Intro from an old Assembly Plant guy

[3r!c84]

i didnt know it had a 6cyl tho?

[Keith Seymore]

Yes - V6 (...we have a long and glorious tradition in my family of driving 6 cylinder pickups); factory tach, manual trans with cruise. It's quite a mixed bag....



I recall that I had to retrofit the cruise and the tach. The story was something like: they were available options with the manual trans but got stop ordered. When the stop order was lifted, engineering re-released the cruise and tach for the three-on-the-tree manuals but *forgot* about the floor shifted manual. As a result, I knew all the parts were available and would work but the system wouldn't allow me to order the truck that way.

I got the parts after the fact and installed them myself. 22 years later they're still working!

K

[redneckwheelman2]

i like the emblem in the steering wheel

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by redneckwheelman2

i like the emblem in the steering wheel

LOL! I do too; When I pulled the horn button apart to clean it the "bowtie" got messed up. I wanted a little custom touch to replace it and those Flowmaster stickers were exactly the right size (and the right colors!).

K

[Keith Seymore]

I didn't want you guys to think I was slackin'; I've been working on putting the new floor covering in.

Here's the dead stuff, coming out:









...and here's the new stuff going in. There was quite a bit of extra material on either side, and fore/aft, so I elected to position it based on the seat "humps" in the floor (and the seat attachments) and then trim the front portion to fit.

This was quite a bit thicker/heavier than the original mat, which I think is going to be good for durability but it makes it a little hard to work with (unless you can get it warm and to soften up).





I left it loose for a couple days, so that it could conform to the floor from the heat inside the cab (from sitting in the sun).

[Keith Seymore]

And now I'm in the process of nailing it down. Here it is with the old sill plates; I will install the new sill plates and door weatherstrip after I repaint the door openings. I also have a new shift boot coming (the one I purchased several months ago was deemed "too big"...).





I don't like being able to see that red "skunk stripe" or red across the top of the toe pan above the black mat; I'm going to hit that with a little semi gloss black to hide it. It will also get covered up a bit by the heater discharge vent (not installed in this photo).





K

[JohnC]

Looks good Keith. Man it's almost a brand new truck now. You are doing wonders to it's self esteem.

[menace121978]

ya she does look brand new! nice progress Keith!

[joe231]

Looks good Keith!

Maybe you can answer a question I have.
What exactly are the removable plugs in the sheet metal structure behind the cab corner there for? Is it a clean out? Are you supposed to pull the plug and clean the corner out from time to time? On our '66 there is a very similar plug in the front of the rocker panel, that if missing allows the rocker to fill up with dirt and rocks. Seems like a strange design

[Moostifer]

floor mat looks great!

btw... it's hard to drive without letting your feet touch the new mat!

[bumslie75]

Wonder what he is going to do with the engine

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by bumslie75

Wonder what he is going to do with the engine

Nothin. Seems to run good...

Originally Posted by joe231

Looks good Keith!

Maybe you can answer a question I have.
What exactly are the removable plugs in the sheet metal structure behind the cab corner there for? Is it a clean out? Are you supposed to pull the plug and clean the corner out from time to time? On our '66 there is a very similar plug in the front of the rocker panel, that if missing allows the rocker to fill up with dirt and rocks. Seems like a strange design

I think they were tooling access holes. Definitely not there so that you can remove them and clean the corner out.

I have wondered that myself: if it is a "sealed corner" then why do they rust out? Similarly why wouldn't they (ie, "we") have put a drain hole in there, so that you could flush them out?

I seriously debated drilling a hole in mine before I put it all together, so that I could rinse the corners out during the winter. In the end, I decided to leave it the way the factory made it, figuring I replaced the corners once - I could do it again if I had to...

[joe231]

makes sense, thanks!

[3r!c84]

nice why didnt you just drop in a carpet?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

nice why didnt you just drop in a carpet?

I prefer the vinyl (notice that's how I ordered it originally).

K

[Keith Seymore]

Had an opportunity to get outside and do a few things this (long) weekend -

Got the door opening painted on the RH side, and the new weatherstrip/door sill molding installed:

[Keith Seymore]

- also got the new shift boot installed:

[Keith Seymore]

...and I also made a little plate to cover the hole in the RH splash apron. I cut this out of an old piece of stainless steel I had laying around and painted it black.

K

[3r!c84]

come do my truck next Keith
ill be waiting

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

come do my truck next Keith
ill be waiting

...you'll be waiting for a while, too...

(LOL)!

[JohnC]

Looks awesome Keith. That shifter really pops against the black floor. Nice work.

[joe231]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

...and I also made a little plate to cover the hole in the RH splash apron. I cut this out of an old piece of stainless steel I had laying around and painted it black.

K

heck of an idea...I need to do that to both of my inners!
Nice work!!

[OLDIRON69]

What's the hole for in the door sill?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by OLDIRON69

What's the hole for in the door sill?

Dealer rustproofing, I believe. They are located all the way around the door frame. I have to get one of those little black "cap plugs" to close the hole.

K

[Keith Seymore]

I wasn't going to do anything with the shift ball....it cleaned up pretty well and was probably fine for a daily driver. But - I had a $40 credit with ClassicParts that I needed to use so I thought I would see what I could do here.

Now, you might suspect that the shift ball for this "odd ball" was probably not available, and you'd be right. However, if you were me, you'd figure that the manual transfer case shift ball was probably identical and would work in this application. So, I ordered one up:





Pretty much exactly the same! After about 30 seconds of work, you can pop the indicator out of the old knob and slip it into the new knob and VIOLA!: new shift ball!