mknittle

Funny part is it worked. they used it for training. I have seen them back onto a dock at a lake and eject pilots dressed in full gear into the lake.
I also noticed the crew were wearing T-shirts and shorts were also doing it.

brcron007

Your doing a SUPER DUPER job !!!

I finally just finished installing the motor back in the wifes Aviator today (What a nightmare rebuild and reinstall) and will finish it up next weekend AND I will finally be able to return to my Crew conversion. Whoop Whoop !!!!!

I'll keep you updated on the rear sway bar that I'll be adding as well. Keep up the good work !!!

thrashingcows

And I thank you for the kind words.

Glad you got the wifes vehicle back up and running. I'm sure you'll be relieved to work on something a little less cramped....

thrashingcows

What else have I done in the last few weeks....well I converted my auto steering column to a manual one.

Here's what it took. I pulled apart the steering column. Here you can see the column shift mechanism I need to remove.



Once I tore the column down to the bare minimum I started cutting. First was the bracket on the end of the column that the rod to the tranny hooks to.



Then rounded out the metal so it looks like it belongs.



Then snip off the indicator tab.



Then it was time to start the big cuts. I first removed the shifter...just use a punch to drive out the pin. Then start cutting....

thrashingcows

When I bought my crewcab 4 years ago it came with a few extra parts. Some of the parts were steering column covers. I never really looked at them until I was going to do the 4wd conversion and use the 93 wiring and interior. Turned out I had a set of manual shift steering column covers!!

Here's the two pieces...



And a trial fit...close, but clears! It actually had a bit more room once screwed in place.



And the column all back together....

bryson711

Hey cows, notice In that last picture the 2 blue colored pieces that go on both sides of the column where you tighten the nuts to hold the front part of the column up. I noticed one has a little metal piece on it. What is that for? Grounding the column? I noticed it on mine too when I put it back in.

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thrashingcows

Your right on with your guess...it grounds the column.

mknittle

Looks great! when do we get to go for a test drive?

93-331-29psi

Well reading through the last 36 pages killed half my work day. Great project! Wanna come help with mine?

thrashingcows

Soon I hope...another week or two?

Sorry about killing half your work day........Glad you enjoyed it.

And I don't think the wife would allow me to work on anything else for a while...her patience is starting to get a bit thin....never good....

mknittle

Cool Just in time for spring.


I will probably have to do some thing like that for my steering column.

bryson711

Any progress over the weekend?

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thrashingcows

Yup...just no time to update. Maybe later this evening I'll update some more...I'm still a couple weeks behind though on my updates...

bannerd

Love this thread, do you know where you can get the plastic covers for the steering wheel? I can't seem to find them anywhere.

thrashingcows

You would have to find a steering column that is being parted out, I would think. Or buy the whole column.

From what I've gathered though is that Dakota trucks use many of the same parts...from the firewall on up to the steering wheel, as their big Ram brothers. So maybe the plastic covers from a Dakota, manual shift truck, could be the same, or made to work?