Builds Buster Brown-Slow maintenance, slow owner, slowing my roll way down.

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Holy god to that exposed naked dash.
And 32 degrees I get but here lately it’s been just 20. I hate cold so the truck has literally been sitting.

 

[Comet]

@NeverGiveUpYota the naked dash means less things to go wrong . I keep tearing crap out and it still runs. I did somehow manage to booger up my windshield circuit but that's for another day. I want tunes! There's a million other little things I should be doing but somehow I went back to what I know-wiring diagrams and fabricating where there is none.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Plenty of things can go wrong when things are naked...

 

[Comet]

Rear passenger card done.

 

[Comet]

Drivers rear done too, looks the same as the passenger. The new plastic grommets are too short. Ordered exactly what others have done in the past. Must be the thicker board is pushing the clips in the wrong direction. Oh well. Another weekend shot working on Buster Brown.

 

[Comet]

New emergency brake cable in yesterday in 18 degree weather with 15 mph wind gusts. What is wrong with me? Rhetorical question-no answers please.

Today is the perfect time to tackle the belts on the crank, AC, and fan. Smelled something rubber burning for awhile now, the belt is so loose and glazed it has become all but useless. Going to take it off and just go get a comparable Gates belt.

Update: Belt was a snap (no pun intended). So much so that I went ahead and put the dash back on too. So now no rubber burning smell, lights on the dash, and a working speedometer that is way off due to the larger tires. I was looking through the mountain of receipts I have and came across a speedometer calibration document. I'm guessing the PO got pulled over and used this to get out of a fine.

I am debating whether to take this thing on a four hour round trip to the mountains this weekend. It runs, it stays started most of the time, it gets minimal miles per gallon (bunch of smiles per gallon though), and the steering only wanders a little bit. The clutch is leaking into the cabin and the brakes have vacuum leak. These are all things I can fix on the road.....right?

 

[Comet]

Door card version 1.0

Added a light to shine down on the ground when the door opens. The light came from an old Chevy conversion van I saw at the junk yard a few years ago.

The component system fit in nicely.

I believe there will be other versions of the door card, not sure I like what I have made yet.

Marine vinyl this summer when temperatures stay above 50 degrees.

 

[Miloslavich]

Nice work sir!!

 

[Ian Crawford]

@Comet , DUDE. Those look great, maybe we need to work out some kind of trade on rear panels and ARBs hahaha

I have wanted to make rear panels but haven't had the drive to do so... Hopefully this is it! You're look perfect! Where did you procure the panel board?

 

[Comet]

@Miloslavich thank you. This truck has been a lot of fun piecing back together and learning on. I've been so focused on the engine bay that the interior hasn't gotten the attention it really deserves.

@Ian Crawford you got a deal. The hobby area at Home Depot or Lowe's has the pressed board. It is exactly the same stuff that was in the door to begin with. 2x4 measurements I believe. I just traced the old board onto the new one, sabre sawed, drilled, punched, and presto. I would say it was hard to do and involved a lot of man hours but then how could I live with myself when I offered an even trade for the ARB? We do need to figure that one out. Buster looks naked without a gate on the front of the truck.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Damn! He’s gstting the ARB? Man.

 

[Comet]

So the old double stitch Singer comes out of the basement to provide me with Door Card version 1.0 (1.1 is already in the works). JoAnn Fabrics has Marine Vinyl and I had a 40% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket. Vinyl, thread, and a marking pen for $50 seemed like a great deal.

Door card version 1.1 has another set of stitches below.

@roadstr6 , guess what color my pinstripes are going to be on the outside of the rig?

 

[Comet]

And for the evening festivities......

Buster Brown has a working stereo in the center console. The sub is yet to come.

 

[Comet]

Version 1.1

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I approve of the last few posts. Great work and great taste in music.

 

[roadstr6]

Beautiful stitch work. I am seriously impressed! Those colors will be spot on.

 

[TachedOutOffRoad]

I love it man.

I think Mike D would be proud as well.


To really make Dusty shine, get some of this. Any major vendor sells it by the case for those of us reviving 60s

 

[Comet]

Working out of town is really taking a toll on my quality time with Buster Brown. So after a lot of preparation, replacement of a lot of rubber, spit shining the beautiful patina on the hood, and a leap of faith. Buster and I spent some time together this past weekend. We drove about 300 miles (50 of which were off pavement).

The trip started where any good road trip should. Right beside an awesome jeep in the bank parking lot.

After that, I drove until the first gas station fill up. Reuben and a coke for the driver, eight gallons for Buster.

Monterey Virginia has its Maple Festival so I drive straight through town until I got to Blue Grass. Going from pavement, to gravel, to dirt never felt so good.

Thanks to my buddy Tom, Buster Brown may have a new name. Hint, hint...

 

[Comet]

Gratuitous glamour shot!

Sasquatch, errr...., I mean Buster Brown in the elements.

My buddy Andy slaying the clay pigeons.

When I got home on Sunday without any incident, there was a couple packages addressed to @Comet from none other than @Ian Crawford. What to my surprise there before me lay the vinyl front for my ragged out green carpet.

 

[Comet]

My thoughts of selling this thing as soon as I get it running have faded a bit. This truck reminds me of when I was 14 years old back home. We have a lot of family land to hunt and my uncle charged me with driving his Jeep Chief and transporting three lucky hunters from one end of the property to the other. He threw me the keys and off I went. Snow, pavement, gravel, dirt, mud, a wild band of african pygmies, and Chuck Norris couldn't stop that quadratrac beast from braving the elements. Just like that old jeep, Buster went where he was asked and did it with a SLOW lumbering determination that just put a smile on my face. I did notice that the oversized 33" tires made 30mph = 35 on the gps, 40=45, 50=55, and then 60=70 mph. On highway, gears 1-3 pulled all day long, 4th was weak, and 5th gear non-existent on the mountain hills. I was lucky to maintain 45 mph up some of the passes in 3rd gear. Off road, I never saw 4th gear. The transfer case performed as expected and I confirmed I do not have any type of locker in the rear as evidence of a single spinning tire while doing donuts, and the low range gave me tons of torque. All in all a great trip and a better understanding to how this truck was intended to be used. Shocks and more comfortable seats should be in my future.