upgraded....every thing

[RWherley]

And I happened apon a 2018 Laramie Limited in a junk yard with dirty but nice seats and decided that I liked them so I should put them in my truck, so I'm still only in the mock up stage but so far I like the way they look

 

[Topzide]

Build yourself and nice harness to supply the power needed. I'd use a relay that's on an ignition hot to supply the load for the seat motors. Maybe even spring for the cloth tape to make it fit in with other harnesses.
I'm sure that you butt will like the feel of them also!

 

[RWherley]

Ok it's been a while with no where near enough progress, but what I have figured out is that basic power adjustments will work with only a power and ground connection. The heaters and ventilation fans how ever are controlled by the main body control module via light gauge canbus wires. But I have successfully figured out what wires go where and what they control and removed all the unnecessary things, things like the pressure sensors in the seats for the AIR bag system, the side curtain air bags, and the seat adjustment memory system. And I've been working on a new mounting system to allow the passenger seat to lift up a flip forward like the original factory one to make getting stuff in and out of the back easier

 

[RWherley]

More progress, I decided that I want my new seats to flip forward to make getting stuff out of the back easier, so I figured out some hinges and the main part of the latch, now I just have to make the release linkages for it.

 

[RWherley]

I'm not ready to go into details so I'm just going to tease this, but I'm toying with the idea of making this into a buyable bolt on kit

 

[RWherley]

Aside from the information that those are the rotors and calipers from the front axle of 3rd gens cause they are the easiest to get and largest brakes on the 8 x 6.5" lug spacing I could find

 

[RWherley]

Finally more forward progress with the first test fire of the engine, it's a bit smokey cause it still needs fine tuning and it's burning the assembly oil out of the cylinders but it's another step in the right direction

 

[Grumpy8811]

you have a truck for life.
looks like you have been working on it for a good portion of yours.

good job.

 

[RWherley]

Thanks, yeah I've had it since 2010, unfortunately it's been in the garage for 4 years now trying to get it done

 

[Grumpy8811]

Thanks, yeah I've had it since 2010, unfortunately it's been in the garage for 4 years now trying to get it done

nothing wrong with taking your time.
my brother has been working on his 55 Chevy for 20+ years now.

 

[RWherley]

In the process of fixing my floor the center of my dash got destroyed and while I didn't dislike the factory dash I always thought there was room for improvement and I'm unwilling to spend solid gold levels of money for a replacement I decided that building a new custom dash was the way to go. So I removed everything and am starting with a new after market HVAC box, that's about 1/3 the size but still has Heat, and AC vents for the dash and floor plus defrost.

 

[RWherley]

With the new box where I wanted it and looking at the different vents available from that company. I decided that I liked the original factory defrost vents more then the after market ones. So I cut the lower part of the duct where it attached to the box up and reshaped it to fit the new box. Purely by luck I put the new box in the just the right spot so that the defrost duct still mounts to the original holes in the fire wall.

 

[EDankievitch]

You are talking this “Restomod” to a new level. Looks great.

 

[RWherley]

I've finally gotten enough progress again to make another update. I was trying to get my new seats picked up how I wanted them, but the raised ridge in the floor just behind the factory seat mount holes kept causing issues. So the answer turned out to be, cut the floor out of the truck and remove all of the factory the floor braces under the seat. So that I could lower the entire floor 1¼" where the seats are. So I could get the seats as low as possible to give me as much head room as possible. With the floor and braces out of the truck i made new braces out of 1/8" x 2"x 1/2" C channel and welded it in to the cab to support the new seats. With the new braces in I started making new floors out of 1/8" plate steel, heavier then factory? Yes but also I already had it on hand and should last a lot longer. Once the floor is done I'll mount the seats and start on the new dash.

 

[Topzide]

Nice work! Remember to clean and get a good coat of something on that metal. I would also put some sound/heat insulation underneath also!

 

[RWherley]

Thank you, once the welding is done I'm going seal it and coat it inside and out.

 

[Topzide]

@RWherley, After thinking about this, a nice epoxy paint would seal it up nicely! Keep up the good work!

 

[RWherley]

Yeah I have a gallon of PPG epoxy primer I'm going to hit it with