[cwcarpenter98]

Lots of progress has happened since the last update. Mostly worked on the truck in the evenings after work, so it was slow but steady progress.

Employed the front yard paint booth once again to paint the compressor brackets and pulleys.

I was able to install the condenser without removing the radiator in an attempt to save my coolant, but alas, the old flex hose I had used when the radiator was in the incorrect inline 6 location, provided about a 1/4” of clearance to the fan belt. Picked up the correct, molded lower hose today and now have plenty of clearance.

Got the a/c and heater hoses ran in ways that shouldn’t cause issues with any other component, ran all the wiring, and added some rubber plugs to fill all the unused holes in the firewall and make some grommets for wires and the heater valve control cable.

Pulling the gauge cluster out made running the a/c ducting much easier to the vent on the left of the steering column. That also gave me the opportunity to replace the odometer roll that had locked up on me again with another one. Hopefully this one will last a long while.

On the glovebox, it did have to be shortened, but I didn’t like how short the box was going to end up if I had used the plastic end cap included with the kit. Instead, I made one cut on the box and re-folded it to shorten it up. That ended up working out nicely, so I’m pleased with that. Still have plenty of room to store stuff. I also spent a little time working on lining everything up properly on the glove box door. I would have to dig my fingers behind the door to pull it open beforehand, but now it functions as GM intended. Opens with one push of the button and doesn’t require digging behind the lid. Absolutely love that.

On the vents, I went a little unconventional in my mounting methods. I didn’t feel like attempting to drill holes somewhat accurately to install the vents, so I just used some 3m double sided fender emblem tape to mount them. Works great and didn’t have to drill any additional holes.

I did have to move the coolant/ windshield washer bottle up and to the driver’s side since the new ac and heater lines exit the firewall where the bottle was originally mounted. I was able to use the new system’s mounting studs to mount the bracket, just had to add a piece of metal and repaint.

I was able to test the system and the heat does work, but haven’t tested the a/c yet. I’ve got an appointment to get it evacuated and charged on Wednesday morning. Leaving for SETN on Thursday!