My first rat build........

Yeah the clamps are pretty much the same thing you get from Eastwood (4 for 20) or ebay (8 for 25) the only real difference is I only have about 10 cents a piece in them! Id rather spend the money on parts then tools.

I made a bunch of those panel clamps myself... look very similar to yours.. then i was down at harbor freight.. u know the cheep tools.. and they had a pack of 10 for like 3.99-5.00 (dont remember the exact cost).. so i bought a pack of them too... they are smaller.. but work just the same

4 for 20.. im with u on that one make em.. but less then a buck each.. buy em...

chop is looking great man.. im starting to plan my chop.. little nervous.. we will see

I'm definitely going to look for those at HF! I'm all about saving money but time is worth money too and it does take some time to make em. Thanks for the tip and thanks for the compliment. Don't be nervous to chop it just do allot of research and measure everything really well. It's allot easier then I figured it would be but is time consuming. Do you have a build thread?

HaHa nevermind I see it!

Tell ya one thing that happened that I didn't expect. I had to do allot of bodywork to the roof cause it was caved in so bad that it was holding water. So i got it all beat out an fairly straight, chopped the top tacked the front on cut the roof in half and the freakin center collapsed!! Kinda peed me off a little bit. Oh well it's coming together good now..

Got my tires today. [cl

We are looking over your shoulder I-Rat [P I am sure the approval rating is
100%

That's a great job your doing on you chop. I'm betting the entire build is going to be a fun one to watch. We don't have a Harbor Freight up here in Canada and I can't justify spending $20 for 4 so I think I'm gonna follow your lead and make me a bunch of them panel clamps. What size tubing, and bar stock did you use?

I used 1x1x1/8 square tubing and the first batch I used 5/16 bar and the second batch I used 1/4 both work great for the center piece I got some banding strap for work it's .030 thick and 3/4 inches wide and free!! And for the screws and wing nuts I used 10-24 from a local farm supply store and bought em by the hundred (cheaper that way) Hope that helps

Ok gotta question for you guys. I have a basic set of gauges (speedo, oil, water, volts and fuel) to replace the factory ones. I was going to put them into the stock cluster and try to keep it sort of stock looking. The stock gauges are square and the aftermarket ones are round. Or put them into this aluminum bezel that I came across. What do you guys think?

WOW... So nobody has an opinion or any input on the gauges? I must have the most boring thread on this website!

im torn. I love the square look, its amazing, but if you can make the other work, it would look good. it would just look like every other aftermarket one though. I just talked myself into prefering the square.

That is comming along nicely...

I'm dealing with the same issue myself. After a few hours of staring and cutting out cardboard layouts, I still don't know what to do. So, I sure can't help you, as much as I'd like to.

I am leaning toward putting the stock gauges in even if they don't work and adding a panel under the dash with Stewart Warner 2 1/16" gauges. That way the look of the original dash is preserved but the expense of restoring the original gauges is avoided.

How 'bout removing the stock cluster and making a rectangular aluminum plate to fit in it's place? Then, you could mount your aftermarket basics whichever way you desire-kinda like the "clean slate" approach...

Truck's lookin' good so far, BTW. Keep up the good work![

Regards,
Shea

I like the bezel you found, round gauges are almost always cooler than other shapes. The only thing cooler than round is sperical!!

If you want the stock look remove the old panel make a new one. Place the large one on the left at the top and the smaller 4 to the right in a square and put the ignition switch under the larger one.

I'd go with the stock look on your guages; fits the theme of the build better. It's looking good; keep em comin.

I love the stock look you have. Maybe just get the speedo to work and mount the other gauges below the dash. I'm having the same issue in a way. The stock gauge panel in the dash is small so I'm only able to mount a speedo and tach. I don't want to cut up the dash so I'll build a removable panel that I can attach below it.

Sid

I've been getting a little done here and there, I just about have the chop done (FINALLY) Here's a few pics