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Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 5:54 am
by Buzzman72
Folks, the time has come. I've owned my '52 since 1988. It was a daily driver up through 1991, then stuff happened. And more stuff. And more stuff. Life got in the way.

Now I'm coming to a point where I've got to do it.

I bought the '52 with the idea of building a street rod out of it. The dream hasn't changed. But my house will be paid off in a couple of months, so the money won't be as tight as it has been. The MAIN motivator is that 2019 will be the 50th NSRA Street Rod Nationals, and I plan to have my truck running and driving enough to be a participant there. I may not have the body and paint where I want them by August 1, 2019, but by dingy-dangy I want to be able to drive it in to the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville for the 50th Nats.

I'm going to be posting pics and chronicling my journey here as my friends and I do an 11-1/2 month "thrash" to get it together, and get it right.

Stay tuned.

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:06 am
by Buzzman72
I've spent 30 years accumulating parts for this build, and I'm sure I still don't have everything I need. But here's what I do have, besides the '52 L-112:

* '79 AMC Pacer front end clip, with disc brakes and rack and pinion steering;
* '79 AMC Pacer 304 V8 and 998 automatic transmission with lockup converter;
* '96 Explorer disc brake rear end. Currently not posi, but subject to changing out to a posi carrier;
* all the ball joints and control arm bushings to rebuild the Pacer front clip;
* '69-'70 Mustang high-back bucket seats, to be reupholstered to match the truck;
* Painless Wiring #30003 20-circuit fuse and relay setup;
* '78 Cutlass 442 tilt column;
* 2000 Taurus adjustable height gas pedal;
* 1998 Windstar power seat motor and track assembly;
* 2000 Taurus touch-latch cup holder assembly, for the console I intend to eventually build. I know, hot rods don't have cup holders. But street rods do, in the modern world;
** 30 years of built-up anxiety over having to back-burner my truck for everyone else's projects and problems.

I plan to take pics as I go along, and I'll post them as I can.



More to come...

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:17 am
by nikkinutshop
Best of luck to you and your project. I hope your choice of wire harness works out well for you.

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:49 am
by Buzzman72
I just have the fuse-and-relay panel from Painless, but not the wiring harness. The wiring will be on me...and I prefer it that way. Soldered connections, not crimped, covered with heat-shrink tubing.

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:47 am
by kevin
Looking forward to see the build.

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:34 am
by dean466
Looking forward to your build. I understand the years of planning part.

Dean

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 1:05 pm
by WEW51L110
Congrats on the moving forward with the truck. Your road to the finish line traverses some of the terrain I traveled getting to a finished truck - if they’re ever really finished.
I got mine from my granddad in July 1974; drove it up until 1979; stuff happened (or as I like to think of it - project planning.) Family always takes priority. House paid for, kids out, truck build time. Finished Jan. 2014. Drive time now. I wish you a smooth road through the build time. 11.5 months should work if you put a decent amount of time into it, depending on how beautiful you want it to be going out on the road. From the time mine went to the builder to our taking delivery was 8 months, not counting what I had accomplished over the years, and the work I put into it while he had it.
Again, congratulations. I’ll be looking for the progress photos and if I can make plans, I might see you in Louisville. Still trying to decide if I want to haul it that far again. (Maybe wildmanbill would make an appearance, too; maybe get a large number of IH’s together)

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:18 pm
by nikkinutshop
B72! Are you doing anything with that tailgate idea build you had?

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:50 am
by Buzzman72
That's going to be a big part of the welding! While I sorta like the 3/16" diamond plate panel used to make the tailgate--they used what appears to be the original upper and lower "rolls"-- I want it to look, externally at least, like an original.

Re: Buzzman's '52 L-112 Build Thread

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:43 pm
by bsievers1616
following!