Background Refer to tailgate preliminaries and mechanisms for initial fitment of the aluminum frame. The fiberglass tailgate outer skin is the last body shell component attached to the aluminum infrastructure. It must match the contour of the quarter panel ends and the left/right gaps must be straight and even on both...
Continue reading...Kriss Motors
Body seams
Background With all the fiberglass shells now in place (except for the tailgate outer skin), a number of major seams and edges need to be filled and smoothed to fit the body contours. roof top skin at rear window surround [fiberglass to steel sheet metal] roof seam channel ends and drip...
Continue reading...Sunroof shade
Background See also the related headliner and rear trim post. The sunroof shade may conflict with the mounted third brake light, depending on its style and location, so a modification may be necessary. To remove the shade, first remove the glass sunroof. Move the sunroof glass to the rear tilt-up position;...
Continue reading...Wood planks
Background Refer to the wood bed discusssion. We elected “Pattern F” with five 1×8 white oak planks and four 60″ metal holding strips from Mar-K. The side edges are covered by 1.5″ aluminum L-angle bar fastened with bolts/rivnuts to the bed wall but not to the wood planks; this allows for...
Continue reading...Tie downs
Background Hauling cargo typically requires securing it with some kind of tie-down — cords, straps, nets, tarps, or chains — attached to anchor points in the truck floor or wall. The Ute aluminum bed walls should not be used for anchors because they lack the strength of the vehicle frame and...
Continue reading...Rear cabin wall
Background Refer to the B-pillar covers and headliner/trim discussions. Although the rear cabin wall is hardly visible at all — the front seat backs block most of it — our treatment must handle the rear speaker grille mounts, the floor rug interface, the bottom B-pillar covers in the corners, and the...
Continue reading...Headliner and rear trim
Background After the headliner is removed, it must be modified to fit the new cabin dimensions. Also refer to the related sunroof shade restoration. The primary concern is shortening the back to fit against the rear window surround and moving the interior lights.
Continue reading...Top B-pillar cover
Background Refer to the bottom B-pillar cover and headliner discussions. The top B-pillar cover abuts the rear window fiberglass surround and, like the lower portion of the cover, the top must handle the corner transition from hard cover to padded soft fabric. The scrap D-pillar fortunately has a profile curve that...
Continue reading...Bottom B-pillar cover
Background Refer to the removal of the rear interior trim and top B-pillar cover discussions. Part of the rear side panel will be salvaged to fill in the lower interior space between the front door trailing edge and the inside of the front truck bed wall (that is, the back of...
Continue reading...Center floor console
Background The plastic center floor console was obviously designed with a back seat in mind, providing either an ashtray or accessory power as well as glide out cup holders for rear passengers. In addition, most of the plastic surfaces now suffer from tacky soft-touch coatings that must be removed and deep...
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