Faux Guy Square Body Shifts Into Gear With A New Transfer Case

(Marc)>> You're watching Powernation!

(Marc)>> Today on Music City Trucks we button up the front end of our K-10 square body by dressing it up, getting it ready with some jewelry.

(Michael)>> We add new electric fans to cool this beast, and then we'll crimp our way to new a/c lines.

(Marc)>> Finally we hit a local chrome shop and see what they can do to our crusty old bumpers. [ Music ]

(Marc)>> This has got to be the most iconic design. [ Music ] Welcome to Music City Trucks. You know how these projects go. You toward the end, and there's only like 10 percent of the work left to do, and it takes you 90 percent of the time, or at least it feels like it. That's where we are with our '85 K-10 square body project that we're call "The Faux Guy". This is a tribute to the '80s t-v show "The Fall Guy", and although we didn't go with the colors of that truck we went the entire feel of the build, and this truck is gonna be awesome. We're in the home stretch. We're trying to get as much done under the hood here as possible before we get all the sheet metal on just cause it's easier to get to right now. Since you saw it last got the power steering reservoir and hoses installed. We got our carburetor and linkage in there. Really all that's left under here is an air cleaner, some a/c hoses, heater hoses, things like that. And then obviously the radiator, fan, and hoses as well, and we're gonna tackle those later on today.

(Michael)>> The last time you saw us we were installing our exhaust. So, the underside of the truck's getting really close. We still have to set our pinion angle so we can measure for our driveshafts, and we also have to figure out with our transfer case shift linkage. We'll get to that later though. For now, look at this paint! This looks immaculate! We went ahead and cut and buffed it to give it that extra shine. Now all this thing's really missing is some trim pieces, door handles, mirrors, and some glass. So, we're gonna tackle that first.

(Marc)>> Now this truck was super nice when we started, and all the stuff we took off we could reuse but with it looking as nice as it does why would we do that when we can get everything new you see here on the table we got from Classic Industries. Now this is all the stuff that we need to assemble the passenger door. They've got things like the window regulator. We've got all the felts, the run channel, all the green tinted door glass, which I really like. Of course the tape to get it installed, and we've got the vent window and the rest of the seals. This is the door seal here. This is just a little bit of what we got to make this truck look brand new again, and I think what we're gonna start with is gonna be this vent window. Well, this stuff is new. Obviously, we've got the seal here. This is our old vent window. We're not replacing everything. We are gonna replace the seal, this frame, and of course the glass, but the main frame for the vent window here we're gonna reuse. So, the first thing I need to do is take this thing apart. I'm gonna start with this latch. Save that! [ drill humming ]

(Marc)>> Get this disassembled. Don't need that anymore. This is a prime example of why all this stuff has to be replaced. We've got to get in here and pop these little tabs up. Alright, that's trash. I'm gonna go get this one cleaned up. We've got the main frame for the vent window all blasted and painted. While that's drying, I'm gonna go ahead and get this assembled. We just need to get this vent window installed into its frame here. You can see why we've decided to replace the original one. We could probably restore this but with this stuff being available and inexpensive I figured we would do it this way. The drawback, or maybe the difficult part, would be installing the glass into the frame, which you have to do with this glass setting tape. It's not a big deal as long as you can get past hammering on glass. We're using one-sixteenth inch, which is kinda thick but that's what this job calls for. This is not a necessarily difficult job to do, but it's definitely intimidating. It's a little nerve wracking sometimes because it's not very normal to say hammer on that piece of glass will you? That's done. I just need to go grab that frame and see if the paint's dry.

(Michael)>> We all know that builds like this can get really expensive really fast. One of the ways you can cut costs is by trying to salvage your old parts. I'm gonna show you how to go from grime to shine. We start with a buffing compound. This will get rid of those scratches and oxidation. I use a back-and-forth motion so that I know I'll cover the entire piece. [ buffer humming ]

(Michael)>> Man, that's one handsome fella. Now I've got the base done. So now I'm gonna go ahead and put the shine on the mirror so we can put it on our truck.

(Marc)>> We got our frame all cleaned up, looks great, fresh coat of paint. Gonna start assembling. I'm using some regular mild dish soap here to lube this up cause it's got to clip into that frame. I've got to get this thing seated in this track. It's a tight fit. So we have to get it in the groove on one side and them push this side in with the tool. A little bit of pressure, no problem. It's ready for the glass. There was a rivet here originally, but we drilled that out. I'm actually gonna use some stainless hardware with a lock washer so it doesn't come undone but also is still able to move. Well, that looks like a brand new vent window. I'm really happy with how that turned out. We even dressed it up with a new latch that we got from Classic Industries. This thing's ready to go in the truck, but before I put this in there's a couple of things I want to do over here on the door. Now when it comes to assembling these doors if you do it in the right order it usually goes pretty smoothly. I like starting with the lock cylinders. Now these door handles are super shiny, and you'll see why later. Next is our polished side mirrors, then the quarter glass, and then the door glass. Now patience is a virtue here. Don't force it and everything will fit real nicely. Well we got the door seal on here, got the striker on here, adjusted and tight. Let's give this thing a try. Oh, sounds so good, and it looks even better! We just need to move on to the driver door, get it assembled. Then we can move on to something else.

(Michael)>> Up next, we top off our cooling system by adding electric fans, and then we plumb in our a/c lines.

(Michael)>> Well we're moving along with our build. We just finished installing our radiator support. So, now's a good time to talk about our cooling system. When it comes to high horsepower builds keeping your engine cool can be really hard. One way we're combating that is with this Frostbite aluminum radiator that we picked up from Holley. Now ours features a three row core and is made out of high quality aircraft aluminum. We also grabbed their high performance fan shroud kit that features two 14-inch electric fans that flow 2,200 c-f-m. With the curved blades they run really quiet. This all translates to we keep our coolant cool so we can keep our engine cooler. Let's go ahead and get this assembled. We get to expose this shiny aluminum. [ Music ] I'm gonna line these up at the same time because I like everything to be nice, and neat, and tidy. Now we've got to mark it. [ drill humming ]

(Michael)>> Line these holes up, put your screws in. [ Music ] Always remember that righty tighty/lefty loosey is reversed when you're upside down. [ Music ] [ drill humming ]

(Michael)>> Alright, I've got my radiator in place. So now I can go ahead and install my brackets and hoses, and that just about wraps up the cooling system. [ Music ] Once the radiator is installed we connect the hoses from the engine side to the radiator. Alright, there we go! It's time to do the top side. Now I'm gonna wait until everything's dialed in on the rest of the truck to tighten these clamps down. For now, I'm gonna move on with the heater hoses.

(Marc)>> Ready for this thing?

(Michael)>> Absolutely, I've got all the hardware ready. We add the inner wheel tubs for support.

(Marc)>> Start looking like a truck.

(Michael)>> We've already got our fittings installed. So now all I have to do is route these hoses back to the firewall in the best way possible. So, I'm gonna start with the three quarter inch hose first, and that's gonna come off the water pump back to the firewall. That looks like that's where that wants to land comfortably. So, I'm gonna go ahead and cut that right there. Here we go, and we'll tighten that later. Just like the three quarter inch hose we're gonna do the five-eighths the same way. [ Music ] Now that we've got that out of the way we're gonna go ahead and move on to our air conditioning system. Because ours is custom we do have to make our own hoses. That's okay because we have everything here to do so. I remove the protective plate and take out these O-rings. So, I've replaced the O-rings. Now I'll install the manifold. I'm fitting these fittings in first so I can get an idea how long I need my hoses to be. Our fittings are size 10 fittings. So, we've got size 10 hose to do this with. I like that right there. Once you're done it's best to mark these just in case something moves. Now that hose is ready to crimp. This is a manual a/c hose crimper. If you don't have one of these you can probably rent one or get one from a local auto parts store. We actually found ours at Summit Racing. If you do just remember, don't use an impact on these because it can destroy your crimps. We use a number 10 crimp on our number 10 hose. I'll tighten it down to make sure we have a positive seal. [ Music ] Just like that you've made your first crimp. Now that we've got our hoses crimped the last thing to do is install them, and that'll just about wrap up our a/c, heating, and cooling. Man, I've got to tell you. This is really starting to look good.

(Marc)>> Coming up next, we shift into gear and install our transfer case linkage, and then measure for our driveshafts.

(Marc)>> Well we are making some great headway with this truck today. Michael got just about everything under the hood all wrapped up. We do have a couple of little things we'll need to take care of a little later, but we felt comfortable enough to go ahead and put the fenders on and the emblems, and it looks amazing. As you can see, the bed's already on there. We're getting really close and the truck's looking the way it's gonna look when it's done, but we have a couple of major things we still need to do. One of them is figuring out how we're gonna shift our transfer case, but we've got that solved with this kit right here that we got from JB Custom Fabrication. This is a stainless steel single stick transfer case shifter. They offer just about every kind of shifter for every kind of transfer case and vehicle. Everything from Jeeps all the way up to heavy duty trucks, everything in between, and just about every kind of transfer case as well. You basically just pick the shifter you want, which we chose the single stick. And then you tell them which transfer case you have, and then you pick all of your accessories, like we picked this boot here that's got a stainless trim ring. That's like a vinyl boot there, and then we've got the knob for our shifter that's got our shift pattern for our 241-C, which is really cool. Then of course all the hardware to get it installed. It's got a heavy duty cable. No binding, or breaking, or anything with this, super heavy duty, and it's gonna be really simple to install. As a matter of fact, Michael's already working on that.

(Michael)>> Now since we switched our transfer case our drop is on the driver's side. So that's given us an opportunity to move our shifter closer to the driver. I've got this block off plate that I've made that I'm gonna use to cover up our old hole and this template to draw out the lines to cut our new hole. So, let's get started. [ drill humming ]

(Michael)>> I'm adjusting my template, making sure that when I cut it out the shifter does not hit the transmission. I trace out my template, drill pilot holes, use the cutoff wheel for the bigger sections, finishing up with a reciprocating saw for the tighter areas. Drop in the shifter, lock it down. For ease of installment we're using quarter-20 nut-serts and riveting them to the body. [ Music ] [ ratchet clicking ]

(Marc)>> Well we've got the shifter mounted. All we need to do is connect the business end of the cable here to our transfer case, and we're gonna do that with this little bit of hardware we've got here. We're gonna start with this bracket right here that's gonna mount to our transfer case adapter. We'll get the bracket installed onto the adapter, followed by the lever, and then the cable goes through the hole in the bracket. Then the rod end can be installed onto the cable, and then attached to the lever. With a few adjustments we're ready to lock down. We got the weight of the vehicle sitting on the suspension and sitting at ride height, and now it's time to measure for some driveshafts. We need to take a few different measurements including pinion angle... So, we've got 10 at the rear. ...driveline angle... And seven here, which means there's only three degrees difference in those two, which is good. ...driveshaft length... So, I'm gonna be in the center of the output shaft to the center of this, 54 and seven-eighths. ...U-joint length and cap diameter. And that should be everything that we need to order our rear driveshaft. Now all I need to do is go to the front and do the same thing. Next, one of the top chrome shops in the country is right in our backyard. Wait until you see the results. They are amazing!

(Marc)>> Well I had to make a special trip up here to Portland, Tennessee, because I'm dropping off the bumpers for Faux Guy to be chrome plated at Advanced Plating. Now this is their new facility. Well new to me. They've been here about three years since their place burned in Nashville, and I hear this place is pretty state of the art. Let's check it out. [ Music ] You must be Jason.

(Jason)>> Welcome to Advanced Plating.

(Marc)>> I'm Marc.

(Jason)>> Nice to meet you, Marc.

(Marc)>> So we've got a pair of bumpers for a square body Chevy, and I even through the outside door handles. I'm hoping you can take care of those as well. What do we need to do?

(Jason)>> Let's bring them inside, take a look at them, and we'll see where to go from there.

(Marc)>> Let's go get them. [ metal clanging ]

(Marc)>> So what do you think?

(Jason)>> We can definitely plate these no problem for you. This one I would say is an aftermarket bumper. It's probably not a factory bumper, but we have the ability to take care of that for you as if it were a factory bumper.

(Marc)>> Awesome, and the handles?

(Jason)>> The door handles, we can take care of those for you as well.

(Marc)>> Advanced Plating has been around since 1962, but it wasn't until the late '80s when the ownership switched hands. With Steve Tracey's love for hot rods it simply proved that this was the best decision to make.

(Steve)>> Had a neighbor that took me to a car show, and got out there and fell in love with hot rods. Through high school I worked at electro-plating companies. I actually went to school for accounting but my true love was hot rods, and I had an opportunity to come to Nashville in '85 and become part of Advanced Plating. I've been operating the company for 36 years, myself and my wife. For us here we really got established early on restoration of pot metal. And then as the hobby and the sport has developed and people started modifying their components we had to grow and change with the industry. We started in Old Hickory. We outgrew that facility, and in '87 we moved to East Trinity Lane. We were on East Trinity Lane from '87 to '98. In '98 we moved from Trinity Lane to Cowan Court. We did an expansion in 2005, and then in 2010, the great Nashville flood, we went underwater. [ Music ] So that particular event we were closed for four months. Gave us an opportunity to update it. We had been in that facility at that point for 12 years. So, it was great to get it all modernized yet again. Unfortunately, in 2018 we had a fire and it became a total loss fire. [ Music ] After being in Nashville at that point for 55 years I just really felt I needed to stay in Nashville, but it wasn't in the cards for us. We found this location in Portland. It was a pretty dilapidated building, but it had big water and big electric in it. We took possession January 1st, 2019. Did an eight month renovation and rebooted in August of 2019. Our business really rolls with the restoration market. We get into projects like your project. You have bumpers specific to your truck, and you're wanting to stick with those original bumpers, especially along the story line of that rear bumper was put on there by that particular dealership. So, you're staying in that original venue on restoring that truck. Not unusual for people to want to put their original door handles and headlight buckets, but there's some stuff you want to be a little more discriminating about to keep that personality of that particular vehicle, in your case the truck you're working on.

(Marc)>> So with a newer building, bigger space, and more opportunity Advanced Plating continues to offer more options and services to their customers.

(Steve)>> Aftermarket automotive is another venue all in itself. Really our fourth is gonna be reproduction. The music industry, with electric guitars in particular, is another venue. So, we're actually five venues in one building. We are passionate car people here, and that's really what drives it. It's not just me, it's the people behind us. It's been a really interesting road to this point. I am very fortunate to have a partner in this business that is my wife, Sherry. She supported me the whole way, and she's very passionate about cars and guitars also. I think it's just my personality to want to continue to try to improve. Again very humbling that people trust us with their passion, and that's what continues to drive me to improve, and that's why I'm here today.

(Marc)>> They say chrome won't get you home but who cares when it looks this good. Advanced Plating knocked it out of the park as they always do. You know, just a little bit of chrome on a build like this really goes a long way.

(Michael)>> And even though the truck looks to be complete there still are a few things that we need to touch on, like the interior, but there is something pretty cool that we are gonna stick in the bed.

(Marc)>> And up front we've got something really special that we're gonna be doing with this chrome bumper. All that's gonna have to wait until next time. And this truck won't be doing any stunts but we may have found one that can! We'll see y'all next time!