Well I had a nice conversation with Rich, who apparently is the owner of 'Pure Stock Restorations' (
LINK), and the source from which I cited production numbers.
What I did not know was that he was the guy who worked with VDS Decal (
LINK) to create the 1992 Sport truck decals that I ordered!!
He told me that between some NOS decals he bought, and taking measurements of the originals, he had several back and fourths with VDS Decal to get them just right.
I don't think I've spoken to a gent before who had this degree of enthusiasm for these Sport Trucks!
I seem to be a kindred spirit with him regarding keeping these trucks stock, which would explain why I have no plans on changing the factory deck, or making any visual alterations from stock while I am it's caretaker.
I do believe that I neglected to mention in my prior posts that this past summer I ended up carefully removing all of the vintage alarm system - save for the decals and activation light.
My cousin was quite disappointed to hear that I was going to do this, as he apparently paid to have it fixed... even though he had it disconnected!
I remember many times when this truck was newer that my grandfather would be scolded by family because the alarm sensitivity was too high, and it was going off in the carport again!
I ended up also finding a 100% correct replacement dash insert (the silver one which surrounds the gauges, and has the headlamp switch attached to it);
It seems that there were at least three versions of this part, and the most common ones have an opening for a switch for a cab lamp ect.
I also bought a spare set of wheels, purely because they had great tires attached to them. Now that the old wheels and tires are off, I can freely admit that the old ones were a little on the sketchy side of things. The wheels I bought came with the later (smooth) caps, and even though I like those, I won't be putting them on my truck.
Rich also gave me pointers on where to look and clean, regaurding spots that collect debris/mud ect and never really dry out, that's great information for me to have;
I don't daily this truck, but I also don't treat it like a high end collector vehicle;
We drive it like it was driven by my grandfather, uncle, and cousin's before me... we use it sparingly as a secondary vehicle, a really handy/fun one with a box, and 4 wheel drive.