Cab upgrades

Well, I don't have the "luxury" of an '88 (if you can call a GM diesel luxury! ) I do have a very high opinion of Crutchfield.

They have great customer service, offer -what I feel is- good advice, and don't look down their nose at someone who just wants budget tunes.
They'll even try to downsell, if that makes better sense for whatever system they are consulting about.

They seem to just want all their customers to be happy.
And that's uncommon in this day and age.

It wasn't the luxury Olds, that would have been a 98 Regency which is a C rather than B body (longer). Funny story, only new car I ever bought it was while we owned Preston and the Diesels had just come out. We went down and drove one, the demo was a 98 Regency, We speced out a 98 and an 88 and definitely did not want a vinyl top. The dealership is a family business and Mike Suttle III personally handled the sale. He gave us a story that an 88 like we had speced out had come in without a vinyl roof and the customer turned it down. It was kind of strange because it had exactly what we were looking at, optional tires etc.

MS III offered it at $1100 off sticker when no one was discounting the Diesels, they were selling as fast as they came in at sticker price. They wanted me, owning a well known in the area Carburetor and ignition shop to buy a Diesel car. When it was less than a year old, Karen (my late wife) had our youngest (Matt) in the car and was hit in the right rear by a clown who ran a stop sign. Since the car was almost new it went back to Suttle Motor Company for repair. I was told they put a new quarter panel on, many years later I found it was straightened and bondoed. Fast forward roughly 16 years, first after it only got 16 mpg highway, I figured out the Roosamaster internal timing marks and reset the pump to where it should have and when GM sent a TSB on pump timing errors the service manager called me and asked if I could bring the car down. When they performed the TSB, they found my mark was dead on. Matt was driving the car to and from Norfolk for the Vietnam Veterans Haunted Forest, he was on his way home when a drunk sailor made a left turn in front of him. Car was totaled as the left frame horn was buckled at the steering gear mount. Since I had put a newer engine in it after the original broke the crank at #4 main, I saved that for a Bonneville Diesel I had acquired with a bad engine.

Between the optional tires, Police package front and rear sway bars and 4 Konis, it would take an exit ramp at double the "safe" speed and scared the devil out of people because it had a police car stance to it.

Kool story bro!

ANY 88 is 'luxury' compared to Li'l Red!
The cop package makes it even more desirable.
So, owning a carb and ignition shop and driving a car that had neither didn't seem incongruous???

I get it. And I'm glad Matt was driving a boat when some drunk idiot turned in front of him.

He's a good guy, your son.
And I'm glad he made it through that event.

If fact I kind of miss his input, from back in the FTE days.
He helped me (and many others) with his knowledge and experience.

Yuppers, Matt helped me many times.  And I got to meet him.  

What's he doing these days, Bill?  Can you get him on here?

Gary, his Bullnose now resides very close to it's birthplace, The old Norfolk Assembly Plant. The only Ford he owns is a 2002 Excursion V10. He no longer has the Mustang as Olympus gave him a company car and his other vehicle is a 2009 Harley Davidson Street Glide. As a result I doubt he would be real interested in the forum.

To finish the Oldsmobile/Matt connection, when he was a teenager he went to a local roller rink many times driving the Olds. He came out one night as they were closing, put the key in the ignition and when he turned it on noticed about half the fuel in it had vanished, did a quick check for leaks or a hole in the tank, nada, so he turned the key off and waited. After a bit another kid about his age came out and got into a Camaro parked nearby, started it and got about 1 car length before it smoked, rattled and shut off. Matt cranked up the Olds, gunned it once for effect so the kid realized he had syphoned Diesel fuel instead of gas and roared by him. He found out a few weeks later that by the time the kid had it fixed stealing that tank of Diesel cost him or his parents about $3000 in repairs.

Please tell Matt hello for me.

As for the story, I love it!  Got what he deserved.

Let's see if the kiddie pool underneath helps...



And since I've been slacking, on photos (reallllly slow without WiFi) let's see if I can fill in a little.











I can barely tell the thumbnails on my phone...

Yes, the turquoise kiddie pool did the trick!  I can easily see the drain hole.  

Man, you have done a LOT of work.  Sure is looking good.  And, it'll sound good as well.  

I've pulled the head unit, decyphered  the wire colours, tagged them port & starboard with red and green tape and am working on soldering in the SAE connectors so I can put the drivers kick panel in, replace the sill and bolt down the seat.

Sadly, the rear speaker box will have to wait.
But I did get the front stained to match (gunstock)

And I'm hoping the links will arrive today.
So I can get that back in.

FYI

LR+ = pk/gr
LR-= bl/or

RR+ = pk/bu
RR- = gr/or

So, I got all my wires made up



Tucked away in the kick panel



Acid rinsed the sway bar hardware, and got it painted



Mounted the tiny "Sub" sub.



Then went about modifying the seat.
I started by removing the wire that unlatches the passenger side.



Then made a handle for the passenger side



Then welded that in place



The little green lunchbox is doing fine for a job like this!  



How many times have I mentioned how much I like my old 75?



Remember when we could use one of these instead of a stereo microscope???



How did I even get this old???  👴
(Well, at least I still have a full head of dark hair. )

Looking good, Jim!  Yes, I remember the magnifying glass with alligator clips.  They work very nicely.  

The hardware looks great as well, but I really like that sub and the insulation.  However, tell me more about the seat mods?  What are you doing and why?

Last, I think it is a Fluke that you like that meter.  

I remember trying to solder without one of those alligator clip stands. It's a necessity for the quality of my solder work.

So,  theres a piece of music wire that links the handle on the drivers side to the slider on the right.
I had to move the sub forward because when I used a Bullnose seat cover on my brick seat, I put a rail across the back for the C-channel to fit over, and it didn't want to fit over the sub.

I took the wire off, but made a lever for the passenger side.
I'll get a picture of it in position in the morning. I'm bushed....

It's NO Fluke... I cherish that meter.
I bought it WAY back, on a trip to Wise or MJM electronics.
I had made a couple of bucks parting out main boards from some DEW station my dad had bought at auction.

Of course my Simpson 260 is the gem of my meters. But I didn't need instant response.
That thing is GOLD when you are shifting around a harness looking for a fault.
It reacts where a digital meter is just thinking about responding.

I also have a Meterman 33XL that is my knockabout meter.
It's in the truck ALWAYS.

Shaun,
Yeah. I'm usually ok, but when I'm kneeling next to the truck, my glasses are fogging and I'm just out of hands, it is a real lifesaver.  

So, I just got my sway bar hardware, and despite it being from the same vendor, and packaged identically...
They're two different links.  😖



I guess I'm going to have to match my surviving link and rebuild it with the Moog bushings I already have?

For Gary:



The handle I made



And fully extended (disengaged)

Bad deal on the links

Handle looks great though!

I think the willful witch is just getting back at me for all the years of neglect and abuse...

She's doing a good job too!!!  

Link acid, washed and painted.



I guess I'll be back at it in the morning.  😐

Ok, a question for you audiophiles..

My head unit is 'rated' 45W RMS & 100W max, x 4 channels.

Since it looks like I'm getting new speakers, should I be looking for a pair closest to this without going under, or is more okay (say 75 RMS & 150-200 max?)

I'd think I want speakers matched to output, so I don't fall short driving them.
But I admit my ignorance and am looking for seasoned advice without turning to the cesspool of the internet.

I'm sure I could call Crutchfield, give them my order number and ask for rear channel speakers, but I don't want to waste their time asking them to explain it to me.
(And I do want to see the logic behind it)

TIA

Genuinely interested in the responses you get on this Jim. I am no audiophile but enjoy the theory and discussion of this stuff.

Did some research and talking to some local audio shops (getting to be fewer and fewer around here) when planning out my truck.

What I pieced together was having them close but the amp being a little more was good. This avoids clipping but you do run the risk of blowing the speakers if you 'turn it to 11'.

For instance my speakers are 100RMS and my amp is 125RMS per bridged channel. Each speaker is on its own channel from the amp.