norms 55 chevy pu build

[8man]

I agree with all the comments on the lists!

You are going to be driving soon.

[washington blue]

Been doing a few little things, got my wiper arms and electirc motor mounted.

The 2 little holes that bolt it up just did not align with the 55 threaded holes.

I ended up cutting open ended slots in the wiper mounts, this way I could have both bolts part way screwed in, then slide one end in place, slide it far over to one side, lift and slide it back to center on the second bolt.Then simply tighten the bolts.

Also, Somehow my hands just would not fit up in there well.

[washington blue]

It had an antenna from way back in time, so I decided to keep one.

I also put on the rear bumper today, as well as the tail lights, they are LED.

The static cling of the dust at 15% humidity is crazy, electric shocks when I touch anything too.

[washington blue]

Went through all my gas line fittings today and made sure they were clean, properly located and properly tightened up. I also removed the filter/regulator and made sure the paint was gone where it bolts on, also scraped paint off another place where I am going to ground wires, got to have really good grounds with LED lights, always want good grounds anyway. lol.

I put a piece of green tape on every fitting I checked and tightened as soon as I finished that particular one,That way I don't keep checking over and over. lol

I got my gas fill neck installed today and I ran a copper wire to ground the fill pipes to the frame so there is never a static charge.

Put in my gas gauge sender too.

I put in a few boards just to check to be sure all the hoses cleared.

I still have not decided what wheels to use, I think about it some every day.

[Jason 56]

Everything is coming along great! You’ll be driving by spring thaw.

[washington blue]

Got a puzzle, is there anything that bolts on to this hood latch plate? I cannot see any wear on it and there are 2 bolt holes. I have the factory assembly manual and it does not show anything. I would think there would be wear after thousands of times getting slammed closed.

[washington blue]

I had someone tell me that it is a hardened piece of metal rivited to the hood and that is all there is to that latch striker plate.

[dsraven]

Is it adjustable for latch fitment? Can't remember and I'm not even close to home right now to check mine.

[washington blue]

The part on the hood is riveted solid. The latch above the grill can be moved slightly. I bit the bullet and after checking as much as I could I closed the hood. I figgured it would never open again for sure. - - - But much to my pleasure it popped right up a bit and was loose when I lifted the lever, exactly as it is supposed to,,,, what a relief. I had oiled and worked the latch moving parts throughly. The safety latch works like it should too. Having a great evening now, lol.

edit to add, I was having a great evening until my wife called 15 miles from home with a flat tire, it's 8 degrees and windy and I had to go and put on her spare tire. She picked up a screw. Now I'm home and all is good.- - - again, lol.

[washington blue]

Not much to photograph, been putting on little stuff here and there. Got most of the AC stuff put in.
Had to make some little rubber shims to get the park light pads to touch metal.
Starting to run a couple wires, not my favorite job.

[8man]

It's all progress when you are putting stuff back on!

[dsraven]

If trying to ground the light housing you might try a ground wire from the mounting screw stud with the other end attached to a good ground, like the truck frame. The rad support sheet metal is not a great ground unless you ground it too. It sits on rubber, right?

[washington blue]

Yes my core support is on rubber. I will do as you say and run a ground from the lights to a good ground if when I test them they are troublesome. I have lots of paint and pu bed liner on the back side so, who knows, lol.

Speaking of grounds, My Dakota Digital info says to ground the gas sending unit to the Dakota power unit under the dash for best readings. I do not know how to attach a ground to the gas sending unit? Any ideas?

Thanks guys. Norm

[dsraven]

The screws that hold the sender to the tank would work. Use a star washer under the screw head. It's a good idea because the sender has a gasket between it and the tank plus the tank usually has insulator straps between it and the truck frame. If you add up all the possible bad connections that could happen after a little time and a few miles you would run a dedicated ground wire to everything.

[washington blue]

don't know if it's headway or not but I got the Painless fuse panel installed. (just visible in the V). after that I pulled all the lighting and engine wires into the engine compartment.

[8man]

Yep, it's headway! Won't drive without it.

[dsraven]

nice bundling for electrical groups. half the battle is done.
dont forget to handle the other half of the circuit as well. the ground half. a lot of guys tend to do an excellent job on the power supply to the accy but forget the ground circuit or rely on metal on metal contact, with no actual ground wire connection. I always like to use a good sized ground cable from the battery to the frame and to the engine block, attached to bare shiny metal with a star washer, then seal that connection with your choice of anticorrosion sealer. then run smaller gauge wire from the frame to the body parts that have electrical accy, like the rad support, cab, etc. then run ground wires from each accy to their respective mounting. like, say, a headlight or a marker light. the light would be grounded through a wire to the rad support and the rad support has it's own ground wire to the frame. for tail lights i like to run a specific ground wire for each side that grounds to the truck frame. use a quick connect in the pigtail if you want for faster servicing.
just my 2 cents. lots of problems come from a poor ground with otherwise pristine wiring.

[washington blue]

Thanks, I am giving this a lot of thought. I am thinking about running grounds to my front park/turn sig. light mounting bolts. I am also thinking about running similar ground wires to the tailllights mounting bolts. They would be hidden inside the rubber protective boots.

The pics show the ground I have on the firewall, it comes from the back of the head, you can see the ground wire for the 0 resistance flashers as 1 example. It's an origional welded on nut from 55.

You can see the ground on the passengers side I ran from the block to the frame.

In the rear you can see the ground bolt I have on the frame. I have the fuel pump grounded there and the gas filler neck as well to prevent static buildup. (I had so much static this winter from low humidity it snaps similar to spark plugs) I don't want to take a chance.

I grounded the box on both sides with the green wire you can see as well. I am thinking I can run a ground wire to the tail lights inside the protective boot to the light mounting bolts.
There might be other stuff I'll discover needing grounding later.

I don't know how the headlights ground, there are 3 wires that plug into them so I'm guessing hi beam, low beam, then ground. Not sure tho.

You can also see lots of sanding dust, lol.

[dsraven]

for situations like that I like to use one of the single stud wiring junctions. no need to bare the metal on the new paint job and they come in red for power or black for ground. to ground the cab the metal should be bare shiny steel under the wiring lug, star washer, lug, flat washer, self locking nut. otherwise you are relying on the threaded part to get a good ground through the lubricated threads and the head of the bolt. sometimes, under high current draw especially, I have seen that type of connection make a high resistance, so hot and sometimes smoking, connection.
just my 2 cents, it's your truck.
https://www.amazon.ca/Battery-Juncti..._source=1&th=1

[dsraven]

here is another style, ok for grounds but not well protected for a power termonal
https://saboele.en.made-in-china.com...onnectors.html

[dsraven]

terminals can be protected with brush on electrical tape after you have tested and ensured everything is going to work properly. it comes in a couple colors too
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/gar...E&gclsrc=aw.ds