Gary Lewis Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 Thanks, Jeff. Janey and I've talked about it and believe that vinyl seats would be more appropriate for Big Blue than velour. More functional, easy to clean when going offroad and getting dirty, and less "up market". So I'm going to see if he has a blue that would be a close match. Hoping to go Tuesday and take Big Blue to show him what I have and ask that the new ones be similarly comfortable. After all, we sit long hours in them. Well, I'm set up to take the seats below to Lew's Auto Trim tomorrow. He's quoted me $1400 to completely rebuild them with new foam where needed as well as blue vinyl. That might seem like a lot but I paid $1000 for the seats for Dad's truck, and that was several years ago. (And yes, for those that remember I actually paid far more 'cause I had someone else do them the first round and they were horrible.) But he doesn't paint plastic, so I pulled off the backs and the little covers for the hinge arms and I'll paint them using the SEM I used on the other panels. As I think about it, I didn't ask him how long it'll take. I hope I have them for the trip in June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Well, I'm set up to take the seats below to Lew's Auto Trim tomorrow. He's quoted me $1400 to completely rebuild them with new foam where needed as well as blue vinyl. That might seem like a lot but I paid $1000 for the seats for Dad's truck, and that was several years ago. (And yes, for those that remember I actually paid far more 'cause I had someone else do them the first round and they were horrible.) But he doesn't paint plastic, so I pulled off the backs and the little covers for the hinge arms and I'll paint them using the SEM I used on the other panels. As I think about it, I didn't ask him how long it'll take. I hope I have them for the trip in June. After reading all you have done to Big Blue, I am not in the least bit surprised you passed on the ol' velour! I think the brand new Vinyl will have a long service life. Will the vinyl color be matched to existing trim color such as door panels, carpet, or dash ? I once bought vinyl for my failed DIY upholstery project, I visited about 2 Auto-upholstery fabric shops (material warehouse, not the "tailor") in Dallas and I was surprised how well I was able to match existing colors. Definitely take a piece to match and compare indoors and outdoors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 After reading all you have done to Big Blue, I am not in the least bit surprised you passed on the ol' velour! I think the brand new Vinyl will have a long service life. Will the vinyl color be matched to existing trim color such as door panels, carpet, or dash ? I once bought vinyl for my failed DIY upholstery project, I visited about 2 Auto-upholstery fabric shops (material warehouse, not the "tailor") in Dallas and I was surprised how well I was able to match existing colors. Definitely take a piece to match and compare indoors and outdoors! The intent certainly is to have it color matched. I’m taking Big Blue with me tomorrow so he should be able to match it well. I might even take the can of SEM I used to paint the panels so we can shot some and he will have something to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 The intent certainly is to have it color matched. I’m taking Big Blue with me tomorrow so he should be able to match it well. I might even take the can of SEM I used to paint the panels so we can shot some and he will have something to match. I just looked back at the pic of you and Vern doing the deed with Big Blue ready to escape Florida. This truck has some stories to tell before and after running away. I wonder what's next for BB? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 I just looked back at the pic of you and Vern doing the deed with Big Blue ready to escape Florida. This truck has some stories to tell before and after running away. I wonder what's next for BB? . Technically I don't think he "ran" away from Florida. In fact, he wasn't able to run at all at that point in time. More like was removed under protective custody. As for the future, he figures in a trip to western OK in the spring and one to Moab, UT in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Technically I don't think he "ran" away from Florida. In fact, he wasn't able to run at all at that point in time. More like was removed under protective custody. As for the future, he figures in a trip to western OK in the spring and one to Moab, UT in the summer. Alright, I'll give you that. But I'd like to think that if Big Blue had his druthers he'd flee the abuse received there. Not that Vern wasn't doing his very best to make him into the rig he and his wife wanted all along. I've spoken to a few people about the wheelbarrows of cash they can't fathom or ever admit to their better half. Provoking you to hire Scotty, incorporate a compressor, inverter and super duty RSK was vicariously satisfying. I have to thank you for allowing me to spend your money. 🤣 Now on to the rear bumper and tire gate! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Alright, I'll give you that. But I'd like to think that if Big Blue had his druthers he'd flee the abuse received there. Not that Vern wasn't doing his very best to make him into the rig he and his wife wanted all along. I've spoken to a few people about the wheelbarrows of cash they can't fathom or ever admit to their better half. Provoking you to hire Scotty, incorporate a compressor, inverter and super duty RSK was vicariously satisfying. I have to thank you for allowing me to spend your money. 🤣 Now on to the rear bumper and tire gate! 😉 Yes, I'm sure BB was screaming "Get me out of here! Stop cutting my bones away. Quit bypassing my safety features. Please put some gaskets in my engine!" Concerning the wheelbarrows of cash, I think Vern's wife got a glimpse of the total, which is why BB changed hands. Vern is/was a merchant seaman and apparently they have lots of time as well as access to the internet while gone for several months at sea. He stockpiled parts he knew were needed as well as some he thought might be needed - mostly NOS. Meanwhile was having his way with the truck. As for spending my money, you weren't alone. Others on here have had a hand in that as well. But I must admit that the result is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Yes, I'm sure BB was screaming "Get me out of here! Stop cutting my bones away. Quit bypassing my safety features. Please put some gaskets in my engine!" Concerning the wheelbarrows of cash, I think Vern's wife got a glimpse of the total, which is why BB changed hands. Vern is/was a merchant seaman and apparently they have lots of time as well as access to the internet while gone for several months at sea. He stockpiled parts he knew were needed as well as some he thought might be needed - mostly NOS. Meanwhile was having his way with the truck. As for spending my money, you weren't alone. Others on here have had a hand in that as well. But I must admit that the result is great! I knew, after hearing your complaints about ride quality, Big Blue needed an RSK. The forward shackles make steering box geometry simpler but TTB with leaf springs that twist and have a fingers width of travel are never going to work. An axle that drives into the obstruction doesn't help. I KNOW ALL TOO WELL! WTH were they thinking at The Motor Company when it was approved for production? Shaun's insight and Sky's experience came together in the moment. The off chance of "the giving truck" falling in my lap netted you a PDC, Hydroboost, intake plenum and almost 250# of "stuff". 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 I knew, after hearing your complaints about ride quality, Big Blue needed an RSK. The forward shackles make steering box geometry simpler but TTB with leaf springs that twist and have a fingers width of travel are never going to work. An axle that drives into the obstruction doesn't help. I KNOW ALL TOO WELL! WTH were they thinking at The Motor Company when it was approved for production? Shaun's insight and Sky's experience came together in the moment. The off chance of "the giving truck" falling in my lap netted you a PDC, Hydroboost, intake plenum and almost 250# of "stuff". 😆 Took Big Blue on an outing today to get my hair cut, have lunch, get the eyelet terminals to finish the 3G harness, and take the seats to the upholstery shop. I can say that while he still rides like the truck that he is, he rides dramatically better than he did when I got him. The SAS & RSK made a huge difference, so thanks to all that helped make that decision. And having watched several videos that Bob referenced regarding Moab, I can see that the 8" of articulation instead of 2" is going to make a huge difference. There are LOTS of bumps, rocks, drops, etc that we will encounter, and Big Blue is far better equipped to do that now than he once was. As for the seats, I bolted the driver's seat in this morning to check out how it'll sit. You can see in the left pic that it fits right in, but there are a couple of things you can't see. First, that in the full back position the top of the seat hits the window such that it won't allow the seatback to latch into the base. You can see the latch in the pic on the right, and it won't quite latch. But my plan is to space the latch up a bit and space the black stops up a bit as well to get it to latch but stop before hitting the window. The other is that the plastic back, which covers the back of the seat as a finish piece, hits the storage unit about where those marks are above the latch. I'm hoping that spacing the stops up will fix that, but it'll take some testing to see. Then I took the seats to the upholstery shop and we talked through what the guy is to do. I told him that we think the red captain's chairs are quite comfortable so he checked out how the previous shop accomplished that. Looks like they put a 1/2" layer of soft foam over the base foam. And I explained that I want the bolsters to be higher to keep us in place, much like the red seats' bolsters are, so he is going to add 1/2" of firm foam there. And we picked out the color of vinyl, which is a very good match to the panels I've already painted in Big Blue. It is a marine-grade vinyl and he uses marine-grade thread, so they should be good for a very long time. The seats are to be ready in about two weeks, so I guess I'd better get started painting the seat trim as well as the center console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 I knew, after hearing your complaints about ride quality, Big Blue needed an RSK. The forward shackles make steering box geometry simpler but TTB with leaf springs that twist and have a fingers width of travel are never going to work. An axle that drives into the obstruction doesn't help. I KNOW ALL TOO WELL! WTH were they thinking at The Motor Company when it was approved for production? Shaun's insight and Sky's experience came together in the moment. The off chance of "the giving truck" falling in my lap netted you a PDC, Hydroboost, intake plenum and almost 250# of "stuff". 😆 Oops, I missed the bit about the "giving truck". Yes, that was fortuitous. Big Blue certainly benefited from that, and almost all of it is in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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