bkahler

I didn't realize the key locks were supposed to be oriented a certain way. That helps a lot, thanks. That's something the manual doesn't cover at all. Earlier I had pulled the key lock out and brought it up to the house and I started tinkering with it. It turns out I can turn the lock fully clockwise and pull the key and vise versa I can rotate it fully counter clockwise and pull the key. The issue in the rotation is in one direction it is harder to pull the key out, and at the time I was trying to be careful and not force things. Tomorrow I'll squirt some graphite into the lock, just in case, and re-install again.

Kick panels installed.

I'm trying to figure just how the key lock mechanism works on the passenger door. If you look at the attached picture you can see I have the square shaft of the key lock properly inserted in the lock mechanism. However, I can't seem to get the key to actually do anything. I can rotate the key almost 360 degrees, but I always have to rotate they key back to where I started to be able to remove the key from the lock. No matter how much fiddling with I do I can't seem to get the locking mechanism to work. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if the mechanism is broken somewhere. Help

Push pins now installed. The easiest was to use the angled needle nose pliers gripping the pin just enough to hold it in place and use the rubber mallet to hit it. Each pin took about three wacks to properly seat it.

After figuring out the easiest way to install the brown trim push pins I finished the installation of the rear trim panel. I'm not overly impressed with the panel quality so I'll probably look into the ones that DCM sells, but that's for another day. Also finished up the side view mirrors. Next up for the interior is the headliner. I'm not sure how I'm going to manhandle it by myself but I'll figure out something.

My apologies, I didn't see your response when I responded to the other two replies. The problem I found with just trying to use a hammer is the pins were to small to hold with my fingers without hitting them. A 1/2" nut driver sounds like a possibility as does the wood dowel.

I have the cheap brown cardboard from Robert's. Back in the 90s when I bought the kit it was the only thing available. I figure I'll see how it looks and if I don't like it or it doesn't last I'll buy a kit from DCM. What you suggested is exactly what I tried, with no success. I have the same pliers that you described. The problem was the push pin wire is so stiff, the rubber mallet couldn't break the pliers grip on the pin. I had zero luck with the pliers and managed two with my thumb. I think tomorrow I'll get a small chunk of wood and dimple it with a ball pen hammer. Maybe the dimple will support the pin better than my thumb. It just occurred to me as I was typing the above, maybe instead of squeezing the pin I should rotate it 90 degrees in the pliers, basically just support the pin in the hole and then hit it with the rubber mallet. I'll try this first and if that doesn't work I'll try the block of wood.

This morning I installed the cardboard trim panel behind the seat. Locating the holes is no problem, getting the push pins installed is a real pain. After two pins my thumb said "no more". Anyone have a trick for installing these things that won't require a trip to the doctor?

I hadn't thought about the fender clearance possibility. My gantry crane may or may not be able to lift high enough. I haven't figured out how to rig it yet for lifting so that will determine max lift height. I think I'll leave the fenders off out of caution, with my luck I'd find away to dent them while performing the lift. Thanks.

DCM shipped the parts and it looks like delivery will be Saturday. If that works out there's a chance I'll have the bed assembled by Christmas, that would make for a nice Christmas present Someday I may do the hinge mod using my original on hinges, for the time being I'd like to put it back to stock so I can drive it. I'm sure there will be a bunch of things that I'll need/want to upgrade or fix once I have it on the road. For now, I just need to get it on the road....29 years is a long time to wait to drive. Next question, is it better to have the rear fenders installed before lifting the bed onto the truck or after lifting the bed onto the truck?

To me, that does not look like an engine where the pistons are stuck in the bores. That leaves the valve tappets, the rod or main bearings, something in the connection between the crankshaft and the transmission or cam shaft frozen. Not much else I can think of that matches your description.

The hinge change sounds nice and appears to be something I can do in the future since only the hinges are really impacted. Anyone out there have any pictures of this change? For the time being, I'll stick with the original setup. Like Mark said, the tailgate may never be opened once it's in place!

The hinges, yes. The tail gate, no. As Dave mentioned earlier, if the tailgate was placed into one of the hinges the other end of the tailgate would be about 6" from touching the other hinge. I didn't like the idea of forcing the tailgate that much to try and get it in place. Something I didn't really point out or stress is the only piece from my bed that is original is the front panel by the cab. The bed sides I got from Mark, the tailgate came from someone in Arizona, the lower rear cross piece is from DCM and the two rear vertical uprights (stake pockets) on the side panels have been replaced with reproduction pieces from I believe Mar-K (maybe Mark can answer that question). What it boils down to is I'm assembly a bed from a mixture of pieces. The hinges were my original hinges, but my original tail gate had been modified with a gate in it and was pretty beat up. So what I'm trying to do now is make everything fit together. I'm hoping by buying the new reproduction L brackets and reproduction hinges the parts will match up better. It will probably be after Christmas before I have all the parts on hand to give it another try.

I was afraid that would be the case. Both sides have the same angle. At this stage I don't think I'll do any mods. Mods would entail repainting the tail gate which is a problem at this point. My painter moved back to Wisconsin and I'm not too thrilled with trying to find someone else to handle that work at this stage of the game. Also, I'd really just like to get the truck done! I unbolted the L brackets and removed the cross member. The L brackets have a twist to them such that the hinges are angled rearward. To add to the impact, the hinges themselves have an angle to them. You can see in the attached picture what I'm talking about. Add the two issues together and you get what I showed in the previous picture. So....I just finished placing an order with DCM Classics for two new L brackets and a new pair of hinges. When we had the paint mixed I had them fill a couple of spray cans so I have enough paint to spray the hinges and the L brackets. What this means is I'm now on hold working on the bed so I guess it's time to start installing the interior trim panels, or mill and cut the bed boards Thanks for the info.