Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

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808morgan
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Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by 808morgan »

Do you just make them out of some material? I know they don't totally seal up the slot, the lever just moves through it and the ends close. I'm looking in the Vintage Power Wagons catalogue and I see the cover with two slots called a draft pad. I guess I need to know what I should use to replace that canvas (?) that is attached to it or if I need to order the part from them. I don't have the truck yet, I am just trying to get some answers for things I see and have no idea about, I can see from pics that mine are pretty open to the elements.
close up shift.jpg
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just me
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by just me »

It wouldn't be high on my worry list if you don't have the truck yet. It is just rubber and even new, it only acts as a suggestion to stopping drafts.
No doubt you will find plenty of more important things to suss out when you get the truck.
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by 808morgan »

just me wrote:It wouldn't be high on my worry list if you don't have the truck yet. It is just rubber and even new, it only acts as a suggestion to stopping drafts.
No doubt you will find plenty of more important things to suss out when you get the truck.
Well this truck was owned and worked on for eight years, most things were rebuilt and he drove it to go fishing I think. The body is primed and sealed, the frame is painted. Tires are good. I honestly just have some paint and cosmetic stuff to do. Eventually I may do disk brakes and change the gears but it's expensive and I can't do that right now. There is an oval window hardtop included as well as a new canvas top.

I will have to restore the hardtop and I was going to ask about the wood in those because he said it will have to be replaced. Any recommendations about what kind of wood etc? He also said the strap loops for the soft top got in the way of putting the hard top on and I wondered if that was an unusual problem. I have to see what he means and maybe adjust something.

Any help is appreciated, thanks
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by nhjohnny1 »

Im not an expert but there is no boot that I know of, just the rubber pads with a sloth for the lever, I imagine even new they dont work that great unless the rubber is really soft. I hve been wondering about using a brush seal of some kind but dont know if it would be much better?
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by NAM VET »

my replacement pad was made about 40 years ago, so the rubber is a bit hard. But I live in UpState SC, so cold weather really isn't much of a problem for me. And I could not get my other pedal's draft rubber pads to work either, so I have a variety of "holes' in my cab. As long as I don't kill myself with carbon monoxide from an exhaust leak, I should be OK. I think the shift rubber flaps are there to keep some of the mud out when fording.

Oh, when I spent over a year restoring my own truck, now about done, I too kept buying this and that part I was going to ultimately need, spreads out the costs a bit. Plus, when waiting for my machine shop to do the motor, I could keep going on my endeavor. Good luck.

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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by 808morgan »

nhjohnny1 wrote:Im not an expert but there is no boot that I know of, just the rubber pads with a sloth for the lever, I imagine even new they dont work that great unless the rubber is really soft. I hve been wondering about using a brush seal of some kind but dont know if it would be much better?

Yeah I thought maybe I could use some thick rubber and make a template of whatever is left under the plate to see how it mounts. I don't have it yet. It does look like no matter what you do it will never seal up, you would have to make something custom that would allow for the reach of the levers. The main thing I was thinking of was dust, if you go to Death Valley or something it could get in there pretty good. Can always throw a wet towel over it!

Thanks
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by 808morgan »

NAM VET wrote:my replacement pad was made about 40 years ago, so the rubber is a bit hard. But I live in UpState SC, so cold weather really isn't much of a problem for me. And I could not get my other pedal's draft rubber pads to work either, so I have a variety of "holes' in my cab. As long as I don't kill myself with carbon monoxide from an exhaust leak, I should be OK. I think the shift rubber flaps are there to keep some of the mud out when fording.

Oh, when I spent over a year restoring my own truck, now about done, I too kept buying this and that part I was going to ultimately need, spreads out the costs a bit. Plus, when waiting for my machine shop to do the motor, I could keep going on my endeavor. Good luck.

NV
I was mostly thinking of dust, my family has some land in northern NV and there is moon dust up there, my dad says to throw a wet towel over it haha. I will take that plate off and see if I can make a template for the rubber. I thought maybe some rubber lined fire hose would look good, I can paint the firehose with the interior. We'll see, I will start a build blog when I get going.

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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by nhjohnny1 »

Problem with a boot on the transfer case is 2 levers on the same plane so 4 high would be impossible as the levers spread apart
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by 808morgan »

nhjohnny1 wrote:Problem with a boot on the transfer case is 2 levers on the same plane so 4 high would be impossible as the levers spread apart
I might play around with it, maybe a scissor like boot that is split for individual levers. It may not work.
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Re: Draft Pad (?) "boots" around the shift levers

Post by Elwood »

It's just a piece of flat, thick rubber with two slots cut in it, attached to a steel surround. If you're patient, you can find NOS ones for sale on eBay, etc. Still might need to replace the rubber, though.
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