Bruces Chopped 35

[bnelson]

Can you still have bacon?

No Bacon

[bnelson]

Finally got around to the bed. Again... I've tried a few different things and did not like them. This came out pretty good I think. The pictures look a little yellow but the color really is a bit orange and red and matches the truck real nice. I used a piece of cabinet grade Oak plywood and made stain with aniline dye. Did black first and then a little orange and then a little red and then 5 coats of wipe on poly. Still need to steel wool and buff the final coat but wanted to get all the rails cut and drilled. I drilled and tapped to install the bed so the wood is held up about 3/16" with the button head screws and will keep an air gap between the SS bed and the wood bed to prevent moisture damage. Will prime and paint all the rails tomorrow. I ended up putting the battery in the space provided but cut a door in the SS bed and need to transfer that opening to the wood bed. Will put a hinged door on it with a keyed latch. Will probably paint the satin black on the inside bed again as I've messed it up trying different bed ideas

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[RuffShod]

Wood looks allsome!!!

[RuffShod]

Did I hear you sold it?

[FLFrank35]

The wood looks great! I am planning the darken the grain too. I found a bunch of articles on a flame finishing with a torch to bring out the grain, and then stain and urethane.

[bnelson]

Did I hear you sold it?

Sold Have a Hurricane Motersports Cobra on order. Delivery not till July Killing me!

[RuffShod]

Let me know where to follow your build.

You have skillz, my friend!!!

[RuffShod]

The wood looks great! I am planning the darken the grain too. I found a bunch of articles on a flame finishing with a torch to bring out the grain, and then stain and urethane.

I watched *****in Rides one night....they were wiping the wood down with a wet cloth to open the grain. It made it pop out!

[RuffShod]

Just re-read the whole thread. I needed some inspiration....and a kick in the ***!!!

[Chris Wingardh]

Couldn't sleep thinking about driving this thing! Got out in the shop at about 4:30AM and started putting the shroud/headlights together. Finished up the passenger side window and all the interior with exception of door panels and I'm short some cat head for the passenger side. Loaded up the dog and hit the back roads. This thing drives amazing! No squeaks/rattles. Surprisingly smooth. The doors shut hard after putting the weather strip on the jam and door but quiet as heck. Ive had a few C2 corvettes and this thing is way quieter than any of those were! I think my foam and headliner really helped. Plus my three layers of hush mat on floor and firewall. My hood has some problems After all the repair work I did it looks perfectly straight when in the shop. But after it gets warmed up out in the sun it disfigures dramatically. Think its due to different thicknesses in the glass Guess Ill order a new one after they open back up. In mean time I think I like it better without the hood anyway. I still need to pull engine and trans to send trans in for repair I'll powder coat the front grill at that time. Satin or gloss black. Haven't made up my mind yet.

One thing that I think I'm going to address pretty soon and maybe guys in process of building might consider. When looking dead on at side of truck the bed does not follow the horizontal pitch of the cab. The belt molding on the cab really enhances the contrast between the cab and top of bed angle. Bed is angled down toward the rear and really bugs me. I thought it might be just mine but if you look at any pictures straight at side they are all the same. I can think of a couple ways to correct this but would have been a lot easier in the middle of the build process. I really did not notice this till I had it painted and all together. You can see what I'm talking about in the last picture below.

PS: Kinda wishing I would have taken another inch off the top!


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Bruce an absolutely awesome build, I have been following your tread... learned alot. My truck kit will be here in Oct 2021. Regarding the line on the truck bed. During mockup would you recommend spacing the bed up to get the line -inline with the cab?

[Chris Wingardh]

Finally got around to the bed. Again... I've tried a few different things and did not like them. This came out pretty good I think. The pictures look a little yellow but the color really is a bit orange and red and matches the truck real nice. I used a piece of cabinet grade Oak plywood and made stain with aniline dye. Did black first and then a little orange and then a little red and then 5 coats of wipe on poly. Still need to steel wool and buff the final coat but wanted to get all the rails cut and drilled. I drilled and tapped to install the bed so the wood is held up about 3/16" with the button head screws and will keep an air gap between the SS bed and the wood bed to prevent moisture damage. Will prime and paint all the rails tomorrow. I ended up putting the battery in the space provided but cut a door in the SS bed and need to transfer that opening to the wood bed. Will put a hinged door on it with a keyed latch. Will probably paint the satin black on the inside bed again as I've messed it up trying different bed ideas

2-5-2021 1.jpg2-5-2021 2.jpg

Bruce, where did you put the battery after going from under the bed to in the cab to on top of the bed?

[bnelson]

Bruce, where did you put the battery after going from under the bed to in the cab to on top of the bed?

LOL. I tried several options that all had disadvantages of one type or another. Hated to mess up the bed with this, but having it covered up with no access under the bed was not an option for me. I ended up building a SS box that just slipped down through the bed. Put a keyed latch on it for security. The guy bought it while I was finishing up the last center strip. Inside cab would have worked nice with buckets with seat backs that tilted forward.

battery box.jpg

[Chris Wingardh]

Thanks. Great idea, Hawaii 35 truck found some nice Mercedes trunk hinges to tilt the bench seat forward. I will try that when the time comes, if that dont work the box in the bed will be the solution.

Thanks again.

Chris

[FLFrank35]

Thanks. Great idea, Hawaii 35 truck found some nice Mercedes trunk hinges to tilt the bench seat forward. I will try that when the time comes, if that dont work the box in the bed will be the solution.

Thanks again.

Chris

Regarding the seat/hinges...I sort of copied Hawaii 35 truck and got those same hinges ($54 on eBay). I bolted them to 2 of the seat brackets that came with the kit and bolted the brackets to the floor. Then I got a latch (Ford OEM 2015-2020 F-150 Rear Seat Latch Driver Left AL3Z-9661383-A F250 F350...$13 on eBay) and a BuiltRight latch pull ($25 on Amazon). I bolted a square u-bolt to the seat frame to lock it down. Works great!

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[FLFrank35]

For the battery, I cut a hole in the bed floor and made an access panel. I got a little carried away and made access panels for the other components under the floor too. When I need to access one of these components, I'll remove a couple of the hold-down metal strips and oak planks to get to them, instead of working under the truck, up-side down. I think it'll work.

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Then I ran a couple of 1/0 AWG cables from the battery posts to the rear and connected them to a remote power outlet https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edm-302-31bk, hidden behind the tailgate. When I need to jump/charge, I just lower the tailgate and access the charging port.

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My humble attempts to to make things a little easier.

[bnelson]

Bruce an absolutely awesome build, I have been following your tread... learned alot. My truck kit will be here in Oct 2021. Regarding the line on the truck bed. During mockup would you recommend spacing the bed up to get the line -inline with the cab?

Hey Chris Thanks!. Sorry for the slow response. Must have missed this question and haven't been on for a while. In the middle of a Hurricane Motorsports Cobra build and been posting on that forum.

As to your question. When I noticed it, and spent some time pondering it, I came to the conclusion that the best way would be to lower the rear of cab and lower the front of bed the same amount until top of bed and belt molding followed the same exact line. But....would need to pay attention to how that affects your door hinge alignment (which are challenging the first time you do it). doing it that way would keep the bottom of the panels lined up and would even the gap between bed and cab. If you look close, the gap at top is much wider than at the bottom due to the current angle.

Hope you received you truck and are hard at it!

I'm about ready for body and paint on this Cobra and will more than likely do another chopped truck next. Hope to see how you address this and save me some figuring

[bnelson]

Just re-read the whole thread. I needed some inspiration....and a kick in the ***!!!

Hey Ruffshod! Did it work? Making any headway?

[RuffShod]

Hey Ruffshod! Did it work? Making any headway?

I have the suspension done and fitting the firewall. Been collecting parts and cleaning up my 700R4. Got a 383 SBC @ 470 HP. Motors and parts aren't easy to find right now. Wheels are scheduled to be delivered in April. Holy crap!

I told my wife I would finish the 70 Bronco before I went full tilt at the 35. Got it runnin, but had to send FiTech in to get fixed. It didn't run long.

[Chris Wingardh]

Got the front suspension done, rear is all done except for the shocks....parts....firewall, pedals, steering rack is in. Doing the brake lines, tank and fuel lines next. Then depending on what parts I get comming in from FFR. I like the access panels for the under bed stuff... I will copy that. As far as the "jump start" solution, I met up with Tom Wallace and his simple solution is to just jump of the hot lead on the alternator, so i will copy that also.

[Chris Wingardh]

Mr. Nelson, regarding your fiberglaswork, is West System epoxy a suitable alternative? I am familiar with it.... fiberglas Not so much.

[bnelson]

Mr. Nelson, regarding your fiberglaswork, is West System epoxy a suitable alternative? I am familiar with it.... fiberglas Not so much.

I am not familiar with it but from what I can tell it is just epoxy resin. I try to keep the type of resin consistent with what the parts are made from when customizing. FFR uses Vinyl ester resin, so that's what I used on all my modifications. To me, bonding seems to be better going to like types. I have used epoxy in the past, and I think if you have used it that you will find the vinyl ester actually easier to use. And much cheaper! Below is a link that gives some basic pros and cons. Sounds like your moving right along. Have fun!

https://www.boats.net/blog/marine-re...IaAlRUEALw_wcB

[bnelson]

Got a sad phone call tonight. Guy that bought my 35 truck had a fire in his garage. Burnt it to the ground along with some other toys of his Got to thinking about how much blood, sweat, and tears went into that thing. It was truly one of a kind. What a waste He has been taking it to all kinds of events down Houston way and said it was always the crowd favorite wherever he took it. Man I'm bummed

Well maybe I'll get the opportunity to build another one

[Salty Chief 35]

That’s absolutely horrible! Yours was one of my favorite builds.
Respectfully,
Jeremie

[Pat Landymore]

Mr B Nelson:
I’m really sorry to hear about your build. It’s a great loss…I learned a lot following your build thread.

I sincerely hope you go on to build….and keep the next one.

Best Regards,
Pat

[McGuyver]

That is terrible to hear. Your build and guidance has been a big influence on the direction of my build.

[RuffShod]

This makes me sad.

[bnelson]

Haven't been on in a while so cool to see all the new builds. I ended up going a different route after pricing the Corvette restomod and went with 69 Camaro. Finished her up and ready to start new project. Gonna go for Chop number 2! In middle of selling and moving (retiring from full time next summer) And will be able to wrench on builds many more hours! Hopefully get setteld and be able to start building again around July/Aug. Cant wait to start on the stretched version. Have a bunch more body mods in my head but will have to see once I get the new version as to what I want to change. Will go the SBC with EFI again. that Blueprint 540hp 427 ran awesome. put a picture of the Camaro I just finished below. Notice shes at the gas station. Hahaha. Stuffed a 540 CI BBC with 660hp in it and you do not want to be to far from station at any given time! Took her on the maiden voyage down to Boerne couple weekends ago and found out the hard way

Anyway. Thought I jump on and look around a bit and update. Cant wait to hack the next one up! I'll for sure start new Bruce's Chopped 35-2 thread when I get going.

PS: Check out the redneck rotisserie

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[Pat Landymore]

I like your red neck rotisserie!

And must say I’m super stoked to learn you may embark on another ‘35 journey! Yours was truly one of the posts that kept me going on my ‘35 build when there weren’t very many of us and I had some dark days during a Covid build. If haven’t thanked you before….Thank You!! 👍🏼👍🏼

Really like the Camaro!!

Below are a few images of my ‘also red neck’ rotisserie for my Foxbody Mustang (burnout queen + cruiser, or street legal race car…? Not decided yet…).

Cheers,
Pat

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