J10 / M715 project - Bellingham, Wa

Got my new front turn signal lights in the mail today. Got them new on Ebay for $10 for the pair. Also been measuring up an adapter ring to bolt them into the grill. I plan to have them laser cut by a shop in town, but here is a mock up I did using a piece of cardboard. I had to order 10 sets of rings to meet their minimum order so if anyone wants a set of steel rings to do something similar on their truck, I'm selling them for $20 per pair or $25 including shipping using a Post Office flat rate envelope.

Here's the hole I need to fill:
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...lightring1.jpg

Here's the mocked up cardboard ring with a rubber grommeted style trucker light fixture
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...lightring2.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...lightring3.jpg

Here's the assembly mocked up in the grill: I think they will turn out pretty good
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...lightring4.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...lightring5.jpg

Did a litttle front grill work today, painted a few parts and started mounting the new brush guard. The front fenders are off so I can do some trimming before I put them back on. The air conditioning cooler mounted in front of the radiator will be removed since the AC doesn't work anyway, so it isn't sticking out there looking so ugly. Not sure what I will do about the exposed radiator opening, probably just paint the radiator black and leave it like an original M715. Started raining outside so I had to cut my work short. The paint was a little darker then I thought it would be, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It is actually darker then it shows in this picture. Ordered a number decal set patterned after the USMC markings in yellow which will be put on the bumper, hood, etc.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...linstalled.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...installed2.jpg

Sending the final design for the light adapter rings to the laser cutter on Monday. The final design only has 3 mounting holes instead of the 5 seen in this cardboard mockup.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...installed3.jpg

I just picked up 10 sets of front signal light adapter rings from the laser cutter. I decided to only use 3 mounting holes instead of the original 5 as I thought that might look cleaner. If you wanted to use all 5 you could drill a couple more holes yourself. I personally will only be able to use 1 set, so the remaining are now available to purchase. To cover my costs, I am selling them for $20 per pair plus $5 usps shipping or $25 total. What would work best for me is to have you pay me using Paypal and put your mailing address in the Paypal notes section. My Paypal email address is rollie715@yahoo.com.
Here's some pictures of the ring on the bench.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...nallights1.jpg

Assuming the rings have already been bolted into the grill, the lights are installed by first pushing the rubber grommet into the hole.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...nallights2.jpg

Then the sealed bulb unit is squeezed into the rubber, which expands it and locks the entire assembly into the hole.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...nallights3.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...nallights4.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...nallights5.jpg

I will get more pictures when I paint my set and bolt them into the grill.

The light assemblies I got are lowest price ones I could find.
Here's the link to the Ebay sale where I bought them:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
They say Premier on them which may be a brand name, but no recognizable part number.

They fit perfect after all. I just didn't know how to fit them in. They needed to be pressed in further past the final rubber flange, then they fit great and seal tight just like they are suppose to. So at this point I recommend them to who ever is looking to buy some.

Here's some pictures showing them mounted correctly:
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...gnallight5.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...gnallight4.jpg

I painted a set of rings and mounted them in my grill. Using 10-32 screws and nuts, they bolted in great.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...gnallight1.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...gnallight2.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...gnallight3.jpg

That is a nice, clean installation!

I like that green I my go that color myself

Alaska, yes, the more I look at it, the more I like this color also.

It's amazing how much fun this project is and how I get to work on any part I want. I know you guys are waiting to see the body finished and some paint, but I spent some more time on the front bumper today. Since this is really a J10 chassis, it does not have the M715 front frame horns and place to put the traditional through the bumper shackles, but I still wanted to add something military looking. So I welded a couple clevis mounts on the front and plan to add some more ties in the back to the frame so they have good recovery strength. I might paint the clevises green. We will see. Here they are: As you can see. it is still raining outside.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...perclevis1.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...perclevis2.jpg

Worked on the front bumper a little more. Drilled some holes in the center section to mount the license plate and tried my hand at applying some number decals. To match the USMC Green I got the appropriate yellow markings and made up my own numbers to match my hybrid J10/M715 project. Purchased them online along with a whole kit for the rest of the vehicle. They reccomended I apply them in warmer temperature so I did it in the house on the living room table. Colors look different in the house then outside. The actual OD colors are somewhat between what you see on the outside and inside pictures.

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...rMarkings1.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...rMarkings2.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...rMarkings3.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...rMarkings4.jpg

Looks like you did a fine job on the decals. Glad you like them.

Dave

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beast

Looks like you did a fine job on the decals. Glad you like them. Dave

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Thanks Dave. They are perfect. I especially like this size as it looks on the bumper better then the bigger ones seen on some trucks. These letters measure 3.5" tall compared to what looks like 4" tall seen on some others. Even though my bumper is made out of a piece of channel iron, it is the same height, width, and length as a factory M715. I would recommend your decals to anyone looking for markings for their military trucks.

Here's a couple shots of the finished product on my truck. The fenders are still off, but not really noticeble that much in these shots. I had fun trying to space them just perfect so the bumper bolts didn't interfere with the letter positioning.
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...ontBumper2.jpg
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/p...ontBumper1.jpg