ooh, purdy, I always wondered what black might look like on one of these. I dig the camper too. If I had a way of posting pictures until I get my computer back from the shop I would show you the ridiculous camper shell I just picked up (spoiler: it is bright red). I'm currently in the process of moving from Mendocino to the Bay area, and putting a lot of miles on Betsy in the process haha.

I just got back from my most recent trip up north, and came down with my table saw, drill press, work bench, and a lot of other miscellaneous weight in the back. Boy oh boy, those new Belltech springs feel nice. I don't know if it is all because of them, or also the added tension on my coil-over shocks from losing the drop blocks, but I didn't slam the bump stops once! Corners were a dream, just had to turn the ol' ECT into "power" mode on some steep uphills, but other than that, Betsy is riding nicer that the day I got her.

 

well, here is a bit of a catch up with pictures:
Got a camper shell to move in the rain

at the exhaust shop

And this morning i put in a new door panel on the driver's side. It is marine grade vinyl that i sewed with an old hot rodding technique called tuck and roll. For my first time, i think it turned out well.

 

and this morning I redid the dash.

and put in this switch for the ECT, and finally mounted the manifold pressure gauge.

 

All looks good! Deciding what to do with my door panels. Did you use the original cards?

 

no, i had gotten rid of them long ago, i just used 1/4" plywood. I didn't bother with the old mounting pins, i just drilled 4 holes in the corners and used black screws with "decorative washers", i like the way it looks.

I've made quite a few sets of door panels, they get better every time, and as soon as i make a new one i have new ideas for thr next. So these are them for now, who knows what is next.

 

Here is some advice: don't ebay and drink. I ended up buying some hood pins one late night earlier this week. They got in today, and I put them on. I don't know if I was anxious from waiting for bushings for my rear shocks for so long or what, but I installed those dang hood pints. Basically, it was a mistake. I am not a fan of them. My old hood was beat, and the supports underneath were seperated, so the hood flexed and rattled in winds, so I had a few beers, and got on ebay..... now I have a new hood coming in.

In some other news, I did get the right bushings for my monroe rear load bearing coilover shocks this evening, so I was able to pop them on, and they feel nice, not much change in rebound or height, but bumps are definitely dampenned more. Also some small part of me likes the fact that my shocks are monroe all round now, not mixmatched with gabriel rears.

 

So, here is what the hood pins look like:

Honestly, I went out to do some work under the hood this morning, and it was kinda nice to be able to just pull the pins and prop it up.

Here is the end of my exhaust, where the dual output come over the axle and into the glasspacks, also the new spings and shocks:

 

The pins aren't the worst, maybe just a little long in the cable department.

 

yeah, i am definitely not as dissapointed in the way they look as i thought i would be. The cables are a little ridiculous, but something in me says that they are what makes it more muscle car and less ricer...

 

took the camper off for a bit

 

So some big new plans have developed. I have wanted to go with some wing windows for a while, and I finally decided to pull the trigger. So all the parts for that are on their way to me.

While looking inside the door guts, I decided that I think I want to go back to having electric windows and locks. I rigged up some aligator clips and switches and figured out how to route the door lock switches and solenoids, now I just have to figure out the window regulators. Stock has 5 pin momentary rocker switch, but I feel that toggle switches are more Betsy's style, so I am looking into how to create switches to do what I want them to.

Also switching back to the 2wd valance, even though it is shorter, I think that it fits the body better and I won't have to hold it up with zip ties.

New cheap black grille coming in so I can try to figure out how to put a wire mesh grille in it's frame.

 

OH! and I got a note tucked under a windshield washer from the fedex guy complimenting me on Betsy. I talked to him a couple weeks back, and he has got an 86 turbo pickup as well that he put a chep t3 conversion on.

 

My 89 has the wind wings, you won't regret it.

 

yeah, i'm lookin foreward to some nice breezes. especially because the darker the interior gets, the hotter it gets.

 

That's why there's a\c lol

 

a/c? did that come with the seat warmers and cup holders?

 

Did a little more interior work. I'm waiting for the parts to come in for the electric windows with the vent wing, so in the mean time:

 

I took the intake off to do some cleaning and coolant hose replacing, and it seems as if I've got a corroded Freezer plug. Nice stream of coolant coming from the front freeze plug on the passenger's side. Doesn't sound like too hard of a job, but one I haven't done yet.

While I work on putting some mesh in my chrome grille, I got a cheap black grille to put on, and it even came with it's own clips.



I think it is a very clean look.
Also notice the difference in color between my fenders and hood, both were painted with the same paint, but the hood is brand new.

 

Single round headlight looks good.

Freeze plug aint hard to do with the motor out, not just tap it with a hammer and punch on one side then when it turns pull it out. Shellac the new one and tap it in place with a socket. Wait a day then fill up the coolant

 

I hope I don't have to take the motor out to do it, it is the one in the front, so I really hope I just have to take the intake off.
Shellac the new one? what do you mean by that, are you actually using shellac?