Newbie just picked up 82 4x4 (1 Viewer)

[mytrucksbroke]

Next up is audio equipment. For the time being I will be using the Alpine head unit that was in the truck when I bought it. I eventually want to replace it with a more period correct looking model.
Nothing too crazy here, I dont need an enclosure with 2 10" woofers like I had in school, but I wanted more than what a pair of 6x9s could put out...
I settled on the Kicker hideaway 8" powered subwoofer...

One of these with a pair of quality door speakers should be all I need.

 

[mtrdud]

Post up where you mount that hideaway. I have one just like that I had in another vehicle that I’d like to use in mine.

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Post up where you mount that hideaway. I have one just like that I had in another vehicle that I’d like to use in mine.

Will do, I wired it up and just put it behind the passenger seat to get by for the weekend, I will mount it later this week.

Test Run #2
Another camping trip this weekend. Truck did great again hauling all our crap up the mountain...

We did a little more intense off roading this time, needing to use 4 wheel low for the first time (other than testing it near my home when I bought the truck). Had a great adventure through some tough trails with my wife.

My daughter and her family were able to meet us at the campsite..

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Post up where you mount that hideaway. I have one just like that I had in another vehicle that I’d like to use in mine.

Forgot to respond to this...not many options in this tiny cab but I used the strap mounts that came with it and put it behind the passenger seat.

I mounted it with the connections and adjustment knobs near the door so I could get to it to make changes if needed (Thats why the badging is upside down). Going to fab a center console so I wont be able to get to it from that side.
I will be ordering a new (Black) carpet kit and plan on having the existing seats redone in black as well

 

[mytrucksbroke]

I had not been able to wire the KC lights yet because I had no place to put the switches that did not involve hacking the dash up or mounting some type of switch plate. I needed a center console for a few reasons as there was only a small coin tray between the seats so I had no where to put my phone, water bottle etc.

I also needed some usb chargers and wanted a "cigarette" lighter style socket that our camping kettle plugs into that did not require the ignition to be on. I decided to build a center console that had the KC switches, the bass control for the powered sub, the usb/power socket and some storage. I needed a fuse block to power the lights,sub,radio,and the outlets integrated into the console. Finally the console would be upholstered black to match the rest of the interior once I get to that point.
First I had to fish the power wire for the KCs through the inside of the roll bar tube, then completed the wire connections at the lights. That wire was routed into the cab.
I then built the basic shell of the console.

Finished the top part of the console and routed out an area to recess the power outlets

Put in 6 way fuse block and got all my wiring squared away.

Test fit everything

Everything was looking great, but I am no upholsterer by any means and wish the final step had come out a little better. I wrapped it in foam before the vinyl and If I end up re-doing the upholstery then I will switch to a foam that is less thick. I dont like the puffy look I ended up with.
But anyway the KCs work, all my audio equipment is properly wired and fused and I have plenty of power outlets.

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Doesnt look too bad once installed, I suck at upholstry!

Has voltmeter covering the usb plugs...

 

[mytrucksbroke]

So yeah, I cant get past the hideous unholstry job...gonna have it re-done.
On the positive side carpet kit is being delivered today.

 

[aztoyman]

I like the design, you did a good job building it and I don't know jack about upholstery but maybe you can cover the wood without foam? Vinyl directly on the wood??

 

[mytrucksbroke]

I like the design, you did a good job building it and I don't know jack about upholstery but maybe you can cover the wood without foam? Vinyl directly on the wood??

The problem is the shape of it, with the angles and such its going to need some sewing as well so I will leave it up to the pros. My Daughter and Son in Law are members of a mini truck club and told me one of the other guys does interiors so I am waiting for a quote on the seats and center console. I have years of woodworking experience but obviously am a hack with vinyl. No big deal, I will just strip it back down to raw wood and get if fixed.

Got a package today, Black carpet with massbacking...not installing it just yet but wanted to get it out of the box so it can stretch back onto shape

 

[mytrucksbroke]

I found a guy to re-upholster the seats, Im going to have him do the center console as well and put that trainwreck behind me. But I am a glutton for punishment so I thought I would attempt to tackle another interior project. Lets hope for better results...
Here is the door panel...torn, stained, broken with part of it missing and a hole for a long gone speaker.

My concern is this area circled, the existing door panel has a vinyl flap that tucks under the window seal and around the door lock.

I decided to use paint in this area to give it a finished look and tie it into the new door panel. First I sanded the old paint smooth and taped off the surrounding area.

Then applied primer, semi-gloss black paint and toned down the sheen with a matte clear coat. After that dried I reinstalled the window seal and lock trim.

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Then cut a new door panel out of the same type of 1/8" board the original was made from.

Test fitting that...just a few spots marked that I need to do some final trimming.

Had a hard time making a decision about the material to cover the panel with, and went a bit out of the box here and chose a carpet material from home depot.

I like the black color with the strands of white mixed in, and the "ribbed" style should keep it from looking too plain. Im hoping the thin rubber backing will cut down a bit of the road noise.
I water sealed the back of the panel and am ready to adhere the carpet.
But I am leaving for a camping trip in a few hours so I wont get back to work on this until tomorrow night.
Stay tuned...

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Located the best position for the speaker and proceeded to cut the hole for it.
Installed the panel clips to line up with existing holes and installed some T-nuts for the speaker

Coated the front of the panel and the back of the carpet with gorilla glue spray and positioned it using the ribs as reference to get it applied straight, then trimmed about 1.5" around the perimeter

Cut several notches in carpet to allow me to wrap the corners. Applied more glue to the edges of panel and carpet and pulled tight to backside and stapled. (Sorry, forgot pics of this step)
Test fit...

 

[mytrucksbroke]

The blue handle,trim and armrest looked out of place with the black door panel.

I painted the trim and handle with some flat black, and used the duplicolor vinyl paint that was recommended earlier in this thread to paint the arm rest.

I knew when I chose the speaker location that it would slightly interfear with rolling the window down, the plan was to make a 1/4" spacer with my new 3-d printer.

Got everything installed and gotta say I think it looks great and will be very durable when the seat belt gets caught in the door jamb and other abuse.
My only issue is that the window mechanism still just kisses the speaker magnet when it passes. Im going to pring a new set of spacers at 3/8" and should be good to go.

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Off to the upholstery shop...

 

[mytrucksbroke]

While that gets done I need to make the door panel for the passenger side.

 

[mytrucksbroke]

While waiting for some watersealer to dry I started to remove the old carpet, seat belts etc in preparation for the new carpet. After I removed the shifter boot I figured it was the best time to replace the worn bushings on the shifter arm.
The old upper bushing had disintigrated
long ago, with just crumbled bits left...

The lower bushing on the knob was worn, but not as much as I thought it would be.

New bushings

Reassembled, and the shifter feels as tight as prom night.

 

[mike1305]

Just installed a new shifter seat and bushing on my 1982 2WD. Now the shifter is obnoxiously tight, as in won't get into gear without a shove and the shifter won't reset to center. Seems like it's all screwed together too tight, as it seems more normal when I back out the four screws holding the top plate down. Wondering if I need some sort of gasket? Did your shifter seat look like it was in two parts, with a green plastic piece and a rubber gasket glued to the bottom? When trying to install the seat, having to squeeze it past the retainer pins, the rubber and plastic parts came apart. I just sat them both in there on top of each other and went on my happy way. Wondering if I just disassemble and remove that rubber part, and leave the green plastic, if it'll fit better. Anyway, /ramble. any pro tips for a first timer?

Video of symptom:

 

[mike1305]

On a somewhat related note I am eagerly awaiting to see your upholstery decisions. Going to be taking mine to get redone as well and we have (had?) identical interiors. Mind if I ask where you got your carpet from? I've got that and door cards on the to-do list. I sort of want to keep the blue theme though. Looks like you're going blue/black two tone?

 

[mytrucksbroke]

On a somewhat related note I am eagerly awaiting to see your upholstery decisions. Going to be taking mine to get redone as well and we have (had?) identical interiors. Mind if I ask where you got your carpet from? I've got that and door cards on the to-do list. I sort of want to keep the blue theme though. Looks like you're going blue/black two tone?

View attachment 3028763

I had to clean the cylinder that holds the shifter bushing pretty good, there was some debris in there from the old disintigrated rubber bushing. Without cleaning it all out, the new bushing would not seat properly and was causing problems. I used a socket about the same diameter as the rubber ring, and a small hammer to seat it in place.
As far as the interior goes, it will be blue (dash, steering column shell, headliner) and black (seats, center console, door cards and handles, carpet, kick panels)
I was planning on dying the seat belts black as well, but my wife and son seem to think it will look better if I leave them blue for a little contrast. Im skeptical, but we will see.
The seats and center console should be done today, I will post some pics when I get them. I need to take the truck to the upholsterer next week to get the headliner replaced and re-do the visors. He is also going to sew me up a new leather boot for the shifter.
The carpet I used for the doors came from home depot. I spent a total of $30 per side between the wood, carpet and adhesive...

 

[mytrucksbroke]

Seats and console are done, vinyl on the edges, cloth in the middle...

Still trying to learn the 3d printer game.I barely have basic computer skills so it has been a challenge with a big learning curve but Im getting there.I modeled the plugs for smittybilt tube, not perfect but for a test piece im happy. I will tweek it a bit and try again...