1991 V3500 Project Heavy Hauler

[COS399]

Looking good. We have already had some snow and below freezing mornings over here.

[MTCK]

Thanks COS. Glad to see you are getting out and driving your rig a bit. I'm hoping the white stuff stays away another couple of weeks... I have some more outdoor home improvement work to do before the snow flies.

I swapped the steering column, adjusted the shift linkage (after a brief freak out when I couldn't put it in park), and decided to just button it up. I've seen a few of these trucks be able to pull off the wood grain trim, but this isn't one of them, so I put the Cheyenne trim in place of the Silverado trim before installing the dash pad. I put in all my LED dash lights, dome light and courtesy lamp under the front dash. Much better. Had to tweak the contacts on the lights as the dash lights are supposed to be replaced as an assembly that includes the plastic mounting base. I took them apart and made it work.

I couldn't resist taking it for a little ride, so I took my wife a coffee since she is on night shift. Turned over 100k miles on the way there. Sure is nice having tilt steering, a real steering wheel and a stereo with Bluetooth.

Need to center the steering wheel, install the rear belts, install the fat mat on the roof, doors and pillars, drill the rest of the holes for the trim and and and and.....

[jhama78]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Do that for sure, j-rod. What time of year are you normally up here? We are supposed to be getting some great aurora these next few nights but it is overcast. I've been out to poker flats for a tour about 20 years ago when I was in junior high. It was pretty cool!

I'll actually be coming back out there sometime between Turkey Day and Crimmas for about a week to do some surveying work on one of the launchers. But, we normally are there in the summer since 90% of our work is outside.

Ill give ya a shout when I head that way in Nov/Dec for sure.

[whitels1]

I gotta get me some of them LEDs they are super bright! Looking good man!

[MTCK]

Sounds like a plan, j-rod. Thanks Dave. Funny you should mention how bright they are, since they come from www.superbrightleds.com Haha. I was farting around looking for pics of this stock color on a 3+3 and came across this truck. For 25k you could not duplicate what this truck had done to it:

http://www.cajeeprestoration.com/tru...91/crew-cab/45

http://www.2040cars.com/Chevrolet/Ot...on-4x4-626276/

[MTCK]

Had to work a half day so didn't get as much done. I picked up a steamer from Walmart and removed the film from the back window and rear doors. No more purple tint! I also finished the fat mat install on the rear doors and got the left side all buttoned up. I had to trim the plastic where the power window switch was originally to allow the crank to pass through. The fabric trim piece covers the exposed end almost perfectly. When the interior upholstery is getting done I'll have them make a smaller hole centered at the crank.

Amazon came through with my seat heaters for four seats. If you are sitting in the middle back you are SOL. Everybody else will have toasty buns. These were highly rated and made by Dorman.

[MTCK]

Made in the USA! Thanks CaptKaos. Quality appears to be excellent, just don't ask what shipping to AK cost.

[whitels1]

Lookin good!

[joe231]

Gotta ask...
How much was shipping on the door panels? And how much were the panels?
I need a set

[MTCK]

Originally Posted by joe231

Gotta ask...
How much was shipping on the door panels? And how much were the panels?
I need a set

Hey did my wife put you up to this??? The panels were a little under $200 and shipping was a little over $100. I was able to use the power door panels in the rear but no way up front. I'll get the front and rear fabric parts covered in the same material.

[joe231]

Lol
Thanks!

[y5mgisi]

I cant wait to see how you install the heated seat elements.

[MTCK]

I'm going to hand them to the upholstery shop and tell them which direction to point the cords! The switches and relays will go in the center console.

[MTCK]

Finally got a little work done. My dad was in town this weekend so it was fun to do a little work with him. We bled the brakes after installing my ORD lines, but still had a mushy pedal so I grabbed a bleeding kit from napa and bench bled them. Lots of gunk came out of the brake lines.

[MTCK]

I installed the speaker pods. They fit great and feel solid. No parking brake clearance issues once I adjusted it. I also put the drivers door together buttoned up the seat belts in the rear.

Not pictured are working license plate lights and a new 7 - pin trailer wiring plug.

[y5mgisi]

You are getting lots of work done!

[joe231]

Very nice!!

[MTCK]

Thanks guys. Man she is a lot quieter now! Still a lot of wind noise but that is expected with these trucks.

[Greenlee]

Looking good!

[MTCK]

Thanks Greenlee. Truck has been getting lots of work done to it lately so today it had to return the favor. About an 11k lbs machine plus whatever the trailer weighs. I need more power!

[Greenlee]

Nice! Looks like it's not squatting the rear end much.

When I was a kid my dad had a Case backhoe that probably weighed about 12,000 lbs. We pulled it all over with the place with a 78' Chevy 3/4 ton. I'm sure we needed more power and more suspension, but we didn't know any better.

[COS399]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Thanks Greenlee. Truck has been getting lots of work done to it lately so today it had to return the favor. About an 11k lbs machine plus whatever the trailer weighs. I need more power!

So, will you truck be moving over to the diesel conversion section????

Looking good. Keep it up.

[whitels1]

Originally Posted by COS399

So, will you truck be moving over to the diesel conversion section????

Looking good. Keep it up.

LSx Section...you mean?

[MTCK]

Greenlee you are right - I have hauled bigger loads with smaller trucks, but this 350 is just soooo tired. Thank goodness for 4.56 years. Got any pics of the Case and old 3/4 ton?

COS and Dave you guys are both close, but no cigar. Keeping spark plugs but not an LS motor. Hint on page one maybe?

Just calc'd my fuel mileage through a tank of fuel. Only about 15 miles were with a trailer. 8 mpg. Can't get much worse than that.

[MTCK]

Decided to stop tempting fate and wired up a new trailer brake controller. Tekonsha prodigy 2. I'll report on how it works tomorrow. I mounted the controller using the holes for the OBD port so I didn't need to drill any holes. No pictures since the website won't upload from my phone.