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Parker brings this truck over wanting an everyday driver. Well it turns out that Parker bit off a bit more than he could chew on this one. This truck looked cool but was a totally unsafe disaster. Parker got screwed by the previous owner and there is no other way to say it. Apparently they had welded together an early rear section to a late model front cap and retained the late model top. Needless to say nothing fit right. The wiring was a fire trap, the link system to keep the axles from wrapping were tractor rods mated to the axles via 1/4" channel mounts, the motor and tranny sat in the truck at almost a 10 degree tilt...and so on. It took us awhile but it was worth it.
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Unfortunately these are the first few pics I took. See if you notice some minor details that need to be addressed
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Here are some of the first things we had to start with. This horribly thought out cross member had the motor sitting in the trucks at nearly a 10 degree rear tilt. The poorly done spring over had the front axle vibrating so bad it cracked the frame horns on both sides and the truss underneath a horribly done power steering conversion.
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I know this kinda jumps around but...lets see we found a early model trucks with a good body and completely stripped it down to the metal. We then lined the inside of the tub and schultzed the underside. I custom cut the rear fender wells to fit the placement of his rear axle and completerly redid his power steering set up from the previous owners.
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We installed a high steer kit and repaired his front axle. The bearing were completely shot due to vibration damage. If you notice we installed a custom panhard rod to prevent that in the future. We rewired the truck and tucked everything away nicely. Parker had a custom tank that spanned the cab of the truck so I fabbed up some mounting tabs and tubing for the seats he had
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I added to Parker's present roll cage. You can see the stuff he had already in the truck we just spruced it up a bit. The rear light was my idea. We use all stainless steel fasteners on the body when we paint one.
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Some pics of the paint job. I'm really not a painter but I like to do it once in awhile. I had a few runs in the job nothing that couldn't be sanded out when it fully cured. The last pic is to mess with your mind ')
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Some pics of the heavy duty link system I fabbed up for the truck. I made the custom shock mounts as well and redid the horrible spring over conversion in its entirety. And I'm happy to report that the truck after its visit to my shop is now actually drivable and safe.
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A last look at some of the work. People don't appreciate how hard windows on cruisers are so here's a starter process pic. Parker with his bud come to take his baby home.
Thanks Parker, I enjoyed the project
The Cruiser Company
Copyright © 2000 The Cruiser Company. All rights reserved.
Sunday, December 19, 2010