Yet More "Upgrades"

Guess I should post now that the gauges are no longer available as Gary was the first to speak for them.

Well it's been a very busy week - week nights actually - continuing with various additions, upgrades and repairs.

First, FINALLY got that old strut bearing out - WOW, what a fight! This was obviously the original bearing from 23 years ago and with as much corrosion as was present, all the traditional methods did not allow it to simply "tap out" easily. I'll spare everyone the blow by blow, but suffice to say that I was very close to removing the strut and pitching it across the yard. However It did finally dislodge and I very easily pressed in the new ones thanks to input from this site - So thanks to all for that!



Next came some grab rails to satisfy Momma, being worried about our 6 year old granddaughter. I took that opportunity to swap out the old plastic cup holders with stainless ones and adding a couple new ones in the back next to the hand rails.





Next, all the gauges were replaced with Faria Chesapeake. Although all of the old gauges worked, the had certainly seen a better day. I decided to go with a GPS speedometer, eliminating the need for the pitots and for the second speedometer as well. This opened up a gauge slot, which I used to install the new stereo. I started "hot wiring" the new hour meter so the hours would match the old one, but having it connected to a battery 24/7 it would have taken nearly 28 days to complete and since I really wanted to get the dash complete, I figured I'd just do that part later.




And finally the Stereo.   Going with a gauge styled stereo wasn't really a hard decision as CD's aren't really used much any more. Most all music is either satellite, flash memory or Bluetooth, of which this stereo has all 3 and is upgradable with multiple pre-amp outputs. At this stage I only installed one of the 4 speakers, in the pre-existing hole @ the foot board so I could check the system. And also of course to cover the ugly hole! Lastly, I installed the USB and AUX input in the glove box to protect ones' electronics.






One final note: As I stated above, all the original gauges work, they just aren't very pretty. Neither of the speedometers' adjustment features work, but they've both been verified with a phone GPS to be within 1/2 mile an hour.   If anyone would like any or all of these, they are welcome to them (free) as I know there are those that like to keep everything as original as possible.   Just shoot me a PM with your mailing address and what you'd like, though I'd rather get rid of them as a set.