Gary Lewis

Great! Glad it helped. Sure glad you found the parts. Hopefully your shims will work. Let us know!

Wise words!

Good info. The McMaster Carr catalog says that 4936K929 is a "Compact Extreme-Pressure Steel Pipe Fitting, Plug with Hex Drive, M18 x 1.5 mm Male Thread". Thanks!

Shaun - Is that the extent of the scratch? Is it all above the travel of the top ring? If so, it needs to be smoothed so there are no sharp edges to cause detonation, but otherwise there shouldn't be a problem. But you are still going to bore it, right? Honing alone won't make the cylinders round, and they are almost sure to have taper.

Good points, Shaun. That makes it easier. Edit: I plan on climbing the Microfiche Tower today and checking my 1982 MPC set to see what the part numbers are for the door panels that just have the star. May tell us something.

Bummer! Sorry to see that. Wonder what it was that caused the damage? Had to have been hard to have scratched the block. But it'll clean up with a bore job, although it may take more that .010" to do it. Good luck!

Thanks. I'm not saying that the MPC is correct, but I think it gives us hints on how things may have happened.

Rob - On the Highliner, can I install it and then mount the GMRS radio fairly easily w/o removing the Highliner? I'll bring power and ground up there and provide a connector out for the antenna - although I haven't figured that one out yet.

But, what kind of door panels, Scott? IOW, the MPC says that w/o woodgrain and w/o bright moulding is a 1981 part. But with bright moulding or with woodgrain the part number isn't shown. So I'm wondering if those with bright moulding or woodgrain was the new style w/o studs.

That's me exactly. Oh, I need to fix "this". But wait, fixing that I have this other thing off, so why not fix it? Pretty soon you have a new truck.

Same! Shaun - Glad the engine looks good. Remind me of your plans for it?

Actually, as I now look at it, I doubt it helps at all!

Why worry about it, we are going into winter! Seriously though, you are right that we don't have that info on the site. But here's what I've found and I need to put it on the site. Does it help?

That's a good trick, Bill! Wish I'd have known it a few days ago.

Interesting, Shaun. So the '82 panels, at least the ones you have, don't have studs. But, according to the MPC all of the '82 door panels had an E1 prefix. But Dad's 1981 door panels have studs. EDIT: Wait! There are two whole rows of panels that don't have part numbers, just the black star that says they were all discontinued. So, is it possible those had an E2 prefix and didn't have the studs?

Yippee! The Highliner has shipped from JBG! Glad I'm working on the interior trim as I should have it all done before the Highliner gets here and I should be ready to install it then. Just a bit more, like the dash pad/cover, the A-pillar trim, and maybe a dusting on the kick panel vents as they are UV faded a bit and now's the time if ever. So, and this is to me, I just need to get all the pieces in save for the metal trim around the edges of the headliner before installing the Highliner. Then the metal trim goes on.

Well the foam needs to be replaced where the kick panel vents go up against the truck, but it looks like the foam inside the vents is ok. So I just scrubbed them with a toothbrush and Dawn and I think they'll be fine w/o painting. Here's the before: Here are the two strips of Gorilla Tape I put on, with the top strip overlapping the metal about 3/16" on the top, so it isn't coming loose: And, here's the result:

I'll check it out, Scott. I need to pull that vent anyway to check out the foam on the back, and maybe paint it to match. Speaking of painting, today's tally includes the 2nd rear corner panel, the 2nd door panel, the arm rests, the sun visors which were brown, and the clips the sun visors snap into. And for the record, that's just about used up the 2nd can of 4130 Regatta Blue. Hopefully I can do the dash pad and cover tomorrow and maybe have enough left over to do the A-pillar trim. Plus, some of the metal trim is showing its age.

in CT?

WAIT! Is your lift frame or body? The E4OD is so long that the t-case will hit the floor on a regular cab truck w/o a body lift. Been there and had to cut the floor out and graft a piece in on Dad's truck.

Good point, Jim. I guess I was assuming that Sky has a kit for that, but I don't know. And it may take welding.

I don't think I had to do any welding due to the SAS or RSK. LOTS of drilling rivets out and drilling a few new holes in the frame. But really nothing that was all that difficult. By far the biggest issues I had were due to the bent frame and the fact that I got serial #1 of the SD RSK kits from Sky. After that it was just a lot of work. I've not done a lift, so I can't compare.

If they are comparable costs, then the question I'd want to ask is how you are going to use the truck. If you are going to put many highway miles on it I'd vote for the E4OD due to the lock-up torque converter and the overdrive gear. That will save you $ in fuel awa.

Scott - That should work if I can figure out what to stick it to. Will look in a bit. Dane - Thanks!

Ok, here's what I have, all new: Spectra Premium F26D: This is the 38 gallon fuel tank that goes behind the rear axle. The only place I can find it is at Summit and they don't technically have it but say they'll get it to me by 11/30 for $201 + $10 shipping. And it comes with the installation kit that includes the parts and instructions to extend the pickup so it'll reach the bottom of the tank. But, I no longer have the box, although it was just cardboard, so that shouldn't be a problem. Sending Unit: I have a new in box 43-4044 sending unit, which came from LMC, and this page on their site says it is $60 but I can't figure out what the shipping cost would be. Also, this is for a truck with an engine-mounted fuel pump. Anti-Squeak Set: This appears to be the insulation that goes between the straps and the tank. It is listed at $5. Bottom line is that the list price for the stuff would be $201 + $60 + $4 = $265. As said, I'll sell it at half the list price or $133. But the shipping is on you and I know that the tank is going to be fairly expensive given its size and weight. I can supply pics if you are interested.