Aussie VC 67 Dodge ute

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bit of a brake from rust repairs.....some cosmetics for the tray wall.....

routed the Dodge logo into a piece of 12mm MDF and mounted a 3mm facia



then mounted a 3mm backing board



fibreglassed the beveled edge



screwed it to the removable tray wall and fitted to the frame



a small LED light strip is mounted to the rear window support frame to light the tray



lights the full length of the tray but there will be another light mounted into the hard cover I'm building



the logo area will be covered in a mid green, while the lower section and the rest of the tray will have a dark green and black fleck low pile carpet



the sides for the new tray are now cut to size and have the 6 bondage......load, tie downs welded into place, rated at 500kg each they will hold more the the ute can carry!!

 
started the frame for the hard cover.....

hinge sections against the gig



hinges ready to mount



frame sections ready to weld



frame in place & mounted to hinges



operational, just needs the gas rams to be mounted



template of the corner sections for the latches



once the corners are made and welded in then the next step is to make the fibreglass shell....
 
Mate you have some skills!!!

Bloody great job you're doing. Can I ask what thickness sheet metal are you using for replacement body patches?

Cheers
 
Gidday Marty, stumbled across your ute build thread. Great work mate and the ute looks awesome. Should be a great ride once the teen goes into it.

I'll pop around to work soon and say gidday. Cheers, chris.
 
Martythetrimmer said:
most is .95mm but the tray is out of 1.6mm as I want it to be able to carry a proper load if needed....nows the hardtop going?
Click to expand...

My hardtop is going very slowly. I have decided that I will have a go at doing the body work, will go buy materials this weekend. I have a spray painter mate that will lay the final primer and top coats for me.

Ill be watching your build with a lot of interest, keep up the good work
 
WOW, !!! First time i have seen this build mate, some incredible work going , i have one of these my self which i am about to start the build thread for. Sweet looking ute mate.
 
Some more shots of the hard cover to come after the weekend...here's what I've been upto with the hood...this is temporary as this hood is to be replaced



a piece of 2mm plate was welded over the old top spring hole



the plate was plug welded from the out side



I used a pair of 530mm gas struts of 400N force....they work well and hold the bonnet up from about 80% open...maybe 450 to 500N would be a little better if anybody else wants to do this!
 
also been playing with the sound system.....the amps are to be mounted behind the seats on the rear wall....it's going to have a mono block amp for the sub and a 4 channel amp to run the front splits as an active system...that is, each front speaker will have it's own channel so each can be tuned from the head unit, all comp stuff....anyway the amps will have custom made fibreglass bridges between them so it looks like one large amp right across the cabin

in the back ground is the mono block amp....the alloy piece in the middle is one of the end sections I removed to get the shape for my end sections for the bridges...the pine blocks are the 4 ends that form the bridge ends



the pine forms have been mounted to a frame and foam blocks will be sanded to shape to fibreglass over



sanded to final shape ready to glass



2 layers of 450 gsm glass



as the rear wall hasn't been welded into the cabin I had the chance to mount it together on the bench....testing the lighting effects, they like that sort of **** in audio comps!!



doing a test fit in place as the bridges will need a bit of a bog up to fit exactly ready to be covered in black vinyl to match in with the colour of the amps...the lights will be able to be switched off for normal use...they're just for extra points in the comps

 
Martythetrimmer said:
Some more shots of the hard cover to come after the weekend...here's what I've been upto with the hood...this is temporary as this hood is to be replaced





I used a pair of 530mm gas struts of 400N force....they work well and hold the bonnet up from about 80% open...maybe 450 to 500N would be a little better if anybody else wants to do this!
Click to expand...

Another member mounted his struts on the hinges and on the side panel down by the lower door hinge. I like this way as well.
 
I perfer them mounted the other way Dartman but I need the room there for a steel box to be mounted as an enclosure for the front speakers with the system being aimed at being competitive in comps.....
 
been back to the tray and hard cover this weekend....new ply floor fitted



under floor storage door fitted with gas ram and a pair of LED lights with a door switch...



finished the frame for the hard cover.....fitted the mounts for the lockable lathches







started to make the form to fibreglass over to make the hardcover skin...this is the underside of the raised centre section



recesses cut and sides fitted...once the glue dries it can be sanded to shape



all corners rounded off...ready for a test fit



it's sitting high because the frame is curved....once the form is screwed down it will take shape....the recesses have to be filled in on the sides yet






should have the form finished next weekend but will leave the fibreglassing until Spring...just too cold in Canberra...44F today (7C) and fibreglass couldn't be used under 59F (15C)!!
hope the converter I used got the temps right

plenty of other jobs to get on with but as I have to work outside I don't feel up to much at the moment!!
 
it'll be tidy enough when done but it's going to be the daily driver Deecee....the shower is the S series I'm also working on...well I'll get back to it when the ute's done!! any more up dates on yours?
 
Martythetrimmer said:
it'll be tidy enough when done but it's going to be the daily driver Deecee....the shower is the S series I'm also working on...well I'll get back to it when the ute's done!! any more up dates on yours?
Click to expand...

That will be one tidy daily driver there mate, and yes, i'm about done. :)
 
The weather up here has been quite nice, compared to Canberra......lol.
 
Very entertaining build. You have a wide range of skills. Sounds like you may even have sewn the interior fabric, or did you have that part done?
 
I'm a trimmer by trade and car nut on the side, so everything is done by me....before my arms packed it in I painted as well....Jack of all trades, that's me!!
 
I had to google "trimmer" and add "australia to the search to figure it out. Never heard of the term other than something used for shaving or landscaping tools :)
Not sure if there's an equivalent trade in North America. Certainly equips you for the car hobby.
 
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