Slick 60's

So I've been pluggin away on my 65 for awhile now. A remodel and a move delayed my progress but now I'm hard at it. I'll catch y'all up with some pics and quick posts and then try to post as I go. I'm not very good at takin pics as I go so ask if you got questions and I'll try to answer.

I am not a computer guy and i am trying to figure out this photo bucket thing, bear with me.

this is how i got her, pretty clean overall. Rust in the floor, passenger kick panel and middle floor braces.









Here are the pics of the drivetrain out of my mark VIII, i guess i never took pics of the car. pretty ugly but got it complete for less than a grand.

rear end ready go.


Mark VIII rear clip in, front twin I out.


1986 XJ6 front end, all mounts where trimmed off before it went in.


Jag front end in. The frame is sitting on the jag clip here.


i ended up sectioning it up into the frame and inch or two, i dont remember.


Here are my new skins, wheels and centers.


got em on, still needs to be a little lower. Disregard my dads dog pooping in the backround.

Jag rear mounts welded in, not doing any final welding on the front mounts till i figure pinon angle.


Here is the wiring mess i pulled from the VIII.


drivetrain in, trans mount not finalized yet.


(This is a video, just click the link) got it fired. actually not to bad of a job. i follwed keystones advise, traced all the circuts from the engine connector and the pcm. started on the second try. fuel lines backwards, oops.


on to rust repair.


some more, didnt get pics of the center braces. both where rusted off about 4 inches up.


Back from the blasters. i am welding the seams on the cab roof, bed sides and taillight corners. all the welded seams where treated with picklex before epoxy primer.


primer on


bottom sprayed with Zerorust over epoxy.


Got the vintage air unit hung.


taking the stock defrost vents cut out, im using the ones that came with my vintage unit.

built mounts for the ac ducts, had to move the ignition switch to the right side of the dash. You can see the interior floor here. it is zerorust over primer with the first layer of peel-n-seal down.


forgot to post pics of my carpet kit i got, fits great, i was worried because i have the high tunnel floor but its awesome. ill dig up the ACC part number if anybody wants it.

Front of bed floor had a lot of rust through holes.





I copied astronaut here. Cut out the floor sandblasted, welded all the holes and ground smooth. Tomorrow I'm starting the install of the repaired floor.

cool build I am doing the same with my 64. are you using the Mark VIII gauges?
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=31755

No I haven't really decided what I'm gonna do there yet. I really like the new Dakota digital unit for slicks and broncos but it is freaking pricey.

Wow you are really doing a good job on a truck that had some major issues in that cab. Great work

Got some more updates,
I finished the bodywork on the dash, and shot some high build. The dash is gonna be black.





Here is one of the ac vents installed.



Also got the jams shot with the silver body color.



On a side note, I drilled out the switch knob to use them on the vintage air switches. In an awesome coincidence, the switches fit in the stock bezels and the retainer nut is the same thread. That will make for a super clean install.


Also got the radiator, condenser mounted. I switched out the lower hose and remote thermostat with a unit out of a cobra. The stock mark unit sets the radiator down about eight inches. This brought the radiator up to where it looks stock.

Nice work...

nice work on the radiator, I used the mark VIII set up and had to mount my radiator lower, wish I new about the cobra set up

Nice looking setup! I especially like the a/c integration. Are your lower control arms level? I originally planned to mount my upper plates above the top of the frame, but finding long, narrow air bags which will ride good has proved a challenge. I may just lower my mounting plates to about where yours are.
Thanks,
Paul

65styleside wrote:No I haven't really decided what I'm gonna do there yet. I really like the new Dakota digital unit for slicks and broncos but it is freaking pricey.

It makes a real easy install, though. I have the VHX three gauge setup in a stock panel for one of mine.
Paul

Toyz wrote:Nice looking setup! I especially like the a/c integration. Are your lower control arms level? I originally planned to mount my upper plates above the top of the frame, but finding long, narrow air bags which will ride good has proved a challenge. I may just lower my mounting plates to about where yours are.
Thanks,
Paul

my control arms are not level, I'll get a pic tomorrow for you. The mark had stock air bags on the rear, but I don't know if they would drop as much as an aftermarket set. Truthfully I don't think I would put the plates much higher. There is just enough room for that 2+2 crossmember. With the location mine are in I can box the frame around the mounts on the inside of the frame. Hope that makes sense.

toyz: here is the pic of my rear control arms.



Bodywork, bodywork, bodywork






highbuild primer. i didnt get any pics of the hours of blocking and guide coating the high build, you can use your imagination.





paint time









back on the frame


fitting the front end

After playing with various ideas; coil-overs, conventional springs, original and aftermarket bags, I've decided to bag mine. This will be the first time I've used fast-acting aftermarket bags. I've measured the sensor length on one of my "sensor lowered"cars and duplicated that on the truck suspension. I may integrate the sensors into an automatic height control. I'm looking for extra long, narrow bags which will retain their profile without riding like a tank.
Your arms look to be at nearly the same angle as mine. I have yet to get the drivetrain mounted to determine the actual rake and set up the front suspension for proper caster/ camber. At that point, I should be able to determine the location of the upper bag mounts with the goal of having as much rear height adjustment as possible. It looks as if fairly neutral rear camber will be attainable within about four inches of height range.
Paul

So I got some more updates. Sorry for the big jumps but I'm no good at taking pics as I go.

Got the rest of the bodywork done and shot






Got it back together, gotta put some miles on to find the bugs and fix em.

Dang, making big time headway... looks pretty nice with the black wheels and grill...