It seems that everything takes longer than planned, or even imagined.

I spent several hours removing the rusted header bolts, oxygen sensors, and the rest of the exhaust.

I put the new headers on, which are ceramic coated like the Flowtech headers that were on there previously. I dont know what brand the new headers are, because they were bought third-hand via craigslist. The Flowtech headers were re-sold via craigslist, along with the cat-back tubes, making the header swap a $0 cost.

So now I have a little bit larger-tube headers with a 3-inch collector. I installed them using Percy's Split-Lock stainless bolts and dead-soft aluminum gaskets. The header bolts are split on the end and have an allen set-screw. The gaskets are supposed to seal better and be re-useable. These were purchased through http://www.SummitRacing.com.

They went on ok, except for the 2nd bolt on the passenger side. It's like everything else on the truck, you can see it without obstruction, but getting a tool there is a different story. I dimpled the tube slightly, and ground/cut two wrenches to get the bolt tightend. Then I had to cut an allen wrench short to get the set-screw tightened.

I purchased some 3inch mandrel bends from http://www.Mandrel-bends.com, since no-one in Omaha seems to have a mandrel bender, and the shops that I've talked to seemed to not want to do the exhaust, by giving price estimates in the $2500 plus range.

A little bit of trading, and I have a large turbocharger. A little bit of fabrication, and it's hanging under the truck.

After some more plumbing to get the exhaust tied together, an oil line, and then some more plumbing to get the output of the turbo into the engine, we'll see how it all works out.

I have gotten around to purchasing and installing a battery isolator. Now the PC can be left on, without fear of not being able to start the truck when needed.

The unit I purchased was a BIC-95150B from Hellroaring Technologies. Another great company where emails are responded to, and shipping is prompt.

There is a diminishing amount of space to put things under the hood of the truck, I found an open spot under the module on the drivers side inner fender.

I also put an 80-amp fuse on each side of the BIC-95150B.

I pulled the hard drive to get it updated, so now I'll need to put it back in, buy a new deep cycle battery, and get an Idea of how long I can run the PC.

Next up: Sorting out the dual screens, HD Radio, WAP, cameras and Phidgets.

I've been working through some troubleshooting issues, and other details on the truck.

The battery tray for the drivers side 'electronics and accessories' deep cycle battery has been built and installed. A positive power wire has been run over to the primary battery, just so that part is done and mounted. The next part to put in would be a battery isolater so that the electronics can drain the deep cycle, but not the main battery.

Inside the cab, I've covered all of the parts for the console. The USB ports have been found and connected to the mainboard, so I can now have everything plugged in at once. This includes the two touchscreens, space navigator pe, usb to serial converter for the HD radio, phidgets controller, usb hard drive, card reader, keyboard, and even a port or two to spare.

I now have to work on the configuration for two touchscreens, to get all of the inputs working correctly.

The center console lid was covered in the vinyl I had, and then re-covered with more padding, and soft vinyl I picked up at Hancock Fabrics.

Since the vinyl was so inexpensive, I picked up a large section of it, and also recovered our kitchen bench and chairs.

I made a panel to house the heater controls and other switches that have been migrated from the center dash, to behind the airbag cover on the passenger side.

The only parts that are left to be fabricated are the front and rear bumpers.

I have been working silently on the truck for a while. The door panels have the black leather inserts done, the lights replaced with blue LEDs in the switches and courtesy lights. MTX 6 inch speakers and tweeters are now in the doors. RAAMmat from RaamAudio.com has been applied internally to the outer door skin, and on under the door panels. New window motors have been installed while the doors were taken apart.

RaamAudio.com has a very fast order fulfillment process. I had to order another roll of Raamat and foam to finish off the doors. So the total has been three rolls of RAAMmat and 8 yards of Ensolite foam and 3.5 cans of V&S Spray Adhesive to complete the entire inside of the Full-Size Extra cab truck. I have a little bit of the RAAMmat left over, maybe a 1/4 of a roll. I'll use up a little of that in the pockets in the extra cab.

Next up is to finish a little bit of wiring, and re-install the repaired MTX 5604 Amp. Install the door sills/kick panels, and a few other misc trim pieces. Then cover and install the rest of the center console.

I have to take a break to clear out the shop, and send stuff off to the recycler.

Once the interior is complete, I'll need to make the tray to bolt down the 2nd battery, and make the bumpers. Then the hardware is done, and all that will be left will be software related.

The progress on the LinuxCNC table continues. I now have the linear slides on both sides of the X-Axis, as well as the ballscrews. I ran my grinder with a flapper disc down each side of the 4-inch wide by 1/4inch steel plates for the slides to allow an easier motion. The X-Axis moves with just pressure from one side, but should be smoother with less of a chance of 'racking' with both sides driven, given the length of the table.

The Y-Axis has been bolted in place. All of the motors now have molex connectors on them. The motor for the other side of the x-axis has been mounted.

Next up:

• Wiring to the motors.

• Z-Axis.

• Install grease fittings and lubricate.

• Install Y-Axis nut on ballscrew.

• Tighten and adjust everything.

• Testing and product creation.

• Cut out pieces for the 'TuxTruck' bumpers.