Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[sduckworth13]

You can give me a call too Vic if you need a hand.

[Vic1947]

Some progress to report. This past Tuesday I loaded up the cab and doors and delivered them to the paint shop. Loading was a major thrash as I was unable to get the trailer I wanted and had to deal with a narrow entry plus a beat-to-death, expanded metal ramp. Took 1.5 hours to get the cab positioned and boomed down. But it made the trip without so much as moving a hair.

When I got to the shop, the main receiving area was clean and empty. Backed the trailer in and there were four other guys there to lend a hand with unloading. They picked up the cab and lifted it over the "wings" at the back of the trailer and set it on a cart with rollers. I was super relieved to have the parts delivered safe and sound.

I've been working on the chassis and drivetrain to finish up some loose ends. I plugged in the kit wiring harness and everything matched up more or less. The evap solenoid had no corresponding plug built into the harness but I'd already been advised it's not needed. So I removed the solenoid and the plastic hose and set them aside. An online post mentioned that removing the solenoid may cause the MIL (malfunction indicator light) to light up and set a code for a fuel system problem. I'm hoping that won't be the case with the programming on Chevrolet's aftermarket setup. While I was at it, I removed the short PCV hose. I ordered Elite Engineering's catch can setup to replace the stock hose. All the horror storied about the amount of oil the stock "PCV" allows into the intake convinced me to go that route.

As you can see, the wiring is a bundle of snakes. I'm probably going to mount both the ECU and the TCU inside the cab, so I'll have to cut an access panel into the transmission hump. The console will cover the excess wiring and the boxes. That only leaves the fuse/relay panel to be mounted in the engine bay. I'm not thrilled about that, but to mount the box inside would mean cutting an access hole as big as Mount Rushmore.

I decided on the mounting location for the E-Stopp electric parking brake. I'll route the cable thru two pulleys, one on the frame and the other on the trans crossmember. Other than that, not much happening. The twins are here from Houston, so Ryan and I did a walkabout at Power Tour yesterday. '67-'72 Chevy trucks were well represented with several having LS transplants. I got away without the camera, so I have no photos to share. Lots of empty spaces in the afternoon. Not sure if there were more cars in the morning and a bunch of them left due to the heat. Or maybe they just didn't have as many cars. We drove right in, parked in the lot next to all the action and were out of there with tee shirts in less than three hours.

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress Vic! Soon we shall see some color on this puppy.

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
Would installing a military "Cannon plug" be an alternative to installing your tcu?
The only draw back to doing that would mean cutting the harness and Crimping/soldering all the pins. Here's a sample picture...there are male and female halfs

Let me know I can get you one or more if you like, sure beats cutting holes!!! At least it would only be one small hole....
Have a good one!
Ben

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice progress Vic! Soon we shall see some color on this puppy.

Thanks, Mike. I'm hoping by the end of the week. No word yet, just hoping.

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic,
Would installing a military "Cannon plug" be an alternative to installing your tcu?
The only draw back to doing that would mean cutting the harness and Crimping/soldering all the pins. Here's a sample picture...there are male and female halfs

Let me know I can get you one or more if you like, sure beats cutting holes!!! At least it would only be one small hole....
Have a good one!
Ben

Thanks, Ben. Bulkhead connectors would simplify things for sure. However, there's a crap ton of wires and you'd have to crimp and/or solder both ends of the cuts. The ECU alone has three large plugs, two with 15 wires each and one with 48 for a total of 78 wires. Then there's the TCU and the wire bundles for the fuse/relay box, accelerator pedal, diagnostic terminal and feeds for oil pressure, tach and vehicle speed. Not sure I'd be able to keep it all straight and have an error free install. I'll mull it over and see what might make sense. For small wires in a confined space, solder is probably out. But there are a lot of companies that offer weatherproof crimp connectors. What might work as a compromise is to just do the relay/fuse box so I could mount it inside without cutting a huge hole in the floorpan.

[snipescastle2]

I believe two of these cannon plugs would cover everything, the same tool you would use for weather pak connectors would be needed to crimp the pins, and
the pins are numbered as well. Let me know if you might consider this, we have them always on hand.
Ben

[Vic1947]

The E-Stopp is in it's permanent location with brackets painted and bolted in. I got the 2" pulleys the other day and started work on the cable layout. I made a little adapter to swage to the cable and thread onto the rod that was attached to the e-brake. You can imagine my surprise when the adapter didn't screw on past the first few threads. Turns out the rod on the E-Stopp is M6x1.0 threads and I made the adapter 1/4-28. Fortunately, the cavity was deep enough I could run the metric tap in and cut new threads. It fits fine now, but I really hate it when you have to check every last fastener on products sold by US companies.

The steering column is back together. Several of the male terminals on the turn signal cancelling cam were toast from when I disassembled the column. Searched high and low for a source for them but was only able to find "kits" that included the female terminals and the housings. Instead of paying $30 and throwing away 75% of the parts, I scrounged an 8 pin Deutsch DTM connector out of my electrical box. It was leftover from the Ford build. So the flat GM connector has been superseded.

The Elite Engineering PCV catch can arrived this week also. The mounting bracket was for a Camaro w/LS3. Could not find any mounting location that would work, so I machined my own bracket. It's out of the way and accessible from below to empty the can if needed.

The body shop called on Friday and said the blocking was nearly complete on the cab and doors. He had some questions about the areas that would be high gloss versus low gloss. We agreed that he'd do some spray out cards with several finishes. He'll call me when he has something for me to review. Hope the color starts going on this week.

[Elliot949]

As always Vic... your work amazes me...

[Xeen]

Vic you are a wizard you make it look so easy.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

As always Vic... your work amazes me...

Originally Posted by Xeen

Vic you are a wizard you make it look so easy.

Thanks guys! I finally got the E-Stopp electric parking brake mounted and operational. I wasn't sure if my homemade stainless ferrules would hold up, but they did just fine. The only swaging tool I have is for staking lugs on copper wire. I set it up in the press and it crimped the ferrules without even grunting. Once the cables were cut to the length I needed, I assembled it all for a test run. I posted a video on You Tube. It only has to pull the cable about an inch for it to set the rear parking brakes nice and firm. Should be able to pass safety inspection now.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks guys! I finally got the E-Stopp electric parking brake mounted and operational. I wasn't sure if my homemade stainless ferrules would hold up, but they did just fine. The only swaging tool I have is for staking lugs on copper wire. I set it up in the press and it crimped the ferrules without even grunting. Once the cables were cut to the length I needed, I assembled it all for a test run. I posted a video on You Tube. It only has to pull the cable about an inch for it to set the rear parking brakes nice and firm. Should be able to pass safety inspection now.

I have that unit to install on Papa J... just need time to work it out...

[Xeen]

Nice work on the ESTOPP brake installation Vic. This is the fanciest e-brake I have ever seen, I didn't even know such a thing existed. I enjoyed your creative solutions for routing problems during installation.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Nice work on the ESTOPP brake installation Vic. This is the fanciest e-brake I have ever seen, I didn't even know such a thing existed. I enjoyed your creative solutions for routing problems during installation.

X2

I never heard of one either. Nice work as always Vic

[swamp rat]

I never knew such a unit existed, nice to know!

[Vic1947]

Made some progress on my chassis punch list. The PCV catch can is plumbed in with the braided hoses and the exhaust is completely assembled. One of the caps on the O2 sensor bungs galled when I went to remove it which forced me to make a decision about whether to keep the AEM air/fuel gauges in the dash. Originally, I was going to use them for tuning the carb on the Gen I engine, but they're not really needed for the LS setup, so I'm going to skip them.

I reassembled the core support and the radiator / fan shroud assembly to run the trans cooler lines and mock up the air intake. The SS trans lines were for a TH400 and were nowhere near what I needed for the 4L65E. They fit pretty good from the radiator back to the starter. I lopped them off at that point and built the rest from 5/16" SS tubing. Used compression unions to mate the two ends together. The fittings going into the trans gave me the most heartburn. I was unable to find ready made adapters with 1/2-20 female inverted flare on one end and 9/16-18 straight thread on the other. The best one I found has the correct inverted flare with a 5/8-18 thread on the other end. I'll turn it down and re-thread the big end and have exactly what I need. I ordered 10 of them so I'll have extra and see if they sell on eBay.

The Spectre air intake was meant to point toward the driver side, but there's no way it would clear the fan on that side. So I flipped it over and will run it to the passenger side. To make the MAF sensor fit, I had to cut the tube in the middle and rotate the MAF end about 165 degrees then weld it back together. They apparently bright dip the tubes to get the polished look which didn't really take to welding all that much, but I managed. I plan to have the tube hydro-dipped to look like carbon fiber or maybe something else... haven't got that far yet.

No word on the paint. Will call him tomorrow to get a status report.

[Ol Blue K20]

I haven't commented much. But I have been watching. Vic this truck is going to be bad @$$. Your skills amaze me (I'm actually jealous too). Keep up the great work and keep teaching me stuff......

[MMcMasters]

Beautiful work!! Which specter kit do you have?

Mike

[Low Elco]

AH! Dats'a so nice! Gonna be Purdy!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I haven't commented much. But I have been watching. Vic this truck is going to be bad @$$. Your skills amaze me (I'm actually jealous too). Keep up the great work and keep teaching me stuff......

Thanks, Dale. Hopefully I'm not passing along any of my bad habits.

Originally Posted by MMcMasters

Beautiful work!! Which specter kit do you have?

Hey Mike, I bought the 9908 late model Camaro specific kit and a 45 degree elbow to aim the filter down and to the rear. As you can see, the stock setup is meant to go to the driver side, but the tube hit the electric fan on that side. So I flipped it over to where I had more room. I can't use the air box piece, although it would be nice to isolate the filter from the under hood heat.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

AH! Dats'a so nice! Gonna be Purdy!

Thanks, Chip. I haven't talked to Vern since your jaunt over to KS. Anxious to hear if you did any good!

[Low Elco]

Um, sadly, no. Not as represented, especially at that price. The search continues....

[Possmguts]

Oh My Vic, I cant get over the amount of work you have got done. Thats crazy. Looks amazing and yes, I'm very jealous.
How long will you be in paint jail?

[Xeen]

Vic you can just build your own cold air box for the filter it will be a cake walk compared to the complex stuff you usually fabricate.

[sduckworth13]

Nice work Vic! The E stopp idea looks like a winner. I definitely like the tutorial on YouTube. I'm

[mcbassin]

Looks great Vic! I like the intake tube.

[Vic1947]

Thanks, everyone. I've been doing some work on interior parts. Had to modify the instrument bezel for my turn signals, check engine light and high beam indicator. I also had to do some mill work on the CNC'd piece the gauges fit into to remove the areas where the AEM A/F gauges were originally going to go. Still need to squirt the outer rim of the instrument bezel and the glove box door with high gloss black. We've had rain off and on most of the week, so I've been painting inside the shop... which I dislike. Weekend is supposed to be good though.

I made a trip to the paint shop today. He had the spray out cards done with gloss clear on one and matte clear on the other. Color looks great, so I told him to forge ahead. I also dropped off the intake tube and the CNC'd pieces for the dash. They will hydro-dip them with a carbon fiber pattern.

I could use a bit of advice. I've been researching "tuner" software out on the interweb. It looks like HP Tuners and EFI Live are the two most mentioned packages, with GM Tech 2 and maybe some others available also. The GMPP Connect and Cruise package is supposed to be calibrated to run right out of the box, however, there's at least one parameter I need to change for sure. The pulses/mile output by the TCU isn't compatible with my electronic speedo. Classic Instruments sells an interface box for $121 that will accept the TCU signal and convert it to what the gauge needs. This is by far the least expensive / mentally taxing way to go. However, for a few hundred bucks more, you can buy a setup to DIY.

An alternative would be to haul it to a shop that does custom tunes and have them do it. From what I gather, the custom guys get about as much for a tune as it would cost to buy the DIY setup from HPT or EFILive. The advantage would be that a custom shop would know what they're doing. (hopefully) The word on the GMPP stock tune is that it's very conservative and could benefit from some tweaks. Another potential area of improvement is with shift points, lockup rpm and etc. As you can see, I'm on the fence. The engine is rated at 430 HP which the truck won't hook up anyway, so there's not really any point in boosting it. However, driveability issues are another matter and could only be fixed via tuning.

I don't know how a custom shop would feel if I bought the software and installed it on my laptop, then took it to them for a custom tune. That way, I'd end up with the default parameters, the final tune and all the saved steps in between. Anyone have any experience they would care to share?