Scope Creep - one thing leads to another.....

[NC_John]

I know I'm preaching to the choir but I just have to vent....These 'effin trucks...

When I ordered my first set of parts for Blu last week I saw GMCPaul had "made in the USA" dash pads for a pretty reasonable price so I added one. My original blue one was trashed and looked terrible.

Well, it came in yesterday so after work I got to real work taking the original tore up pad off. I didn't realize so much of the dash had to come apart.

In the process of getting the old one off I busted the original cardboard glovebox while trying to remove it. Not surprising.

Then when I got the old pad off I noticed how lousy the dash looked between the pad and the windshield. That won't do. Start scrubbing to get it ready for paint. In that process I broke one of the defroster vents (brittle original plastic) and then the hose came apart under the dash (add those to the parts list now).

I'm painting the dash between the pad and windshield black with plasti-dip (http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip) to match the new dash pad. The wonderful thing about plasti-dip is if I want to go back to blue I can literally just peel this stuff off.

So the dash will look fresh and the delaminating windshield (all white at the bottom) will look like awful so I'll have to start looking for someone that can do a good job installing a new one. Sigh...more money. Then the instrument cluster will look tired compared to everything else. Then the rush will be on to get a nice steering wheel in there because the one in there now will look even worse.

With the interior gutted one of my seatbelts fell (just a couple inches) and the plastic cover broke on the floor. Sigh again. Need to order a set of seatbelts. Going to black anyway but this is ahead of schedule... The new carpet will make the seat and doorpanels look like crap. One thing leads to another....

[TacBlade]

I here you!! Just did and engine swap and this and that and that and this had to be changed or fixed or replaced!!! Its never ending!!
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[Superdrag67]

I pretty much did the exact same thing. The old dash pad was just disintegrating so i wanted to remove it. Broke a vent and destroyed the glove box. Decided to take apart the gauges and clean them up. When i did i found the printed circuit board is bad alonf with one of the gauges.

Started thinking i should order this thing, then might as well order this and that since it's all apart. My goal is not to be working on this thing for months while it sits. Decided i don't want to dive into the interior now. It's easy to fix up but will easily turn into a 1k project which i don't have right now. Think i am going to just put the guage cluster back together and just ignore the broken crap for now.
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[Andy4639]

And that's why we love our trucks. The more you do to it the more it wants, like petting your dog. The more you pet the more they want to be peted!

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by Andy4639

And that's why we love our trucks. The more you do to it the more it wants, like petting your dog. The more you pet the more they want to be peted!

Good analogy!

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by Superdrag67

I pretty much did the exact same thing. The old dash pad was just disintegrating so i wanted to remove it. Broke a vent and destroyed the glove box. Decided to take apart the gauges and clean them up. When i did i found the printed circuit board is bad alonf with one of the gauges.

Started thinking i should order this thing, then might as well order this and that since it's all apart. My goal is not to be working on this thing for months while it sits. Decided i don't want to dive into the interior now. It's easy to fix up but will easily turn into a 1k project which i don't have right now. Think i am going to just put the guage cluster back together and just ignore the broken crap for now.
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my mindset (which needs to be corrected) is "well, since I have it apart, I don't want to put these old parts back on which I am going to replace anyway...." And that's when the bank account starts to shrink.

[Bhelton]

I may have some decent defrost vents if interested, if I do you can have them for free
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[NC_John]

Originally Posted by Bhelton

I may have some decent defrost vents if interested, if I do you can have them for free
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Thanks man! I am going to check out Dixie Truck Parts in Mt. Pleasant shortly. I need an excuse to go to their place and check out what they carry. If I strike out, I'll let you know!

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by NC_John

Thanks man! I am going to check out Dixie Truck Parts in Mt. Pleasant shortly. I need an excuse to go to their place and check out what they carry. If I strike out, I'll let you know!

Dixie had them. I got a pair for $12. Thanks!

[Lee H]

I here ya. Last summer my simple reshoot turned into a full frame off, nut and bolt restoration.

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by Lee H

I here ya. Last summer my simple reshoot turned into a full frame off, nut and bolt restoration.

I'm kind of afraid of that. I just wanted a driver to tinker with. I did such a good job cleaning the frame and undercarriage this past weekend that now it needs paint. How do I just paint the frame? The suspension will have to be done, rear-end, then the engine will look lousy. Have to do under the hood, cab and bed.... One small step leads to a massive project any direction you go.

[PatrickGMC70]

Just like pulling on a thread...
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[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by NC_John

Dixie had them. I got a pair for $12. Thanks!

Did ya buy new black repops?

I cant help but smile reading your post because i'm just now putting my dash back together after the original project if installing a new stereo and defroster hoses, that lead to a new dual voice coil dash speaker, light switch, wiper delay, and a just recently torn glove box replacement while removing it to facilitate the radio install and some wiring ect, also looking for new defroster vents as mine are now cracked and brittle... It loves to be petted...

EDIT, Forgot to add.... In order to wire up the new dash speaker i had to run wires to my amp under the seat, which also meant pulling the seat out lifting the carpet, then paying for an operators manual download for the amp because i couldn't find the manual, it was necessary due to the bridging features and i was going from a 2 speaker to 4 speaker setup.. One thing leads to another..

[Superdrag67]

Originally Posted by NC_John

my mindset (which needs to be corrected) is "well, since I have it apart, I don't want to put these old parts back on which I am going to replace anyway...." And that's when the bank account starts to shrink.

I'm the same way and it took everything i had to throw the gauges back together this morning and put them back in the truck but i did it!
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[Daddy Brim]

I know just what you mean. It seem like when I take something apart, There is something behind it that need to be fixed. I look at it this way, if I fix it now it will not haft to be fixed later. At some point I should be done.