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Dash removal 85 d150

volaredon

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I've heard that the windshield has to come out to get to some of the screws. Wanting to put "factory" AC into a non AC truck. I have the AC dash, the plenum and all the tubing from the factory AC truck on hand. Can this be "cheated" or is pulling the windshield absolutely necessary?
 
The cheats are kinda destructive or more work that not cheating. The issue is the windshield gasket covers the edge of the dash panel where the screws hold it to the cab.
1) You can trim the gasket around the screws to get them out but the down fall with this should be obvious. This is fine for a beater/works truck.

2) Or you can make a tool the pry up and hold the gasket out of the way to get the screws out, this is not easy at all, these gaskets don't have much flex in that area. This works OK getting one out but getting one back in is even more difficult. You are prying on the piece (that's still loose and plastic) right next to where you are trying to line up that piece with a screw hole. This requires about three hands, two knees and one extra set of eyes.
 
Sounds like more trouble than it would be worth to try and cheat it
I am gonna pull the back window to put a slider in but wasn't wanting to pull the front glass .... No place around here to get the lock strip that I know will self destruct upon removal, for one thing..... Hopefully the gasket isn't likewise destroyed due to sheer age....
 
Yeah everything "online" Grrrrrr
why can't things be done as they always were ....
Like the clutch I ordered from Rock Auto....LuK, goddam "made in freakin CHINA".. S O B....
pisses me off to no end. A clutch ordered for probably the most American engine there is .... A /6......
 
That manufacturing thing is what happens with few workers and and a greater demand for thousands of one piece new parts.
Just the setup fee for a flywheel would be more than the cost of the flywheel.
Sad we have come to this.
 
That's ok my existing one will be getting refaced. If only to keep the Chinese content in my American truck, to a minimum

Back to the dash I have 3 factory ac heater boxes here, think I can get 2 good ones out of the 3. One is considered a "parts donor" because the tip half of the housing is busted. This is gonna be a 3 season Daily driver, at this point the hope is that I have at least 1 good looking evaporator and heater core among the 3 ac boxes I have. I'll soak the heater cores in CLR and flush them while out as long as they don't show any signs of seepage.
I found a company that makes all the seals needed within a dodge truck heater plenum box.....
 
Got my heater box ready for action, dash came out easier than I thought it might, but discovered some body work on the cab that I wasn't thinking about or counting on having to do.
 
On the flywheel thing I just got it back today (I dropped off some other parts for an unrelated project, and saw it on the counter "done" then, but left it til they had my 12hp Kohler done for my 1972 cub cadet 129.... And picked up everything at once...
$45 to have that /6 flywheel resurfaced
in this day and age I don't think that was super terrible.
 
On the flywheel thing I just got it back today (I dropped off some other parts for an unrelated project, and saw it on the counter "done" then, but left it til they had my 12hp Kohler done for my 1972 cub cadet 129.... And picked up everything at once...
$45 to have that /6 flywheel resurfaced
in this day and age I don't think that was super terrible.
Not bad at all.
 
But they more than made up for it on what they charged me on the Kohler..... I'm pissed about 2 of the charges on that bill
$25 hazmat? WTF
$20 to " inspect and clean head". That was besides the $40 they charged me to mill it, as it was warped.
I've been going to these guys my last 5-6 machine work jobs (last one prior was my slant 6 last year)
They charged me more to machine the Kohler crank 0.010 than they did to polish all the journals on my slant 6 crank (6 rod journals and 4 mains)
 
Back on the dash subject
I have the original out and 2 "factory AC " versions here too. Now that I see the back sides of em today I'm gonna cut the holes in my original dash so I can turn my original one into a "factory ac" dash.... .
That way I don't have to futz with the vin tag.
There's a guy in a different forum I go to that advertises the correct " rosette" rivets in the for sale section there. I've PMd him twice and since he now put his email in the post over there I've emailed him as well.
The results have been crickets.
Then I sold my extra /6 to a guy (different from the 1st guy) whom I was talking about my projects to and he said "oh I have a tin of them, I'll bring em when I come for that engine
he "forgot". Says hell mail me a few and still waiting. So screw it. If this works out I won't need any.
 
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