Wiring:
While the other things are going on, dad was working on the wiring. He made custom wiring harnesses for the rear doors. He started with wire:
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Then the length was measured in all required colors:
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Rear door was removed for ease of wires being run:
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Same for passenger side:
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Door is reattached:
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And wires pulled in:
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Seatbelt Anchor Bolt:
When pulling the truck apart, the seat belt anchor nut fell off and was forgotten about. So we had to feed a new nut up from the rockers, and weld it in. We started with the clean B pillar:
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Then ground the welding surface clean:
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And then it was welded on:
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Rear window regulators:
Yes, from a long time ago, the window regulators finally got finished up. These are the now painted brackets:
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Center console is also starting to be wired:
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Rear amps also being wired:
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Well, it has been a long time since I did an update on this. Now is March 2017….last update seems to be 10 months ago… sorry. (EDIT: Actually, it took me a month and a bit to actually finish writing this and it is now May….sorry guys and gals) Truth be told, I didn’t touch the truck much during the summer last year but although I have been quiet so far on the forums this winter, I have been cooking with bacon on the truck with my goal of having it at a few shows this summer (2017)!
I have been trying to spend more time working on the truck and less time farting around online as it is time to get this sexy beast done and we all know how fast we can use up playing online…. So I haven’t updated much. But that means there is lots to update now. So I will try to pick up where I left off….
I left off with the interior wiring beginning and some exterior work being done. Both have continued. As we left off with the interior, let’s start there.
THE OVERHEAD CONSOLE
So I started on the overhead console. It is time to get this done as it is time to get on the interior wiring and headliner. So I started with the actual sheet that will become the rigid sheet that will support the rockers. So I started with some 18 ga sheet metal (if memory serves).
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Drew my templates as to how I wanted to group the rockers. I did them by function. Ie, all lighting rockers together. All pneumatics related. Etc.
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So the panel was cut out and filed so the rocker housings had an exact fit and didn’t rattle around.
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Then came the test fit.
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Then came the fun part: mounting this into the overhead console. Issue is, you can’t use screws, glue won’t hold long term, so you have to be creative. This is how it will look.
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But for the backside, that’s where you have to get a bit creative. As the console is bowed, and the switch panel can’t be, I had to create a small bridge to block the hole. This was welded to the panel.
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But now we have to hold it in. So I determined it will need to be an exact fit press in design. The theory will be to block it in via wood, so it holds tight but can be removed if needed. It will also give me a good solid rigid backing against flex.
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Slowly getting the shape in…
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And now to plane the wood to make it exact fit…
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And then at 4 hours and a lot of trial and error, and it all fits. 😉
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Door Panels:
Next up is the prep of the door panels. The driver’s door panel will have to be modified as it will also have to house the switches for the rear power windows. So getting a bit crafty, I used a switch retainer ring from a donor panel, cut, welded, and installed it into the door panel giving me a place to add two more switches.
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You can see here how much smaller it is compared to the original size.
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And with a bit of modifications, it now fits and I now have a set of switches for the rear door.
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Small Shit
The next task was a bunch of smaller jobs. First was the finishing of the splash guards on the front of the running boards. When the tires turned, they would make contact so needed to be relocated back slightly.
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Thus giving me some clearance:
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Rear bumper connector panel for the air jack, 7 pin, and winch connection:
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Finishing off the custom door wiring harnesses with connectors in the event you ever need to disconnect one of the power window motors or harnesses.
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And yeah. The wiring is really starting to stack up inside the truck!
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Cold Air Intake Box
So next up was to actually finish the cold air intake box. You have seen parts of it, so to help others replicate it, here is the general layout.
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Painty painty….. I prefer rocker guard over powder coating for these cold air intakes as you will find they make a great spot to rest tools when working under the hood and as normal power coating or rattle can will chip/scratch over time….
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And that gives the final box. To give you an idea, to make this box, ad have it seal and fit right, figure about 10 hours of work.
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