'88 Eliminator... Feb. 2009 - Nov. 2024

[neohic]

On 1/14/2024 at 3:26 PM, pizzaman09 said:

… it's a beautiful truck and will be happier if you drive it more frequently.

I think it photographs a little better than it is. 
 

Quick project today. When I made the transfer case shifter a LONG time ago I used a GM style column shifter knob. It finally cracked and fell apart. Gone are the days of just picking up another one off the shelf at a parts store, I guess? I improvised at the hardware store.

 

[neohic]

Proof of life and doing truck stuff today.

 

[neohic]

Time for a VERY overdue day in the shop.

 

 

When I first brought this truck home from its long storage slumber it sat for a little while longer because it needed the transmission pulled to change the input seal behind the torque converter. Was that all it needed?… nope.

 

First in the list was pulling the fuel pump. Last winter it served daily driver status because the usual daily needed a water pump. The car was still under warranty which meant that it sat at the dealership for a couple weeks. Sadly, the truck let me down in terms of stumbling and dying a few times but I completely understand that this was my fault. Now that winter is rolling around again (we had 24” of snow fall over the past few days!), I figure it’s time to get it back to “reliable” status.

 

What’s in the tank?…besides what’s left of last January’s gas?…

 

 

… surprising not much. I was expecting to find a small, scummy pond! As for the pump assembly, I think I found where the stumbling was coming from.

 

 

Classic case of a collapsed fuel line out of the pump along with an embarrassingly disgusting sock. Threw a new Carter pump and sock in the sending unit and even reused the high-speed, custom hose clamp I used to keep the pump together in a parking lot WAY back in 2006. Felt like bad luck to get rid of it!

 

 

Next in the list was the lack-luster brakes. Again this was my fault. Cue the capital letters again, WAY back in 2010 when the truck was coming together again for its third life I never did anything but add a zip tie to the rear brake proportioning valve to get more juice to the rear disks… that was never actually enough.

 

 

I did the typical delete and plugged the line from the distribution block. Will I need a prop valve with the rear disks?… stay tuned. A while back, Don had this same setup with good results.

 

With the prop valve out if the way, we can clearly see the red overspray on the rear harness, the cheap Gabriel shocks that are surprisingly still hanging in there 14 years later, and the lack of bump stop extensions. Maybe some addition shop time on more upgrades? Maybe… maybe… Need to leave a little meat on the bone, ya know?

 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Lookin mighty good in the snow! Excellent work. One of these days I'm going to have to service my gas tank + pump. both are still stock

[neohic]

PSA: When you change your fuel pump, make sure the new assembly o-ring is the same size as the old one otherwise your tank will leak… a lot. 
 

[Drahcir495]

1 hour ago, neohic said:

PSA: When you change your fuel pump, make sure the new assembly o-ring is the same size as the old one otherwise your tank will leak… a lot. 
 

I learned that the hard way too. 

[neohic]

Drove to work the other day and made a mental list of creature comfort updates.
 

 

I think I need to take a look at what it’ll take to clean up the original seats (maybe seat foam, back rest handles, and the little plastic deals and frames to make them flip forward?) and figure a different radio. The auxiliary input I added to the factory radio worked… and then it didn’t. Always something. 

[neohic]

Bringing sexy back…

 

 

I pulled the original seats out of storage to have a good look at them. Why did I get rid of these in the first place?! They’re dirty. The seat doesn’t fold forward on the drivers side. All of the plastic touch points are either broken or missing. I feel like I could’ve tried harder when I was going through the truck way back when. Glad I didn’t get rid of them though!

 

 

Overall they’re still in great shape other than the missing/broken parts. There is one small crack on the driver’s seat bottom. Otherwise these are a part of this truck’s winter plans.