>> Hey Rick;
>> Yes, successfully loaded and on the road.
> Thank you. I will add the truck to my insurance...
...and that's the way it began. Here's the story, to date.
Friday, 7pm Houston time: It has arrived! The driver connected the battery and it started right up. I drove the truck into my driveway for the night, and disconnected the battery again (improperly installed aftermarket radio). Had a bit of a time getting the key out, but finally succeeded. The 'push in to turn' mechanism is kinda gummy.
Saturday, 7:30am: A squirt of WD40 in around the lock barrel perimeter let the key barrel move freely. A small blast of graphite lock lube into the keyway completed the first repair. All works smoothly now.
I began cleaning the interior starting from up high and working my way down. I cleaned all the plastic with Simple Green, then followed it with Maguire's Interior Cleaner and Finish. No shine but clean. I got as far as the upper console and cleaned the edges, cup holders, knobs and buttons of the lower console. More there to go, plus some new shifter and handbrake 'boots'. I'll make those myself from bulk vinyl.
I also cleaned the driver's carpet, foot pad, and pedals. Simple Green works great there - even on carpet. Only driver's side carpet is done, so far.
Next up, I brushed away dust from both front seats then liberally applied Leatherique's Pristine Clean. And that's where this session's work ended, on the inside.
I next washed the undercarrage with the high pressure water hose. My goal was to clean out the wheelwells and flush dirt away from any accessible suspension bits. The local car wash will clean the rest of the undercarrage, to complete the job. That work is for later.
My local carwash has a lady who does a great job of polishing away the haze from the headlight lenses, for a fee of course. That job too is in the queue.
The truck is sitting in the sun now enjoying it's Pristine Clean. I just wanted to clean the leather's surface first, since it was pretty dirty. I ended up with a lot of dirty towels.
I haven't touched the back seats yet. I did test the radio. It works but it is wired wrong. I believe it is leaving an aftermarket amplifier on continuously. Both will come out.
Saturday 12:30pm: A thunderstorm is coming. The temperature has dropped 10°-15°, and lots of refreshing wind. Soooo...
Out I went with a quart of Leatherique's Rejuvenator in hand. 20 minutes later, all seats, front and rear, were done with treatment number one. They look GREAT already! I'll do a good wipe down tomorrow morning, followed by another application of Rejuvenator. And before it gets too hot out, I'll vacuum all the carpets and shampoo any spots that need attention.
I have looked in the cargo area but haven't done anything back there other than wiping down the plastic bits.
The wheels look good, needing only a good cleaning. I was afraid they were chewed up but no, they look great. They are 16" diameter. This is even more evidence of a 2003 truck built on the cusp of a design facelift, using up parts from the previous design's parts bins.
I won't change the tires until after repainting. I have found really good tires at TireRack. I don't need offroad capability. I do require quiet tires and the Yokohama Geolanders rate really highly, including in the low noise category. TireRack has them at about $135 per tire, plus shipping.
Work for today is done. F1 qualifying from Canada is done. And I believe a nap is in order...
>> Yes, successfully loaded and on the road.
> Thank you. I will add the truck to my insurance...
...and that's the way it began. Here's the story, to date.
Friday, 7pm Houston time: It has arrived! The driver connected the battery and it started right up. I drove the truck into my driveway for the night, and disconnected the battery again (improperly installed aftermarket radio). Had a bit of a time getting the key out, but finally succeeded. The 'push in to turn' mechanism is kinda gummy.
Saturday, 7:30am: A squirt of WD40 in around the lock barrel perimeter let the key barrel move freely. A small blast of graphite lock lube into the keyway completed the first repair. All works smoothly now.
I began cleaning the interior starting from up high and working my way down. I cleaned all the plastic with Simple Green, then followed it with Maguire's Interior Cleaner and Finish. No shine but clean. I got as far as the upper console and cleaned the edges, cup holders, knobs and buttons of the lower console. More there to go, plus some new shifter and handbrake 'boots'. I'll make those myself from bulk vinyl.
I also cleaned the driver's carpet, foot pad, and pedals. Simple Green works great there - even on carpet. Only driver's side carpet is done, so far.
Next up, I brushed away dust from both front seats then liberally applied Leatherique's Pristine Clean. And that's where this session's work ended, on the inside.
I next washed the undercarrage with the high pressure water hose. My goal was to clean out the wheelwells and flush dirt away from any accessible suspension bits. The local car wash will clean the rest of the undercarrage, to complete the job. That work is for later.
My local carwash has a lady who does a great job of polishing away the haze from the headlight lenses, for a fee of course. That job too is in the queue.
The truck is sitting in the sun now enjoying it's Pristine Clean. I just wanted to clean the leather's surface first, since it was pretty dirty. I ended up with a lot of dirty towels.
I haven't touched the back seats yet. I did test the radio. It works but it is wired wrong. I believe it is leaving an aftermarket amplifier on continuously. Both will come out.
Saturday 12:30pm: A thunderstorm is coming. The temperature has dropped 10°-15°, and lots of refreshing wind. Soooo...
Out I went with a quart of Leatherique's Rejuvenator in hand. 20 minutes later, all seats, front and rear, were done with treatment number one. They look GREAT already! I'll do a good wipe down tomorrow morning, followed by another application of Rejuvenator. And before it gets too hot out, I'll vacuum all the carpets and shampoo any spots that need attention.
I have looked in the cargo area but haven't done anything back there other than wiping down the plastic bits.
The wheels look good, needing only a good cleaning. I was afraid they were chewed up but no, they look great. They are 16" diameter. This is even more evidence of a 2003 truck built on the cusp of a design facelift, using up parts from the previous design's parts bins.
I won't change the tires until after repainting. I have found really good tires at TireRack. I don't need offroad capability. I do require quiet tires and the Yokohama Geolanders rate really highly, including in the low noise category. TireRack has them at about $135 per tire, plus shipping.
Work for today is done. F1 qualifying from Canada is done. And I believe a nap is in order...