Bruces Chopped 35

[bnelson]

I’m only in the planning stage and I’ve been looking at the us wheel smoothies similar to what you have. I’m still not sure if I’m going with the 33 or the truck. Just wondering what size did you go with on your wheels and tires as well?
Again I have to say well done on your build. It’s one of my favorites I’ve been following.

Thanks Jeremie This thing has been a blast. I too was looking at the hot rod for years but when this came out I had to have it. I think there's so much more you can do to personalize it and at the time I placed my order I think there were only about 50 or so out there. Still not very many. I knew that nobody else had chopped one so mine should be unique for some time to come I think. I'm stoked about putting it back together over the next couple months!

The Wheels are US wheel series 455. Rear are 15X12 and front 15X10. Tires are Nitto NT555R 325/50R/15 and 275/50R/15. Supper hard to find radials that wide for 15" wheels. MT has a few and Hoosier has some nice ones. Think I'll go Hoosier after I burn these up but they are pricey$$$

Bruce

[Salty Chief 35]

Super cool!
Thanks

[bnelson]

Painted the tailgate for I think the third time Started putting together and didn't like how the white looked after putting on the black powder coated hinges. So...... Sealed and re painted orange and then did a simple black logo. Think it looks cleaner now. I will not be painting again! It is what it is for now. I'll put clear on tomorrow morning and be ready to put all the bed parts on this weekend.

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[Pat Landymore]

Your tailgate looks awesome!

Do you mind if I kind of borrow your idea?

Cheers,
Pat

[bnelson]

Your tailgate looks awesome!

Do you mind if I kind of borrow your idea?

Cheers,
Pat

LOL thanks. And have right at it! I'm a bit surprised I haven't seen anyone put the logo on the gate yet.

[bnelson]

Well could not get anyone to do the headliner cause of Virus closures so tackled it myself. All came out pretty good. Have a couple wrinkles on the first area I tried but really have to look to see them. Like I said wont win any awards at SEMA but pretty happy with how it came out from a home brew project. Start putting back together tomorrow!

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[wallace18]

Looks good to me.

[RuffShod]

Lookin good!

Hurry up and finish and drive it down here to Brazoria County!!!

[RuffShod]

Painted the tailgate for I think the third time Started putting together and didn't like how the white looked after putting on the black powder coated hinges. So...... Sealed and re painted orange and then did a simple black logo. Think it looks cleaner now. I will not be painting again! It is what it is for now. I'll put clear on tomorrow morning and be ready to put all the bed parts on this weekend.

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I may put a bowtie on my tailgate!

[Salty Chief 35]

I may put a bowtie on my tailgate!

Why would you ruin a perfectly good truck like that? LOL...

[VIRGIN MIKE]

What are you using for interior materials - looks good to me

[bnelson]

What are you using for interior materials - looks good to me

Used expandable foam to fill in the voids above the doors. Then ground to shape and glued 1/4" closed cell foam over whole thing. Then used basic felt headliner. I'm happy with it. Gives it a more finished look and should help considerably with heat and noise. Ill post some more pictures after I get my trim all installed.

[bnelson]

Been slacking again trying to get all the pastures mowed between the frigging rain. Between fixing mower decks and cutting dead falls have not had a whole lota time Got the Cab cut and polished and came out beautiful! Started putting the bed together and am pleasantly surprised how it came out. Looking at the side panels under the fluorescent gave me a totally bogus impression on how they would look. After bolting them down they look perfectly straight and am satisfied with the final look. The pictures look a little orange and dont do justice. I'll post some more after I get the cab and doors on. Getting stocked!


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[RuffShod]

Looks allsome!!!

Buy some goats. They will take care of the pastures....so you can get this truck done!

[bnelson]

OK...So got a bit done last night and today. I ended up ripping out the headliner and redoing (like everything else). and came out much better. Practice makes perfect Got the bed, cab, seats all finalized. Still have to touch up the firewall and bolt to body. Tomorrow I start the fun stuff....Doors : I really like how the back came out. In process of fabricating some spring latches that will mount on the inside of tailgate and latch into some 1X1.5" square tubing on the bed sides.Pictures to come later. Gonna put some panel calking on the roll pan to fender joint and paint so should come out pretty clean looking. Kind of wondering if I should have stayed with my original color scheme just to be differant

[wallace18]

Great Job! Looks fantastic!

[Pat Landymore]

Nice work Bruce!
You console looks amazing!

[Pat Landymore]

And good luck with your doors...I know what a challenge they are...

[CDXXVII]

Hey, just want to say that you are doing an amazing job.

I usually tell guys that I build my roadster but then have to point out that I did not touch the paint and body work.

You have some great skills and I really appreciate what you are putting into your build.

What color is it? and what was your first choice? Looks fantastic and I can't wait until you have it all finished.


Note: just went back to your very early posts: number 4 and 6. I like your current paint scheme best.

[bnelson]

Hey, just want to say that you are doing an amazing job.

I usually tell guys that I build my roadster but then have to point out that I did not touch the paint and body work.

You have some great skills and I really appreciate what you are putting into your build.

What color is it? and what was your first choice? Looks fantastic and I can't wait until you have it all finished.


Note: just went back to your very early posts: number 4 and 6. I like your current paint scheme best.

Thanks Color is UreKem's Habanero Orange from The Coating Store.

[Pat Landymore]

Howdy Bruce, I have three questions about your wheels:

-Did you order from a catalog (like from Summit) or did you need to order custom backspacing?

-If it was custom, for your 10” wide wheels, do you mind sharing what that b/s was?

-Again looking at Summit, the center hole in the rim looks too large (at 81.x mm) to locate correctly on the ‘35’s Mustang spindles. Did you require any hub spacers or wheel spacers to clear the disc brakes?

I’ll be needing a bunch more tire under my truck and my little guy 7” rims aren’t going to cut it in the rear!! I wanted the painted rim look originally but was in a hurry to get something ok looking under the truck so it could progress and couldn’t find what I wanted locally.

Thanks!
Pat

[bnelson]

Howdy Bruce, I have three questions about your wheels:

-Did you order from a catalog (like from Summit) or did you need to order custom backspacing?

-If it was custom, for your 10” wide wheels, do you mind sharing what that b/s was?

-Again looking at Summit, the center hole in the rim looks too large (at 81.x mm) to locate correctly on the ‘35’s Mustang spindles. Did you require any hub spacers or wheel spacers to clear the disc brakes?

I’ll be needing a bunch more tire under my truck and my little guy 7” rims aren’t going to cut it in the rear!! I wanted the painted rim look originally but was in a hurry to get something ok looking under the truck so it could progress and couldn’t find what I wanted locally.

Thanks!
Pat

The stock backspace was 5". I did need spacers. I could not find the order but think they were only 1/2".

[Pat Landymore]

Thanks Bruce, much appreciated.

[bnelson]

Worked on the frigging doors all weekend. The passenger side went right back together but something on the drivers side has changed and is woopin my butt Got it close to where it was but don't think I will be able to get it as perfect as it was before paint. It is what it is now Got to be a better way. All in all it looks pretty bad ***. Working on the front radiator cowl and should be complete next week. Glass man coming Thursday. Going to take front apart and powder coat the grill gloss black. You can really see how the chop affect's the overall appearance now. I'm liking it Thinking it needs a blower sticking out the hood next year

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[bnelson]

Thanks Bruce, much appreciated.

I had this in my reply but it went away I bought from https://www.performanceplustire.com/...50-15:ty:Tire/
Keep your videos coming

[RuffShod]

Badass!!!

[RuffShod]

The stock backspace was 5". I did need spacers. I could not find the order but think they were only 1/2".

So in hind sight.....would 4" BS be better?

[bnelson]

So in hind sight.....would 4" BS be better?

I confuse myself every time I think about it but I think that's right. 4" or 4.5". Think it depends on the wheel a little also and I'm running 15". Dont think anybody else is using that small diameter.

[Salty Chief 35]

Bruce.. truck definitely looks bad @$$. One of my favorite builds on the forum. Well done. Now just hurry up and finish so you can drive it!!!��

[bnelson]

Got all my glass installed. I went with 16mm flush moldings. Think it looks a lot cleaner than having the bug catching gap around the edge I really like how my flush mount rear window looks compared to the factory. Think that was time well spent! have the drivers side window complete so just need to finish up the passenger side and get the cowl and headlights back on. Should be taking a maiden voyage down the back roads come Sunday

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[wallace18]

Very nice!

[bnelson]

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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[Salty Chief 35]

Bruce, again... this truck is bad @$$!!! Really like following your build. The chop looks really well done as is. I had noticed the lines were off even in the gallery trucks on ffr’s web site, I just couldn’t place where the line was off at. I wonder if it’s as simple as putting spacer on rear bed mount. Keep us posted with what you find as a solution. I can’t wait until I can get my own truck. I think I finally decided which kit I’m going to go with. Now I’m just waiting until I pay off my business and work truck. Then, it’ll be time for the fun stuff.
Jeremie

[Straversi]

Beautiful. A high compliment to your work is that it doesn’t look chopped, it just looks right.
-Steve

[Robodent]

Bruce great job on your build one of a kind !

[first time builder]

Love the truck and appreciate your hard work and attention to details. I hadn't really notice the slant on the bed to the body. Is it optical illusion but to me back end of cab is a bit high. That would straighten out the bed to body look.
Kenny

[bnelson]

Love the truck and appreciate your hard work and attention to details. I hadn't really notice the slant on the bed to the body. Is it optical illusion but to me back end of cab is a bit high. That would straighten out the bed to body look.
Kenny

Yea it looks to me also that the cab is high in rear. But one would need to be really careful and plan out lowering in the rear due to how that would affect the door hinge mounts. Would take some careful measurements. I think at this point my only option is to do as Jeremie says and shim the bed. Only thing for me doing that I'll need to take my rear pan off and move the hole I put in it for the gas cap Always something

I think the ideal way would be to lower cab and tilting bed the same degree till they were straight. That would keep the bottom moldings lining up and everything flowing correctly. Next build

[RuffShod]

Well done, hand!!!

[bnelson]

The more I look at it the more I like it without the hood. Through a scoop on it to see what it would look like and am liking it Think this is how she will stay.

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[bnelson]

The more I look at it the more I like it without the hood. Through a scoop on it to see what it would look like and am liking it Think this is how she will stay.

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PS: Until I put a blower on her