[jonn6464]

Looks great! The only question I would raise is the rigidity of the 059 over time.

It's pretty stout. Tough to bend by hand. Plus, there are 7 mounting bolts so I'm hoping for the best.

Time will tell.

 

[RCCADMAN]

It's pretty stout. Tough to bend by hand. Plus, there are 7 mounting bolts so I'm hoping for the best.

Time will tell.

The road vibrations and frequency vibrations are what get ya. That can damage equipment. I design commercial aircraft for a living. We have to deal with this crap all the time. Most of our disconnect panels are a min .063. Your's is very close to that. I hope it work for you.

 

[jonn6464]

The road vibrations and frequency vibrations are what get ya. That can damage equipment. I design commercial aircraft for a living. We have to deal with this crap all the time. Most of our disconnect panels are a min .063. Your's is very close to that. I hope it work for you.

That's a good point that I didn't consider. I'll keep an eye on it when I get this truck on the road.

 

[SuperBurban]

Thats 16 gauge, should work fine for that. The edges of the firewall opening have a bend to them, so it in itself is quite stout. I think he will be fine.

 

[jonn6464]

Been making some progress lately, but not a lot of pics to show.


The engine bay is coming together. Just a few more bits of wiring to button up.

 

[Panda]

WOW, that turns out f....... amazing. WOW!!!

 

[jonn6464]

Yesterday, I received the door handles that I ordered.

Figured I would pop them on. Also, I wanted to size up the backing plate that I got. It's supposed to make the whole assembly more rigid and reduce the flex on the metal of the door skin.

First appearance is very nice. Really nicely done chrome and the button functions very well, with no sticking. Fits perfectly in the mounting holes with no slop at all. That could also be helped out by the fresh coats of paint and clear coat,making the holes a bit more snug.

The backing plate was an impulse purchase. Kind of a "let's see if this actually does anything" moment.

I will say that it also fits well, the holes line up perfectly with the holes in the door and the studs on the handle. I installed the handle without the backing plate to see how opening and closing it felt. Then installed it with the plate... I can report that it definitely makes a noticeable difference.

The metal underneath the handle doesn't flex at all when you push the button and/or open and close the door. Very happy I got them.

I would recommend both of these products.

 

[jungle]

Looking GREAT

 

[jonn6464]

Fair warning.... Some of y'all won't like this, but I think it looks good.

Since I don't have a dome light (because of the pop top roof), I decided to forego the little interior light that is beside the ashtray, the one that comes on when the door is opened. Mainly because I don't see myself driving the truck a lot at night, and because it's only a single light. I'm thinking about installing interior lights by the kick panels, like where they are on my Duster.

So, I thought it would be cool to use that hole for a reverse light indicator. Usually these go on the underside lip of the metal dash housing.

The existing hole is too big, so first thing to do was make a little adapter bracket for the piece to sit into. I used a step bit to get to the correct size, then cut out the square piece. Then rounded off the edges to make it a bit more esthetically correct. Primer and paint to finish it off. I did one for the front and one for the back side of the hole.

Installed and tested. I like it.

 

[KurtfromLaQuinta]

Yesterday, I received the door handles that I ordered.

Figured I would pop them on. Also, I wanted to size up the backing plate that I got. It's supposed to make the whole assembly more rigid and reduce the flex on the metal of the door skin.

First appearance is very nice. Really nicely done chrome and the button functions very well, with no sticking. Fits perfectly in the mounting holes with no slop at all. That could also be helped out by the fresh coats of paint and clear coat,making the holes a bit more snug.
View attachment 635583

The backing plate was an impulse purchase. Kind of a "let's see if this actually does anything" moment.

I will say that it also fits well, the holes line up perfectly with the holes in the door and the studs on the handle. I installed the handle without the backing plate to see how opening and closing it felt. Then installed it with the plate... I can report that it definitely makes a noticeable difference.
View attachment 635582
View attachment 635580
View attachment 635581

The metal underneath the handle doesn't flex at all when you push the button and/or open and close the door. Very happy I got them.

I would recommend both of these products.
View attachment 635584
View attachment 635585

My '74 didn't come with those backing plates. After I rolled my truck, some of the donor parts were a little bit newer. They had those plates and I definitely ran them.
Also added were the braces running from the firewall to the front fenders about the 10 o' clock position on the passenger side. And the 2 o' clock position on the drivers side.
For years my fenders always cracked at those locations. I fixed them constantly. Evidently Dodge/ Plymouth realized this was a problem and added those braces in the years after my truck was built.
No more cracks.

 

[jcruse64]

Charlie Pitcher makes and sells some door handle backing plates for these trucks, also.

 

[jonn6464]

I'm trying to get some of the small little things done lately, so I tackled my horn situation.

Wired up a relay and hooked up a set of Hella horns. Holy cow are these things loud!

I tucked them up under the fender for now. You can see the relay mounted up there in betwixt them.

 

[Canadian country boy]

Nice 👍
I need a loud horn!

 

[KurtfromLaQuinta]

I'm trying to get some of the small little things done lately, so I tackled my horn situation.

Wired up a relay and hooked up a set of Hella horns. Holy cow are these things loud!

View attachment 635859
View attachment 635860
I tucked them up under the fender for now. You can see the relay mounted up there in betwixt them.
View attachment 635861
View attachment 635862

You're going to blow the battery's ear drums out.

 

[jonn6464]

I've officially got lights. Can't believe I got them wired up correctly at my dining table and they actually worked when I connected everything. I restored the turn signal housings and added new pigtails. Added headlight relays just for fun.

 

[jonn6464]

Also got this little beauty delivered today...

4 speed shifter ball.

 

[Canadian country boy]

I love the shifter ball. It reminds me or the one i had in my Duster. Your truck is lloking great. Ramcharger's look good in that colour of blue, I can't wait to see it finished! 👍

 

[jonn6464]

I love the shifter ball. It reminds me or the one i had in my Duster. Your truck is lloking great. Ramcharger's look good in that colour of blue, I can't wait to see it finished! 👍

Yeah, I also can't wait to see it finished. Some days I think, man I'm getting really close to the finish line. Then some days I think, holy fahq there's still soooo much left to do.

 

[Canadian country boy]

Ha, that's always the way it is! Lol

 

[jonn6464]

I really didn't like the way that the hood release cable went diagonally across the engine bay on my truck, so I knew I was gonna figure out something else when the time came.

I know what I've done makes it easy for someone to pop my hood and steal (access) the engine, but the truck will be inside of my shop, on my gated property every night, surrounded by my AR-15 & Mossberg pump action security system. So, I'm not too worried about it.

Just a simple modern hood release handle, mounted where the factory horn was. I've moved the horns to the fender, specifically for this purpose.

I've still got the secondary safety latch that mounts on the hood itself, the only difference is the access to the release cable.

I put the grill in place, just to make sure I have access to the handle. All good!

Time will tell if it holds up or not. I'm sure I'll have to tighten the cable up, at some point.