Project Family Chummins

[Ackattack]

I spent about 2 hrs cleaning the garage. Lots of tools and parts everywhere. Why you ask? So I could move the truck over to give me room to install the passenger side doors.

Yep, that's right, the truck moved under its own power!!!!!

A couple of observations:
1) I need to add some power steering fluid
2) The brakes are pretty mushy. Later I did notice some wet fittings, so I'll go back and wipe them all down and see which ones end up wet again and tighten.
3) The clutch felt pretty much like stock. I was only in the garage and only move back and forth a few times to scoot the truck over, but it felt good and "manuervering speed" wasn't an issue.

So here's the shot for the night:



I need to put some finishing touches on a few things (botls in fenders...stuff like that) and then some quality control double checking, through the hood and grill on, and I think she'll be ready for a test drive to the alignment shop.

[YBNORML]

Isn't that an awesome feeling!?
Awesome project! It's gonna be wicked when finished.
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[jbclassix]

Since you already posted a picture of this truck I thought I would throw it in again. This weekend my wife said that I could get a crew cab chevy... But I could NOT put my cummins in it! Funny story that will go in the diesel swap section this afternoon!

[Ackattack]

Last night I worked on the grill. I had to trim the grill to clear the headlights. To fit the inner cooler, I had to push the lights as far out as I could:



I made some progress today, but didn't work on the truck any

I got it registered, and got insurance the other day. So if the lights all worked, it would be legal to drive.

I got my tires today:


Here's kinda what they'll look like:

[jbclassix]

how did the spring mounts come out?

[mcbassin]

Nice progress!

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

how did the spring mounts come out?

They seem to work fine. I got the shocks put in and I expect them to work fine. The shock towers just fit under the inner fenders too

[Devillusion]

wow, just wow! nice work so far. Interesting angle of attack on the project. Just picked up a 99 CCSB the other day, working on a plan.

[MrBeast]

How bad was it getting the wiring figured out?

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

How bad was it getting the wiring figured out?

Not bad at all, at least to get it running.

The challenging part may be getting the tach and speedo to work. I think I have an idea on the tach, and on the speedo there is a few ways to go about it. I did find a GPS speedo sending unit that may be the easiest solution.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

Not bad at all, at least to get it running.

The challenging part may be getting the tach and speedo to work. I think I have an idea on the tach, and on the speedo there is a few ways to go about it. I did find a GPS speedo sending unit that may be the easiest solution.

I am not familiar with the T-case you are running, but I would think that you may be able to install a GM reluctor wheel in it if it did not already have the right tooth count You may want to look into that because if the tooth count is the same then all you would have to do is hook up the sensor.

[Ackattack]

Work continues: I got the front bumper and grill on. The bumper is a custom one that doesn't really fit the personality of the truck. It will work for now, but I'd like to get a diesel front bumper or build custom ones from plat steel.

Then I moved to the rear bumper. Since I had to cut off a few inches from rear of the frame, I had to drill new holes for the bumper brackets. I hate drilling big holes in thick metal. So after a few hours of test fitting and dilling out the holes, the rear bumper is in place.

Now I have to drill more holes for the hitch

Oh, I did get one picture. After all of the vehicles I've had over the years and seeing how some people will do wiring, I'm thinking the should sell wiring accessories like they do r-12, where you have to have a license. Here's what I found on the trailer brake/light connector:



Yep, that's a piece of wire, just wrapped around a ring terminal

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

Work continues: I got the front bumper and grill on. The bumper is a custom one that doesn't really fit the personality of the truck. It will work for now, but I'd like to get a diesel front bumper or build custom ones from plat steel.

Then I moved to the rear bumper. Since I had to cut off a few inches from rear of the frame, I had to drill new holes for the bumper brackets. I hate drilling big holes in thick metal. So after a few hours of test fitting and dilling out the holes, the rear bumper is in place.

Now I have to drill more holes for the hitch

Oh, I did get one picture. After all of the vehicles I've had over the years and seeing how some people will do wiring, I'm thinking the should sell wiring accessories like they do r-12, where you have to have a license. Here's what I found on the trailer brake/light connector:



Yep, that's a piece of wire, just wrapped around a ring terminal

if you dont mind the price, you can do holes with a step drill. it is pretty fast and not so grabby as a regular twist drill. the bits dont last as long in thicker material if you dont keep them well oiled but it is a lot easier than twist drills. i really like my step drills.

i agree with the wiring. its one of my more favorite things on a build but its amazing the level of OMG you can get when you start looking at an older truck. i had a 96 K3500 once that was having some odd lighting issues. crawled under it and found 3 separate versions of trailer "wiring". the culprit was a length of 3 conductor orange extension cord, not even trying to look like automotive wiring. i removed the 3 extra sets and soldered the open in the factory wiring. it worked flawlessly after.

[jbclassix]

I agree. I have the HF step bits and by keeping them over oiled and using pilot holes they have really lasted.
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[Ackattack]

God point on the step drill bits, I have a few of them. Generally I like to use them on thin stuff.

I managed to break 2 drill bits drilling out one of the holes with my corded drills. When they caught, it was all over for them

[MrBeast]

You think that is bad, try getting a truck that has been owned by an electrician, it will be full if WIRE NUTS!!!

[Palf70Step]

Or one from Mississippi.....they seem to use lawnmowers and duct tape for all their wiring work.!

[Ackattack]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

You think that is bad, try getting a truck that has been owned by an electrician, it will be full if WIRE NUTS!!!

yep, seen that one too. I don't really like wiring nuts for household stuff.

[Ackattack]

Pictures: Rear bumper and hitch are on



And the front bumper and grill



The wheels came today. It looks like they should fit fine, however with the offset I ordered they're going to stick out a little more than I would have liked. I got -10 offset. They also make them in +10mm offset which would make it VERY close to hitting the bolts for the steering links. Oh well, I'll live with it, but will definatly have to get some sort of fender flares.

Here's an idea of what they'll look like



Then a couple of other things. My brakes were leaking at the master cylinder. I tightened the crap out of them the other day and they still leaked. Then it dawned on me to slightly loosen the fitting and tighten it back up....and what do you know, it worked! So the brakes should be good to go. I'll do one last double check for leaks before I take it out on the road.

Then moving on to electrical: my ac/vent blower doesn't work on high. Looking at the wiring diagram I was thinking it was the relay, so I got a new one of those, installed it, and no go. I'm not getting any voltage at the blower in high, so I don't think it is the blower itself. Might be the controller....more investigation will be required. After knowing this now, I don't think it was working on my way home with the truck. It was like 100 degrees and very little air was coming out...probably just the air that got pushed into the truck from driving 70...ha ha

Then on to more wiring. I got two new batteries and hooked them up. The next day they were dead. I was having a current draw. So after some checking and trouble shooting I figured it out. Basically, the external voltage regulator is hooked up to a constant battery source that then feeds the alternator all the time, drawing about 3.5A all the time. So that explains that. I didn't have a chance to re-wire it, but at least I figured it out.

[zden]

Wheels look sweet!!
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[jbclassix]

schaweet

[Ackattack]

Tonight's progress:

I rewired the voltage regulator....pretty easy.

Removed my wiring "accessories" from the side of the front fender to make room for the washer tank (that I happen to have found from the 90 chevy that I used the engine out of for "No buck"):



Then I started on the next problem. The battery tray. As I mentioned earlier, the stock one won't fit because of the innercooler piping. As suggested I started looking for a aux battery tray for a 88-95. I went to the salvage yard and didn't have any luck. Then I searched around on the internet, and apparently they're relatively rare from the factory and LMC wants $80 for one! What to do? Well I happened to have had an passenger side inner fender from the same truck too with the battery tray attached. But its the wrong side. Well I removed the tray from the support by drilling out the spot welds, bent the one flange back the opposite way, drilled a few holes in the inner fender, and it all works



Basically the stock (97) tray's right side is supported by this (I drilled a hole in the top to bolt the tray to the bracket too) and uses the original bolting location for the right side. Not too shabby in my book!

If we didn't have a bunch of snow, at this point I'd be driving the truck around, but stuff is in the way, nearly bald tires, and a few little things to take care of yet. As of right now my four wheel drive won't work because the vacuum lines that engage the front axle are broken. That's on my list for tomorrow to figure out.

[Ackattack]

I had some "fun" tonight (NOT)

The I cleaned up the wiring on the tail lights and plugged them in. Good news is the turn signals, flashers, and regular lights work. However, when I stepped on the brake, nothing. So I start to looking, and I see that I don't have the brake light relay installed. Install that: nothing A little more checking, and yep, another ground wire for that relay that I missed. Plugged that in: nothing

So I do more probing around with my test light and multimeter, digging under the dash and I narrow it down to the brake switch. The brake switch is NOT in a convenient location. So after about 20 minutes I finally get it out, do a little testing and it appears as if its bad. Kinda figures since when you shake it you can hear stuff rattling around inside.

So hopefully I can get that tomorrow. I figure brake lights are an important "feature" to have before I drive the truck.

I have an appointment on Saturday to get the wheels and tires mounted and an alignment done.....so I have quite a bit of work to do cleaning stuff up before the appointment....hopefully I'll be able to make it

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Ackattack

I had some "fun" tonight (NOT)

The I cleaned up the wiring on the tail lights and plugged them in. Good news is the turn signals, flashers, and regular lights work. However, when I stepped on the brake, nothing. So I start to looking, and I see that I don't have the brake light relay installed. Install that: nothing A little more checking, and yep, another ground wire for that relay that I missed. Plugged that in: nothing

So I do more probing around with my test light and multimeter, digging under the dash and I narrow it down to the brake switch. The brake switch is NOT in a convenient location. So after about 20 minutes I finally get it out, do a little testing and it appears as if its bad. Kinda figures since when you shake it you can hear stuff rattling around inside.

So hopefully I can get that tomorrow. I figure brake lights are an important "feature" to have before I drive the truck.

I have an appointment on Saturday to get the wheels and tires mounted and an alignment done.....so I have quite a bit of work to do cleaning stuff up before the appointment....hopefully I'll be able to make it

As soon as you said no brake lights I knew exactly what it was. Because I have done this to EVERY truck in this body style I have owned.

The tang that holds the contact for the switch inside likes to break off on them eventually, not an expensive part, but a PITA to change.

[Ackattack]

It drives!

Last night I stayed up until 12:30 getting it ready for the alignment. The power steering fluid was really frothy and the steering wasn't working real well so I saved the test drive for today.

So I get back up at 7, move some other vehicles around and pull it out of the garage. I had to put it in 4wd to get out of the driveway as the back portion still has 6" of snow from earlier in the week.

So I go on my test drive around the neighborhood and check everything. The. Out onto the streets. No real issues. So I drove to the alignment shop and made it on time
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