First, let me introduce myself. My name is J.T. and I am a Professional Mariner. As such I spend, literally, half of my life at sea. That's good news for a project. I can spend 4 weeks at sea dreaming and planning and ordering parts, then come home for 4 weeks and have all day every day to work on it.
As the title says, my new toy is a 1979 Lil Red Express that I picked up last time I was home. The body is in great shape with slight rust splotches in all the usual places, but the cab and floors are rust free.
Inside the cab is a different story. The dash has been ripped out (probably something to do with the top-left corner of the gauge cluster being a melted black blob) and the dash pad is broken and scorched. I found a junk yard gauge cluster and have it at the house waiting for my return. The wiring looks like someone went to town with a weedeater, so I will be ordering an all new 22-circuit wiring harness next week when I get home.
The goal for this time off is to make it legal and drivable again. I can drive it around the yard and in and out of the garage with a 1-gallon gas can under the hood, but I somehow doubt that will pass muster at the local inspection station. Not to mention having no gauges or a speedo.
I'm really excited about this build (I have always wanted a Lil Red Express). I will try to post pictures and details as I go, in the hope that my experience here can benefit someone else later.
As the title says, my new toy is a 1979 Lil Red Express that I picked up last time I was home. The body is in great shape with slight rust splotches in all the usual places, but the cab and floors are rust free.
Inside the cab is a different story. The dash has been ripped out (probably something to do with the top-left corner of the gauge cluster being a melted black blob) and the dash pad is broken and scorched. I found a junk yard gauge cluster and have it at the house waiting for my return. The wiring looks like someone went to town with a weedeater, so I will be ordering an all new 22-circuit wiring harness next week when I get home.
The goal for this time off is to make it legal and drivable again. I can drive it around the yard and in and out of the garage with a 1-gallon gas can under the hood, but I somehow doubt that will pass muster at the local inspection station. Not to mention having no gauges or a speedo.
I'm really excited about this build (I have always wanted a Lil Red Express). I will try to post pictures and details as I go, in the hope that my experience here can benefit someone else later.