Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

Icing on the cake!

Sorry, missed out on the cool jokes earlier!

Dane - "Cool" jokes.

Scott - Don't know why they are different, but your guess about 3-row vs 4-row is probably right.

Jim - We are down to 32 and are supposed to stay there all night, with more rain coming at midnight. Gonna be slick in the morn. Glad I'm staying home.

Rob - Thanks.

All - Got the SEM paint in today, so tomorrow I might start on the interior pieces. Not sure how many I'll paint, but there are quite a few that are horrible, like the corner trim and the kick panels, so I'll get started with them. And the new door panels are black so have to be painted. And the dash cover must be painted. May leave the metal trim as it seems to be pretty good.

[Gary Lewis]

Dane - "Cool" jokes.

Scott - Don't know why they are different, but your guess about 3-row vs 4-row is probably right.

Jim - We are down to 32 and are supposed to stay there all night, with more rain coming at midnight. Gonna be slick in the morn. Glad I'm staying home.

Rob - Thanks.

All - Got the SEM paint in today, so tomorrow I might start on the interior pieces. Not sure how many I'll paint, but there are quite a few that are horrible, like the corner trim and the kick panels, so I'll get started with them. And the new door panels are black so have to be painted. And the dash cover must be painted. May leave the metal trim as it seems to be pretty good.

Well, didn't start painting, but did start on the interior. George asked me a question about radio/speaker wiring and I just had to have a look, so pulled the driver's door panel off. Sure enough ran the El Cheapo wiring that came with the Sony CDX-GT08 head unit he installed. Probably 18 gauge.

I then pulled the 6 1/2 speaker that was in the door (the hideous 6 x 9's were on the outside of the door panel) and found that it is a Sony 1-826-515-11. A bit of searching finds that they are no longer sold, but that they appear to have sold for $36/pair. Meanwhile I had a text conversation with Jim wherein he pointed out that the CDX-GT08 is only rated 16 watts RMS. Let's just say I'm not too impressed.

George has recommended the Polk speakers, but I'm afraid that the poor little Sony isn't capable of doing a decent job of powering them. Am I going to have to upgrade the head unit? What with? I don't need CD, just Bluetooth and FM.

Then I turned to the doors themselves. (Actually, if I had BT streaming I would have been listening to the Doors instead of turning to them. ) I cleaned the driver's door of all of the yuk I could, including inside, using brake cleaner. Then I started adding sound deadening. And I got pretty much the whole of the outside panel covered and also added a 10" wide strip across the bottom, inside.

And, I reinforced the door where took out a piece to get the 6x9's in/on. Jim suggested welding something on, but I had previously used a piece of aluminum bar and re-used it. But I put it in a different place and used two screws on each end, and I'm pretty sure that the door is now at least as stiff as it was originally.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, didn't start painting, but did start on the interior. George asked me a question about radio/speaker wiring and I just had to have a look, so pulled the driver's door panel off. Sure enough ran the El Cheapo wiring that came with the Sony CDX-GT08 head unit he installed. Probably 18 gauge.

I then pulled the 6 1/2 speaker that was in the door (the hideous 6 x 9's were on the outside of the door panel) and found that it is a Sony 1-826-515-11. A bit of searching finds that they are no longer sold, but that they appear to have sold for $36/pair. Meanwhile I had a text conversation with Jim wherein he pointed out that the CDX-GT08 is only rated 16 watts RMS. Let's just say I'm not too impressed.

George has recommended the Polk speakers, but I'm afraid that the poor little Sony isn't capable of doing a decent job of powering them. Am I going to have to upgrade the head unit? What with? I don't need CD, just Bluetooth and FM.

Then I turned to the doors themselves. (Actually, if I had BT streaming I would have been listening to the Doors instead of turning to them. ) I cleaned the driver's door of all of the yuk I could, including inside, using brake cleaner. Then I started adding sound deadening. And I got pretty much the whole of the outside panel covered and also added a 10" wide strip across the bottom, inside.

And, I reinforced the door where took out a piece to get the 6x9's in/on. Jim suggested welding something on, but I had previously used a piece of aluminum bar and re-used it. But I put it in a different place and used two screws on each end, and I'm pretty sure that the door is now at least as stiff as it was originally.

Gary, I'm going to suggest you spray a little oil in the door bottom to wick into the pinch weld before you button the door back up.

This goes a LONG way towards keeping water (and rust) out.

Have a look at the Sony I got from Crutchfield.

It is a full 4x 45W RMS driven into 4 ohms, has preamp out 2x3 channels, and didn't break even my meagre bank.

Of course, you should do your own research and chose what you like.

When I said "weld", I only saw the hole and didn't know you had already put in some kind of stiffner.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, I'm going to suggest you spray a little oil in the door bottom to wick into the pinch weld before you button the door back up.

This goes a LONG way towards keeping water (and rust) out.

Have a look at the Sony I got from Crutchfield.

It is a full 4x 45W RMS driven into 4 ohms, has preamp out 2x3 channels, and didn't break even my meagre bank.

Of course, you should do your own research and chose what you like.

When I said "weld", I only saw the hole and didn't know you had already put in some kind of stiffner.

Jim - Good idea on the oil in the door. I'll do that tomorrow, especially since if any was there it is now gone due to the brake cleaner I used to clean the door.

Looks like you got the Sony DSX-GS80. I'll take a deeper look at it. But my initial assessment is that it looks good.

Yep, you hadn't seen my plan for stiffening the door. The aluminum bar made a big difference, especially with the two screws per side.

[Machspeed]

Well, didn't start painting, but did start on the interior. George asked me a question about radio/speaker wiring and I just had to have a look, so pulled the driver's door panel off. Sure enough ran the El Cheapo wiring that came with the Sony CDX-GT08 head unit he installed. Probably 18 gauge.

And, I reinforced the door where took out a piece to get the 6x9's in/on. Jim suggested welding something on, but I had previously used a piece of aluminum bar and re-used it. But I put it in a different place and used two screws on each end, and I'm pretty sure that the door is now at least as stiff as it was originally.

Okay fellas, and I'm probably exposing my ignorance, but what is the diamond looking thing I keep seeing in different threads...i.e Gary's post above? Out of context, I'm assuming "previous owner" but I don't get the connection.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Okay fellas, and I'm probably exposing my ignorance, but what is the diamond looking thing I keep seeing in different threads...i.e Gary's post above? Out of context, I'm assuming "previous owner" but I don't get the connection.

LOL! That goes back a ways. A few years ago I acquired Big Blue from Vernon, who lived in Florida. Vernon had hired what turned out to be the worst shade tree mechanics on earth to do all of the work on BB, and finally his wife convinced him to quit pouring good money after bad.

Once I got the truck I started repairing the many, MANY things they'd done wrong - and I'm still doing that to this day. But the problems including bypassing the inertia switch and fuel pump relay, which caused the carb to flood and then the whole engine to fill with gas. Then there was the lack of all the bolts in the engine perches, the huge hole cut in the engine crossmember, the cut out section of the radiator support because they put the engine oil cooler on incorrectly, the grille was cut up, the doors were cut up, and even the radio support was cut!

Meanwhile Shaun/Salans7, who lives in Florida, came up with the "badge". Apparently Florida Man is a widely-acknowledged "being". In fact, there's a page about him/her at Wikipedia, and in part it says:

Florida Man is an Internet meme, popularized in 2013, in which the phrase "Florida Man" is taken from various unrelated news articles describing people who hail from or live in Florida. Internet users typically submit links to news stories and articles about unusual or strange crimes or events occurring in Florida, particularly those where "Florida Man" is mentioned in a headline. The stories call attention to Florida's supposed notoriety for strange and unusual events.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Okay fellas, and I'm probably exposing my ignorance, but what is the diamond looking thing I keep seeing in different threads...i.e Gary's post above? Out of context, I'm assuming "previous owner" but I don't get the connection.

LOL! That goes back a ways. A few years ago I acquired Big Blue from Vernon, who lived in Florida. Vernon had hired what turned out to be the worst shade tree mechanics on earth to do all of the work on BB, and finally his wife convinced him to quit pouring good money after bad.

Once I got the truck I started repairing the many, MANY things they'd done wrong - and I'm still doing that to this day. But the problems including bypassing the inertia switch and fuel pump relay, which caused the carb to flood and then the whole engine to fill with gas. Then there was the lack of all the bolts in the engine perches, the huge hole cut in the engine crossmember, the cut out section of the radiator support because they put the engine oil cooler on incorrectly, the grille was cut up, the doors were cut up, and even the radio support was cut!

Meanwhile Shaun/Salans7, who lives in Florida, came up with the "badge". Apparently Florida Man is a widely-acknowledged "being". In fact, there's a page about him/her at Wikipedia, and in part it says:

Florida Man is an Internet meme, popularized in 2013, in which the phrase "Florida Man" is taken from various unrelated news articles describing people who hail from or live in Florida. Internet users typically submit links to news stories and articles about unusual or strange crimes or events occurring in Florida, particularly those where "Florida Man" is mentioned in a headline. The stories call attention to Florida's supposed notoriety for strange and unusual events.

I think it's mostly due to "bath salts".

Go have a look at Shaun's new swamp buggy!

So much a meme that up here we have a drive time radio spot called -WTF- What The Florida! which is a compilation of crazy crimes and news reports from the sunshine state.

[salans7]

I think it's mostly due to "bath salts".

Go have a look at Shaun's new swamp buggy!

So much a meme that up here we have a drive time radio spot called -WTF- What The Florida! which is a compilation of crazy crimes and news reports from the sunshine state.

I'm still waiting to see what has done to said swamp buggy/hunting truck. If it's bad enough (from what I've heard it is), I may create a thread on it to better explain the phenomenon. Gary can submit his photos as well.

 

[Gary Lewis]

I'm still waiting to see what has done to said swamp buggy/hunting truck. If it's bad enough (from what I've heard it is), I may create a thread on it to better explain the phenomenon. Gary can submit his photos as well.

Gary's aren't all in pics. How do you take a pic of a bypassed inertia switch? Or for that matter the bypassed resistor in the harness, which put 12v to the pump at all times?

But, I do have plenty of pics that attest to the reality of .

[salans7]

I'm still waiting to see what has done to said swamp buggy/hunting truck. If it's bad enough (from what I've heard it is), I may create a thread on it to better explain the phenomenon. Gary can submit his photos as well.

Gary's aren't all in pics. How do you take a pic of a bypassed inertia switch? Or for that matter the bypassed resistor in the harness, which put 12v to the pump at all times?

But, I do have plenty of pics that attest to the reality of .

You have more than enough photo evidence, no need to document every last "modification". We'd have to write a book at that point.