Walter, an okay daily and an okay offroader

[cjpett]

I have an absurd combination of Duran Duran, Weird Al, Van Halen, and Vulfpeck in my ears, so this small update might be a little off the rails.

Be sure to tell Dad that he absolutely nailed the fix.
And he made an old dude in upstate NY very happy with his solution.

I told him, and he said "hell yeah", or something along those lines. He reads this now, which only scares me a little. Killer story btw. Budget fixes and things done out of spite are always the best.

I got 1 part of the Sunvisor today, but it's not the fun part. All I got was some lights. The rest should be here by Tuesday (in eBay terms, that means Wednesday). I have no idea when the trans will come in, I'm gonna give them a call on Monday to figure that out. I need it somewhat soon because I want to go off-roading and stuff and break it in before the big trip.

Speaking of the big trip, Walter needs to hold 2 motorcycles along with a full bed of stuff. We just need the bikes in the truck for a couple of stints while on the interstate. My cousins (the ones with the bikes) are probably more than capable to ride on the interstate, but I-70 just sucks. The current solution is to use a plumber rack with a little folding trailer mounted on top. When we need to load the bikes up, we just pull the trailer down and put the bikes on the trailer. I have no idea if this will work, but we'll find out.

I have an insane idea. I want to install moonies in the truck. I know it's a bad idea. I know it will be very difficult. I know I probably won't do it. I don't care. I think it would be cool. I came up with this idea 20 minutes ago, and I see no flaws in this plan (other than how difficult it'll be to find gauges, or that the clusters are entirely different, that the moonies do the speed calculations on the cluster, whereas every other one uses the PCM, and that I have very little experience with electrical engineering, etc.). I have wanted to tear into one of my 3 gauge clusters and figure out how they work so I can make my own for a while, and I think this is a great way to do it.

But first, I have to wrap up my 4 existing design projects, the buttons, the radio, the CB holder, and the dash insert. I just have to make sure I am happy enough with everything to call it quits so I can let my brain move on (that means abandoning the project completely because I have the attention span of a goldfish).

My brain moves faster than I can make money, so a least a couple of projects will fall to the wayside (they will never happen), like the half doors (remember when I talked about that two years ago?).

That's all for now! As always, I will update as I go, and I'll update this thread with the write-ups for the CB holder and dash insert when I make them. (Possibly never)

 

[cjpett]

Reattempted the ole toolbox mount today. Cut a hole in the bedliner and used punched angle stock to sandwich the bed to the toolbox. Hopefully, it won't spontaneously combust while doing stuff like the ****** drywall anchors did. I would have taken pictures, but it looks about the same as it did before all this.

In other news, I got an update on the transmission. Should be here on Thursday. I'm gonna convince many friends to help on Monday, and hopefully it'll go great (it will be a day of cuss words and pain).

I've got to order a new CV axle for the front driver. It looks like the boot came off at some point and flung grease everywhere. It's probably why I don't have 4WD. I'm also going to pick up a Posi-lok to replace the thermal actuator. I'll feel better having that in there as I start to hit more aggressive trails.

Walter's got an oil leak. I'm worried it's the RTV wall in the back of the intake manifold. That's a big thing that I don't want to deal with. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm hoping it's the rear main seal, I'm gonna replace it while the trans is out, because when else will I be able to do that.

You must be registered for see images attach

I bought a GMRS radio and antenna. It's the Retevis RA-something or other. It's 50W, seems to get good reviews, and I should be able to pop the controls out so it fits in the overhead console (I'll talk about it when I'm done I promise) and swap out the orange display for green. If it's the LCD that I think it is, I should be able to just get a different color filter.

I am almost done with the dash insert on the passenger side. I went to the pick-n-pull and snapped a couple of pictures of the airbag models and ended up redesigning the entire thing to better match that. Compared to the previous version, it's about 2in taller. It also has a small overhang similar to OEM. I need to figure out what to do with the faceplate. I want to use the inclinometer I pulled from the montero, and if I can source an altimeter from one of those trucks then I'll put it in there. I would order the top and bottom pieces, and wait on the faceplate, but PCBway is quoting 100 bucks in shipping, so I'm hoping to save a little if I can order 3 pieces. I'll make a write-up when it's all done and release the files when I think it's all set.

You must be registered for see images attach

I am also working on a new gauge cluster. For some dumb reason I decided that the trans temp gauge should go in there with the rest of the gauges, and that's gonna make things tough. What's gonna make it harder is me wanting needle-less gauges (I started with wanting moonies but that was too difficult). Who knows if that'll ever get done, but it's fun to brainstorm while I'm at work.

I don't think I have any more words to write. Happy Easter!

 

[cjpett]

It was a great day. I finally got the Sunvisor and began working on it a few days ago. It started as 90s green, so I wet sanded with 120 until it returned to the original primer. I then coated it with a lot of high build primer to hide everything, wet sanded it down again with 220 and 320, and then spent 4 spray cans of parts store GM white and 2 cans of parts store clear to get it white. Here it is!

You must be registered for see images attach

I love it. I've wanted one for as long as I've owned the truck, and man, it looks so good. Drilling into the roof was a little scary, but it wasn't too bad. I used stainless screws and washers and coated them with caulk to hopefully prevent rusting the best I can. Added benefit, it hides the terrible paint flake and the terrible cover-up, too. Still need to wire it, but small details.

Something weird happened in my garage. I'm not sure how, or when, but all of a sudden, a perfect stage one 4L60e showed up.

You must be registered for see images attach

It showed up on a big semitruck, it happened around 1 today, and it wasn't all of a sudden, but it was pretty quick, about 5 minutes. It should go in on Sunday, or at least get started on Sunday. I can't imagine it'll be too difficult, pull big thing out, put big thing in (a joke could be made there).

I also got the Retevis RA87, and my first impressions are meh. The radio feels cheap. The knobs on the radio and the case of the microphone is made out of that crappy orange peel plastic, and the buttons are the membrane type. The microphone is super light, and the PTT button is just that, a button, and the worst kind at that, one of the tactile ones.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I haven't powered it on, though, so maybe they spent all the money on the important parts. Not too worried about it, I have a crazy ass brain and unfettered access to Fusion 360 Personal Edition, so I can uncheapify it fairly easy, and mount it in the overhead console. I will probably redesign the microphone so I can have a better PTT button. I also got my GMRS license, my call sign is WSIA311, so if you hear that, it's me.

You must be registered for see images attach

That's all I got, I'll probably post again when the trans goes in. The next step after that will probably be going through the interior. I'm gonna add some sound deadening to the back of the cab, doors, and anywhere else that needs it. I also have to get rid of the rattling behind the seat. It's coming from that trim piece under the window.