Well, a quick update with some maintenance and one of the best mods I've done to the truck...
First the maintenance. I have been moving a set of front calipers and rotors for 5 years now, and finally decided to put it all on. With 210k miles, the stock front rotors and pads still had plenty of life left in them, but I was tired of the rattle that comes with mileage on these trucks as the pads and clips wear, and figured I could use the shelf space back. Loaded OEM calipers went right on, but it turns out I had one front rotor and one rear rotor instead of two fronts. No big deal, got a new one from the parts store and it's all much better now, with no rattle!
And for the best mod EVER... I still have the t-case shifter knob from my first truck, which my friends named "Barfy".
I bought the truck when I was still in HS. A '78 Chevy with a 250 straight six, a SM465 trans and a 205 t-case. And 87,000 miles and just about ZERO maintenance. The owner even bragged that he changed the oil every 10k miles whether it needed it or not...
I tore it down to the frame, and then fixed it up with southern sheet metal, a water pump, and a set of shocks, and it took me to college!
For four years, it took me exploring on the weekends, paid the bills plowing snow all winter, and did commuter duty in the summer, trekking all over MI and WI. It did all this with hardly any down time, and never once made me walk. (OK, I may have hit a tree while running sweep for a rally, but even that didn't keep it down for long!)
Bought it new tires and wheels, and a nice new grill after I graduated and took it to Silver lake, and more four wheeling in the UP of MI.
But eventually we started going to Canada to explore, and the trials were too tight for a full size, and I got tired of 10 hour drives in an old noisy truck, squeezing down trails meant for a jeep, and replacing windshields... It eventually became my sister's plow truck, where it served her for 4 or 5 years. Then it went to a college friend for a winter after my sister got rid of the house with a mile long driveway.
My friend brought it out to Colorado for me, and we took it on one last trip, to Moab no less, where it showed that it was still capable of doing pretty much anything we were up for!!
But I had no use for a rotten truck anymore, so I parted it out when we returned.
Now all I have of this truck is the fuel injection harness, the grill, and the t-case shifter knob.
So here it is, the best mod ever. (for me!)
I had to thread the shift shaft, but that was fairly easy. Looks like it belongs here, and brings a smile to my face every time I look down.
Before:
After:
Much better!!
