Not to impressed with AAW Classic Update and their "template"...

[treveiger]

We decided to pull the trigger and buy the classic update from American autowire the other day. I kept hearing how their instructions were very detailed and very informative. When I was looking through the instructions I noticed the template to cut out the firewall was printed vertically instead of horizontally. The measurements didn't match the hole size. After looking at it for a while I decided to print the template horizontally and the hole is much smaller (and measures correctly) than the one they provided with the kit. Can't imagine the frustration I would of had finding out I cut the whole the wrong size and too big to fit properly.
The question I have now is should I proceed with the install or just get the classic fit one. Really would appreciate some information if anyone has installed there kit and likes it.

Update:
Just tested out the template I printed and looks like its a good tight fit. Hopefully it was a mistake only in this kit because I couldn't imagine the phone call they would get if someone didn't double check before cutting.

[Mollzyie]

Well .... your trucks name iiisss miss hackjob 😆

[wbc409]

Call them up and tell them what happened. They probably had a printing error. You might be able to save another hobbyist a lot of headaches.

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by Mollzyie

Well .... your trucks name iiisss miss hackjob 😆

Haha you got me there. Not by my efforts though. Whenever we work on it we find the little things the PO did. It's like a horrible Easter egg hunt. I'm sure a lot of our trucks are this way in some areas.

Originally Posted by wbc409

Call them up and tell them what happened. They probably had a printing error. You might be able to save another hobbyist a lot of headaches.

Your probably right, I can't imagine that error. The worst part is what could be done about fixing the situation. Luckily ive been learning to look both ways when crossing a one way street in all aspects of the meaning. I almost decided to go for it though yesterday before looking it all over

[jeffahart]

I used their kit a couple years ago. Only problem I had was the headlight switch. And it was not really their fault. They want to provide you with everything. But there was, and may still only be, one manufacturer of the switches and they are of poor quality. Keep your old one on standby! Get good a automatic wire stripper and the proper crimping jaws. I did a fair amount of soldering too. Get lots heat shrink for your connections too.

Other than that, the kit is pretty dang good. It's a really fun busy work type project.

Have fun!

[BrianG]

I would stick with the kit. It's really good that you caught their mistake. I installed the same kit a few years ago and think it is a great kit. Sometimes you have to read the instructions a few times to make sure you do it correct. Test fit things first, and get a good set of crimpers or rent theirs. I bought a set of crimpers with changeable jaws. It worked really well. Once in a while I had a bad crimp, but they give you enough extras that I was able to just try again.

[treveiger]

Thanks for the help guys, I bought a good set of crimpers with changeable jaws as well. Tested it out and seems to work well. I'm going to be mounting the panel tonight or tomorrow. It doesn't look too complicated but the template thing had me worried a little.

[skinnan]

I just received the same kit this week. In mine the sheet was printed correctly. Good catch though.

Where is a good place to buy "a good set of crimpers with changeable jaws"?

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by skinnan

I just received the same kit this week. In mine the sheet was printed correctly. Good catch though.

Where is a good place to buy "a good set of crimpers with changeable jaws"?

Glad to hear it. Hopefully I'm the only one.

I bought mine on Amazon, They seem well made.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jeffahart]

Include yourself one of these. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Dieselwrencher]

When I did mine the hole was too small but it's easier to remove some than put it back. The thing that ticked me off the most was the head light switch that came with it was bad out of the box. The harness is still nice though.

[Mollzyie]

[QUOTE=treveiger;8014301]Haha you got me there. Not by my efforts though. Whenever we work on it we find the little things the PO did. It's like a horrible Easter egg hunt. I'm sure a lot of our trucks are this way in some areas.


Lol man .... I was just kidding ... I figured it was named in honor of po 😆 ...
.. I got the same kit but haven't gotten around to it ..thanks for the heads up 👍🏼

[treveiger]

[quote=Mollzyie;8014503]

Originally Posted by treveiger

Haha you got me there. Not by my efforts though. Whenever we work on it we find the little things the PO did. It's like a horrible Easter egg hunt. I'm sure a lot of our trucks are this way in some areas.


Lol man .... I was just kidding ... I figured it was named in honor of po 😆 ...
.. I got the same kit but haven't gotten around to it ..thanks for the heads up 👍🏼

Ya I think the PO favorite thing was using as few bolts/screws as possible to hold it together.

I'll make sure to report back here as I go along. Hopefully it's smooth 👍.

[elf w/capital T]

I USED A 68 KIT in mine, but I had converted my hand brake to a floor/foot brake assy, did not think of that and its one ugly retrofit, lesson learned hope you the best. and make sure you double check it alllllll

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by elf w/capital T

I USED A 68 KIT in mine, but I had converted my hand brake to a floor/foot brake assy, did not think of that and its one ugly retrofit, lesson learned hope you the best. and make sure you double check it alllllll

Have any pictures? Would be interested to see what you mean.

[kell490]

I used the sticker template provided with the kit and it's too small the size of the part you cut out is about .100 something smaller then the numbers printed on the template 2.8125 x 2.6875 those are correct if you take some calipers and measure. Must have been a mistake not just the one you print online. Wasn't just your kit they need to fix this because I already cut and drilled the holes then go to mount it doesn't fit now I have to figure out a way to adjust it ill have 2 sets of holes not happy about it hoping it will cover it up.

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by kell490

I used the sticker template provided with the kit and it's too small the size of the part you cut out is about .100 something smaller then the numbers printed on the template 2.8125 x 2.6875 those are correct if you take some calipers and measure. Must have been a mistake not just the one you print online. Wasn't just your kit they need to fix this because I already cut and drilled the holes then go to mount it doesn't fit now I have to figure out a way to adjust it ill have 2 sets of holes not happy about it hoping it will cover it up.

All in all the kit is pretty good but I had a few issues with the kit. Like mentioned above the issue with the hole template was off by quite a bit. How I fixed this was basically make my own template for the hole, measure it over and over to make sure it was perfect then cut it under the actual size I needed and finish grind it to the size I needed. Once I had the fit I wanted I pushed the fuse panel in and marked my bolt holes by tapping the heads of the bolt with a hammer to punch a spot on the firewall so I knew where to drill. After all that the thing mounted perfectly. Also had issues with the main fuse panel not having the nut properly pressed into the plastic that connects the plug on the firewall to the fuse panel. This made it so the bolt would not tighten up binding the fuse panel to the firewall plug. That was a pain but luckily with the help of my wife and her patience we got it mounted to the best it could. The last issues was also probably the most annoying, the taillight wiring was reversed so when the brake lights were applied the running light kicked on and vise versa. I had wasted several hours going though everything over and over and checking grounds all over the truck trying to find a issue on my end to have it end up that it was a manufacturer error. I was told by AAW it was a ground issue or something I did when I explained this issue i was having. Once I started looking into the harness more than a fault of my own I found the problem within 30 minutes. With this problem I called AAW to talk to them about it and they did send me the new rear taillight harness which fixed the issue. Overall I feel the kit was a good purchase specially with the piece of mind knowing I now have updated brand new wiring throughout the truck which removed the PO "fixes" to the old harness. AAW needs better quality control for their kits but all in all I'd happily install it into another truck.