Bang for the buck Functional Renewal of rust belt '99 C2500

[HotWheelsBurban]

8 lug 400s forever!

 

[Road Trip]

Lots of work and certainly a very detailed write-up. Very kind of you to take the time. I’m from the same area in Update NY and went through a 91 GMC C2500 that spent its entire life here. Went through it all - Frame, Cab bed, etc. You definitely did a much better job than I did resurrecting these rusty souls.

Greetings JDGMC,

Your truck has *great* curb appeal -- I see plenty of Pride of Ownership showing in your ride!
Especially when compared to similar age trucks up here in upstate NY! :0)

And I like those wheel covers. Tasteful.

Thanks for stopping in, and your kind words are appreciated. If it sounds like
I'm really happy to have finally scratched the GMT400 itch, I am! (I've always
liked them since they were new...just never thought that I would ever luck into
a used one for the right price that is optioned really close to the way I would
have ordered it new.)

Glad to make your acquaintance!

 

[Road Trip]

Replaced missing brake pedal cover -- brake system resto now complete from end to end

Back in reply #57 I documented cleaning up the vinyl flooring while the seat was out. When
I was done, it looked a lot better...but at the same time now the missing brake pedal cover
stuck out:

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Here's the interior after replacing the missing cover:

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(See attached for where I bought this for ~$11.)

Starting to consider refilling the hole in the dash with a renewed factory radio
from the guy that specializes in those. More for filling the hole in the dash or
maybe playing while the engine is off? I mean, when you have a burbling big
block to enjoy, why clutter up the sonic soundscape with the breathlessly
reported crisis du jour?

And also up my interior game with a better steering wheel cover than what the
PO picked out.

Talk about project creep. I was afraid that this was going to happen...

 

[Road Trip]

Instrument Cluster Renewal -- Part 1, Clarifying the Bezel

At first glance, cleaning up the interior bits on a chore truck seems like
a hard to justify pure luxury. But for yours truly, if I have a clear
windshield & a gauge cluster that reads easily at a glance, day or night,
the driving experience allows me to focus on my situational awareness,
instead of focusing on my inability to see what's up -- you get to practice
the whole 'try easier' approach to driving.

Without further justification, here's the instrument cluster bezel. The
PO must have wiped off the dust on the plastic bezel using a dry cloth,
and given how soft the clear plastic is, that's a recipe for thousands of
tiny scratches that make for a hazy, indistinct view -- especially if direct
sun comes in through the driver's side window.

220K mile bezel as found on top - very hazy. On bottom is after using polish shown w/fine finishing foam pad on outside. (Hand polished inside of bezel.)

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According to the camera's autofocus, it wanted to focus on the scratched bezel on top, but after wanted to focus on the gauge faces on the bottom photo. Me too!

Note: In order to show the improvement in clarity I'm having to capture light source
reflections in the bezel, which by the way is curved on purpose to avoid just this type
of reflection to the driver. This photo of the instrument cluster back in the home
position gives the reader a better idea of the real-world improvement:

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In person, this is clear enough that the bezel itself all but disappears from view.

FWIW, I've attached a photo showing the before & after at an oblique angle while
looking at a bright light source. Note that I was working under 90/10 rules, so
the after photo shows that it still isn't perfect under this worst-case visual test...but
it's plenty OK when viewed in the installed position. (90/10 rules = 90%
improvement in 10% of the time required for perfection. :0)

In Part 2 I'll share what replacing the burned out and/or silvered bulbs will
do for the driver when behind the wheel of the beast at O'dark thirty.

 

[Road Trip]

Instrument Cluster Renewal -- Part 2, Night illumination refresh

Back in post #12 to this thread I put up a photo of the cluster where I
was trying to show that the temp gauge always read low. But if you
were to go follow the back link above now you'll also see that the gauge illumination
had bright & dark spots. Not unexpected when you make a habit of driving
old...but since the rest of the truck was playing so nice I decided to not
only clarify the instrument cluster bezel, but while I had it out I'd renew the
mini bulbs as well.

OK, let's take a close look at what I found vs what I used to replace them:

Even the non-burned out bulbs were dim due to inside silvering from years of use:

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Here's what the fresh-bulbed display now looks like at night:

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****

OK, sometimes it's more interesting to show the results first, and the How to Renew It after.
Here's the back of the instrument cluster so you can get a feel for the mini bulb geography:

"97 C/K Truck Tach" (Lower RH corner)

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NOTE: As found in '99 C2500, note partially populated small bulb layout. (ie: No Upshift bulb, 4WD bulb, or other N/A options)

Thanks to the post by @Curt (over here) I was able to order the bulbs I needed from Amazon
before removing the instrument cluster. (Insert Tip of the Hat here. :0)
By the way, the 10 bulb packs = much better price per bulb vs buying them 2 at a time at
boutique pricing at Advanced Auto or similar outlets.)

Important Bulb specs:

Large black socket - 161 bulb, 13 Lumen, 2.66 watt (3)
Large gray socket - 194 bulb, 25 Lumen, 3.78 watt (3)
Large yellow socket - 194 bulb, 25 Lumen, 3.78 watt (2)
Small gray socket - 74 bulb, 9 Lumen, 1.4 watt (qty varies w/options)

For what it's worth, I prefer not to outguess the factory engineers when it
comes to avoiding uneven lighting/hotspots at night, so I didn't consider
the brighter 194 bulb to be a suitable sub for the 161 bulb, even though
they both physically fit into the same socket. (And some LED replacements
claim that 1 of their bulbs can be used to replace either one? And instead
of 'upgrading' to LED bulbs of unknown color spectrum, I went with the
original incandescent style bulbs, but did opt for the LL (Long Life) versions.)

I know, all this may sound fussy, but in the end by replacing the old bulbs
with identical bulb part numbers it looks like I was able to preserve the overall
quality of the night time illumination that was designed into the display.

Very happy with the outcome, day or night!

One last thing. I've attached a photo showing how much the original bulbs
were worn out vs. where they were installed. The 'ILL' (Illumination) bulbs
were either burned out or close to it, whereas the DRL (Daytime Running Light)
and Seat Belt bulbs were still in new condition. Common sense dictated to
leave those bulbs in service for moi. (Especially the unused DRL bulb) ...but if I
were doing this for Joe Customer I would have replaced them all just to be on
the safe side.

In English, those of you with multiple GMT400s in your fleet you can buy a 10-pack
for each size & then only change the worn ones, splitting the cost amongst your
rides.

****

Anyway, hope this takes some of the mystery out of restoring your instrument cluster
to it's former glory, day or night. And for those of you who are pulling these from
treasure yard donors & selling them, clearing the bezels is both easy AND makes for
much more compelling For Sale photos -- everyone likes instrument cluster bling, and
will buy the best looking stuff first!

Enjoy your ride --

 

[Road Trip]

Re: Instrument Cluster Renewal, bulb sourcing / pricing (#95)

The primary ILL(umination) bulbs are the 194s. They were ~88¢ apiece
for the Sylvania long lifes in the 10-pack boxes.

But it pays to shop around, for Advance Auto is asking $8.49 for a 2-pack
of the same bulbs! Over 480% more expensive per bulb? More convenient maybe,
but no bargain.

One more thing -- I changed out the small 74 bulbs because I had them, but unless
you actually have a missing turn signal indicator, or your Service Engine Soon light
gave out, you might skip replacing these, for mine all looked good.

That's it - just wanted to give anyone contemplating this a friendly heads up. For what
it's worth, I actually prefer to give the local stores my business if at all possible, but
for that kind of markup I can't justify it. (See attached for specifics.)

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Re: Instrument Cluster Renewal, bulb sourcing / pricing (#95)

The primary ILL(umination) bulbs are the 194s. They were ~88¢ apiece
for the Sylvania long lifes in the 10-pack boxes.

But it pays to shop around, for Advance Auto is asking $8.49 for a 2-pack
of the same bulbs! Over 480% more expensive per bulb? More convenient maybe,
but no bargain.

One more thing -- I changed out the small 74 bulbs because I had them, but unless
you actually have a missing turn signal indicator, or your Service Engine Soon light
gave out, you might skip replacing these, for mine all looked good.

That's it - just wanted to give anyone contemplating this a friendly heads up. For what
it's worth, I actually prefer to give the local stores my business if at all possible, but
for that kind of markup I can't justify it. (See attached for specifics.)

Yes I've seen those packages of 2 automotive bulbs at Walmarts, and even before the 'Rona they were $5-7 a package. I grew up in a family run independent auto parts store, so I remember what we used to sell this stuff for.... I remember most automotive bulbs being 50¢ to $1 unless it was something weird or unusual. And the old style glass fuses were a quarter each, or a buck for a box of 5....

 

[df2x4]

I'm about to order $50 worth of natural amber automotive bulbs from RockAuto in 10 packs. Nowhere local to me has the sizes I need in natural amber, and the one size that is available locally is $9 and change for a two pack. The same bulbs (Philips) on RockAuto are around 80 cents each in the 10 packs. Figure if I'm paying the shipping I might as well stock up on everything I'm likely to need in the future.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

When you have multiple vehicles that use the same parts, why not? I bought several PF1218s from Rock Auto last year when they were on sale, woulda bought a case but couldn't quite afford to.

I'm about to order $50 worth of natural amber automotive bulbs from RockAuto in 10 packs. Nowhere local to me has the sizes I need in natural amber, and the one size that is available locally is $9 and change for a two pack. The same bulbs (Philips) on RockAuto are around 80 cents each in the 10 packs. Figure if I'm paying the shipping I might as well stock up on everything I'm likely to need in the future.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

New brake pedal pads/covers are one of the simplest things to freshen up an interior. Buying mostly used vehicles through my life, I have replaced them in almost every vehicle.