Halfbreed - GMC Z71 + IH Extd Cab

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Or sharks with freaking laser beams on their heads!

Oh yeah... maybe with girdles holding the laser equipment onto their pudgy shark heads?!!

[sparkydog]

Here are some shots of what I did to get the IH defrost duct nozzles to work within/around the GM cowl and dash. The sheet metal was riveted onto the plastic nozzles to give them some strength after I cut them up and increased their bend angles.

And yes that is indeed a LOT of duct tape that you see in pic #3. I feel that it is OK to use duct tape on DUCTS!

And the last shots are of the happy nozzles all tucked up inside their homes hiding out waiting to see how the h*** I am going to get a hose attached to them!

[sparkydog]

Does anybody know what this little thing with the circuit board inside it does? On the stock GM wire harness this was wrapped up into the main trunk of the harness near the brake pedal pivot pin - sort of like they wanted it hidden and protected and not accessible? Does it contain the ICBM launch codes or something?

[BlueJeep]

Do you have a wiring diagram to refer to? Maybe a daytime running lamps module, intermittent wiper control, remote door lock module, etc.

BTW those wires wrapped in the yellow tape with yellow connectors are ABS, got rid of all of that on my truck.

[sparkydog]

Front seat belts are done-done! (Probably the first thing on the whole truck that is 100%!)

[sparkydog]

Fabbed up a mounting bracket for the GM fuse block assembly. On a GM truck, this used to point out the left end of the dash and was accessible when the DS door was open. But on Halfbreed I had to re-orient it and after wrestling with the main wire harness trunk for a few days this was where I ended up.

I've tamed most of the DS GM harness and next up is finding a home for the OBD2 connector and the park brake release lever.

[ERASER5]

Launch any missiles yet?

[6772owner]

Looking good man, good to see some more progress on this build.

[spudz]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Do you have a wiring diagram to refer to? Maybe a daytime running lamps module, intermittent wiper control, remote door lock module, etc.

BTW those wires wrapped in the yellow tape with yellow connectors are ABS, got rid of all of that on my truck.

Nope, yellow wires are SIR...

[sparkydog]

Ordered up a rebuilt 4L60E today and will pick it up Friday!!!

Windshield rubber arrived on Brown truck today.

Will try to be out on the road by T-day.

[4x4toy]

Awesome build, love the the IH and what you have done. Just found and read the thread today. Real good work "sewing" all those truck together like that.

[newagecustom]

I just found this and read through it all. Looks really good. What is the international forum you have been on?

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by newagecustom

I just found this and read through it all. Looks really good. What is the international forum you have been on?

www.binderplanet.com

[strokerPop]

Read thru your build thread today. What a humongous undertaking. Fell of my chair laughing about the cart running down the driveway. Your sense of humor is great.
Very impressed with your williness to take on anything and do it on a budget. And using that Oregonian ingenuity to solve problems. I admire that. (I lived in Albany/Corvallis for a few years)

Subscribed.

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by strokerPop

Read thru your build thread today. What a humongous undertaking. Fell of my chair laughing about the cart running down the driveway. Your sense of humor is great.
Very impressed with your williness to take on anything and do it on a budget. And using that Oregonian ingenuity to solve problems. I admire that. (I lived in Albany/Corvallis for a few years)

Subscribed.

Thanks for the kind words! I just drove up your way yesterday afternoon with my trans. The guy who is rebuilding it is in Corona.

[ERASER5]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Does anybody know what this little thing with the circuit board inside it does? On the stock GM wire harness this was wrapped up into the main trunk of the harness near the brake pedal pivot pin - sort of like they wanted it hidden and protected and not accessible? Does it contain the ICBM launch codes or something?

Was that you Sparky?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9GNuW4-JTY

[sparkydog]

Hee hee! Yeah my rebuilt trans led to too much hole shot. Gotta admit those were nice burnout pics tho.

After watching that lame newscast, I have to apologize to the FAA - I FORGOT THAT YOU CAN'T LAUNCH AN ICBM WITHOUT A EFFIN PERMIT.

That my friends will mean that there is NO WAY a hostile country will ever attack the US. No permit? Sorry, you know the rules! No launchy the scud without your FAA permit!

[sparkydog]

Windshield is back in!!

Trans is rebuilt and back in the truck. I have several odds and end to take care of then it will be time to get it fired up.

Edit: I think I will elaborate some on installing the windshield - maybe this will help someone else. I had never done this and I found some good info on a couple of forums. After reading about the various techniques and tricks, I decided to do two things. First was to use KY jelly to lube up the pinch welds. Yes that's right - I managed to use the word KY Jelly in my build. This wasn't me being weird it was something a guy recommended on a forum. The idea being that it is slippery (duh..), it isn't runny so it stays put and once the windshield is in and you are cleaning up it is water soluble and washes off easy.

So how this worked was, first I filled up the clothes washer with hot water and left the lid open so it wouldn't start moving. Then I soaked the new windshield gasket for about 20 min to get it warm. While this was going on I took a cheap small paint brush and the KY jelly and spread it on the pinch welds and also around the rim of the windshield.

Next out came the gasket and a quick dry off - but I recommend you kind of speed things along so the KY doesn't dry out. Next me and a friend put the gasket onto the window glass.

Next I took some 12 gage electrical wire and stuffed it into the groove where the pinch weld goes. Many people used rope but I thought wire would stay put easier and would keep it's shape around the steep curves of the old IH glass. (which it did!) I left little loops of wire in each corner like a clover leaf.

Then we put the window up on the truck and made sure it was centered left to right. We put the bottom on first. My friend just put some gentle pressure from the outside while I pulled the electrical wire and man that window just flew into it's resting position. We started from the middle and worked to each side.

Because I had my big friggin vertical crack and the BB holes on one side, we next put the "weak" side in first. Then the top and finally the other side. The real secret was really the wire and pulling the rubber over the pinch weld. It was pretty easy.

Over the next few hours I went back with a wood block and a rubber mallet and sort of worked the rubber gasket around to seat it and even out the stresses. This seemed to work real well - I could see the gasket smooth out and start to shrink into a uniform hoop.

So basically it went fast and easy due to the internet and prep work. Thanks internet!

[Palf70Step]

What? You don't get to taste the bugs no more while driving it?


Looks good. Time to cruise!!

[sparkydog]

Happy Birthday to ME! Happy Birthday to ME!
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday....

Hap - ok you all get the point. Today I put 25 miles on Halfbreed and nobody had to tow me!


EDIT: I just checked my blog on Binderplanet and it was this week 1 year ago that I started tearing down the IH Travelall that kicked off this build.

[Palf70Step]

Happy birthday to you and congrats on your first long maiden voyage1!

[low'n slow]

Cool. What a feeling it is to have that maiden voyage. I'm digging the truck.

[Effeckt]

Congrats Sparky! Your hard work finally is paying off! Truck looks awesome.

[sparkydog]

Thanks for the kind thoughts everybody!

I have a small embarrassment - these two bolts are left over after the transmission swap. I cannot figure out where they went. They came from the passenger side. Does anybody recognize them (from their GM equipment)?

[Palf70Step]

Starter?