now that's a bit of a stretch...

[bobbywalter]

no dents at that point.....actually cab only dented from rolling.


buckled the bed quite a few times though

 

[gwaii]

no dents at that point.....actually cab only dented from rolling.


buckled the bed quite a few times though

i found the box buckling can be reduced by cutting the brace that goes from the top of the outer wheelwell to the inner...the fenders do flap a bit though.

 

[bobbywalter]

pretty tight still

cab good but bed buckled...

so you have to believe i am very impressed the roof on this thing didnt pop when you flexed it out...makes me wonder if the time to do the moon roof actually aided...

 

[gwaii]

pretty tight still

cab good but bed buckled...

so you have to believe i am very impressed the roof on this thing didnt pop when you flexed it out...makes me wonder if the time to do the moon roof actually aided...

the cab is actually very rigid.
i was worried at first with the extra length it would need another pair of mounts,as it turns out it's not needed at all.

 

[bobbywalter]

did you use oem type mounts all around? no floating bolt trickery?


with the abount of turn in the chassis it makes me wonder if the rails walk...and type of death wobble or rather hints of it that you simply can drive-thru??

in any case i like it.

 

[gwaii]

did you use oem type mounts all around? no floating bolt trickery?


with the abount of turn in the chassis it makes me wonder if the rails walk...and type of death wobble or rather hints of it that you simply can drive-thru??

in any case i like it.

stock mounts all around.

on the highway it drives like it's on rails,even pulling a boat and loaded with the camper.highway manners actually got better after the stretch,i think it likes the extra length.even potholed dirt roads are ok,and i tend to drive highway speeds on those too.

broken the lower front fender mounts that way a few times,though.i just made some new ones that are a bit stronger.will see how they hold up.

 

[AgPete139]

Just got on another one of your build threads. Nice work again, Gwaii.

I enjoying reading your posts, and the explanations are are the best parts of your threads (along with the unconventional builds/mods).

Thank you for sharing your experiences & knowledge. I'm always learning, as I'm sure others are.

Pete

 

[gwaii]

thanks pete.

that's what make posting all this stuff worthwhile

 

[gwaii]

ok.let's get this show on the road...

i start off by scuffing the whole thing down with 400 grit.this gives the paint some 'bite'.note that things that stick out like the door handles and mirror have been removed.

now i tape my design onto the truck and see how it will all fit within it's confines.

after all my concerns over the eye,it turns out i needn't have worried.the whole thing ends up in the front window anyway.

fast forward a little over 7 hours.the first color is all masked out.

after shooting the green pearl,the copper pearl areas are masked and shot.

a white pearl was used just for the teeth,i didn't take a pic of that.

after a final clearcoat,i'll call this side done.the design doesn't show up real well in the picture,once everything's done i'll get a pic in the sun.

that was 11 hours nonstop...i didn't even eat all day till it was done.

tomorrow i get to do the other side.

 

[AgPete139]

So cool. Cant wait to see the entire side unveiled.

 

[kris97ranger]

i LOVE the newspaper lol most ppl would have gotten normal packing paper roll or somthing but not you and thats why your awsome

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

^Not the Docs style.
If you notice its all about what you have at hand with the Doc.
Of all the tools he has he uses his melon (Brain in case your not following me ...lol)the most.

 

[gwaii]

funny thing about those papers.i get the leftover papers from the local store,they can be pretty scarce in the summer when the tourists buy them,but in winter there's stacks of them that don't sell.
i got a big stack a while ago that i just finished off with this project.i was reminded of just how long ago,they all have coverage of the olympics in vancouver in them.

while the papers were free,i spent over $150 on masking tape for this.$40 just today.

 

[gwaii]

and there she is....

i'm pretty happy with it.i ended up with about what i initially visualised,that doesn't always happen.

 

[CHKNFKR]

very nice work!