Got more wiring done tonight. That went well. I also touched up the bed cross sills just to make sure they are ready when it's time to assemble the bed.
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My original rear cross sill had terrible rust and was bent. I found a pretty nice replacment at the salvage yard but it had a few rust holes that needed repair. There was a lot of pitting on the ledge where the bed wood sits too. My repair tonight went well because I noticed some sheet metal I had laying around had the correct shape to make the repair. That reduced the fabrication time. I still need to drill a few holes.
A stepside C10 has triangular pieces that mount to the bottom back cab corner. They are designed to help prevent mud and rocks from coming up onto the step in front of the rear fender. Mine were all twisted and bent, but today I tried my hand at straightening them. They look pretty straight now so I will media blast them, apply epoxy primer and put them back on the truck once the bed has been installed. Here are some BEFORE and AFTER pics.
Instead of blasting fireworks, I blasted metal. Media blasted metal, that is. My cowl vent panel and several areas of the bed needed it because other methods wouldn't be adequate. Yesterday I installed the front bumper and installed P clips to hold the new wiring. The clips supplied by AAW were too floppy. The wires will get wrapped later.
I took a short break from doing the wiring this week and stripped some parts so I could apply epoxy primer. Today I stripped the front bumper using a poly carbide disc on my grinder. I also stripped part of the cowl vent but most of it, especially the slotted area, needs to be media blasted.
The grille was installed today. As I unpacked my headlight bezels I realized that I had only sandblasted one. Since the other was still painted black, I mounted it for a pic so I could say "my truck had a black eye". Then I stripped the paint from the black bezel and both tail light brackets.
The new turn signal lenses look pretty nice in my GMC hood. The wiring for everything under the hood is done. That includes the horn, turn signals, headlights, alternator, HEI distributor, starter, tachometer, temperature and oil pressure sensors. All the wiring will eventually be wrapped for protection.
Pictures of wiring may not be exciting, but the progress is. I finished wiring the first half of the engine bay tonight.
A great crimper makes terminal connections a breeze. The one I have is phenomenal! I also bought a wire stripper that surpasses all others. Very precise! Armed with these 2 tools, I got a lot of work done tonight. I removed the fuse box that I had installed last night. It was only 2 nuts and 2 washers. Laying everything out on the floor, I matched up the quick disconnect junction blocks for my instrument cluster so I could mark them. Getting things organized in my mind helped me have the confidence needed to start cutting wires to length and crimping the terminals onto the wires.
I removed the doors yesterday so the wiring will take less effort. American Autowire makes a complete wiring kit for the 1960-66 trucks and the reviews are 5 star. Today I installed the fuse box and routed the wires up inside the dash. Next comes the instrument cluster that I restored about 3 years ago.
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See my BLOG entries from prior months below:
March 2024
My Hobbies are:Auto Restoration Categories |
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T5 Info Page
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- Complete T5 Driveline - Installation from Engine to Rear Axle
- S10 T5 Transmission Jeep Shaft Swap - DIY and skip the adapter plate.
- Camaro Drive Gear Relocation
- T5 Tail Stock with a Cable Speedo Connection
- World Class and Non-World Class versions of the T5 - How to tell them apart.
- How to determine the T5 gearing
- A possible solution for cable speedometers.
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- What's the difference between a Camaro T5, an S10 T5, and an Astro T5?
- T5 Transmission Tear Down
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- T5 Transmission Rebuild
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Tips & Tricks Section
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- How to improve gauge cluster lighting.
- Stripping Paint - Polycarbide Abrassive Wheel
- Jeep Cherokee Door Check Modification - Very Simple
- Keeping the hood aligned
- DIY All Cable Ebrake System for 1963-1972 C10
- Alignment Tools - Easier than you think
- Conversion to dual master cylinder brakes 1963-1966 C10.
- Steering column modification
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- An easy way to adjust brake shoes
- How to remove a pilot bushing from the crankshaft.
- Cutting spot welds
- E-brake clip removal made easy
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Other Projects
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- Bearings to grenade
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Random Pics
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