BUILDING BLOCKS
Tips for Taking the Madness out of Your Truck Build
Tips for Taking the Madness out of Your Truck Build
ONE OF THE MOST DAUNTING THINGS ABOUT BUILDING A TRUCK IS THE SHEER NUMBER OF PARTS THAT CAN ACCUMULATE DURING THE PROJECT. Tearing things apart can seem easy enough, but then all of a sudden you don’t have a truck so much as you do a garage full of confusion, and possibly regret. Don’t fear! We’ve brought help in the form of Eric Miller. Eric is the main dude behind Squarebody Specialists, but he’s had his hand in all types of classic trucks, and newer trucks for that matter. Squarebody Specialists has been building trucks for many years and has it down to a science, so we knew Eric would be the perfect person to talk to about what we, the average garage builder, can do to make our lives easier. After spending some quality time with Eric, we learned some useful nuggets of information, and we hope you will too.
Hey, Eric, thanks for chatting with us about custom trucks. With the growing number of restoration and aftermarket parts available for all generations of trucks these days, a lot of us are tackling builds in our garages. Is there anything fundamental that the average truck owner should consider when starting a project?
When modern vehicles are assembled on the line, they are often done in subassemblies. For example, an entire dashboard is placed into a car as a completed unit, rather than trying to fit every nut and bolt while it’s inside the space. Classic trucks are relatively simple, but can still be thought of in “systems” and not just [a bunch of] nuts and bolts. Core support, control arms/ spindles/brakes, HVAC box, rear axle, engine, etc., they’re all sub-assemblies of many smaller parts.
So, work on everything in groups? Is that right?
If eating an elephant is easier one bite at a time, building a truck is easier one system or sub-assembly at a time. During disassembly, it’s tempting to break down every nut and bolt. The trouble is, it might be a month or a year (or more) until you attempt to put all those nuts and bolts back together. And it always takes longer than you think. So taking things off the truck in the largest possible chunk is beneficial. Many of the smaller bits and pieces will stay in their relative position.
When it’s time to work on a project, take one chunk at a time. You’re less likely to forget how things go back together or lose small pieces. Plus, it feels like a win when you get to check things off as completed.
We see a lot of projects that are completely blown apart and stored in boxes, and they seem to be fine for the most part. Would you consider your method truly the best way, or is just the way you happen to work at your shop?
Well, when you blow everything apart all at once it’s harder to feel those small victories, those milestones that keep you motivated to carry on. Lots of projects stall when it’s overwhelming, and you don’t see light at the end of the tunnel.
Touché! Okay, so how should someone organize their project?
Take a ton of photos. There’s no reason not to. Cameras are really cheap today, and chances are you have a pretty good one in your phone. Snap away. Take multiple angles, and photos you’d never think you’d need. You will need them. Upload them to a computer that has a larger screen, and organize them in folders that help you reference them when you need to. Don’t just leave them in random order, that won’t help. Reference my earlier statement: It always takes longer than you think. Use good lighting. Make sure they’re in focus. Get close-ups of everything. Take way more photos than you can imagine you’d use. All it takes is one or two times on a large project for the diligence to all be worth it. If nothing else, photos documenting the process are fun to look at and share when it’s all done.
How do you recommend someone set up their work area, or does that really matter?
Keep your parts clean and organized. Simple common sense, but we know that isn’t always so common—great in