drivabeater 4.0: what i should have built last time.

[Dravec]

If I hadn't spent 5 years looking for my Suburban, I'd be tempted to see what it might bring.

 

[dusterbd13]

You ever make your way up near the Rockwell/Salisbury area? I swear I've seen a truck similar to yours running around.

Which truck? The red or the gold?
And im in Salisbury and Rockwell often. Best philly cheese steak in the area next to the habitat restore in Salisbury. (You can tell im fat and hungry, cant you?)
Gold truck is from kannapolis/china grove area, on the borderlands between. So probably have seen it in Rockwell!

 

[98chevy2500SS]

Nah, that's too much work for the craigslist/Assboook markeplace crowd around me. Listing would read: "Cln rust free southern truck. Jst drove it 200+ miles. Could use a detail and break wrk. $3000. No low ballers, I kno wht I hav"

And don't forget those who put $1,234 and then in the ad they put "TRUCK/CAR IS NOT $1,234!!!"

 

[BNielsen]

Which truck? The red or the gold?
And im in Salisbury and Rockwell often. Best philly cheese steak in the area next to the habitat restore in Salisbury. (You can tell im fat and hungry, cant you?)
Gold truck is from kannapolis/china grove area, on the borderlands between. So probably have seen it in Rockwell!

Honestly both of them now that I look at your red stepside; and as far as food goes, there's all kinds of hole-in-the-wall places all around here with good food.

 

[Supercharged111]

Outside Charlotte in albemarle

I've been there before. We stayed at the Best Western next to a BBQ place. Could get a meal and drink for like $7.

 

[White96k2500]

I've been there before. We stayed at the Best Western next to a BBQ place. Could get a meal and drink for like $7.

Make other trip down this way lol. I’ll take that grille guard off your hands

 

[Supercharged111]

Make other trip down this way lol. I’ll take that grille guard off your hands

First you gotta convince Uncle Sam to fly me out there on his dime again. That was 2015 so the BBQ had probably gone up since then.

 

[White96k2500]

First you gotta convince Uncle Sam to fly me out there on his dime again. That was 2015 so the BBQ had probably gone up since then.

I believe uncle sam drives too hard of a bargain for me lol. Everything is super expensive now! P.S i still need that guard though!!! Lmao.

 

[dusterbd13]

And the bbq there isn't all that special! Now, Hendrix bbq....

I decided to forgo installing the factory, or leaving the haced ib aftermarket trans cooler until I figure out the hard shifting. Eliminate variables the best i can.

 

[dusterbd13]

previously: 1741.47



new stuff:

returned trailer hitch and socket, trans cooler and lines. -64.46

correct hitch, front tow hooks, gmt800 master cyl: 15.00

power mirror switch: 14.99 amazon

stereo adapter harness 3.98

stereo dash kit: 4.99 pullapart

blaupunkt Tennessee stereo: free

belltech 4 inch rear drop kit: 161.30

inner door handles autex from amazon: 19.69

infinity reference speakers: had

door sound deadening: had

used belltech spindles: 50

15x8 truck rallys and center caps: 50

new chrome grille/lights 100

overhead console form a blazer: 22.96



new total 2119.92



so, ive been busy! Well, not very busy, but busy enough I guess. I like this truck, and its all been fairly simple maintenance and repairs so far, with a little fun stuff thrown in. because I like fun stuff.



Anyway, when we left off last time, dad and I had done the steering linkage and given the truck a good once over. I didn't have a picture, so I took a crappy one to make up for that.

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20200925_180506 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



I went ahead and changed the rest of the fluids and filters. I had planned while the trans pan was down to replace the 1-2 accumulator due to hard shifting, but saw no appreciable wear or any issues with the one in the truck. So I left it alone, hoping fresh fluid would fix it. I also found that the used cooler and lines I picked up were not usable, so I returned them. Same with the suburban trailer hitch (hint: apparently the freaking frames are different! ) I eventually got the factory in radiator trans cooler hooked up and the hacked in aftermarket one out of the system. Unfortunately, none of this fixed the hard shifts. But it did give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. So I have that going for me.

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20200925_180454 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



we also fluched the brake fluid, chenged the diff fluid, lubed all the hinges, greased all the zerk fittings. You know, normal maintenance.



When I brought it home, I went ahead to go after the broken passengers side door handle. I swear it worked when I bought it, but stopped. Anyway, ordered a nice pair from amazon, and cracked the filthy freaking doors open. I didnt take a before picture, but the nicotine and filth was appalling. The factory door speakers were surprisingly intact though! Regardless, I swapped them for a pair of infinity reference 6.5 speakers I pulled from a parts car. They are my favorite speakers of all time, and I try to put them in everything. I also have a pair of nice sounding 6.5 from a different parts car for the rear speakers if I ever dig that deep.

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20200926_181058 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



so, I cleaned and lubed all the window mechanisms and latches, added some peel and seal sound deadening, replaced broken door panel fasteners, tightened loose fasteners, etc. just cleaning and maintenance, with replacing the broken handles and upgrading the speakers.

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20200926_181839 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



I also cleaned up the door panels. Castrol superclean, a scrub brush, and a hose. Passengers side (done) vs drivers side (not). Both were done. Before re-installation. The difference was hard to photograph, but easy to see.

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20200928_081050 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



went ahead and did the same stuff to the drivers door, in addition to replacing the dead power mirror switch.

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20200928_132816 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



then moved on to the turn signal switch. Pulled the steering wheel and airbag, replaced the switch, and glued the column covers back together in the hops of making it better. No good picture of the switch, but you can mostly see it in the picture here. You can also see the funky and collapsed drivers seat. If anyone withing a reasonable drive if Charlotte NC has a tan 60/40 bench with armrest in good shape, please let me know. Reasonable is 5 hours each way.....

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20200929_074931 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20200930_123116 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

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20201003_185106 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



while I had it all apart, I went ahead and installed the free stereo my scrap guy gave me. Works really good! Grabbed the dash kit from the junkyard, the antenna adapter came with the stereo, and the wiring harness adapter was cheap on amazon. So, roughly $10 stereo upgrade!

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20200928_132812 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr



since were talking about interior stuff, I went ahead and grabbed the long console from a blazer. The DIC supposedly reads the data stream for instant MPG and stuff on the obd2 trucks. However, this one isn't obd2 yet. Eventually it will work properly when I swap an LS in. after the tbi dies.

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20201001_115959 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr