Panel Craft
A body shop Located in Berkeley
California will be performing all of the repairs.
I was very happy with the way the truck looked, it was super clean .
And of course I wasn't planning on doing an Escalade front end clip.
See what kids can do to a truck that was parked in my drive way
Here is a link to other crewcabs
that have been built
This link is to the my main page
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/crewcab/
They work on nice cars here
THIS IS A REAL DROP TOP
The Escalade clip conversion goes on
Well here is the rebuild , the only real snafu has been the wiring harness,
No one mentioned that I had to replace the connectors. the old connectors will
NOT work with the new corner lights, hence new connectors or harness,
So I replaced the entire headlight harness assembly (with a 2000 Escalade),
that cost about $275 and it plugs right into the factory connector near the
bulk head.
And the Aux. fan connector must be used from the old harness,
see the red wire above. other than that its all GM factory Escalade up front
:)
the factory GMC hood insulator fits perfect
onto the Escalade hood
fitting of parts,
you always have to test fit the parts
prior to paint
Bullet holes ?
You have to weld up the factory fender flare holes
If you don't want to weld up holes you can purchase after-market fenders "
with-out "
fender flare holes .After Market fender cost a lot less than a factory
fender
Only draw back is the fit ,quality and gauge of steel,
you will have to spend time to perfect the fit, hence "after market"
Getting there,
did I tell you about the Cadillac Tail lights going in
Ill have pics of that soon.
what the hell? that's me
Factory BIG BLOCK radiator
is a perfect fit in the Escalade
radiator support, with NO modifications, I thought it
wouldn't accept the massive radiator, but thanks to Mike at
Super Stripes
Customs for his technical support..
You can also see the factory wiring for the lights
And you can see, even factory coolant was gulped by this beast :)
I replaced the factory coolant with Evans Coolant just recently
when I experienced a leaking lower intake manifold gasket .
the Evans coolant is an un-pressurized system
no more gaskets, hose failures, radiators etc...
that has been reported recently about the DexCool Orange coolant.
Evans Coolant should come from the factory !!!Check out the web site
Here is a link to a story, the stuff is the real deal, GM even stole it
It is not corrosive, even to exotic metals. No electrolysis occurs.
Evans will last indefinitely and never needs to be changed
regardless of time or mileage. waterless
Foam bumper support pad
And Chevy's racing in the shop
front end is 90 % complete awaiting minor body work on the welded holes
installation of a Trenz Billet grill
, Factory Fog lamps and tow hooks.
more money $$$
Cadillac Tail Light kit from Sir
Michaels
The tail gate relocator on the left
Tail lights Fillers and the bucket
and of course my larger 19 inch wheels,
classic series "Bullets" by
BRENTZ wheels
will roll on the dually when done.
Also on my to do list will be a
Watts Link set up for the rear .
4 link system
Instruction tell you to remove a little bit of the
tail light area of bed, you wind up removing a lot !!!
I even had to grind bolts down....see pictures
bucket being test fitted ,measure, re-measure, re-measure and weld.
Lights are kept in the buckets during test fittings.
paper on the fender is a 3M product used
as a welding splash shield
Here is the new high tech filler just applied in its
un-sanded state, 2 part epoxy resin with fiber that
is extracted from a special application gun at the
recommended mixture will not shrink or crack over the
welded tail gate handle plate. the results will be a
perfect final finish.
lots of welding and grinding
Wow what a cave !!!
Now I have to redo the brake wiring connectors
for the new Caddy tail lights.
I still need to install some reverse lights.
The new OEM caddy rear bumper
going in might have some room.
I had rear roll pans in the past, they look great
but for some reason the pan are like a magnet.
All those darn old ladies seem to like the way they feel
I will park out in the middle of no where and they still hit it !!!!
only people with pans understand this .
tail light should look like this when done
nice and flush with the body
I will have to post pictures of this truck
1997 extended cab ,Caddy Escalade clip
Chevy truck with Bell Tech Drop& 20 inch wheels.
What is this following my truck?
truck in detail area
Tail Light wiring is straight forward, I used 3 wire connectors off a GM
donor
The water proof connectors replace the dually plug for the original tail lights.
the fourth wire is a green wire for the reverse lights , that was relocated.
Once the Escalade bumper goes on,
I will have to find a location for some back-up lights
Rear Bumper
Here is the truck with the rear bumper and tail lights installed.
Tow hitch left in place, this baby will still have to earn her keep.
Front Bumper
Front bumper and grill going back on the dually crew cab.
the factory Cadillac Escalade grill was cut out in favor of the Trenz Billet
grill.
Also installed at this time are the Factory Fog Lamps that plug right into
the Escalade harness.
Now it is time for the detail crew at Panel Craft to finish the crewzzer.
.
