Project : BluePrint

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So I ran to the pick-a-part today...

ended up going 1980s era vintage with this one...



Grille came off a 77-95 (+or- a few years) Chevy G20 van... Glad I can see shit in my head because I wouldn't have looked twice otherwise.






Cut cut, grind grind, sand sand...




going to pick up some silver paint tomorrow to get the thing done and mounted. Need to get more blue paint to coat the handles on the truck so I might eventually paint some or even all of the bar at that time as well.

[hi its me alec]

Looks great, loved reading through all the updates!

[Sebastianglenn]

I normally **** the mesh grills, but i love this thing. Cleanest Colorado out there, love the look of the rack on it. keep it up bro!

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appreciate the compliments guys. REALLY happy to be done with this... or close enough to call it done. This project has taken WAY too long...





I also couldn't wait to get this thing on...

[projecthoarder]

Every time I see your truck it makes me want to stop spending money on my ranger and start putting it into my daily. That grill looks bad ass by the way.

[ChanceTheNapper]

this thing is pretty rad man!

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and some more updates

I was able to get a little work done last night from the inspiration of a friend.












and photos from today...

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So this is an update as well...


8/18/2014

I decided that I needed to clean up the interior a little since it was bland and worn out... a little paint won't hurt anything...

So, I tested this color...




And then here are the results.








It's a little more gold than I wanted but it's still not enough to be overwhelming. Going to keep it there for a few days to see if I am actually happy with it. Wanted a tan metallic color and this is pretty close...


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8/19/2014

Absolutely ***** the color... So I changed it.






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8/28/2014

Okee Dokee

So, I have had this wobble. Some know about it. Some remember it from reading through here. Most probably don't care.

Well, I finally cured it and the fix was just down the street. Picked up some hub rings for the rims and that fixed the issue. I could never get these rims to center no matter what lugs I seemed to use.

So my son helped me put them in and put the tires on. And I have a smooth ride now.







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9/6/2014

Okay... so I painted the SS mirrors.

And found out that I need to replace the lens as the bottom two brackets on the back that hold the glass to the mirror ended up breaking. :shrug:





The color is spot on...




All I need to do now is wait for the paint to cure, then sand and buff the shit out of them. And I'll be happy. and then it's the handles and grille.

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9/7/2014

Sanded and buffed out the mirrors today and took a couple shots.

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Sorry about the delay on this, though the thread seems to go slightly unnoticed at times

Wow, I didn't see this update - it's almost been a month...

I like that grille, that's a very nice custom touch!

One thing, the bottom of the grille doesn't quite seem to match the top of the bumper. Are you fixing that with the plastic filler? Or is that how it's going to be?

Well, after I pulled the grille off and looked at that exact issue, I found out that the mounts some how shifted while I was building the grille... go figure, right? So, I have to slightly tweak the mounts so that the lower edge of the grille sits where it should, matching the bumper.

It looks like a mini silverado crew cab slammed, I like! Dunno about the grille mod yet but I'll wait till it's done.

Honestly, it's kind of what I am going for... kind of. The reason for the grille being so big (right now) is so that it ties in the big front bumper.

If I do not like how open the grille actually is, I plan to find an onlder body style Silverado grille (the one with the splits in the center bar) and cut it out, make it into an attachable insert and paint that to match the truck. Then, I can just bolt it over the mesh.

[Chuckdee]

It looks like a mini silverado crew cab slammed, I like! Dunno about the grille mod yet but I'll wait till it's done.

[RubbderDucky]

I'll wait till you get the new grille painted to pass judgement. But the rest of the truck looks great!

[Red_Arrowheads]

Wow, I didn't see this update - it's almost been a month...

I like that grille, that's a very nice custom touch!

One thing, the bottom of the grille doesn't quite seem to match the top of the bumper. Are you fixing that with the plastic filler? Or is that how it's going to be?

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8/7/2014

Okee Dokee guys, here is an update that is long over-due.

Finished sanding down the grille and got it mounted up:




Then I started mocking up the cardboard for the grille insert.



Then I took a selfie with my son.



Then I cut and started bending the mesh to fit inside that big ass hole.



Then some systematic bends here and there to tweak it (still needs some cleaning up) and I was able to rivet the grille in there for a temporary one day test drive with the assembly mounted in the truck.





Plan to stop by the painter tomorrow to see if the thing is actually ready or if I need to do more work to it before it gets painted. But, everything fits and is sitting where it is.

Once I get the grille back from paint I'll have the tid-bits behind the grille painted black and everything will be good to go.

I'm so excite.

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8/8/2014

And a better shot of the grille in the daylight. I have to fix a couple things to make it all line up the way it should, but very happy so far. Should work nicely with the blue paint on the thing against the silver mesh. Then going to figure out a bow-tie or some script.



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8/9/2014

Today's update is relatively simple. I am close to being complete with the grille. Stopped by the painter and he basically told me the final steps I needed to take in order to get this ready for paint.

So, a little more plastic filler, a lot more sanding and this should be able to pull off a factory finish.

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Oh, I added something...

Had some LED "fog lights" in a drawer in the garage. I think I picked them up two years ago or so. Anyway, through them in the vents and hooked them up to the DRLs. Basically an additional light source up front, purely cosmetic.




And a roller from today.

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Well, progress on the truck has slowed significantly... I was able to mount a set of led fogs in the vents for cosmetic/daytime running lights... if I like them lit up...

But, this past week or so I have been building a deck on the back of the house so most of my time has been spent back there...

Hauling stuff with this (when the load doesn't require a trailer) always seems to get some looks from people...