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New member, new rig, what am I getting myself into?

In back there was a tab that bolted on the inside of the rear opening to the bed sides, all of this is inside the tailgate hatch area...

Trying to remember, I gave Brian my top and haven't had one on in a couple years...
 
Yep, got those too.

So I've removed all the bedrail bolts, bolts inside the cab above the windshield, bolts on the door jambs at the corners of the windshield, and those brakets from the rear. I'm about to just give it the old college try and see what happens, seems like it's got to be years of dirt and rust and crap holding it all together now.
 
Check for the bolts right behind the doors. They can be hard to see when you are removing the rest of the bedrail bolts.
 
I bought her drinks, gave her Mardi Gras beads, STILL can't get her top off!

:haha:

A little sheer will and determination, and I discovered that I did, in fact, get all the bed rail bolts removed, the appropriate brackets from each site in the hatch and the brackets above the sun visors. I also removed the 'drip rail deflectors' from each side.

Problem is, the top is still stuck like glue in the front--and it looks like somebody used truck weatherstrip for both doors--it's one solid piece of rubber all around the door and on the top. Ugh. Doesn't seem like that's what's holding it on, that sucker is on there tight in the front. Still.

Spent the afternoon tearing old old moldy carpet in the cab, doing my best to put the seats back together and putting Humpty Dumpty back together so I can drive it again.

Couple questions--on the hood, it seems the hood sits awfully high against the cowl when I close the hood. If I push on both sides, it settles right down to a perfect fit. If I drive more than about 20 mph (give or take, with the bouncy speedometer), it looks like the hood is getting ready for takeoff. Pops up on both sides and rocks side to side with the wind. Fortunately the front stays latched, but I'm a little concerned.

Also, the tailgate doesn't latch at all, it just sort of sits in place. I attached some photos of the latch, it seems the handle works fine but I can't tell which part of the latch isn't sitting right. The plunger in the liftgate is nowhere close to the latch on either side.

Any thoughts? I'm getting more and more into this as I start spending time with the truck.

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The hood issue is probably bad hinge springs. Lube the heck out of them and see if they get better. Seems like a common issue, and over time if you fight the hood to close it you eventually tear the spring mounts on the underside of the hood.

Tailgate is probably just an adjustment of the catch on either side. Loosen the bolts and bring the outward a bit and try again. Also, remove the rubber bumpers in the vertical area temporarily to see if they are holding the catches from grabbing.

Glue on windshield header is common. Even in good condition leaks at those corners were common, so owners tried all sorts of things to keep the water off their knees! Just work slowly and you can probably get those seals off in one piece. There ARE screws in the upper corners to hold them so check that they are all removed before you start prying too hard.


:usaflag:


"DEBT".....yeah, that's a good assessment! :waytogo:
 
Is weatherstripping worth it with a paint job on the horizon?

My K5 is in great mechanical shape (okay, aside from some brake issues, but we're getting there), and the suspension is all stock but mostly solid. So I'm looking at stripping the dash and interior in the near future and doing a full on rust-repair and paint job, then putting her all back together again.

The thing is, paint is probably a couple of weeks or a month down the road. I'm replacing most of the weather stripping during all of this, as it's all (at least what's still there) worthless and rotted. When I drive down the road, it doesn't matter that the A/C doesn't blow, because there's a nice breeze through the whole vehicle.

Is it worth replacing the rotted weather stripping now, only to remove and then reinstall the rubber in a couple of weeks? How tough is it to pull, keep in one piece, and put back once it's installed? I've never tried/had any reason to remove weather stripping I've installed before.
 
I wouldn't waste any time or money installing weather stripping before you do the body and paint. Just hold off until it's ready to go on for good.
 
Finally got the top off, too many sunny days lately.

After making sure about six times that I did, in fact, remove all the bolts holding the top on, my floor jack and I had a little chat with the fiberglass top. Sure enough, that rubber seal between the top and the top of the windshield frame was stuck like glue. A little patience and a little elbow grease, and viola!

Going topless forced me to adjust the tailgate latches, each side was stuck and the tailgate was only being held shut by the hatch. Now the tailgate closes, just like on a real truck! :D

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still makes me smile

I work some long hard ****ty days sometimes but as soon as I jump behind the wheel it just melts away. My feet still hurt and my back still aches, but I'm smiling:D
 
That is amazing how "toplessness" can make you feel - Saturday I should be grinning too.
 
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