Re: Rat repair.
 

Glad to see that you are working on it. Good luck on the tach dash. I still can't find my BBC M/T valve covers. Been years since I have seen them. Must have grew feet and walked away.

Re: Rat repair.
 

So now I have my seat in the truck, the full thickness foam seat sits me higher and a bit further forward than the old seat, I like the sit higth, plenty of head room but I could sure use a little more room between me and the steering wheel, anybody got any tips, advice or places to let look and read about moving the column forward?? I can gain about 1.5” inside, not sure about the outside?

Sorry bout the pic, taken and my cellphone.

Re: Rat repair.
 

If it's a stock column, there are a couple of ways to shorten the shaft. The easiest is to buy a Borgeson 3/4 DD coupler or U-joint($$) cut your shaft and remove the appropriate amount and put it back together with the coupler or joint. The cleanest way is to modify it where it collapses in the event of a crash. In the attached photo, there are two thru holes the factory used to create a plastic slip joint. If you remove the shaft from the column, drill out the two holes and press the two parts apart, you'll find a shallow groove about .050" by .500 wide around the 3/4 DD shaft IIRC. It will have the remains of the plastic retainer in it which will need to be cleaned out. Cut 1.5" off the end off the DD shaft and press the two pieces back together using RTV around the grooved areas. You can refill the original holes with Plast-Aid or JB Weld if you like, but the only reason to do so is cosmetic. Either way, the shaft still retains it's collapsible design.

Re: Rat repair.
 

This is a pic under the dash its a stock tilt column that I bought from a guy here on this forum, he buys them, rebuilds them and powder coats them black. I only have about 3/4" of space between that thing and the firewall, I have no idea if its removable or what it does, plus I have a column shift automatic..

Its kinda looking like I will be going back to my Grant steering wheel or a starvation diet, i'm leaning towards the Grant.

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It's used for the neutral safety feature and backup lights. A floor shift column doesn't have this switch which is instead mounted on the shifter. So a floor shift column could be shoved further down. The switch is removable, but you lose those functions. I'm not aware of any kits that would relocate it. So as you've already figured out, it's Jenny Craig or a steering wheel with less dish.

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LOL! Go figure :/

I’ll look more after work but do you know if there is a wire connection on that little unit? I’m still trying to find the home of the grey wire coming out of my trucks wire harness.

Do you recall a plug on the back of the dash bezel that had what I think was a fiber optic lead hooked to it, it’s a white socket with a thin steel mount on it to attach said fiber optic lead? Can you inlighten me on what it was for? I was thinking the back light on the gear selector but my new tilt column only has electrical wires.

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Can't speak to the grey wire... it might be B+ for the dash lights, but I could be wrong. That's what it is on my Painless diagram but don't know if it's the same as the factory color. Column wiring shown below and no grey wires listed.

Typically the fiber optic cable was routed to the ash tray as a light source instead of a bulb.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey Mike the gray wire you speak about I think is the wire that supplied power to the ancient fiber optic that provided light to the automatic shift window on the steering column. I think most dash lights are supplied by gray wires. Like to the dash/instrument panel, and AC/Heater control background lights.

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Thanks Vic and c10;

Well I have this plug, I remember the fiber optic lead slid through the hole in the metal bracket, through the hole in the plastic, but I sure don’t know what ever happened to the fiber optic lead, on the other hand my new column came with a grey electrical wire not a fiber optic lead, if the guy installed a light bulb it’s an easy work around.

Update: Took a multimeter and checked the wire on the column, continuity to ground. Then checked my correspondence with the guy I got the column from, he said it plugs into the fuse panel, pretty obvious, plugged it into the light circuit and it lights up fine.

New problem, My right turn indicator on the dash bezel lights up with the lights on, Ground issue? it didn't do it when I took the bezel out....

After I got the seat in the truck I fired up the engine and discovered that I have feedback droning through the subs, I can’t remove the seat by myself so I used a couple motorcycle tie downs strung from the roof gutter to the adjuster base and raised the seat enough to move some wires around and rotated the Audio Control crossover to further isolate the wires, if that don’t work then I may need professional advice, main power on passenger side of hump, RCA on driver side of hump, 6x9 speaker wires run under subs, front speaker wires run in passenger side door channel but are not used.

Early July..... Summer time.. :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

How did I put a thumbs down on my last post?? LOL!

Slow day today, but I did drag out my old Grant steering wheel and new mount kit, the screws were a bit rusty so I took them all out cleaned them up and a fresh coat of black rust converter, then cleaned up the wheel it self with some wax and back to black.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I stand corrected....again, not a new steering wheel mount kit at all, the fiber disk had damage from a previous attempt at using it, probably 15 or more years ago, totally forgot about it. Plus after searching I could not locate the horn button, so I got on line and ordered both.


Grabbed a test light and checked the grey wire coming out of the stock harness , absolutely not hot until the running or headlights are switched on, so I hooked the column shift indicator light to it, so unless I find out that wire is used somewhere else then that's where it will stay.

Finally got around to swapping out that leaking caliper, I hooked up the replacement using the banjo and 2 copper washers that were included in the box and I still had a pretty bad leak, tried to tighten more with no luck, was also afraid that I may twist that banjo bolt in half if I went any tighter. cleaned up the brake hose fitting of its surface rust and checked it over for any hairline cracks, nothing, got a second new set of copper washers and had the same result, both sets came with a banjo bolt kit. Then I dug into my endless supply of junk I keep around and came up with a new set of Yamaha WR250 crank drain plug washers, thinner but very close to the same diameter, this time I could actually feel the washers getting squished and it sealed right up Yamaha makes some quality stuff. Had my wife do a little pedal work while I purged the air from the system, and I just blead that one side for now but I have a pretty good pedal, I was fortunate that the reservoir never went dry.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Naturally I order the horn button and mount kit through Grant, and a week later I get the infamous Back ordered email reply.. Well truth is its been pretty darned hot and my truck and cover takes full brunt of the sun so I don't mind letting it sit for a while.

I did take the time to search more and I found my tac dash bezel, relieved to find it.

I also dug out my Aries step bars that were buried, hope to spend a couple early weekend mornings getting them mounted soon, unless I'm asked to work the weekend...

Re: Rat repair.
 

Glad you found the Bezel! We knew it had to be somewhere. I'm curious, was it somewhere easy that you should have looked sooner, or was it buried in a deep, dark place?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Buried......

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I’m reading the instructions for my used grant wheel mount kit, it states if my part looks like this picture then I need to remove the stock spring and plunger. Am I to assume I need to bend the brass tabs and remove the brass piece off the back side to get the plunger and spring out?? I’m a bit concerned about the tabs breaking and rendering the part useless.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey Mike, I believe just the button and the red sleeve pop out and the new one with the wire and spring pop in it's place.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for the reply! I emailed Grant tech support last week and he said that plunger would pull straight out. I got sidetracked by working this weekend and it kicked my butt a bit but I had the wheel mounted last night, then today I filed 3 notches on the fiber washer which allowed me to push the horn button on then twist the horn button about 10 degrees away from the notches. I did some searching and I guess one of the kits has these notches nut my kit didn’t.

I gotta say trying to communicate with Grants customer service quite frankly sucks, they don’t reply to your back order questions. The mount kit and horn button I ordered were both on back order, I checked my account and it said the kit was available but not the horn button, I emailed and asked if they could just cancel the button and ship the mount kit, they just canceled the whole order, no explanation , no reply, just a cancellation email. Just as well, right after I ordered the kit and button I found the button. 🙄

Started mounting my Aries Step Bars, got the drivers side roughed in but still need to drill the frame on the lower lip for 2 support bracketsand tighten this side up but ran outta daylight, will try and finish these tomorrow ( famous last words ? ). Hate to say it but with my legs these are absolutely nessasary. 😊

Re: Rat repair.
 

I hear ya on the steps Mike. At least you didn't have saddle tanks to contend with. Progress is looking good!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks!

I got them both mounted today, in the mid day sun.. I moved the rat from under a car cover in the dirt to out in the side yard which is dry and yellow, with a little dirt :) They are a little more flexible than I expected but they do the job, I figure the flexing is due to being mounted to the front and rear cab mounts and then tied to the frame

Re: Rat repair.
 

I like the step rails. Where did you get them from?

Your interior looks sharp!

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Made by a company called Aries, they make them for all the C10, C20, K20’s etc, I assume just different mount brackets to accommodate the different frames and cab mounts, I will say I think the tubes are a bit thin and I think the foot step is just snapped into the cutout as it is plastic, but I don’t know of any other steps for the truck.

I think next on my list will be pulling the windshield and having a local glass company come out and replace it, hopefully there won’t be any bad surprises. Yes I know I should have popped out the windshield right after I did the rust repair but I wasn’t thinking ahead.

It’s Good Guys car show weekend, so I’ll probably have to go have a look.

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I don't know if you need a glass company to help with the window. My understanding of the windshield for for these trucks is that you get the rubber for it, and the windshield basically gets secured between the rubber and the windshield frame. I don't think you need to glue it or anything. I could be wrong, but I would check it out first.

I searched on this forum and found various threads about installing the windshield. You might want to do a search.

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There are good YouTube videos on it, its still a 2 man job maybe 3 with a lifted truck like mine.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Cut the old inside rubber outta the way on the sides and top of my cracked up windshield and popped her out, gotta admit I was a little nervous about the condition underneath but after I pulled the windshield off then I wiped it all down with mineral spirits and had a good look it put a smile on my face :)

I did however have one bad area that didn't pass the pick test but it got to solid metal within about a 3/8" square, the rest of the seal area cleaned up real nicely, there were a number of very small bubbled paint areas that I hit with a scotch disk to expose the surface pit then I applied GEM Rust Killer with a paint brush to let it work its magic.

I also had a couple small bubbles inside the cab that got the same treatment.

Had to stop for the day, hope to weld the hole in tomorrow morning...

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I was a bit disappointed at the fit of all the panels on my cab but I know they aren't perfect, I did take an aluminum drift and gave the upper seam a few love taps where the seal lays to get a smoother transition, I also squeezed the bottom together a bit with some plyers.

The seams will get some seam sealer applied before the new windshield is installed.

Sorry about the sideways pic's but my computer is fighting me.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Another long hot day, I cut a piece of metal to fit the hole I made in the driver side window opening, first I roughed it then I got out my stud gun and planted a body work stud puller bit on it so I had a handle to work with, then I ground metal to fit the opening, and welded it in place.


Then I ran up town and got a smaller paint gun at Harbor freight #46719, Then masked the heck outta the truck and draped a tarp over the seat and dash and made a cardboard insert for the back side of the opening. Cleaned and set up the new $13 gun and mixed up way too much paint... I got to say I am very pleased with the performance of this gun, I set it to have no fan shape and it was very controlled in the spray pattern.


When I was putting on the step bars I noticed that I had some spots that needed welding up on the inner rocker where I had some sheet metal screws, I figured while I had the welder out I better take care of that too so moved some plywood pieces under the truck and proceeded to get plenty of weld burns on the back side of my arm as every hot piece of weld splatter would hit the thin plywood and roll right into me :) Once done I scuffed the area and sprayed it with the K2 primer as well being as I had mixed up way too much primer earlier.

I don't mind saying with all the trips up and down the step ladder and up and down under the truck in the heat today took its toll on my legs and feet, its an Ibuprofen night for sure.

Next up I have to do a bit of work to the middle section and the inside of the truck, that's gonna be fun

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey Mike, what are you using as a paint booth - looks like an outdoor car tent?

Also, you mentioned that it took you 5 years after joining the forum to get used to doing rust repair. How long have you been working on this truck? I think this year will be the 7th anniversary of getting my rust-bucket.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Not to get used to it but to convince myself I could do it.

No paint booth anymore, I tore it down as I needed the space in my garage (where my truck doesn't fit), My trucks home is nothing more than the cheap car covers you can get at Harbor Freight or Pep Boys. Since I have started working on the truck to now the side yard has become a dry dusty dirt pile, far from ideal.

I lost track of time for how long I have been working on this truck but this repair thread was started on sept 2013, I think I joined about 2007? but I think the rust repair was about 2.5 years alone maybe longer if you include the down time, it took longer doing the first side than the second.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Slow and steady wins the race! Your windshield frame repair looks good.

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And that’s what’s happening cause it’s so darned hot!

My first layer of seam sealer in the windshield frame, it’s cured and shrank down so I need to apply more. The windshield install company said they would prefer I drove my truck there rather than send out a couple installers, I mentioned the windshield was already out and she said as long as I have eye protection it’s ok to do so. When that time comes it ought to be fun..... I am also not done with the windshield pinchweld yet, thinking I may fill the bigger gaps with seam sealer along with some paint touchup I have jet to finish. I will be ordering a shield and gasket from Classicheartbeat.com and go pick them up when the time comes.

Got a question for you all, I have a used windshield sitting on top of my other truck, would it be stupid or dangerous to pad up the edges with a few layers of duct tape and lay it into the windshield channel with a layer of duct tape on the outside to hold it in place before driving it to have the new windshield installed?

I pulled my hood out of its storage spot, the outter paint faired pretty nicely but the inner not so well, I’ll need to do a quick (LOL) prep and black paint here before I reinstall.

My air conditioning unit I used this when I sprayed Eastwood’s Internal Frame Coating above the windshield Via the sun visor holes, I layed out a lot of rags to be safe but I did get a drop on my dash pad which is only in fair condition anyway, the can from Eastwood comes with I believe an 18’ plastic tube with a spray nozzle, I removed the nozzle and found a long length is plastic hose long enough to reach the center, the stuff takes a while to dry so I came back 2 days later and repeated, and if you look at the assy breakdown you know there is a extra part inside, I did my best to spray the stuff on both sides of that part

Re: Rat repair.
 

How far away is the glass place? It should be fine with the duct tape, but I would not drive at highway speeds like that. Driving without the windshield is probably about the same as driving a motorcycle. But I don't do that at high speeds without the visor down.

For a second I thought the white fan was your A/C system. :lol::lol::lol:

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About 20 miles? I can do back roads.

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You should be fine. Just take back roads and do 30-40 MPH. Don't do anything to draw attention to you. Worse case the glass falls out and breaks - not that big of a deal.

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Well, I knew it would be a much cooler day today so I took the day off.

First up was to do a little touch up smoothing to the seam sealer, then spray with more primer sealer, didn’t take any pic’s.

Next up is a job I have been dreading, stripping the old paint off the inside of my hood, I went downtown yesterday and picked up an assortment of rust and paint removal disks, brushes and grit inpregnated fiber type rotary brushes and went to town on the thing, talk about one dirty job! I also was sure to keep moving around to minimize any heat build up. I tried about everything I bought, and used up what was working best about 1/2 way done, had to clean up a little and drive my old dirty truck up town to buy more stuff. Went through that and decided to call it a day, still not done yet but it’s close.

I learned a big lesson today, once you remove a rag from your rag supply box never ever put it back in that box. When I started working on the pinch weld I grabbed a bunch of rags and laid them alover the dash, carpet and steering wheel and column, unfortunately there was some type of chemical on the rag laying on my brand new column and it damaged the powder coat :/ the only thing I can do is leave it or sand the powder coat and paint it but I have no idea at this point if powder coat and spray paint are compatible..

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Nice job on the hood. Why did you decide to remove the paint that way vs. sandblasting it?

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Because if it’s done incorrectly the hood will oil can and at this point I don’t know who to trust. The other reason is the place I did find they blast than powder coat, not sure how well K2 primer would adhear to primer.

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Got the inside of the hood painted, so I can mount it now, but I need to clean up some old bolts first as I ran out of new stock.

Pulled the grill and gave it a quick bath, it’s gonna need some work before it goes back on.

Trying to decide if it’s worth the effort to fill the spaces between the windshield pinch welds with seam sealer, I’m referring to any place there is a gap to fill as I already filled and painted the normal overlapping areas.

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The hood looks NICE!

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Its got a couple runs but hey its a hood! :)

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Looking over the Grill naturally the outside supports have rust on them, the inner is better but still ugly, this lead to a parts order for the hardware kit to take it apart, got a few more screw and stuff coming too.


The hood is on, I thought I had already posted this but I'm working on lubing them back up and getting the grit out of the pivots from the sand blasting for a couple days.

We have been in such a smoked filled area with all the wild fires that I have chosen to stay inside a few days while waiting for parts so not much getting done..