Hi all, I have been working on my BKO for awhile now and time to start my build thread.
I have gotten a lot from this site, and figured I would share what I have done so maybe help
someone else of give someone else ideas.
My story started in 2014. I wanted a Jeep, but wasn't willing to buy another vehicle being that I
had a 77 F150 on the side of my house that I attempted to restore about 25 years ago and stopped after a
year (I got burned out).
This F150 was my first truck, and my dad had given it to me. He has since passed, so I decided on a 78 - 79
BKO thinking I could use the truck (being it was sentimental to me) so to the searching.
I started looking on Craigslist, Ebay and some others until I found something I could work with. My main objective
was to be rust free, and mostly straight.
and I found it.
it was a 78 and the previous owner had passed, and his son was selling it.. it seemed like destiny.
Being that I didn't want to get burnt out (like I did 20 plus years ago) I decided to do this backwards, and started with the interior
for instant gratification.
I started this in June 2014
So I started stripping out the interior and sanding a grinding:
It turned out to have rust, although not bad just mostly surface rust under the rubber floor.
Only one spot in the floor the metal had to be replace, and I'm sure it was from the heater core, on the passenger side floor board.
The rest of the floor that had rust, I just sanded what I could, then coated it with some rust converter, then used a modified epoxy primer over it.
The rust converter turns it into a permanent black coating that is paint-able.
Primed:
Also what I had found out was that when I got the BKO it had a bench seat, but under neath had all the holes for bucket seats, and center console and the holes were siliconed in. I like buckets better
and was original to that so that is what I will go with--later
When it comes to color, I just wanted something easy to paint, or repair down the road so I picked a light gray, and dark gray (for both interior and exterior). I also decided to just use
acrylic enamal for the interior (much cheaper than basecoat clearcoat)
and the interior painting begins.
First I had to patch some holes in the dash:
I put metal behind them then welded them in, then ground them down and put filler ... it really turned out nice.
Next up is carpet. So I got the Harber Freight steamer out and went to work. The Steamer helped out
alot
Got the shift boots on, and kept working it in.
Almost done with the Carpet, and started working on the dash
You really can't tell, but I have 6 or 7 hours in repainting the instrument cluster surround. also eventually the tach was driving me crazy
so it eventually went.
I got the dash pad from LMC. I ordered black and painted it. turns out they were not supposed to be painted or "non-paint-able" and you could
just push it with your finger and it would crack right off (I used plastic and vinyl spray).
I used acrylic lacquer thinner to take it off (the vinyl spray is lacquer based). I also wiped it on the black to
get ALL the mold release off of the dash pad and then repainted it .... this time it took
Next I started working on the rear quarter side panels, and head liner.
I didn't want to use wood so I found a company that sold PVC in 4X8
sheets and bought a few of those.
I have seen center consuls made from them so I figured it has to be
better than wood just more expensive.
I used the old rear quarter panels as a template and started working on them first:
On to the headliners, I used heat to bend the PVC. It was real easy to work. and I just treated it like wood to cut and shape.
It really worked out well.
I also bullnosed all the PVC edges that you could see, I knew it would give it a nice finished look when I had them upholstered.
I found some original seats, and brackets at Driven with a center console. I knew I
wasn't going to use the center console I just figured I would use it to build a new
on, or as a template.
I know they look ruff, but I plan on having them re-upholstered to match everything else.
I don't really plan on using the rear seat all that much there is just me and the wife, so
to make room for a 12" sub in the center console I had to go back with it, knowing I wouldn't
be able to tilt the seat forward to make room in the back.
Here is just starting mock up:
I used 1/4" PVC and 1/2" PVC to make the shapes. I also took note of the arm rests on the doors to
gauge how tall I wanted the center console.
I didn't just want a square type of look so I put some curves in there to match the rest of the BKO
I built the speaker box out of particle board twice (I used a different type the first time and pretty much fell apart)
lesson learned.
starting to come together with the looks and strength I was looking for.
I was able to use a heat gun and bend the PVC over a pipe to get it right where I wanted it. I also got
some cup holders in there (can't do it without those).
I found a hinge, and handle from a local junk yard that would work, and something to latch to at the Depot.
I also through in on each side a cigarette lighter socket (can never have enough power outlets)
There was no room (without a lot of work) to put a double din in and I wanted built
in GPS.
I found a Clarion single bin that had everything that I wanted, but the screen
wouldn't open without some modification to the dash. When the screen would
open it wouldn't open all the way because it would hit the air condition control
knobs.
So to fix this I modified the metal bracket by extending where the radio set about
an 1-1/2" out from where it normally did, also I cut down the knobs on the air control
knobs with a dremel
I also made good use of some of the PVC I had left over from the head liners, and center console to
use to cover the metal pop-out for the radio, and glued them on the cluster cover:
I painted it all up, and put it together:
I installed the amps. The one for the Sub went under the passenger seat:
I mounted the other amp (for the other 4 speakers) under the driver seat, but can't seem to find the photos on it right now.
I got everything back from upholstery I think it turned out great:
The rear of the Center console
Cutting out the holes, and mounting the speakers in the rear quarter panels.
this made me very nervous being that I just got them back from being upholstered:
first I cut the whole with a razor blade, then used a drill bit to drill the PVC
Really appreciate the interior work. I have not put my interior back in since I mounted up my corbeau front and tahoe rear seats. Love the amp under the flip base and the interior panels are rock solid.
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