ckuske

Thanks Shaun, I actually have the same kit, I didn’t think of this! Worth a shot, you are correct that the foam in that kit would be ideal. That being said, I got some different foam in the mail and it looks to be on the money, but I need to see how it fits in the truck. While it’s clear I’m not going to sell a boatload of these by any means, I need to find a source to buy supplies for more. Thanks!

Hi Gary, Yeah, I made a guess on the thickness but I was wrong. It’s surprisingly difficult to find foam in sheets that is 1/8” thick or less, and not neoprene. I figure neoprene won’t smell great heated…. Weatherstripping foam is great, but it’s in coils or narrow rolls 1 or 2” wide. The door is 8”x4.5”. I know exactly what I’m looking for but my Google-fu is failing me. I’m really looking for what I think is called “charcoal foam” but in thin sheets. (And reasonably priced) The foam is 2mm thick with adhesive backing. With 4mm, it’s close but didn’t touch the whole way around. This is one of the things I need to test when I can get heat going again - feel for blow by. i think 1/4” is probably a better place to start. I have some more work to do in this area…

Here are some new pics after foam has been applied. I might double up on the foam on the front after testing (can't do it at the moment, long story involving multiple mishaps with getting stuff shipped to me...)

Thanks guys, I think it's pretty spiffy. I think it will hold up nicely and it has some advantages over existing solutions. The offer stands above for me to send a free one to the next unlucky person that needs to fix their blend door to verify fit/function in another truck. After that if everything works, if you guys could offer this to anyone as a possible solution I'd appreciate it! (if you're so inclined) I'll probably post to FTE as well a little while down the road... And yes Scott, the ABS is harder to print! My friend says its harder to get things to stick to the build plate while printing.

Hi Everyone, I recently had my dash apart as part of the restoration (still in progress) I'm working on, and I noted my Heater Blend Door had separated from its hinges. This explained why only my defroster worked and not my vents. Anyway, I shared my tale of woe to a coworker who recently started using a 3D printer. He offered to print me a replacement part with some improvements to boot. After a few iterations, I believe we have something that is ready for beta testing. If someone would like to install this and try it out, we can offer a free copy to that person. Feel free to send me a private message or reply to this thread. I still have to work out a few details (like attaching foam to both sides of the door) but the main purpose of this post is to have a fit check done on someone else's truck. A sample size of one does not mean it works everywhere. The main advantage to this design is that the hinge will not break and separate from the door like the original door design, where only a very thin bead of plastic joined the two pieces together. This design also uses clips and nuts to fasten the door instead of rivets. I drilled out the rivets on my plenum and am using the original screws on the top and bottom holes, and new hardware that allows for larger holes where the rivets used to be. The assembly is printed in ABS plastic which should be able to handle the temperature range needed, but real-life testing is yet to be done. We do not have a price in mind yet, but the goal is to be reasonably priced emphasizing that this is meant to be something that won't need to be touched again, is a better design, and is ready-made for installation with a minimum of fuss. I've attached some pictures below, any and all feedback is welcome! Hopefully this is something that can provide some utility to others out there. I will post updates here as well if that is OK as we fine-tune things. Thanks, Chris

I'd love to find a set (can't remember if it was just the door key, or ignition also) of the aluminum keys... if anyone has blanks or leads to those, I'd be interested

Thanks Gary. I’ll see what I can get from Amazon, I have time to get the right thing. Thanks for answering. Maybe putting the little bit of cement won’t make it 100% reusable but I’ll take that over a leak!

So a week or so ago in my project thread I mentioned that the passenger side valve cover had an oil leak dripping onto the exhaust manifold (#4 cylinder) after starting my engine for the first time in at least 18 months... I purchased the gaskets from Real Gaskets (https://realgaskets.com/product/valve-cover-gaskets-33/), and the instructions say emphatically to not use any sealant etc. Ok, fine. But my question is this: I have a feeling that while fishing the rear of the cover through the wire harness etc, that the gasket shifted a little bit (even though I had the tabs on the gasket pushed onto the notches on cover itself). I'd like to put a very small amount of something on to the side of the gasket that touches the cover, just to make sure it doesn't move or flop around a little bit during installation. Advice/suggestions? Since the gaskets are silicone, I am thinking normal adhesives may not work that are intended for rubber/cork. A quick Google say E6000 may work? I intend on using a very small amount, just to hold the gasket while installing. I will also be hammering the holes flush again just to be sure that didn't contribute at all, even though I didn't torque the bolts down very much - I will be getting a torque wrench that does in/lbs as well

Yeah, I thought that was pretty clever (wish I could take credit for it). This friend at work is one of those guys that's good at everything, and you wonder how they do it?

Hi Gary, Yes, it's actually pretty rigid. Only at the edges does it have much give, and maybe 2-3mm when you apply a decent amount of force. Actually I've found that the little bit of flex helps, as you have to angle the door into the plenum, stand it on edge (normal orientation) and finagle with getting the vacuum motor arm set up with the pin holding it in place. If it was totally rigid it may be more difficult to get it installed. I forget which plastic this is currently... I think it's PLA. The hopefully final revision with be printed in ABS for a better temperature range that it can handle. We also thinking about putting some raised walls around the back side of the screw holes, that way nuts can be pressed into place and machine screws can be used instead of the sheet metal style that the hinge originally had... As soon as I get the new version I'll post pictures of that, and then I imagine we will want a tester or two to verify fit in another truck.

Here are some pictures of the proof of concept, there will be another print after having to shift things up and down a little bit etc. The current one does work, but the vacuum arm gets a little caught up when the engine first starts, where the arm connects to the door needs to be brought up some, the next version will fix that. Hopefully I get the new version after Christmas

Oh my gosh it's gross... I ran almost 7 gallons through it and there's still a whiff. I gave up finally.

I have it pseudo-mounted in the truck, I'll take a picture in the next day or two. My friend has an idea to try to print them for sale, but I'll ask him if he'd consider it. He drew it up in FreeCAD but I don't have really any more details than that.

They were indeed! I'm finally getting to the point to be able to actually start painting interior parts. It's a long story, but I was diverted by the flooring/painting work on our house for a month - all seemed to settle down. Then, I was in Las Vegas for re:Invent (AWS conference) and my wife called me pretty upset - there was a water leak inside a wall and was there was wet drywall and water under our new floors.... Bottom line, a crew member of the flooring guy put a baseboard nail through our hot water supply pipe in my sons closet. It didn't spring a leak (that we knew of at least) until the nail corroded to the point that water was able to get by... so, now our floor is torn back out in two bedrooms to be replaced. Thankfully the flooring guy took responsibility and is covering it.... Given all that, not much time for the truck. But, there has been progress: 1. I showed a friend at work the piano hinge contraption. He asked to borrow it and two days later came back with a 3-D printed hinge and door that is WAY better than what I made with my limited tools. He is printing me an ABS version that is more temperature resistant and has a few tweaks to the dimensions. 2. To test the door to make sure it worked smoothly, I needed to run the engine! So, I finally filled the radiator, crossed my fingers, and said a little prayer. I used my new electric "priming" pump that's on a push button in the cab, pressed the pedal down once, turned the key and the engine started and ran for the first time in about 2.5 years! I had a few little issues - the transmission cooling line fitting on the radiator wasn't cinched enough so it was leaking at first. And even after re-torquing the valve covers, there is some burning oil near the #4 cylinder. I'm not sure yet if it is residual from before I retightened the covers, or is still leaking. I also put ThermoCure into the radiator and did a radiator flush. It got a decent amount of crud out, but not a ton thankfully. I have the Champion in-line radiator filter, and the screen is catching some old scale/rust. I have to do one more flush I think with water before I'm ready to put 50/50 antifreeze. That was a long way of saying that the door works, so now I can paint the dash and start painting/reassembling each interior part! I hope to post updates more frequently now, and fix that valve cover issue. Of course it's on the side with almost all the emissions junk, so taking it back off to diagnose will be a bear...

No worries at all, just making you aware of options in case you hadn't seen them already. Carry on!

I'm not going to even get near all the discussions that could be had, just noticed this trailer for Dave Chappelle's latest special, and noticed he is driving a nice looking Bullnose. He lives in small town in Ohio, perhaps it is really his? (There is a little bad language in the clip, FYI) Edit: Nevermind, the steering wheel looks like a Aeronose? But it was close...

I'm not sure if it is a direct fit, but AWS has SES (Simple Email Service) for SMTP, maybe it'll be cheaper for you?

Those AWS bills can sneak up on you, so be sure to say something!

Thanks for all your work, Gary! I'm not sure if you have mulled this over before, but have you considered a "Coffee Fund" or a Patreon account? I've certainly gotten enough from this site to justify a contribution to keeping the site up. Just a thought.

OK, I'll do that. I'll buy the piano hinge etc. In the meantime, I've ordered the SEM paint from Vinyl Pro so I can reinstall my dash (and paint everything else, too) I'm getting new flooring in my house next week, and I probably won't make any headway on the truck until the dust settles from that... there goes my accountability.

While I have the dash out, I'm wondering if I should replace the blend door. I think it is working still and I will verify once I have the engine running (as I'll have vacuum to test). It works though - leave it, or replace? I think I know the answer but I'll ask anyway

Well, I completed about half my goals for September that I set for myself. In my life, that’s pretty good. I’d like to get the dash reinstalled, the truck started, and the Dynamat laid in October. I’m guessing the bed and rear end will keep me busy through the rest of the year. After that, shake the bugs out and hope for next paint next year. I’m trying to be thorough. It is my Dads truck afterall, and he was a perfectionist. The 16 year old me would have shaken his head. But, turns out the older I get the more like my Dad I become. I’m ok with that... Now my kids just shake their head at me working on this old thing. The family is behind me at the end of the day, even if they secretly wonder when the Amazon and UPS deliveries will stop.

Just catching those interested up with what I've been up to. I've painted the interior sheet metal/floor pan and doors with the original color paint (3L). Don't mind all the tape - just there for masking and to keep wires off the floor as I painted. I've also wired in the push-button for my electric fuel pump (to get fuel to the carb for a few seconds after long sits between starts) Today I hope to lubricate the window regulators - they aren't bad, but can probably use some new grease. I have my SEM paint on order form Vinylpro for the dash/interior plastic, that should hopefully be here by the weekend. I will paint the dash and then reinstall the instrument cluster, and try to start 'er up. (Been about 18 months at this point) ​My daughter helped me change the oil last weekend. Once I confirm things are OK at the front of the truck, I will continue to paint the rest of the interior. I also have Dynamat to lay down on the floor and door panels. I have also gotten the stock wheels from Rob (Sac79 - thanks Rob!) which I will be taking to get blasted and powder coated, I'll post more on that as it develops. The basic plan is to finish the interior minus carpet and new speaker wiring, then move onto fixing the rear half of the truck. That mainly involves new bed wood, replacing one crossmember, and fixing a leaky diff. OK, now that I've put all that out there, I am now accountable to actually do it! Still having fun though.

Yeah, I read the same. Having a preset on my factory radio for this would be ironic in the best manner possible.

That's right; the 5.8L 4V H.O. was never controlled by EEC. That engine was used until the 1987 model year. The standard 5.8L (2V) came with EEC-IV in 1984. The 4.9L 300 also came with EEC-IV in 1984. The 5.0L (2V) came with EEC in early 1985, right before it was replaced with EFI in mid 1985. Unless you have a California truck… then you get all the emissions things. My '84 302 has EEC-IV with TFI