Diablo Build Update (pics)

I renamed this thread due to bouncing from doors to sheet metal to this to that and so on... Sorry for any confusion...

I am in the process of shaving door handles and installing power windows for the Deuce... (yes I know im'a nut) I purchased a second door for doing mock up work so I don't have to worry about the mistakes later. I thought I would take some pics while dissecting the doors showing the window regulator and door handle assemblies. Hopefully this will help with stuck locking mechanism and broken regulator questions.

Tomorrow I will plasma cut the inner door skin off to make way for welding up the inner reinforcements to cut down on vibrations and installing insulating mat. I will post more picks showing the parts and pieces attached from the inside if I don't get to caught up in the moment.

Its not hard to see from the photos below why door handles like to stick!

Oh... and before Ken pipes up again ... There will be NO chrome on this truck!!!

Nice project. What are you going to use for poppers? I am attempting to make upper door tops, that would have a complete channel for the door glass to ride in so the glass is supported in the up position. I hate the way the windows flop around. I think it will give the window channel and regulator more life.

Hey guys i like the way you think (like me ) i have been thinkin the shaved handels and power windows as well. I was thinkin air power windows from a peterbilt. I love the sound of an air ratchet in the door!!

Window channel is also a very good idea! i was just going to put it on the rear but all the way up. The front gets trickey with the windsheild posts.

Keep me posted

Gonna put speakers in them doors? If I had your shop to work in I'd gull wing them babies. LOL Just ribbing you Mike, make it how you want it brother. BTW, had a looksee at your hard top today, not bad!

KH... Im using 45 lb solenoids and a 7 channel remote I bought off of eBay which is what prompted me to buy the PW parts from the same seller. I had thought of hunting down 24V starter solenoids and just using buttons but I already bought everything for a 12V system for my AC and radios. Afterwards the AC guy found a 24V set up freeing up a lot of 12V amperage so I might as well use the extra on something else!!! Eventually I will build doors for the tool and battery boxes that are actual doors v/s the pieces of sheet metal they currently have, I will use 2 of the extra remote channels for those... Im thinking of doing the hood and eventually a tool box in the bed the same way. Remote start??? whom knows, I will pull wire until Im tired of playing with it.... I've got a long enough list as is.

A/C
Power Steering
Hard Top
Power Windows
Tint 10%
8 Speaker 2500W stereo system
HF, UHF, VHF mobile base
full dyno mat cab and engine compartment (4' x100' roll ouch$)
undercoating
full interior
rear sliding window
Relocating gear & LH shifters for center console
dash, moving gauges around to make room for radio/AC
rear axle drop and bobbing the stock cargo bed
paint, 24087 (adding syn catalyst to the mix)
go lite remote control spot w/ IR filter
beadlock wheels & 395 tires
1 and 1/2 front bumper weld up
head lights to Hella, tail to LED
12V 40AMP alternator add on
hide away strobe system
driver side fuel tank
pass door pintle mount
keyed ignition
kitchen sink if I find somewhere to put it!!!

So far I have everything in my hands with the exception of the wheels, tires, tank and a few missing odds and ends... Now if the EUC would friggen clear I could stop buying and scrounging (thank u Ken) extra body parts to fab on life would be grand. Im going to try and do as many photos and "how too's" as possible while building it and I plan on about a month for doing everything.

Projects projects projects...

Ken... Next time I am up Im bringing over a bag full of chrome logos and a tube of adhesive to decorate the tractor !!! LOL Fuzzy dice???

Hey devilman, that sounds like quite a project, that'll put the black Malibu-style deuce to shame! Pretty cool when it's all done, definitely take lotsa photos. The pass door pintle mount has me stumped, tho; I just can't picture how you'd tow a trailer that way!

LOL... gun pintle!!! Navy mount for 50/30 cal's

DM96 that truck sounds fantastic. I love messing around with steel. My middle daughter starts college in the fall so I sold my M123A1C and M51A1 to a logger this weekend. Now I have a totally disassembled M51 in the garage that will start to morph. It had a cracked frog leg so I torched off the rears. I will make it a single axle ride, not sure about shortening the frame. But I want 11:00/24 rubber on aluminum. I have a set of NOS doors and if my door tops work on the old door shell I will convert them. How was the Dynamat to work with? I was looking at that or Cool Lizard. I also Have a pair of air ride hi-backs to smooth the ride.

devilman96 said:

A/C
Power Steering
Hard Top
Power Windows
Tint 10%
8 Speaker 2500W stereo system
HF, UHF, VHF mobile base
full dyno mat cab and engine compartment (4' x100' roll ouch$ undercoating )
full interior
rear sliding window
Relocating gear & LH shifters for center console
dash, moving gauges around to make room for radio/AC
rear axle drop and bobbing the stock cargo bed
paint, 24087 (adding syn catalyst to the mix)
go lite remote control spot w/ IR filter
beadlock wheels & 395 tires
1 and 1/2 front bumper weld up
head lights to Hella, tail to LED
12V 40AMP alternator add on
hide away strobe system
driver side fuel tank
pass door pintle mount
keyed ignition
kitchen sink if I find somewhere to put it!!!
Fuzzy dice???

Click to expand...

Dman,
Consider FATMAT instead of Dynamat... I've purchased 200 sq ft. shipped for like $220. That's FOUR rolls of 18" x 50 ft (I think). I've yet to purchase a DB meter so I can do sound measurements before and after I install the deuce so I can report back.

Here's their link: http://www.fatmat.com/

If you just gotta go dynamat, I do understand. BUT the costs were very high in comparison. A dynamat 'supreme' kit covered 32 sq ft and cost $225 retail. So to get that 200 sq ft of coverage I wanted it would have cost a little almost $1600 (7 x $225 = $1575)!

I've just got to purchase a DB meter and I'm set. If you can wait a little while longer, I WILL measure and record the pre and post DB readings on my truck. It's a 1963 Kaiser with a D turbo and super singles. The noise isn't TOO bad, but a muffler on the J pipe (or installing a 4" system to the back) AND installing the FATMAT should make a huge difference.

Then all I need is to cut several pieces of fiber board, put some foam on it with spary on glue and then cover it in either green leather (I wish) or cloth three color camo (still looking for a good source cheap).

And after seeing all those pix, I am gonna have to disassemble my doors, blast all the rusty parts clean, put on some primer and then lube the snot out of them. And that idea of a rail all the way up sounds like a good one. So will you just use two 'FRONT' guides in the rear rail and a 'REAR' guide in the top rail?? Keep us informed. I can't wait to see the A/Ced p/s p/w p/l deuce... Did I MISS anything?

jim

devilman96 said:

So far I have everything in my hands with the exception of the wheels, tires, tank and a few missing odds and ends... Now if the EUC would friggen clear I could stop buying and scrounging (thank u Ken) extra body parts to fab on life would be grand. Im going to try and do as many photos and "how too's" as possible while building it and I plan on about a month for doing everything.

Click to expand...

You forgot one other thing you're missing! The truck! LOL
Don't threaten me with chrome, dems fightin words!

I think you'll need remote control power mirrors w/defrosters too. What about you windshield washer, that's actually a military option?

Ok inside pics of the door..

The supports make this tricky to cut but it shows most of it. You can see by the first photo there is only about 1 inch between the door skin and glass rails and I need 2+... Installing the solenoid and window motor should be the equivalent of stretching a mosquito's ass over a wagon wheel... fun fun... .

You can also see the amount of wear on the window track which is a big part of what makes windows so floppy. Wallen hit the nail on the head with adding a front guide to the rear and using 2 front window tracks... Im not sure how that would work on the elbows though... Taking some of the width out of the angle would prolly make it a good deal.

In the second photo you can see the rib in the middle of the door against the outer door skin, this rib is not welded to the skin; it creates a lovely amount of vibration between the 2 parts and gives it that great residence when you hit it!! Im thinking a few spot welds will go a long way to quieting it down before insulating.

I picked up the top last night... Ken that thing looked good from 10 feet but after taking it apart and thinking on it for 24 hours im not sure what to do with it yet... The mid section is workable but the top is fubar from rust and being crushed... Im thinking of fabing a new one with 14ga ribs and 12 ga sheet metal utilizing the corners and sides from the old one... A new one would be easier but I don't care for the metal thickness in general.. I wanna be able to bounce up and down on it!!! I will get some pics of the top in the next few days once I decide how I want to go about fixing it...

I also got a second fuel tank, front bumper (going to weld 3/4 of one and 3/4 of another to get one and a half width) tie rod assy for the power steering link, upper front shock mounts for the rear bob (got all of the parts now), and fuel/oil filter bodies and housings so I can start working on spin on adapter plates...

and... oh yeah!!!.... don't think power mirrors have not crossed my bloody mind!!!

Bad day for crappy government sheet metal!!!

It made me a little angry so I figured it was better to re-skin it and be done with it...

Should just spray the inside of the truck with bedliner and call it good Thats that im gonna be doing on mine soon as the weather gets a lil bit better. I already sprayed the door panels, next is the transmission cover.....

Guess you won't be rigging for an airdrop any time soon.

I just posted a video of airdrops that didn't go so hot in the video section to go along with Bjorn's comment...

Well I got the power stuff in today... I don't know who designed these motor assemblies but I would swear that they had a Deuce door on the bench when they were doing it because they fit PERFECTLY! You could install one of these in 2 hours!

Im glad I have the door as an extra to play with because you don't need to do nearly as much cutting on it but the intention was to be a little more informative and give lots of working room, the actual install will be a lot less wide open. I have to bend up a hat section for the lock solenoids, if you consider installing them you will have to build a cover panel for the door due to not having enough space with the glass (I will show this in later pics).

Overall I couldn't be happier with both, I was worried about the glass weight, crappy parts, etc but its pretty bullet proof. The speed on the window is great, factory auto glass doesn't move this fast!!!

I will have to take a drive up to Orlando this weekend to do the sheet metal work I could hand fab what I need but a shear and brake which I need for re skinning the top will make it much easier... Hopefully on Monday I will have everything mocked up in one solid piece...

dm98-

That is excellant concept and fabrication work. I am following this with great respect for your work. Good stuff.
I'd love to be able to pull up to the guard at the Base and roll the window down with him right under the door.

"What the hell...........power windows on a deuce?"

I got to bend up what I needed to thanks to a friend with a machine shop whom has more toys than I do!!! Its a 3 hour drive to Orlando but the trip is worth the time saved in fabricating parts.

I cut and bent several channels that you will see installed in the next few posting of pics.

I cut a new skin for the rear section which is now installed and back in one piece, I paused on priming the parts until I hunt down a rear sliding window from a ford ranger or similar sized truck... The new sheet metal is almost 3 times as thick as the old so it is one STOUT piece of masonry!!! No parachute required for drops... Just toss it out and it will be fine!!

We started whacking on the top section.. This piece is going to take the better part of the week to finish. I am doing a partial re skin and re ribbing the whole part. I will keep the sheet metal bends in the corners but the rest will be history. I am hoping the new top will support about 500 lbs without bending so standing on top of it will not be an issue.

I also have the hat sections needed for the door lick solenoids and 18ga door skins so at some point I will be back finishing up the details on the power windows and so on...

I am trying to keep up with the pics... Its hard not to jump to far ahead with out remembering to take a few but I think you can piece it all together....

I am also updating the thread title... I hop back and fourth pending my mood so I think this would be better viewed as the whole build so we coined the trucks name as Diablo.

More stuff...