New project! The "Red Herring"

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Chevy-49

Yes time flies, same over here.
Looking for parts means you are still working on the truck...

I have so many hours of research and shopping into this project - It must be terrible trying to get parts in Europe??

I am still plugging away at the fuel lines:


I splurged a little while back and bought the Mastercool hydraulic flaring kit and a good stainless steel pipe cutter - it's taken a few tries to get the technique down, but it will make all kinds of nice, neat flares in the SS tubing ... you can see the results in the bottom left. I tried to get a better photo but my camera struggles with small, shiny objects - that's a GM threaded fuel line flare on 5/16" SS line.

[Advanced Design]

JJ, good to see you back at it. I have the same flaring kit and have used it a lot. Definately worth the cost as it does a great job with no frustration like the cheap ones cause. My fuel line bubble flares were getting stuck in the die so I started lubing them which helped.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

JJ, good to see you back at it. I have the same flaring kit and have used it a lot. Definately worth the cost as it does a great job with no frustration like the cheap ones cause. My fuel line bubble flares were getting stuck in the die so I started lubing them which helped.

Glad to be back on the project! I like to keep the iron in the fire

I had noticed that the dies were a bit sticky, that sounds like a great idea. Thanks!

[deejaaa1]

your mom is going to love this truck. you have some great skills and it shows in your build.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by deejaaa1

your mom is going to love this truck. you have some great skills and it shows in your build.

I sure hope she does! Thank you for the kind words. I keep learning little things on the forums every time I'm here.

Advanced Design - I tried just a touch of grease on the dies, that definitely helped. Thanks for the tip!

I've been back on the truck. First an update, tail pipes, I need opinions:



Obviously, I goofed my measurements and one is not like the other. I can't decide which one to fix! I'm thinking I will probably make Driver's match Passenger's, since I feel like I need more clearance to my track bar anyway (you can sort of see there, it's about 3/4" at closest). Thoughts?

Fuel lines are done up to the filter:







I tried about four different routings and ended up tossing the pieces I was working on, to fit the lines inside the frame, it just wasn't working to my satisfaction. I like this much better. 3/8" SS is a bugger to bend!!

Also, look back at the lines near the tank. It's going to be a massive pain if I ever have to service this thing once the bed wood is in ... still pondering on that, hoping to never have to maybe

It's going to be back into wiring nonsense here soon.

[lower50's]

I personally like the drivers pipe, passenger looks like it sagged. If you can make it work. Fuel lines look great.

[Chevy-49]

LH looks better, straight to the back off the truck is not an option?

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by lower50's

I personally like the drivers pipe, passenger looks like it sagged. If you can make it work. Fuel lines look great.

Originally Posted by Chevy-49

LH looks better, straight to the back off the truck is not an option?

Yes, I like the way the driver's turned out better as well. will have to stew on it a bit more.

My goal with this was to mimic the style of the exhaust on my '63 Buick - it's tucked up neatly under the car and not visible (you really have to look for it) but it still has a good clean exit. Subtlety is the name of the game here

[Advanced Design]

Nice choice for the reverse lights. Looks good!

[lower50's]

That looks good.

[JJorgensen52]

Thanks for the compliments!

Still mucking about with wires. I'm a little obsessive compulsive about getting things to lay neatly, and I'm using waterproof Delphi connectors (either weatherpack or metripack) for EVERYTHING, so it's taking a few minutes to do all this up. When it's done, it'll look just like a modern GM harness (or at least I hope so )

Anyway, I have tail lights! Sorry for the bad cell pics, my camera wasn't with me tonight.

I got the glass lenses and traditional bulbs (though I converted to 1157) because I think they have a nicer color and overall look to them:


Just an idea of building a whole harness from scratch ... and I haven't laid in the trailer harness yet!

You will note, on top of the driver's frame rail, I've got a ground point. I'm running return grounds on all my lights, I've had too many intermittent ground issues with old trucks in the past. Everything in the rear of the truck will ground right there.

[Advanced Design]

That ground will sure help. I had an instructor in Automotive college drill the importance of grounds into us. He would say "A ground is a ground is a ground, unless it isn't ground, then it isn't ground anymore". Has stuck with me for 35 years now.

Anyway nice work. I like your line routing too. Very clean and precise!

[7dee2]

Looks really good! Your work is always top notch!

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That ground will sure help. I had an instructor in Automotive college drill the importance of grounds into us. He would say "A ground is a ground is a ground, unless it isn't ground, then it isn't ground anymore". Has stuck with me for 35 years now.

Anyway nice work. I like your line routing too. Very clean and precise!

Thanks! Yes, it seems like every old vehicle I own has ground problems ... trying to avoid that with this one!

Originally Posted by 7dee2

Looks really good! Your work is always top notch!

Thanks! Now if you could just lend me your blasting "booth" ... I rent here in VA, can't set up anything like that

Anyways, I've been tinkering, looming and wrapping harnesses, and had a long few days at work. Today, I spent an inordinate amount of time on the front park lamps.

Why, you ask? Well, I bought the "kit" to convert them to dual filament bulbs so I could have proper turn signals - which was more like two 1157 sockets with tabs on them, I was a tad disappointed. In the end, I decided to weld the new sockets into the original light cups, and solder on a ground lead:

That's the inner cup, which houses the bulb. I also painted the insides white for better reflections.

Turned out they were WAY too bright with the 1157's in white, so I went and grabbed some amber bulbs, instead:


It has a subtle tint to it when off, and they're not as blinding when they're on. Took a quick video, park lamp on and turn signal, then just turn signal no park lamps. It's amazing how well the factory lens focuses the light!

[Advanced Design]

That is really bright. Wow, I am still seeing spots.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Think you need a new flasher, the time part is off. Just kidding, looks great...Jim

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That is really bright. Wow, I am still seeing spots.

I am sorry, I forgot to issue motion sickness and brightness warnings Thanks fellas!

More and more and more wires. Finally got the transmission and VSS wires shortened down to where they need to be, and put the connectors on the main engine harness. Sounds so simple, took forever!

This first shot shows two of what GM calls "Splice Packs" - it's a waterproof connector that allows you to link six wires together without soldering (in this case, the four injectors and coil packs on each side of the engine are linked). Also, you can see the 10 pin connector (with the purple close to the bottom of the shot) which carries my gauges and the OBDII port.


This shot shows the main engine harness disconnect. 22 pins! The entire engine unplugs from the truck just like that. Easy peasy

[7dee2]

IMO I'm liking bright backups so you can see where the hell your backing, it also warns everybody to get outta there!

[lower50's]

Wow super bright but they look good. I'll be converting mine to L.E.D. prob do similar to you with the light cups.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by 7dee2

IMO I'm liking bright backups so you can see where the hell your backing, it also warns everybody to get outta there!

Truth be told! I've had trouble adjusting to driving a fleetside, my stepside has much brighter back up lights!

Originally Posted by lower50's

Wow super bright but they look good. I'll be converting mine to L.E.D. prob do similar to you with the light cups.

Are you using the bulb-replacement type LEDs? I admit LED isn't really my style, something about the traditional bulbs and glass lenses just looks right to me. I am doing updated headlights, though. Sealed beams are terrible!

So I've got no pictures tonight, but I spent the evening modifying my (brand new) Newport clean drive wiper motor. When you buy the 12v conversion, it comes with this horridly cheap switch that I just couldn't stand. I modified the wiring internally in the motor (actually a VERY simple modification), which now allows me to use a F*rd style wiper switch. I also discovered that most of the cost of the 12v wiper conversion is in the brackets and linkage, because it's an off the shelf Wesco wiper motor.

The good news from that, is I can now have a plug'n'play OEM quality wiper-washer switch with two speeds AND variable delay settings.

[oldman3]

Think you need a new flasher, the time part is off. Just kidding, looks great...Jim

[Advanced Design]

Nice work JJ. Can you share some additional information about the headlights? Might be common knowledge and I haven't ran into it before.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Nice work JJ. Can you share some additional information about the headlights? Might be common knowledge and I haven't ran into it before.

Thanks!

Here's a thread I did on the lights a while back
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=447572

If you search Jeep headlight, a bunch of threads will come up. It's a JK Jeep Wrangler (2007 - present) headlight, takes an H13 halogen bulb. The optical design is vastly superior to the old sealed beams, and they're a drop in replacement. Or nearly, I had to modify the buckets here a little, but I've done them on 67-72's no mods, and on a 1st gen Mustang no mods as well. This pair I think I paid $35 for on ebay, a lot of Jeep owners replace them with LED or aftermarket HIDs

[Advanced Design]

Thank you JJ! Awesome! You know, I started with model cars as a kid, have read car magazines since then too, studied automotive for four years in school, have been in the auto business for 32 years....and I learn something on here EVERY day! Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
I saved that link as a favorite.

[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Thank you JJ! Awesome! You know, I started with model cars as a kid, have read car magazines since then too, studied automotive for four years in school, have been in the auto business for 32 years....and I learn something on here EVERY day! Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
I saved that link as a favorite.

I've been doing the online car forum thing for more than 10 years, and this is by FAR the best community I've had the pleasure to be a part of. Glad to share!

Not much time to work tonight, but I got a whole pile of goodies in the mail!
I'm on round three of dash bezels, this set is a keeper. I'm using this ignition bezel:

And these bezels for the switches:



Man.... those are tiny in the photos ... Anyways. Bonus points to anybody who can guess the donor vehicles!

[lower50's]

I have bezels close to that in my '67 jeep. Is that close?