Ok...so I am going to keep Tricky Dick for now and decided to do the CDL swap from Ashcroft.

Right now my major concern is messing with the center console any more for two reasons:

1 The bolts holding down the console in front of the high low are rusted and may break off when I try to remove them

2 The switch panel for the windows and seat heaters is held on by 1 screw and I have not figured out a way to hold it in place if I break off that last plastic tab.


Thoughts for concerns welcomed especially around concern 2. I was considering buying a sheet of tin and trying to fab something but, I don't know where I would attach to the console.

 

for the switch console, check out blacklist engineering. They have a sweet *** plate that helps cover everything and works with broken tabs. I used some sheet metal and epoxy to make some tabs for mine

 

update

I almost broke my nose pulling the automatic shift *** off. I hit myself in the face on the bridge of my nose

I have not drilled out the rivets yet as I broke all my drill bits on the front two screws that hold down the center console.

I don't know what the previous owner was drinking but, it spilled a lot and rusted all the screws and bolts.

I will do the rivets tomorrow as I also need to pick up a rivet gun.

 

Rivet gun not needed. Just use appropriately-sized sheet metal screws. Number 14s, I recall.

 

good call, didn't even think of that

 

I'm looking at the britpart cdl linkage kit. It's on $330.78 plus shipping from lr direct. The part number is DA1178

 

thanks for the heads up on that!

 

Interesting, I didn't know there was a part for that. Then again, used genuine shifters from an '04 are usually half that... better option in my opinion.

 

I used sheet metal screws, the nice thing is that if you need to take it back off ever, no drilling out rivets again

 

it looks exactly like the Ashcroft one for a fraction of the cost. I would love to get one out of an 04' but haven't found any at any pull a parts locally and on top of that the ones I find on eBay aren't cheap n look like they came from up north. If you go to the britpart website and enter in the part number, you can see pictures of it and it looks like the Ashcroft one or the 04' one.