Nice! Maybe I can come and wrench with you one of these days 
Nice! Maybe I can come and wrench with you one of these days
Nice to see a hood on there. Hopefully you get your other minor issues resolved as that is a fantastic truck.
Little update. Was getting a load of tires ready to take to the dump and took some pictures. New tires and got a front bumper on the truck. I've been driving it quite a bit and thus far have had zero issues.
Put some 30X9.5 tires on the rear and the 235/75's that were on the back up front. Makes it look more like a truck than it did with the tiny front tires that were on it before.
Bumper is off a 60's Chevy pickup I scored out of a scrap yard for $20. Couldn't unbolt it so we had to torch it off. Tom (of Body Werks fame from the Magazine) and Steve mounted it up for me while we were working on the V8 RX-7 Lemons car this weekend. Tom's welding puts mine to shame and the fitment is spot on for a bent bumper. Amazing what years of experience gets you.
The bumper is flipped upside down from how it mounted on the Chevy's. Overall I think the shape, size and patina work well with the truck.
Next up on the list is sandblasting and painting the long tube headers i got from the same yard and having them routed to a Ford Lightning muffler ($2 courtesy of speedbui). Mount the fog lights and get working oil pressure, temp and volt guages.
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Looks much better with a hood
Seems to be coming along quite nicely. Thanks for the update.
I love that truck Greg, great work so far
I am quite smitten by it. I've been researching how to get three point belts in it.
Still can't shake the thought of headbutting the windshield in an accident every time I drive it.
Looks fantastic. The bumper looks made from the truck. I want one now.
Greg Voth wrote: Still can't shake the thought of headbutting the windshield in an accident every time I drive it.
may i suggest not having an accident every time you drive it?
Knock on wood... So far I've had about 13 years of successfully avoiding them (not so fortunate with tickets). Running about 25k-30k miles a year leads me to believe its inevitable.
It doesn't help that I recently saw a 50's Studebaker truck that was smashed in the front end and the windshield was busted from the inside out.
That thing really rocks my socks.
Didn't some of the fairly recent GM trucks have the 3 point seatbelt mounted as part of the seat? Junkyard availability?
They do but the stock seat was recently redone and is in good shape. I prefer the older look anyhow. If the interior had came bare or the seat was trashed I'd probably do that though.
there is a lot of win in a bench seat. Short of a half cage I'm not sure the old cab structure will ever be really sturdy enough for the high mount of the belt.
There is a weld in (or rivet) plate for it which looks pretty good to me. http://midfifty.com/item.php?INV_ID=1082
If its any consolation my grandfather rolled one of these with my dad and his cousin (both around 13 at the time) and everyone walked away after being thrown from the truck. Cousin had a broken arm.
Greg, I had little trouble installing 1st gen RX7 belts into the Ranchero, bolt in except a mounting plate for the retracter. They even still rewind.
Greg Voth wrote: There is a weld in (or rivet) plate for it which looks pretty good to me. http://midfifty.com/item.php?INV_ID=1082
Ayup, there ya go. reinforcement, made to order, as long as that area of the cab is solid and you trust your own welding.
As popular as those cabs are it does seem common sense for someone else to have tackled that problem now that you point it out! 
$90 seems high for some stamped sheetmetal, but not so high for the safety you're bying.
the bumper looks excellent.
LOVE. THIS. RIG. More updates... MOOOORE!
I doubt there will be that many new updates. Especially not eye candy ones.
Exhaust, tune up, gauges are on the menu. Seatbelts, possibly a slight drop. Eventually some work to the bed to fill the holes and a more complete wooden bed.
FYI - AMC's came with a separate shoulder belt. They bolted up above the b-pillar area. Those would match the "vibe" of the truck and still provide you with a 3-point harness.
Just keeps getting better. Dibs if you ever sell it!
Love it. Looks fantastic. 
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