Ok, been pretty busy the last 3 weeks, but have made some progress. I do feel like its been 1 step forward, 3 steps back though...... I've started lots of things and not really finished anything. So heres whats been going on:
1) Mounted shocks, bump stops and a custom uhaul receiver hitch - complete.
2) Ran all brake lines - front complete, not the rear. I ran into an issue....realized the axle builder put the brake backer plates on the wrong sides, so a spent a Friday night cracking into the axle, draining it and pulling the axle shafts so that I could swap the backer plates.....not happy. I hate redoing work that I thought was done.
3) Ran all fuel lines. Not complete. What a crazy assortment of lines I got from Inline Tube.....thanks to many Member's posts, I was able to sort out enough to get it done.....right up until I figured out 2 things. In NC, I don't need emissions inspections, so I am not going to use the charcoal canister and lines AND I was sent the Pickup main fuel supply line, not the Blazer.......UGH. Not hard to redo, just more lost time.
4) Fuel Tank. Decided to carve into my original tank and get the fuel filler pipe off and have it transplanted onto the reproduction tank. Took awhile to find a radiator shop willing to do it, but its at one now and hope to get it back this week. Meanwhile, the original straps are soaking in evaporust (that stuff is crazy good) and will get repainted today.
5) Steering gear box mounted. Complete. Like my new Redhead gear box a lot. Great folks there too. Took time with me on the phone.
6) Front brakes - complete, mostly. Got the new Wilwood D-52 calipers on and all the hoses connected. My old school 15" Rally Wheels wouldn't clear - even with the .25" wheel spacer that others have used. Tried different wheels, all had issues. I will be going with an aftermarket wheel, the Mickey Thompson Classic III - in a 16". After ordering a 15" with 3.6" backspacing, it cleared the caliper itself great, but only cleared the caliper mounting bracket by 1.45MM. Too close for comfort for me.
7) Rear Brakes - UGH. I decided to do those last Friday, which is when I discovered the backer plate issue. So, I restarted yesterday. That's when I realized I am an idiot......I was starting by installing the parking brake cables (Inline Tube - GREAT quality) only to realize that if I weren't an idiot, I would have ordered them 3" longer than stock to accommodate for my 3" of lift. Oh well, nothing time and money wont fix!
8)Engine and Trans Crossmembers - Complete!
9) Center Link - Tried to tackle that yesterday as well and was able to get the Right end of rather easily, no such luck on the left end. I tried penetrating oil, BFH, BFW, Torch. Nada. Gonna attack it again today, and if no dice, will take it to a shop this week.
I guess the advice I need now is this - which is cheaper a psychiatrist or an alcohol addiction!
