Well it has been forever since I posted an update, but work is progressing on the Classic 1977 Dodge B200 Tradesman Conversion!
I have been focusing on the engine and the cockpit interior so that is where the work has been concentrated and I found an excellent mechanic who knows the old vehicles- Shout out to Andy Williams of IDART in Garden City, Idaho.
Andy did a compression test for me to check the health and a tune up with new plugs and plug wires and distributor and he leaned the mixture a bit for me. The Compressions were good- pretty much all 125 with maybe one at 120 from 140 new.
He also changed my front brake pads and added new front rotors last week.
Staying with the engine I pulled the valve covers to put new valve cover gaskets on and clean up the engine- the old covers had a bad leak on the exhaust side which smoked, smelled and burned up my oil! Here are some pics:
I still need to finish the last cleanup and paint the valve covers and put everything back together, but well on the way now.
The other project was adding soundproofing and insulation to my engine cover and painting it! Here are some pics:
Inside of cover:
Making some patterns:
Here is the stuff- Super Sonic Cool-it Mat!
and installed:
Then there is painting- here's what the cover looked like under the old carpet:
Primer- 2 coats:
and Finish paint (a bit darker than the prime) 2 coats:
I've also stripped ALL of the old crappy faded filthy tan carpet from the interior of the cab!:
I will clean this floor pan up some more and I plan to put down XMat soundproofing mats and getting a custom cut single piece rubber floor mat to cover everything. Then I'll add some heavy seat covers in complimentary hues, a dash cover for the metal dash, recover the door panels and add some small carpet floor mats and call it good! More pics as the projects evolve...
Please let me know what you think and thanks for checking out my van!
