'94 XL Sport - Dark Plum

[PoodlePuncher]

Adding insult to injury, i pulled the dipstick to check the oil, and then it wouldn't go back in
took a bit of time to figure out what was going on, but the dipstick tube is seperated from the block...

I spent two hours trying to get it reconnected, but no luck.
it doesn't appear to be broken, but i don't see any way i can get it reinstalled without pulling the engine

 

[PoodlePuncher]

Made some progress over the last couple weekends.

Exhaust:

i cut off the old muffler

Pulled out all the random exhaust parts i had on hand, and i had just enough to cobble this together.

Had to cut what little was left of the flange on the catalytic converter

with a new donut gasket, and 2 split flanges, i was able to connect the mid pipe to the cat

I tried to reuse the old tailpipe, but couldn't make it work (easily)

It's ok, because the mid pipe angles the glasspack up high enough that the exhaust easily clears the rear end, without needing complicated bends.
call it a happy accident.

it tucks up nicely behind the frame, so there's no chance of contact during suspension travel.

I don't have a pic, but i used a 45 on the back of the muffler to angle the pipe back down behind the bumper.
I clamped everything as a mock up, as this was meant to be a temporary fix, but i like the sound of the glasspack so much, i will weld it up when i have time.

I expected it to be loud, with a bad drone inside the cab, but it's not.
the tone is fairly mellow, and the muffler is far enough behind the cab, i can't hear it from inside.

when i finally weld it, I will add a flange to the rear of the muffler, to aid in future disassembly

 

[PoodlePuncher]

Doors:

i got the door locks swapped out, so now i can lock it, or more importantly unlock it.
the door locks are black, and have a silver key.
the ignition lock is silver, and has a black key.
This is triggering my OCD something fierce...

Also, i got the outer weatherstrip things replaced.

They were rusty and bulging, which i guess is pretty normal

Surprisingly, they came off without too much of a fight
and the doors cleaned up nicely

the hardest part was figuring out how to reinstall them.
it wasn't obvious that the clips go in holes on the back side of the sill (hidden by the glass)

these are the ones from LMC. they fit well enough, and the price was reasonable.

 

[PoodlePuncher]

Dash:

i pulled the vents, and vacuumed out remaining evidence of the vermin infestation.

The dash is in bad condition, with cracks, and missing chunks...
why try to fix it, when you can just cover it

Out of sight, out of mind

 

[Curious Hound]

I should do that. Where did you order the cover from? Are you happy with the quality?

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

BUT Y R U CALLED POODLE PUNCHER?!?!?