Check the old/new pic, that was one bald tire!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
what I have done lately
It has been over a month since my last post. The main reason for this is that I have spent significantly less time on this project recently, with much of my work being non-voluntary problem fixes. here is a short list of the things that have been done since the last post. I have obtained and installed updated seatbelts. I have finished the bucket seat conversion and installed carpet and shifter boots on the floor. I replaced the junk bed with a different used one with a decent tailgate. i installed new wheels and tires. I replaced the fuel pump. I have a new fender and nice trim to install when i really start on body work. I now have a good spare tire and have ideas on how to mount that tire to keep it secure. oh and a new dash pad too.
wow, now that I have written all of that down it doesn't seem like such a short list...
here are some details.
the bed- the bed i got was from a '78 f-250 and is in pretty good shape. it has some pitting and rust in the floor but it is pretty light and much better than my other one. the front panel is in perfect shape and the bed rails are in good shape. the tailgate is in working condition but needs some tweaking to get it to work smoothly. There is the normal light rust over the fender wells but nothing too bad. i spent a little bit of money on the bed but it is a vast improvement over the previous situation. the guy i bought it from helped me remove my old bed and install the new one which was really nice of him.
the interior- pretty self explanatory. i changed the seatbelts out for over the shoulder style, because i believe they are safer and they surely work a lot smoother than the old junk lap-belts that didn't even adjust tightly. I put in a fitted carpet with insulation that has really quieted down the road noise and with the new shifter boots the cab has become far less drafty. One thing I have noticed is that every time I fix the obvious culprit to any problem a secondary/smaller but still significant cause to the same problem shows its face. For example i noticed a cold draft while driving, I assumed maybe it was the holes in the floorboards at my feet, after patching them I find air pouring in through the junk shifter boots, after replacing them I notice a strong draft coming from the corner vents that don't seal correctly. the things that are left on the interior are to clean up wiring and sort out some minor issues. the dash pad needs installed and I plan to paint the instrument panel to hide scratches and dings and instal the new dashpad. At some point I will make a third, center seat that will could house some storage space, a small subwoofer, or at least some cupholders. I plan to eliminate the fuel tank behind the seats and go to dual tanks. oh yeah, i am going to replace the steering wheel and fix the horn eventually too.
the fuel pump- I had noticed a small drip coming from the fuel pump a week before it actually stopped working and expected to be replacing it soon, which just happened to be on the connecting ramp from 6th avenue to I-25 southbound on my way to work. the truck picked a bad place to quit on me. and the silliest time too, because i left extremely early for work this thursday night for no good reason and the same day i chose to take all my tools out of my truck. So when it quit on me the first thing I did was chew a piece of gum, to help me relax and think clearly, said a prayer, and then decided i had a plan that would probably get me to work at least. The previous owner had installed a secondary electric fuel pump on the frame rail to help pull fuel out of the aux tanks, i noticed it when cleanin up some wiring and seeing the shoddy way it was installed i just disconnected all of the wiring and left the pump in place and I am glad I did because i was able to quickly reconnect the wiring and begin pumping fuel again. I had to use the on/off switch to the pump to regulate the flow of fuel into the carb minimizing the excess that was coming out of the failed fuel pump. anyways, i made it to work, on time even. I spent the next morning when I got off at work with borrowed tools replacing my fuel pump. I didn't leave until after 1pm and was only able to get +/- 2hrs of sleep that day. ugh.
wow, now that I have written all of that down it doesn't seem like such a short list...
here are some details.
the bed- the bed i got was from a '78 f-250 and is in pretty good shape. it has some pitting and rust in the floor but it is pretty light and much better than my other one. the front panel is in perfect shape and the bed rails are in good shape. the tailgate is in working condition but needs some tweaking to get it to work smoothly. There is the normal light rust over the fender wells but nothing too bad. i spent a little bit of money on the bed but it is a vast improvement over the previous situation. the guy i bought it from helped me remove my old bed and install the new one which was really nice of him.
the interior- pretty self explanatory. i changed the seatbelts out for over the shoulder style, because i believe they are safer and they surely work a lot smoother than the old junk lap-belts that didn't even adjust tightly. I put in a fitted carpet with insulation that has really quieted down the road noise and with the new shifter boots the cab has become far less drafty. One thing I have noticed is that every time I fix the obvious culprit to any problem a secondary/smaller but still significant cause to the same problem shows its face. For example i noticed a cold draft while driving, I assumed maybe it was the holes in the floorboards at my feet, after patching them I find air pouring in through the junk shifter boots, after replacing them I notice a strong draft coming from the corner vents that don't seal correctly. the things that are left on the interior are to clean up wiring and sort out some minor issues. the dash pad needs installed and I plan to paint the instrument panel to hide scratches and dings and instal the new dashpad. At some point I will make a third, center seat that will could house some storage space, a small subwoofer, or at least some cupholders. I plan to eliminate the fuel tank behind the seats and go to dual tanks. oh yeah, i am going to replace the steering wheel and fix the horn eventually too.
the fuel pump- I had noticed a small drip coming from the fuel pump a week before it actually stopped working and expected to be replacing it soon, which just happened to be on the connecting ramp from 6th avenue to I-25 southbound on my way to work. the truck picked a bad place to quit on me. and the silliest time too, because i left extremely early for work this thursday night for no good reason and the same day i chose to take all my tools out of my truck. So when it quit on me the first thing I did was chew a piece of gum, to help me relax and think clearly, said a prayer, and then decided i had a plan that would probably get me to work at least. The previous owner had installed a secondary electric fuel pump on the frame rail to help pull fuel out of the aux tanks, i noticed it when cleanin up some wiring and seeing the shoddy way it was installed i just disconnected all of the wiring and left the pump in place and I am glad I did because i was able to quickly reconnect the wiring and begin pumping fuel again. I had to use the on/off switch to the pump to regulate the flow of fuel into the carb minimizing the excess that was coming out of the failed fuel pump. anyways, i made it to work, on time even. I spent the next morning when I got off at work with borrowed tools replacing my fuel pump. I didn't leave until after 1pm and was only able to get +/- 2hrs of sleep that day. ugh.
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