I do plan to take a weekend trip when I get financially back on my feet again to Virginia to see a buddy of mine. Not sure if I would take Rusty or borrow my dad's car, though.

That probably wouldn't be a bad idea. That way if any "bugs" popped up your close to home and your tools, etc.

Definitely. I have been having an issue with the trans where it sticks in 5th gear... still have to investigate it, but I am hoping its something simple like a linkage... not a shift fork :argh:

I can't think of a better way to get to know your rig. All the better when you do take that trip(s) you will have been through all the systems and will have a better idea on the fix!

Well, not any ground breaking news on this front... I have been driving the truck for the last week and I must say its a delightful ride. Rusty has been turning many MANY heads and I have even got offers for trades (which I am not considering, especially this close to winter).

I have piddled around on a few small things: trying to get the tach to work, installing shifter boots, and trimming and installing the bumper. We also had to redesign the fuel filler for a little more angle because she wasn't taking on fuel (took 10 min to put in 5 gallons...). We successfully got that done. Just a few more creature comfort things I would like to finish up (truck has a 1 speed fan... wtf?). Otherwise I am driving her and enjoying every second of it!

In order to trim the bumper as much as I wanted, I had to cut out 3 5/8" from the stock mounts. This shows the trimmed mount next to the stock one that is marked to cut:
Attachment 34791

Next, I had to figure out how much to cut. I figured that the bumper, stock, was about 1 1/4" from the lower grille, so I took that out of the amount I trimmed from the mounts and ended up taking 2 1/4" off the bumper (to play it safe).
Attachment 34792

Finally got it mounted on the truck and have some more trimming to do, but she looks much less naked now. I am going to draw a line that goes with the edge of the fender and trim the bumper at that angle. I will most likely just weld some plate on the edge to finish it off, if I don't end up with a more creative idea:
Attachment 34793

Otherwise... I have just been driving the heck out of her :tu:

Attachment 34794

Attachment 34795

:tu: Epic!! :rocking:

Thanks man! I am seriously falling in love a little more every day. I have the VGT pretty well dialed in at the moment. I am hitting about 43psi, then the intercooler pipes pop off. That 43 psi is with nothing more than a haze coming out the stack, which I think is truly amazing. The most sooty part of driving it is just taking off from the light. I need to figure out how to get a little more out of the full power screw and I think I can hit my goal of 55psi.

Most likely will be looking toward water injection, too. She's a little hotter at cruise than I would like her to be, and tops out about 1100* on a WOT run, so I am sure with more fuel I will be heating up a bit more in a WOT run.

Other than a few minor teething issues... oil leaks, one instance of getting the coolant too hot for comfort, and the cost of filling up, I think she's flawless!

The only bad thing lately is I have found MORE peeling paint in the same area that was painted previously. Think I may just keep my mouth shut and wait a couple years and paint it again... who knows. I'm sick of this hassle.

Well, truck's been on the road but cracked an injector line so been down over a month now. Can't get myself to toss down $500 on new lines and having a hard time finding anything cheaper. Really sucks :/

Any hints on finding lines??

You could try Mark Nixon over on the 4BT forum he seems to come across a good mix of parts 402-780-5127 ?

Thanks for the heads up, I am looking mostly for new parts since it seems mine have rusted and the prices for used parts are rivaling those of new parts, I would prefer the reliability of brand new stuff.