Slow progress now waiting for the final pieces to trickle in. Today we serviced the 4L60E (filter and fluid). It's been in the truck for about 45k so I figured it was a good time to do it. We also serviced the rear diff, however the fill plug was permanently rust-welded into the axle housing. This meant more parts! I found this Proform diff cover which fits well and solves the fill plug issue. One problem is that the sway bar makes a tiny amount of contact on the outer corners. We also had to replace the u-bolts for the rear sway bar bushings and fortunately they came with small plates that we used as shims to move the sway bar back a bit. The last bit of business was to spray the underbody with a rubberized coating to prevent further surface rusting. I forgot to take pics after the undercoating, but as you might imagine it looks much nicer.

Next up will be the rear bumper & end caps. Also I ordered a new GM style remote since we got the truck with no remotes. It will sure look nice in my pocket! 🤣

 

I can't believe how clean those leaf springs are!!!

That diff cover looks sweet! Might look into one for when I get my zr2 rear axle in.

 

The best part, IMO, is the drain plug. I can't even remember how many times I've wished I had one of those. Unfortunately, I would probably tear it off on a rock, which is why I haven't added one.

 

One of the bumper caps is running very late so the truck is going to sit at the shop over the weekend. We ended up aligning it today and brought it out into the sun for the first time with the new front end. I think it looks decent!

 

I disagree. I think it looks great!

 

I swear she's been kept in a garage and has never seen rain. That's WAY to clean!!!

 

I will eventually post some pics of the flaws. There are quite a few scratches in the paint around the rig. It just looks pretty up front because of the new bumper, valance, grille, and lights.

However I will agree that it does look pretty good. I think it was a good buy for $5000. I'll probably have about $3000 or so into it in repairs and modifications once it's totally done. And don't worry, it will be out on the trails by the end of the month!

 

Small update today.

Got the new double din headunit installed. Nothing fancy, just a NESA NS-651N. It has all the usual connectivity one might want (Bluetooth, A2DP, DVD, etc.) plus a backup camera and built-in sat-nav. Where this truck be stationed there is very intermittent cell service so built-in navigation was a priority. The astute observer will notice the part number in the pic omits the "n." My audio guy installed the wrong deck by mistake. It will be corrected Wednesday. No biggie, he's cool, and it was an honest mistake.

Also pictured is a small bundle of parts for tomorrow. New-old-stock bowtie for the front, new-style GM keyless entry transmitter from www.boostautoparts.com and a new gauge cluster lens (I'm getting my cluster rebuilt tomorrow). Things are moving right along... however I really wish my lift kit wasn't taking so long to get here...

 

Very nice ride. Nice work too. I like the look of the front.

 

Today we figured out the problem with the cluster. It wasn't the cluster! It was actually a blown cruise control fuse causing the PRNDL and Odometer to not display and incorrect fuel level reading. Saved me $120 on a cluster rebuild!