[WarMonger]

Originally Posted by AKC

Interesting day...

Picked up the truck, drove it home. Or at least towards home. (only an 18 mile trip)

I knew the front tires were a little low, so I swung by my tire place to have them all aired up. They would't do it. Turns out the tires were 11 1/2 years old and they won't deal with them past 10 years.

I know it's just a liability thing, and I could've said "OK, thanks." And gone down to the nearest service station and done it myself.

But I trust my tire guy, and decided to spring for new shoes. One of the pitfalls of a dually - 6 tires. BF Goodrich's. Mounted and balanced, new valves/stems. Don't ask.

Then I went and stopped at the local (and new) Autozone, walked in, looked at a couple knobs and things, turned around and walked out. Went to the NAPA a couple doors down, they had what I wanted. Quality's probably not any better, but they had them.

Stopped to get some gas. I smell gas. I don't know if it's because the filler neck is right behind me, I don't see any leaks in the cab. Gas cap isn't the tightest fitting in the world. Might be coming from the engine bay, I'm not sure. Have to do some 'vestigatin.

Got home. Can't say what the neighbors think, but I really don't care. (I live in a retirement community. I know there's more than just a few motorheads in here.)

Took a bunch more pics (I'll upload later) so I could see where things started.

Then out came all the blue velour upholstery, along with all the upholstery dust. (That's what the thin foam layer had turned into) Of course it was all glued down, but so long ago that it all just peeled up. The dash pad is toast, even if it wasn't cracked, it's got glue all over it. Cheap replacement. Discovered under the blue carpet there appears to be perfectly serviceable floor matting. Pulled the velour off the shift lever (C'mon, really?) and swapped out the Virgin Mary knob for a plain black one. The door panels and dash have glue on them, but it looks a damn sight better than the blue crap. They had even upholstered the trim ring for the shift boot, but didn't bother to screw it, or the shift boot, down.

My speedo works, and the gas gauge works, that's it at the moment. The little Sunpro setup is going bye-bye as soon as possible. Removed the three (YES, THREE!) cover wraps from the steering wheel, it's in decent shape. All the lights work, but I think the turn signal switch is busted. They work, but the lever is really floppy, and I can see a crack in the plastic right at the lever. Another cheap replacement.

Vacuumed up all the crap that rained down from the foam, carpet is in fairly good shape, but I don't think it's gonna stay. The seat is in good shape, but the fold down center console wouldn't flip up with it all the way back. They had just screwed the cup holder/stowage arrangement to the back of the flip, I unscrewed it and took it off. That takes care of that. Plus I think I got an extra click further back on the seat.

So that's where it stands at the moment.

I'm gonna go pick up some fresh headlights and swing by my local Saturday Subie meet. This ought to be interesting...

Sorry for the ramble. Pics soon!

Do you remember a little shop there called Cam auto? I dont think they are in business anymore, but that guy was old skool parts man.