Running good — now what?

Three weeks ago I replaced the spark plug wires and a broken spark plug. I also checked the connections on the main wire harness and zip-tied it into place to keep it from getting stretched. Since then I haven’t had a single stalling issue. I’ve been afraid to post in the fear that I would jinx myself, but the old girl is running well. Perhaps one of the spark plug wires was bad, or the cracked plug was the culprit. I may never know for sure.

I also started the process of plasti-dipping the rims in black. The rims are three piece, consisting of a base rim, chrome outer ring and chrome/plastic hub cover. The red trim on the chrome was faded and the metal rim was starting to show some rust on its faded gray paint. I masked them off and painted all four wheels with about five coats of plasticized paint. After letting it dry and cure, I noticed that there are still some areas that need touch up, but overall they look pretty good. I’ll post pictures once I’m done.

With the high humidity and heat we’ve had lately, the headliner is starting to sag again. I think I’m going to have to pull the old one off completely and get new fabric to glue on the original cardboard base. For now, it is serving its purpose.

I got tired of the rattling underneath the truck from the spare tire holder (which was empty), so I took out my handy reciprocating saw a week or so back and sawed through the bolts holding it up. It cut down on the rattling noises markedly. Now, the only sounds I hear as I go over bumps are from the tailgate, which I may have to do some work on to stop it from rattling as well. Part of the issue is due to the worn shocks, which give me a bumpy overall ride anyway. When I have a little extra money in the bank, I’m thinking I should replace them.

Before fall comes I want to put on a Tonneau cover as well, so we can carry things around in the bed without them getting wet. Over the weekend, Owen and I polished the whole truck with Nu-Shine, which made the paint color much richer and a bit shinier. It may need another coat in about 30 days according the directions on the bottle. I’ll probably follow that up with some turtle wax.

Another fall project will be replacing the rear slider window, which currently does not seal tightly or lock at all. I already have a quote on that–I’m just waiting to save the funds.

Cosmetic and electrical fixes

I finally got around to grabbing a can of touch-up paint for the Duraliner and sprayed over some bare spots on the tailgate. I also painted over some white stains that I’m assuming came from paint or some other caustic agent.

Before

After

While I had the paint out, I taped off and sprayed the old gray bumper hitch receiver.

Then I sprayed the two remaining lower brackets from the old truck bed camper that was on this truck. I’m now using them as a step up to get into the truck bed.

I have still had some intermittent stalling issues, so I decided to replace the key tumbler in the ignition since it was loose and sloppy. Lastly, I replaced all of the spark plug wires. While I was doing that, I replaced a cracked spark plug. Last time it was in the shop, the mechanic replaced another broken plug. After finishing up, it started and ran great when Owen and I took it for a shakedown run. When I have some more time, I think replacing all of the plugs might be a good idea.

The old, broken spark plug

Holiday Updates to Old Blue

Had time to glue on the missing EFI logo and glue the drooping headliner back in place this weekend.