Mistakes I made

[1project2many]

I'm lucky enough to have started learning what not to do from an early age. With this truck I did many of the mechanical repairs before I ever started on cosmetics and that worked great. I put it on the road in '92, took it off the road in '95, then rolled it out with new paint and body work at the end of '98. Now we're approaching 20 years later and what I want from my truck has changed. So I'm planning work that can be done without major reconstruction:

Complete the NVG4500 swap started in '95
Install Hydravac power brakes
Install "power assist" steering
Replace or reinforce left and right steering arms

The only thing I wish I'd done differently is implementing the fuel injection harness. When I built the truck it was getting more popular to do 100 point restorations. I was making every change with the idea that it could be easily undone to return the truck to 100% stock. I ran the wiring harness through the firewall where the original voltage regulator was installed thinking that "undoing" the change would only mean pulling the harness, installing a plug in the firewall, and reinstalling the regulator.
But I've never been happy with the way it looks.

Hmm... so I guess that points out a good bit of advice to prevent mistakes. "It's a rare person indeed that takes a modified truck back to stock. Most of us will never go back and many of us modify it further at a later date. Build it for you, not the next guy."