Got the original bug shield put back on. It tilts a little but but the wind resistance usually settled it back. At least it did in 1984. Just had to redrill some holes today.
FYI that bugshield was my first wedding anniversary present in 1984. Lol.
The radio deal fell through. He said it didn't work before he shipped it.
He says he has some more that he'll try. Idk. Will see. I want my 170 bucks back if this horse won't ride.
Dang I love that bugshield.
#totally80s

 

I love Dixie. I hope you find a good radio soon. I like the bugshield.
That Toyota blue's looks so good in your truck, even the plant pot looks good in that color

 

Thanks bud. That front passenger side bumper f-up is going to have to be repaired. That and a few small rust areas in the ole single wall bed.
I hope to get her the way I want and then show her at some car/truck cruise-ins.
She's actually pretty rare now.

 

Yeah this truck looks good!

 

Thank you bud!

 

I've had 4 days off of work to tinker with Dixie. I have had the BEST time. I was telling my wife that when I was a boy, one of my favorite past times was model cars. Even now I love to put model cars together. So when I was scratching around looking for dash screws, I was reminded of putting model cars together when I was a boy and trying to find pieces in a cigar box where I kept the extra parts.
I kinda feel like a boy again with this...putting a model car together.
Anyway, I got the LEDs in finally, after I realized the polarity was reversed. Got the speedo all hooked back up and the parts around the cluster all put back together.
Added a bumper sticker that goes with it.
Drove it around today a little while and turned some heads. One boy stopped dribbling his basketball and just stared as IS drove by. lol.
Before and after the LEDs. Amazing. Really happy that I did that.


You know we were all about some bumper sticker bling in the 80s! And I totally remember this election. That tailgate is gonna have to be relettered. Looks rough.
But for that matter, the bed is going to have to have some body work done. a few rust spots on the single wall. Everything in it's time though.




Just taking her out for a late Sunday spin. Turning heads. I'm really proud of her.

 

Well, had some restore time with my old buddy last night trying to get the radio in. We got it wired back in but something isn't right. The volume is very low and the sound sketchy. But? Sometimes, with the same wiring, the volume is fine and the sound is perfect. We're kind of lost here. Sounds like a short somewhere. Not sure if it's coming from the radio (old/new to me) or somewhere in the wiring or the speakers themselves. I'm going to get some cheap speakers and see if we can track it down this way. I don't feel like it's the radio or it would do it all of the time, but maybe I'm wrong.
But it was fun reconstructing what we deconstructed 35 years ago with the same ole bud.
FYI, it was more fun with cigarettes and alcohol when we originally fubarred it in 1982.
And, we were more nimble in this little truck.
And we could see better.
And stay up later.

 

Probably speakers. Check the wire end where they plug into the speakers.

 

Thanks, I'll see about that.

 

Found this on Ebay. This is the original center tray that I was looking for to restore mine back to a stock appearance. BUT, it's brown. Hopefully it'll prime and paint up as blue.

 

I responded in your other thread, but I respond here too lol. I used Duplicolor spray cans to restore my gray panels. They have a color that is almost a perfect match to the gray, not sure about the blue toyota uses, they have a couple of blues though. https://duplicolor.com/product/vinyl-and-fabric-coating

Its been over a year and its holding up nicely. 90% of it is in the prep.

 

Thank you! I wanted it here because it is part of the restoration. In addition to yours, I got a lot of good suggestions on the other thread. I'll know more when I get it but I figure I'll clean it really well (dude doesn't look like he even washed it) and then spray prime it. Then probably take it, with the truck, to a body shop and see if they can match it to the dash color that they repainted for me a couple of years ago.

I'm having a lot of fun with this.

 

In MY mind that's what color it was originally when u bought the paint. Lol.
Think I'll paint it black. I'll never be able to match anything with 36 years of wear.

 

Is it me or that looks like an Avatar had sex with a Smurf and they had that baby center tray?
If you can't match it, paint everything!

 

It doesn't look similar that the dashboard:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f197...l#post52091572

 

You can go to a pro paint shop and ask them to mix the right color, bring a part as sample, they should be able to get a perfect match.

 

Man I loveDixie, I live in Colorado Springs currently with my 81 4x4. My question is how did you go about getting the sunroof done back in the day???

 

Thank you! She's special. Well, I had that installed at a local car shop, that was in 1982. She didn't come with air conditioning and I had a head full of hair then to shield my head from the sun. lol.
I actually had a vinyl covered box screwed to the front of the bed (back of cab) that had foam inserts in it, for me to store it in while I drove so it wouldn't break.
Another side note is that one time, late 80's, l left it shut up in the hot summer for days while we were out of town. I came back and it had exploded from being sealed in the hot sun for several days.
That truck is full of stories. lol.

 

Dixie in the front page! Congrats!

 

? Sorry, what front page? But thanks for the heads up! lol.