Grats
Sometimes it sucks being such a diehard 2nd gen fan, but in retrospect, haven't spent much in repair parts in the past 19 years of ownership
Been looking at subdash options. Current project has had everything in the interior except the dash removed. Reupholstered headliner, all the trim panels removed and cleaned, sound deadening, 4 speakers, flooring removed, bare metal cleaned, shampooed/extracted all the cloth while I had easy access to every inch of the seats and center console, crevices that haven't been clean in 25 years. Added an amp + wiring kit and rewired the speakers to route under the center console, and mounted the amp to under the console bracket, but got so much noise from alternator that I removed the amp and using my double-din screen-type receiver to drive the speakers. Deal with that amp later.
Today I cranked up the truck to work the alternator noise issue, and turned on the AC and dang... not blowing cold air. Clutch was short cycling and suction side was cold = low airflow. So guessed the evap fins are too clogged to absorb that interior heat I so much want to get rid of as it's getting hot these days. Pulled the blower motor so I could inspect the evap, and just as I expected. Totally clogged with leaves, dirt, sand, grime, etc.
Since getting the airbox out requires removing the complete dash, tonight I fell into the rabbithole of new aftermarket dashes since my dash will self-destruct when I remove it. Already my climate controls, headlight switch, bezel, etc have little to nothing to attach to
Saw the aluminum from LRB Speed but no airbag, not street legal. I prefer stock look anyway. Saw DRT mentioned in a comment of someone installing LRB's aluminum dash... next rabbithole
Copycats have the 98-02 3D design and are manufacturing and selling for $600 on amazon, undercutting DRT. Unknown if these sellers copied DRT's design or scanned their own. With more sales, DRT can recoup "R&D and tooling" (scanning, and dealing with plastic former initial startup). Hopefully that will mean he can eventually drop the price as his initial startup cost is paid off thru sales. He also has to pay the plastic manufacturer for each one they build for him.
But a full dash/airbox reno is costly
'99 DRT subdash $1900 shipped
LMC complete dashboard top $342 shipped
Heater core/evap $110
CNC aluminum airbox door set $340
excludes the sub $100 items like seal/o-ring kit, service port kit, high side line with non-removable orifice, accumulator/dryer, r134a, evac/recovery by a shop
One day I'll be brave enough to pull the trigger on what amounts to the price of a used car.
papa... I know I came across your username (Rusty's fake name from Vegas Vacation) elsewhere offsite tonight while looking at dash options. Maybe a review or youtube comment?
