putting power windows and locks in a 1979??

[Zigy]

Hi,
I was just wondering if anyone has installed power windows and locks in a truck that didn't come with them?
I'm wanting to know if it's an easy job or not?
Would it be best to pick up some doors that already have them and then swap?
Is there a lot of wiring involved?

Any help and info would be hugely appreciated

Thank you!

[Skunksmash]

Me and a buddy did it in his 2005 F150. We put them in those rear, smaller doors, as his truck is just an extended cab, and he wanted power rear windows.

It took us about 4 hours, but we kinda goof off a lot. With a much larger door with more space, I'd think it might be a fair bit easier. Having messed around with power windows a lot, I would have only one concern if that was my truck. I'd be looking for factory places for the regulator to mount to. That might not be a concern, given that it of course already has a manually operated regulator. But I don't think they had power windows in 79, someone can correct me if I'm wrong. And I'm not sure if the mounting places would be any different between power, and manual. There is a good chance that they're the exact same.

Other than that, its fairly straightforward. You definitely want to put them on their own relay. They'll go faster that way, so I'm told. Mine are factory power and I just haven't done that yet. But people around here all recommend that. And these old style power window setups have a habit of going slow even with new motors and regulators, so they need all the help they can get imo.

Lastly, do yourself a favor and buy one of these. The position that the switches will be in, is very uncomfortable. Its really no fun sitting there holding them. You'll be glad you installed it. That might not be the exact one to go with, but hunt around and you'll find one you like. I think with that one, you can just leave 2 windows unused.

Amazon.com : Quality Universal 4 Door Window...

[andrewmp6]

You could swap doors but then your kinda putting in 30 year old stuff it might not work long.The power lock kit from lmc is 50 bucks and their power window kit is 169 bucks if you shop around you might find both cheaper.

[gmachinz]

LMC stuff as far as "universal" lock and window harnesses are crap. Here ya go:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...95#post7243995

If you want a full factory type harness with auto up AND down for all windows, I've got ya covered there also!

[Zigy]

Thank you all for the great advice!!
As for the LMC thing... I have ordered a lot from them and find there stuff to be junk as well.
I do appreciate the offer for the harnesses gmachinz and might take you up on that but it's a little out of my price range.. After converting and paying for shipping and duties it's up there as I'm in Canada

The main question I'm trying to ask is..
If I was to buy a rusted out donner truck and
Used it's doors will the wiring plug in to the harness I have?
Or is it a different harness all together?

[E.D.75GMC]

Hey Zigy, just noticed that you're in Calgary. Nice to see another local member here!

[Zigy]

It sure is Eric
Nice truck by the way!!!

[gmachinz]

For your 79 truck, a direct plug n play harness needs to be a 78-80 style....and that means pulling the entire center harness out too. You can use 1981-up too but the power door lock relay location changes as does the fuse panel specific connectors. Best option in your case is to obtain 78-up doors and whichever truck you source the doors be sure to get ALL of the wiring....the power door lock harness is integrated into the window harness. 1973-77 is a different setup as far as the motors are concerned and so the wiring harness is configured differently as well. IMO, I'd suggest just upgrading your 79 truck to an 81-up harness altogether...it'll be much easier to source those power doors than pre-1981.

You can use doors from an 88-91 K5 or Suburban too but you'll have more work to do as far as separating the rear door sections out of it and you'll still need to source a 2-button switch and connector. If you opt for a new harness, let me know-I offer a better quality than OEM GM and nobody builds replacement accessory harnesses like I do so it will save you a lot of time butnif you're on a budget, just look for a donor truck and pull it all out. Again, I'd say get:

Doors from any 1978-87 pickup or 78-91 K5/Burban

Find one truck to pull out entire harness of those years (connectors vary from year to year)

[Zigy]

Thank you so much gmachinz !!
That's exactly what I needed to know.
I thought if it was a simple plug and play I would do it.
How ever, by the sounds of it I'm just going to leave it be
It's not that big of a deal to do it manually..

Thanks again