March 1, 2004
Got a few things accomplished this past weekend. I got the firewall pad, sound deadner, and heatshield installed. Most of the necessary holes are cut in. I have the carpet "laying" in the cab right now, getting the wrinkles out. I didn't want to cut it up yet until all the other components are installed.
I was able to rebuild the Deluxe Heater control unit by using the existing housing and new levers, knobs, chrome bezel, plastic lens, and backing plate. Looks good...
As a side note - I received the headliner from Chevy Duty and it was plastic - and it looks really plastic. I sent it back and have ordered a vinyl one from American Classic. They have several colors to choose from also... we will see....
March 8, 2004
Over the past week and weekend, I worked primarily on recovering the bench seat and the heater motor housing assembly.
>The seat - I used a "padding repair kit" from LMC Truck (comes with hog rings and the pliers), a "bench seat padding kit" from Brother's (comes with "c" clips) and the material from a twin sized box springs that I tore up (much to Sarah's dismay) a few months back. Oh, can't forget the seat cover I ordered from Brother's - it is really nice and exactly what I wanted (and came with more "c" clips).
According to the Factory Assembly Guide, you put down a layer of burlap over the springs, a layer of felt, and then 2 layers of cotton batting. That seemed a little skimpy to me, so I did the following for both the bottom and back - burlap, 2 layers of cotton bat, then material from box springs (that black material that is on the bottom of box springs) and secured it to the springs. Applied more cotton, this time making sure to overlap the springs to cover the sides. Used more material from the box springs (the fabric that goes around the sides) to secure the cotton batting around the sides. A layer of felt on top to give a nice flat, uniform appearance and then secured the cover.
If you look at the two pieces (the rear and bottom that make up the bench seat) separately, they look awesome and really comfy. Once you attach the two pieces, it is obvious that they are over stuffed, but it still looks great. It will take a little muscle to position the back over the rear portion of the bench seat, but once done, it will look like it is supposed to. I won't do this until I am ready to bolt it down. I've placed the seat inside the cab for now - so Taylor could play in it and I could have some much needed room in the garage. Once I get the column installed, dash components, heater, and wipers installed, I'll bolt it in place. This was a fun step - it was exactly a year ago when I pulled the bench seat out and started working on Rusty! All she is missing is the cardboard that goes behind the rear - of course it is on back order.
>The heater parts - It is obvious that this is going to be a pain. I have disassembled the housings for the cowl vent and heater motor. They have been scrubbed free of rust and repainted. I had to make a minor modification to fit in the new heater motor. However, the new "squirrel cage" fan does not fit into the housing. The original is way to rusted to reuse so I will look around some more to see if I can find a different sized fan.. Also, after a quick peek at the heater core, I don't see how to replace the heater valve. I read on one of the message boards a recommendation to take it to a radiator shop and see if they can make a new one. I'll keep you posted on this new wrinkle.
One last note - one of the items I ordered was a new chrome oil pan from LMC Truck. I wanted to replace it when I install the new gaskets from the "Engine Gasket Kit" that I ordered from American Classic. I did a trial fitting of the gasket and it was too big. An eyeball measurement of the two oil pans indeed does show they are different sizes. I did a quick check of the LMC catalog and the one I bought was for the 283 engine. Crap! They don't sell one for the 235, so I will be looking around for another one of those.
March 10, 2004
Update to the parts problem(s) - I can't find a chrome oil pan anywhere, so I will reuse the one I have. Called Brother's to check on the wiring harness and they said it would be a couple more weeks...again. Have not received one of my American Classic Truck orders and I'm tired of calling them to check on stuff. Ordered the remaining stuff to attach the steering wheel to the column and that arrived today from Chevy Duty (the steering wheel is very nice). I ordered the horn cap from Bowtie Bits and got that in last week.
March 19, 2004
I received the main wiring harness and the gauge cluster! There are a few parts still trickling in, but I now have all the major ones I was waiting on. Over the past week or so, I have been cleaning and painting some miscellaneous parts, so I should be in good shape to finish the wiring and interior.
March 22, 2004
Well, the weekend didn't go as planned... I drove to Austin on Saturday morning to help my brother move into his new house, so I didn't get started until late morning on Sunday.
I decided to start deciphering the wiring harness over my morning coffee. There is a blue-print that comes with the harness and a color-code sheet. Once I figured out how to read the two sheets, I thought it would be best to start labeling the harness. So, between the harness instructions and the Factory Assembly Guide I was able to get a pretty good start. Late in the afternoon, I realized that I had wasted most of the daylight spending time in the house - I should be labeling the harness in the evenings.
Out in the garage I decided to work a little more on the flooring. One of the things that bothered me with the carpet kit was that there were no pre-cut holes for the pedals, starter button, and dimmer switch. I came up with the idea of inserting grommets in the holes that I had cut for the pedals and such. The Heater Hose Grommets that are used in the firewall are the perfect size for the clutch, brake, and accelerator. There was one grommet that came with the carpet, so I used it for the dimmer switch. I cut the hole for the foot starter button, and installed the little boot, but I'm still looking for the right way to "fix" the hole in the carpet.
Another thing that I wanted to get out of the way was the retractable lap belts. Normally I wouldn't put these in unless there was an easy/clean way to mount a shoulder harness, but Taylor still requires a car seat, plus we have the other little ankle-biter on the way. I marked the locations were I would want the seat belts to be mounted and then checked the underside to make sure there was clearance. There was plenty of space under the cab, even when giving the "floor support discs" about 3 inches of separation on the buckle side. Next, I made some slits in the carpet so I could slide the buckle ends and "L" bracket through it while mounting directly to the cab floor. Also, you won't be able to see any of the hardware. I drilled the holes in the cab floor and then had Sarah hold the bolt heads while I tightened from underneath. This was one of the easiest task I have performed on Rusty.
To wrap things up for the night, I ran the "Main Dash Harness" through the firewall and connected it to the Head Light switch and then secured the switch and knob/rod to the dash. Easy, as long as you have the Factory Assembly Guide for a reference. The harness from Brother's is the original color code, so it matches up well if you are staying stock.
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