What did you do to your truck today??

[Hart_Rod]

Almost ready to fire up the LT swap....

[Just call me Sean]

Best pictures I could get while driving, but I can't get the picture unless I drive.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Almost ready to fire up the LT swap....

Looks right in there. Nice job on that, Rob. Going to be a sweet ride.

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

Best pictures I could get while driving, but I can't get the picture unless I drive.

Cool! I caught my '92 turning over 300,000 on video. Unfortunately that video is held ransom on Photobucket

[pjmoreland]

All of the DIN radio adapters for 88-94 trucks seem to be the same general style where they stick way out of the dash to make room for a CD player in the otherwise shallow portion of the dash where the original cassette player was located. I don't like the way it looks having the stereo sticking way out, so I got a short Kenwood stereo, and I'm working on fabricating a mount for it. I made the faceplate this evening. I'll use the mounting tabs i cut off of a stock unit at the wrecking yard to mount it to the dash.

[Just call me Sean]

That's cool. I want to do something similar, I want to make a plate for the cubby to mount my power mirror switch. It's just dangling from under the dashboard.

[pjmoreland]

That would be a nice use for an otherwise useless cubby. I've got that same style in my truck.

I did a test fit of the stereo just now. The exposed edges of the DIN mount don't look great, so I covered them with wide electrical tape. We will see if it holds up in the summer sun.

***EDIT: I got rid of the tape. I doubt it would have held up long-term. What this really needs is a second plate mounted over the top of the first plate to hide the DIN mount. Another option would be 3D printed pieces that match the profile of the stereo and fill in the square areas.

[Just call me Sean]

Is the radio new? It looks like it's missing a trim piece.

[Ol Blue K20]

I finally fixed heat/ac control panel fixed and working on the 95 Burb. I bought a conversion harness to convert to the 96-99 control panel. When I took it apart I found it already had the conversion harness. Oh well, I guess I sell it or put in the inventory cabinet....lol

[Boog]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

That's cool. I want to do something similar, I want to make a plate for the cubby to mount my power mirror switch. It's just dangling from under the dashboard.

I used my pocket to mount a small tach in my 88 GMC years ago. I first cut a flat piece of textured black plastic and used black screws to attach it to the pocket then drilled a hole for the gauge. It looked better than my big old empty pocket.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

Is the radio new? It looks like it's missing a trim piece.

It is a new radio, and I have the trim piece, but it is taller than the slot in the dash panel, so I can't use it with the way I'm installing the radio.

[Boog]

You know anybody with a 3D printer?

[Just call me Sean]

Originally Posted by Boog

I used my pocket to mount a small tach in my 88 GMC years ago. I first cut a flat piece of textured black plastic and used black screws to attach it to the pocket then drilled a hole for the gauge. It looked better than my big old empty pocket.

I want to bend a piece of sheet metal and make the mounting tabs so it screws in place where the cubby did, but I haven't checked how hard that will be yet.

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

It is a new radio, and I have the trim piece, but it is taller than the slot in the dash panel, so I can't use it with the way I'm installing the radio.

It looks pretty close, maybe you could cut off the sides of it and epoxy them on.

[special-K]

I'm a space case when it comes to parts. I have this basic suburban that came with AM/FM. A member posted a WTT. He put an aftermarket stereo in place of the AM/FM/Cass/CD and needed a cubby to fill the hole left. The offer was trade the deluxe GM stereo for a cubby, I pay shipping. So that's what I did. I was waiting to install it for when I fixed my heat controls. I ended up replacing the controls somewhere other than home, so didn't have the stereo with me. Looks like I need to go back into the dash, so the stereo is waiting for then.

Meanwhile, I used to have a '95 K3500 I wrecked. That was also a Cheyenne that came with AM/FM. I had put an Alpine AM/FM/CD with amp and component speakers I forgot all about having stashed away. That thing sounded great! If I put that in I'll need to find a cubby . I had installed that using an installation kit that finished it off nicely

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by special-K

Looks like I need to go back into the dash, so the stereo is waiting for then.

Taking the dash apart on my truck stresses me out. I have only seen one 88-94 bezel out of maybe a total of 25 at wrecking yards that wasn't broken in some way. The little posts that the headlight switch screws onto are pretty much always broken. I have no experience with the 95+ bezels, but I sure hope GM addressed that issue on the redesign.

I finished installing the nee stereo last night. My wife will be happy to have Bluetooth so she can listen to her audio books while driving. She uses this truck occasionally to drive down into the canyon near our house to go hiking.

I also replaced the heater control panel with a nice clean one I found at the wrecking yard. You can't see it in the photo, but I mounted the microphone for hands-free calling inside the cubby.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Taking the dash apart on my truck stresses me out. I have only seen one 88-94 bezel out of maybe a total of 25 at wrecking yards that wasn't broken in some way. The little posts that the headlight switch screws onto are pretty much always broken. I have no experience with the 95+ bezels, but I sure hope GM addressed that issue on the redesign.

Nice to get that done. These dashes get brittle alright. My surround has been cracked since I got it. I have a nice one but keep waiting to use it until I know things are good behind there.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I finally fixed heat/ac control panel fixed and working on the 95 Burb. I bought a conversion harness to convert to the 96-99 control panel. When I took it apart I found it already had the conversion harness. Oh well, I guess I sell it or put in the inventory cabinet....lol

Mystery solved! Dale, I just did catch your voicemail and now I see this. I didn't check it for a while. Glad you got it worked out. So these are pre-made harnesses with '95 vehicle side and '96 control side connectors? I was going to change mine over at the pins, but ended up just doing splices

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by special-K

Nice to get that done. These dashes get brittle alright. My surround has been cracked since I got it. I have a nice one but keep waiting to use it until I know things are good behind there.

Mystery solved! Dale, I just did catch your voicemail and now I see this. I didn't check it for a while. Glad you got it worked out. So these are pre-made harnesses with '95 vehicle side and '96 control side connectors? I was going to change mine over at the pins, but ended up just doing splices

Yeah, it's a plug and play harness made by Ac Delco .

[Just call me Sean]

I know what you mean about the bezels and headlight switch, here's mine. They changed the design of the switch in 95, it twists instead.

[special-K]

I never had any problems out of my '92 dash. Never any cracks or need to repair anything. What I didn't like about the headlight/parking light switch was they weren't considering flashing semis when they are clear with that design, which I always do. You have to shut all the lights down to flash the headlights off and on. With a post type switch or a dial you can just go from headlamp to parking lamp and back

[Just call me Sean]

You have to push/pull the left side of the headlight portion of the switch to flash them. I only flash them for speed traps.

[special-K]

I've always driven with the semis in mind and help them any way I can. Hitting the left side shuts all lights down, tail lights and all. There is no way to only turn the headlights off and on while leaving the running lights on.

[Just call me Sean]

I do it all the time. Pushing the right side shuts all lights off. Pulling the lower left shuts off just the headlights, pulling the upper left shuts all lights off. Pushing the upper left turns on only the parking lights, pushing the lower left turns on all lights. It's a funny switch but it does operate to motor vehicle standards.

[Just call me Sean]

On my way to work my ICM malfunctioned which caused horrible misfiring which caused my muffler to explode... again. I limped a short distance to AutoZone and exchanged the ICM. Now my truck is loud.

[pjmoreland]

The steering on my truck has been binding slightly occasionally. It sounded and felt like it was coming from the column. I bought a replacement column from a low-mileage truck at a local wrecking yard. I had to disassemble both my original column and the new column because the shroud that the gear shift indicator cable clips to was broken on the new column. While disassembling the columns, I discovered that one of the bearing retainer cages was installed backwards in my old column. It was also broken, and there were loose chunks of plastic in there. The bearing cages have a flange on them that is supposed to be inserted inward. The flange pops into a groove that is just past the bearing race. This retains the bearing cage and keeps the bearings from falling out while assembling the column.

I now realize that my old column was quite worn out. The shifter and ignition switch mechanisms are much tighter in the replacement unit.

Oh, and I just noticed the zip ties on my brake pedal, so I've got a new pad on order at the local Chevy dealership for $3.

[Boog]

When putting the column back together use a bit of lock tight on those 4 countersunk screws down in the knuckle area to keep it from working loose too.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by Boog

When putting the column back together use a bit of lock tight on those 4 countersunk screws down in the knuckle area to keep it from working loose too.

Good call. I put blue loctite on them. I really don't want to take that column apart ever again!