"Rocky" - 1981 F250 Restoration

[taskswap]

It is for cooling. So it does need some air flow. But on Big Blue things would hit the steering linkage before hitting that.

Cool, thanks. With that confirmed, doing some research I see more modern vehicles have gone to small tube-and-fin style coolers like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Steering-Cooler-Compatible-2001-2005/dp/B08ZB48KR9

Think this is worth installing or just skip it? I guess it's not doing any harm right now, I'm just making a mental list of future improvements I might make.

[Gary Lewis]

Cool, thanks. With that confirmed, doing some research I see more modern vehicles have gone to small tube-and-fin style coolers like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Steering-Cooler-Compatible-2001-2005/dp/B08ZB48KR9

Think this is worth installing or just skip it? I guess it's not doing any harm right now, I'm just making a mental list of future improvements I might make.

I don’t think it is worth it.

[taskswap]

I don’t think it is worth it.

Got some stuff done today but no photos, it is nasty out and getting colder by the hour. It's all important punch-list stuff though:

1. Installed new Kicker door speakers. I splurged on a new audio setup from Classic Car Stereos. I won't be driving this truck daily but when I do, it'll be on long trips and I like my podcasts. I'll get the center speaker installed over the weekend then test it out.

2. Installed new license plate nuts/screws in the refinished bumper. I'll probably install it over the weekend.

3. Got my replacement grille and headlight surrounds partially mounted. I still need to paint the grille (the temp was too cold) and polish the top/bottom trim strips (I was too cold) so I didn't lock everything down, but it looks better.

4. Went through my (growing) "discards" pile and stripped any hardware or other useful items off them. (Old gross door panels, cracked headlight trims, etc.)

Doesn't seem like much now that I write it. It sure was cold and windy.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Got some stuff done today but no photos, it is nasty out and getting colder by the hour. It's all important punch-list stuff though:

1. Installed new Kicker door speakers. I splurged on a new audio setup from Classic Car Stereos. I won't be driving this truck daily but when I do, it'll be on long trips and I like my podcasts. I'll get the center speaker installed over the weekend then test it out.

2. Installed new license plate nuts/screws in the refinished bumper. I'll probably install it over the weekend.

3. Got my replacement grille and headlight surrounds partially mounted. I still need to paint the grille (the temp was too cold) and polish the top/bottom trim strips (I was too cold) so I didn't lock everything down, but it looks better.

4. Went through my (growing) "discards" pile and stripped any hardware or other useful items off them. (Old gross door panels, cracked headlight trims, etc.)

Doesn't seem like much now that I write it. It sure was cold and windy.

Yes, the front is poised to come through here in a couple of hours.

How are you wiring the center speaker? Does the Classic radio have a center output?

I ask because I really like the old-school way of creating a center channel: use the minus lead from the left channel and the positive lead from the right channel, or vice versa, to power the center speaker. What that does is to put sounds that are common to both channels in the center - which is exactly what you want.

I'm running that setup in the shop and it works very nicely. And over the years I've run that in many vehicles.

[taskswap]

How are you wiring the center speaker? Does the Classic radio have a center output?

I ask because I really like the old-school way of creating a center channel: use the minus lead from the left channel and the positive lead from the right channel, or vice versa, to power the center speaker. What that does is to put sounds that are common to both channels in the center - which is exactly what you want.

I agree, that's elegant, but this doesn't have a center channel output and I wanted to keep things simple. I just got one of those double-voice-coil center speaker options, it's basically two speakers in one. It has a similar effect, and I can use the fader to set how loud I drive it.

 

[Gary Lewis]

How are you wiring the center speaker? Does the Classic radio have a center output?

I ask because I really like the old-school way of creating a center channel: use the minus lead from the left channel and the positive lead from the right channel, or vice versa, to power the center speaker. What that does is to put sounds that are common to both channels in the center - which is exactly what you want.

I agree, that's elegant, but this doesn't have a center channel output and I wanted to keep things simple. I just got one of those double-voice-coil center speaker options, it's basically two speakers in one. It has a similar effect, and I can use the fader to set how loud I drive it.

Yes, a speaker with two voice coils does the same thing, only better. That way you have control over how much center channel you have, as you said.

[taskswap]

Yes, a speaker with two voice coils does the same thing, only better. That way you have control over how much center channel you have, as you said.

Speaking of which, there are a few options for that DVC center. LMC has one that doesn't really have a great pic but looks pretty close to the stock shape. Since I got new door Kicker speakers from Classic Car Stereos, I went ahead and tried out their equivalent.

Well, I misread the listing, must have been a late night. It's just two small speakers, not a DVC. And the plastic faceplate they supply was a bit warped and didn't fit my space very well. So I just cut out my own from a sheet of plywood. I used a piece of a paper to make a nice template of the dash speaker mount support, then promptly made it much cruder with a jigsaw with a dull blade and a certain lack of finesse on the operator's part:

It won't win any beauty contests but it's a solid mount that just barely fits perfectly without the speakers touching or anything having a loose or thing section (I hate rattly/buzzy speakers).

I'll post a pic tomorrow when the sun's up, but my sons got involved too. I had one masking the plastic trim pieces for some final paint touch-ups, and the other going to town with a metal polishing kit. Literally - he got the polish all over himself too The focus was the aluminum trim around the front grille and windshield. It's.... better, not showroom but still an improvement. Aluminum is so soft... these pieces picked up tons of road rash, and I decided early on I was going to do "reasonable" efforts to restore each component, but not to "showroom" status. It'd be a waste anyway, this truck is going to spend most of its remaining life messing around on forest service roads.

I also re-hung the first of the HVAC components: the heat/defrost selector/diverter/box thingy, the three-outlet defrost-a-ma-jig that goes on top of it, and the aftermarket A/C evaporator "octopus".

I also put the climate control unit temporarily on the floor so I could hook up the control cables. I'm glad I did. The control cable to the heat/defrost box doesn't seem to "stick" well in the little two-fingered tab that grabs it on the box itself. The cable slides a bit as I work the controls. I need to tighten that up tomorrow, then start messing with electrical cleanup. Before, all this aftermarket stuff had add-on wires just floating all over the place. I want to label and wire-loom-tape it all so it's easier to maintain in the future. And some stuff that just doesn't fly the way I do wiring to redo:

I've also decided to remove the cigarette lighter port completely, and install a hidden dual USB charger. I never use cigarette lighters anymore, even as power outlets. All my big stuff is either battery operated (Dewalt inflator) or connects TO the main battery (utility winch, etc.). All my little stuff is USB now.

That means I have an ash tray gathering dust so I'll probably clean that out and convert it to either a small storage compartment or just an open tray for stuff like small flashlights.

[FuzzFace2]

I've also decided to remove the cigarette lighter port completely, and install a hidden dual USB charger. I never use cigarette lighters anymore, even as power outlets. All my big stuff is either battery operated (Dewalt inflator) or connects TO the main battery (utility winch, etc.). All my little stuff is USB now.

That means I have an ash tray gathering dust so I'll probably clean that out and convert it to either a small storage compartment or just an open tray for stuff like small flashlights.

On the lighter outlet I just got 1 of them USB dual port thingies I plug in to use to charge my phone.

As for the ash tray that is where the lighter part is along with a small screw driver and a few other things I cant remember now but I can close it and just have the charge cord hanging out.

Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

I've also decided to remove the cigarette lighter port completely, and install a hidden dual USB charger. I never use cigarette lighters anymore, even as power outlets. All my big stuff is either battery operated (Dewalt inflator) or connects TO the main battery (utility winch, etc.). All my little stuff is USB now.

That means I have an ash tray gathering dust so I'll probably clean that out and convert it to either a small storage compartment or just an open tray for stuff like small flashlights.

On the lighter outlet I just got 1 of them USB dual port thingies I plug in to use to charge my phone.

As for the ash tray that is where the lighter part is along with a small screw driver and a few other things I cant remember now but I can close it and just have the charge cord hanging out.

Dave ----

It'll be interesting to see how the speaker works. Not being a true dual voice coil unit it'll have left and right channels in the center, but obviously the stuff that is in both channels will be louder.

As for the USB charger, I put a dual USB-C/A charger in the spot for the lighter and ran key-on power to it since I don't want the power to be on at all times. But I haven't figured out a good use for the ash tray itself as everything I've put in it rattles or falls out.

[taskswap]

It'll be interesting to see how the speaker works. Not being a true dual voice coil unit it'll have left and right channels in the center, but obviously the stuff that is in both channels will be louder.

As for the USB charger, I put a dual USB-C/A charger in the spot for the lighter and ran key-on power to it since I don't want the power to be on at all times. But I haven't figured out a good use for the ash tray itself as everything I've put in it rattles or falls out.

Yeah I was disappointed at having bought the wrong thing, I've never actually used a DVC speaker and was looking forward to testing out its sound quality. But in the end it's never going to be a Harman Kardon custom sound system. I'm going to run the door speakers on the front L/R channels, and the center on the rear L/R and just fade them out a fair bit.

As for the charger I'm going to do the same, put one where the cigarette lighter normally goes. I do have a good plan for the ash tray though. My wife got me a deck of cards as a stocking stuffer one year and it became like my good luck charm, it always goes in whatever truck I take hunting. I don't use them that much actually (by the time I'm done with a 10-mi circuit I'm pretty wiped out and in no mood for cards, usually) but it's a fun thing to keep there. And I usually keep a small headlamp handy. I think they'll both just fit.

One thing I didn't think through very well is the wiring to the doors. I think my particular truck was orginally what the EVTM calls the "Mono Radio" system. That is, the center was actually THE speaker. My doors have some small holes where wiring could go through but they're crudely drilled - it's super hard to get a bit in there. It looks more like somebody found a sharp object and hammered it through. I have those door-wiring "boots" on the way from LMC but I need to figure out how to clean up the holes, and I don't really want to dismount the door. But maybe it's best if I do. Not sure. It might be the only way. I have a few good step-drill bits that are short, and a right-angle adapter, but I think those two together are still too big to fit in the gap...