also added fiberglass reinforcement inside door along door hinge line and door latch area.
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Transmission Tunnel
Shaped and re-glassed transmission tunnel to provide room for 700R4 transmission but allow room for parking brake and seats. Also cut top front section off with grommets for 3 wire bundles. This allows wire bundles to be stay in place on the chassis while transmission tunnel can be removed.
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Kirkey Low Back Seats
Used Kirkey low back vintage seats to maximize leg room (Tony FFR recommendation), then fabricated seat mounts that allow seats to flip forward for access under and behind seats.
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Harness Bar
Fabricated Harness Bar behind seats and eyebolts in floor for 5 point harness mount.
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Engine Side Panel Supports
Fabricated engine side panel supports. Installed Ύ steel tube under top edge of side panels, that anchor to the grill structure and to the firewall. This tube provides many benefits such as support to keep grill in place, minimize risk of hood gap changes, anchor for grill cowl and anchor for side panels.
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Engine Side Panel Cut
Cut engine side panels under front control arm to enable easier installation and removal of engine side covers. Layed fiberglass matt on inside contour to provide means to bolt parts back together after installation.
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Engine Side Panel Vents
Added vents to engine side panels to improve engine bay cooling. Reinforced side panels with 2 layers of 1708 fiberglass with epoxy resin. Cut 2 openings in each side. Bonded aluminum grill material to inside of covers behind openings.
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Hood Support Tube
Fabricated hood support from Ύ steel tube hinged at the firewall. There is a U shaped notch by the grill cowl to support the tube in the down position. When the hood is closed, the tube supports the center of the hood to remove sag (was about 1/2"of sag). The tube tilts up to support the open hood.
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Hood Quick Latch Fasteners
Used Quick Latch fasteners on both rear edges of hood. This eliminated the floppiness of rear hood edges. Hood pins are solid mounted to a steel angle on the inside of the firewall, on top of the frame tube. It also retains the rear corners of the hood more precisely aligned with body lines. Cut a racquetball in half to use as a seal around latch pins, under cab front.
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Fender Reinforcement
The fenders were very flexible and I was concerned that they would flex going down the bumpy road and crack the fiberglass. I was also concerned that rocks thrown up by the tires would eventually crack the outer gel coat. So, I reinforced the fenders in multiple ways.
Added 4mm Coremat and 2 layers of 1708 biaxial fiberglass to inside of all fenders with epoxy resin. This made fenders much more rigid, reduces chance of cracking/fatigue, and reduces likelihood of rocks cracking gel coat (painted) surface.
Front 2 bolts of front fenders are bolted into grill structure (tapped holes in aluminum). Bolts 3 and 4 from front of front fenders are bolted to stainless steel radiator supports. Bolts 6 and 7 from front of front fenders anchor to steel angle I fabricated to anchor fenders to chassis engine mount bracket.
On rear fenders, fabricated tube to anchor bottom bolt of rear fenders to the chassis.
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Fender Braces
In addition to beefing up the fiberglass and mounting points, I used stainless steel strap to reduce fender vibration. One on the tail of rear fender to bed side, using weld mount stud on inside of fender. One on the side of the front fender behind the wheel to the engine side cover, using weld mount stud on inside of fender. Second on the top forward of the front fender (near the headlight) to chassis, using weld mount on underside of fender.
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Running Board Steps
Fabricated aluminum running board pads. They are powder coated with hammertone finish to provide a durable surface that doesnt show scratches. The hold down bolts are countersunk into the aluminum and allow anchoring the fiberglass running boards to the chassis running board support structure.
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Battery Access Door
Provided battery access door in bed. Cut a door from the stainless steel floor and installed it with a hinge and Quik Latch fastener.
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Front Bed Panel Gap
Resolved front-bed-panel gap to bed sides. Fabricated a Ύ angle that bolts to the front panel and to upper angled bedside.
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Tailgate and Backup Light
Bolted tailgate closed to remove unnecessary hinges and latch hardware. Fabricated 1-1/2 stainless steel strap to close gap on inside of tailgate to bed sides. Fabricated 1-1/2 angle for top edge of tailgate for finished look.
Installed a license plate frame (center mounted) with a built in backup light.
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Last edited by Sbda4; 02-12-2022 at 02:15 AM.
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Windshield Wipers
Installed windshield wipers. Motor is mounted high up behind the dash on the passenger side. Wipers are bent stainless steel with wipers for curved glass.
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Foot Box Kick Panels
Fabricated aluminum kick panels inside cab to cover frame and body near hinges. Significantly reduces hot air from engine bay. Also provides anchor point for door check straps.
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Door Sills
Fabricated aluminum door sills to cover edge of body and top edge of carpet. These are different than the FFR sills which required cutting much of the body fiberglass flange to install.
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Center Console
Fabricated a center console between the vintage racing seats. The console continues forward for gear shift indicator, window switches and auxiliary switch panel. Due to the width of the vintage racing seats, the console had to be pretty narrow.
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Steering Shaft Relocation
Steering shaft relocation to improve U-joint angles and eliminate notchy steering. Additional U-joint added between firewall and frame, along with Heim-joint support to reduce U-joint angles. This works okay for me, but if you have large feet, the shaft between the accelerator pedal and brake pedal could interfere with moving your foot from one to the other (use caution with this mod).
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Driveline to Frame Clearance
Frame notch for driveline clearance. At bottom of hoop in rear of cab, cut Ύ out of the horizontal tube under the driveshaft. Smoothed transition with fiberglass and epoxy. Reinforced cut section by adding heavy SS strap under the tube section I cut away.
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Resonators Behind Mufflers
Resonators installed behind mufflers to reduce loud harsh exhaust and improve exhaust tone. Used Vibrant Ultra-Quiet Resonators with 2-1/2 inlet and outlet. Cut existing exhaust tips and inserted the resonators into the exhaust tips to keep the ball end mount and turndown tips.
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Greg,
Congratulations on your gorgeous truck and thanks for your fantastic write up. I’m sure we will be seeing many of your great fabrication projects popping up on builds that follow. Great work.
-Steve
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Senior Member
Hello Greg:
Your build of the truck is fantastic
youve shown us so many original ideas👍🏼👍🏼
Congratulations on a super job!
Once again with an 88 mm Turbo, Big Block Chevy powered, 35 Hot Rod Pickup
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Originally Posted by
Straversi
Greg,
Congratulations on your gorgeous truck and thanks for your fantastic write up. I’m sure we will be seeing many of your great fabrication projects popping up on builds that follow. Great work.
-Steve
Steve,
Thanks for the feedback. It was a very fun project and I learned a lot from others on the forum. I thought this post might help pay it forward with ideas for others.
Greg
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Hello Pat,
Thanks for the feedback, and especially thank you for all your posts. You have a nice truck and a nice build thread. I read them in detail to gain ideas for my own build.
Greg
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Senior Member
Beautiful truck! I like all the mods and additions you did too, very smart!
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Sbda4 thanked for this post
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Senior Member
Greg Beautiful build ! Thanks for sharing your mods. I really like your seats and center counsel beautiful job. That’s going to be a modification I’m going to do on my truck down the road for me . Thanks for the pictures and ideas you created for others. Rob
FFR 35 p/u # 0016 Dart 347 TKO 600
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Originally Posted by
Robodent
Greg Beautiful build ! Thanks for sharing your mods. I really like your seats and center counsel beautiful job. That’s going to be a modification I’m going to do on my truck down the road for me . Thanks for the pictures and ideas you created for others. Rob
Rob,
I see you post often and appreciate all the info I get from you and others. Thank you!
Greg
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PLATNUM Supporting Member
Great Job!
16+ FFR kits and counting!
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Sbda4 thanked for this post
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Beutiful! Thanks for all the pic's. Will be very helpful for me. Thank you!
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Very nice and thanks for posting!
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Senior Member
Originally Posted by
Sbda4
I just cut that entire piece out of my truck today. I will be fabricating a new drive shaft hoop down the road. Thanks for the tips and tricks.
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That is certainly a viable option. I already had the chassis and body work mostly done before i realized that driveline clearance was an issue. So I did a minimally invasive approach. If I was earlier in the build, cutting the tube out completely would be a pretty good option.
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Originally Posted by
Sbda4
That is certainly a viable option. I already had the chassis and body work mostly done before i realized that driveline clearance was an issue. So I did a minimally invasive approach. If I was earlier in the build, cutting the tube out completely would be a pretty good option.
Is your rear suspension on high or low setting?
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I used the lower holes for my suspension to get a higher ride height. This is recommended for the trucks, but I found necessary for full fenders. It does create a challenge with driveline clearance near the floor at the back of the cab.
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Hello Greg,
Congratulations on this stunning build! We greatly appreciate the build thread, and pictures! Can we share this pictures on our social media? I cannot thank you enough for choosing BluePrint Engines!
Thank You, Jose
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Originally Posted by
BluePrintEngines
Hello Greg,
Congratulations on this stunning build! We greatly appreciate the build thread, and pictures! Can we share this pictures on our social media? I cannot thank you enough for choosing BluePrint Engines!
Thank You, Jose
Jose,
Thanks for the post. Yes, you can share the pics on BluePrint social media. The SBC 400 and 700R4 have been a great choice. I can’t say enough good things about the support I’ve received from BluePrint with some technical questions. Johnny and Josh have always been quick to provide support.
Greg