Steering column, lower dash, bench repair
This past weekend I got several items knocked off the list. I removed the bench and masked and painted the visible bits (hastily, to be honest. We’ll see how it holds up). I masked off the interior and sprayed the steering column and the area behind the seat with bedliner. It came out really well! The steering column looks especially nice. I also took off the now vestigial column shift lever and cut it down and domed and polished the nub (hah!). This way I don’t have a shifter arm that is completely useless hanging out there without having to swap the column or have a big gaping hole there.
The bench seat also had some functionality issues since the slides were old rusty and tired and the cable connecting the left and right slide had too much slack in it to function. I replaced the cable with a screen door cross-support (the kind with a turnbuckle) and it was an absolutely perfect fit. Works great now too. I brushed the rust off and greased everything up and it slides much better now too. Looking forward to installing the seat again and testing it out.
I also masked and painting the lower dash and glove box, though I had to do it with rattle bomb because my compressor is giving up the ghost. It came out ok. I may colorsand it and buff it at some point in the future.
