My time and elbow grease are worth much more to me than a half mile trip to the paint supply and $16.

But I am not retired (and likely never will be able to)

 

Oops, wrong thread. Reposted to Dad's Truck Build.

As for Rusty, I'm trying to keep the costs down on him so's I can spend it on Dad's. After all, he will get sold at some point, so why invest a lot just to give it away?

 

Not on hand, but I do know where I can get at least the braces and the pivot bolt + bushings. Send me a PM if you're interested.

 

Cleaned the carpet today using spray cleaner and lots of elbow grease. No before/after pictures, but here are a few shots of the old carpet and the "new". Note that the heal pad on the old one is blue. Seems odd, but it really is - it isn't a lighting issue as it was in the sun and it is blue "in person".

 

Had a slow day as I had errands to run and a doctor's appointment. But, I did get the carpet cut out for the transfer case shift lever, the carpet attached at the door sills, and the shift lever in. However, I ran into two problems. First, the taller transmission cover is what causes the problem I had on Dad's truck where the shift lever hits the cover before the t-case gets into 2-Hi. But, I forgot that and tried to install the stock linkage today - no go. So, I looked up the piece I modified for Dad's truck:



And, I then remembered something else - there are two different kinds of linkages to the t-case:

• Those that have a nylon bushing that fits into the linkage and then pops onto the stud
• Those with no bushing and use an e-clip to retain the linkage

The linkage in the picture has the smaller hole and uses an e-clip, so I have to use the shift lever that came on Dad's truck as it is the one that has the stud that fits that linkage. But, that shift lever is the one with a screw-on **** where the other lever has a press-on **** that has come off. I prefer the screw-on ****, but I also want to go with the linkage with the plastic bushings as that should minimize vibration on the lever. So, I'll have to figure out how to swap ***** - maybe I'll make a threaded bushing and epoxy that into the press-on ****. But, for the interim I'll run Dad's lever in Rusty.

The other problem was in getting the shift lever boot on. The one I have has a trim ring, and I want it to be on top of the carpet but with the boot glued to the tranny cover. I thought I could do that with the carpet in, but the boot is so flimsy that I haven't been successful installing it after the carpet is in. So, I guess I'll pull the carpet loose on the passenger's side, install the boot with RTV, and let that set up before flipping the carpet back.

 

Got the boot glued to the tranny cover, the carpet back over the shift lever, and the trim piece screwed down through the carpet & boot into the cover. As you can see, the trim piece is as stiff as a thin piece of paper, so when I put Dad's truck together I'll make one and powder coat it. And, you can see that the stock carpet doesn't lay down properly due to the tall tranny cover. But, it'll do for now.

 

Looks professional!

 

Thanks. But the carpet is somewhat stretched due to the tall cover over the tranny. Hopefully it'll stretch a bit and lay down better. But, it is FAR better than the moth-eaten brown carpet I took out. However, since the cover will be swapped for the short one it'll lay down then at least.

 

My carpet came from a 1991 4x2 without a transmission cover. I installed my transmission cover over a year ago, and the carpet still has not formed to match the raised contours of the transmission cover. I even left sand bags on top of it for weeks on end, but still nothing.

 

This carpet was in a truck with no tranny cover. So, when you put a TALL cover under there it does cause the carpet to fit tightly. Maybe by running the tall cover and stretching it some it'll work with the short cover when I get it on.

 

Mine with short cover doesn't really seem to stick up all that much. But it's possible that my carpet has stretched out a little more compared to yours. The truck I pulled it from wasn't exactly a show queen.

 

Didn't do much on Rusty today as I'm cleaning the shop (2 doors, 1 seat, 2 exhaust manifolds, 2 intake manifolds, and lots of other things to the attic) 'cause I hear company is coming. But, I did get the seat in. Have you ever seen a more eclectic interior? All the best cast-offs I have!

 

What is next on the list of things to do ? Is it time for the core support and all the stuff up front to be installed? Do you have a condenser for Rusty??

 

I call dibs on a dealer installed condenser and a/c parts!!

 

Bruno - With a certain carb done I'll start installing accessories on Rusty, like the A/C compressor, alternator, P/S pump, etc. Then the radiator core support, condenser, radiator, etc. And, I have all that stuff.

Jon - I think I have a factory installed system extra but maybe not a compressor. It'll take some thinking about it as both Rusty and Dad's stuff is in the attic along with the extras, but I did pull a factory system from both Brownie and Blue Boy - the 85 I parted out. But, no dealer installed stuff. Sorry.