Project daily drivable 62 C20

[72cs20]

I figured I'd throw an update up for today. Got a bunch of little things done in the dash area. Still working on the dash wiring harness but should have that buttoned up this week. Also got a little bit of the engine compartment wiring plugged in at the firewall and the block-off plate bolted back on the cowl. Since the tbi 350 doesn't need a choke, the hole in the firewall that was for the choke cable comes in handy for the new wire harness


Got most of the dash controls in and wired up - ignition switch, headlight switch, wiper switch and the dimmer for the Dakota Digital instrument cluster. The hole in the dash that had the choke control is now used for this dimmer control, just left of column. Also set the new instrument panel in to see how it looks. Looks good I think.



And steering column back in.


Made a little progress with the brake plumbing with the proportioning now installed.

[62stepside longbox]

That gauge cluster sure is pretty

[shp4man]

That looks really nice! Can I ask how much paint that took to do?

[72cs20]

Thanks. If I remember correctly, it was 7 8oz. cans for the coverage I figured it would need to hold up. The dash got a couple extra coats.

[72cs20]

Update - Last month I thought that I had set the engine into the truck for the last time, but my bell housing and clutch linkage arrangement idea didn't work out like I'd hoped. My scheme to move the clutch linkage to the driver side was borne out of the idea that bell housings with the clutch arm opening on the driver side are plentiful and cheap. I was able to get two of them at the swap meet for 20 bucks, and one of them came with a 60-62 horseshoe V8 front engine mount. Good score!
Well, that didn't work because the cab floor and firewall are right on top of the driver side of the bell housing leaving no room for the clutch arm or slave cylinder arrangement. I didn't even notice this until a couple of weeks after the engine was bolted in.
After a little bit of searching I was able to obtain a correct 60-62 V8 bell housing. And no , it was not cheap. But he had it and I needed it. Oh well.

Here is a pic of the two bell housings. The one on the left can be used in 55-59 and 63 and later trucks. 60-62 on the right, after powder coating.


On the interior side I finally finished the dash harness along with the Dakota Digital instrument panel controller. Installed the instrument panel. Decided my stock steering column was too worn out to use so swapped it out for a tilt Ididit column. I liked the natural metal look so I just shot it with some clear.




Got the fuel gauge and dome light wiring ran to their respective locations. Got the new dome light installed. And installed the rear body wiring harness ran to rear of truck.

[72cs20]

On the engine side - The brake plumbing is all done. All the brake hardlines are for a 1972 C20 from In-Line tube. Great kit. Every line went together with no trouble. I had a clutch hydraulic line made locally so now the new clutch slave cylinder is plumbed to the clutch master. Intermediate shaft installed between column and steering box.

I had the engine accessory brackets powder coated gloss gray and got those mounted along with the alternator, new belt tensioner and idler. Water pump, pulley and fan mounted too.




Also tried out this steering wheel from Grant. I'm still on the fence about going with this wood style wheel. Anyone have opinions about this steering wheel?



I think it is coming along pretty well. My plan was to do something to the truck at least 5 days a week to ensure progress and it seems to be paying off.

[nail pounder]

Your truck is looking sweet, and a going very quickly as well. I personally like the wood steering wheel with the gold interior and the column. I have the same wheel in my 66 C20, but when my interior was gunmetal grey it didn't go as well as when I painted the interior white. I say leave until you interior is put together and then decide.

[72cs20]

Already been two months since my last post so here is a quick update on the progress.
The last couple of months have been spent dealing with that part of the project called the "devils details". Things like power steering hoses, fuel lines, fuel tank plumbing, seat fitment etc...

So here is my new fuel tank. I got it from LMC. Its a really nice piece and I couldn't tell the difference between it and the one that came out of the truck. It also has a fitting for a fuel return line, which I need to use for the TBI system on the engine I'm using.



Running a fuel injected engine opens up another can of worms. Fuel lines and how to route them. The GM throttle body(TB) feed and return enters and exits from the rear of the TB, so the factory fuel feed line was abandoned. I ran new 3/8 feed and 5/16 return along the inside of the inner frame rail to the bellhousing cross-member, then efi rated fuel hose to the hard lines coming off of the TB. Need to find a dual line clamp to secure the two lines coming off the TB. Any ideas?
At the fuel tank end I bent the lines to go up and over the top of the frame to meet up with the lines coming through the cab floor. A few inches of rubber fuel will join them. I haven't finished this part yet as I'm waiting for my engine harness and fuel pump to arrive. These should be coming this week. This was my first time making my own lines. Quite a learning experience.



I also refurbished the TB with a kit from Summit. These TB's are super simple to do. Two hours to disassemble, clean and re-assemble with new gaskets, O-rings and filters for the injectors. Here is a pic of it back on the engine after going through it. For a "before" image, just imagine it black.


So next weekend the task will be to install the fuel pump and filter, finish the last bit of plumbing and install the new engine harness. And shortly after I'll take the truck down to the muffler shop and have a new exhaust system installed. Some may gasp in horror, but I'm going use a two into one single 3 inch or 3.5 inch pipe exiting behind the left rear tire with a free flow cat and a Magnaflow muffler. So give or take, I'm probably three weeks away from hittin the key.

[72cs20]

Along with the new fuel tank was new filler hose, filler neck grommet and shiny new gas cap.


Also put in new front cab mount bushings. I believe these bushing are labeled for the 63 -66 trucks but can be used on the 60-62's too. They seem to be correct. Before I put them in I took a measurement from the back of the cab to the front of the bed, at the top and bottom. The gap was wider at the top than at the bottom. With the new mounts in the gap was even top and bottom. The rear cab mount bushings are in good shape, so they were left in.


Here is a pic of the old mount and the new one for comparison -


And finally I was able to get the power steering pressure line installed. The big problem here is that this steering pump uses the later style o-ring fitting and the steering box is inverted flare. My local shop couldn't make a hose with an o-ring style end on it. After some digging I learned that CPP sells an adapter fitting to mate o-ring to inverted flare. Problem solved I hope.

[Joe Pass]

Nice work

[62stepside longbox]

Nice progress

[72cs20]

Thanks gents and thanks Nail Pounder for your input.

[rusty76]

I am in on this one. Cool truck.

[Tgubser]

Looking good, I like the patina. The cab & gauges look great too. I'm in.

[nail pounder]

Looking good 72cs20! Keep em coming.

[RKS0069]

So nice!! I can't wait to see this truck in person!

[rpone605]

Good job on the build. It's coming along.

Question. On your front cab mounts. Did you remove the ones from the 70 frame and put the 62 ones on. Or did you redrill the cab?

[72cs20]

Thanks for the positive comments everyone.

rpone605, The only parts replaced were the black bushings (aka - pucks, donuts...) and the washers and bolts. The frame and cab are original. No drilling or any other modification needed. With air tools, replacing the front bushings took all of about 20 minutes.

I bought this cab mount kit from LMC and they listed it as 60-66 1/2 ton. It comes with all of the nuts, bolts, washers and bushings. The bolts in the kit for the front bushings are too short for the 3/4 tons so LMC offers a different part number for bolts for the 3/4 tons. I ended up getting the correct bolts locally. I'm still not sure why or what the differences are between the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks, or between model years, when it comes to cab mount bushings but these seem to work.

[Katrina/10]

Nice work on the TBI installation, you should be happy with it when you get it running.

[The Rocknrod]

Very nice project.

[72cs20]

Thanks again. Gary, I really am a big fan of the 87-95 GM tbi engines. They're reliable and ruggedly simple and lend themselves well to vintage vehicles. Personally, I don't mess with carbureted fuel systems anymore. My last couple of CJ-7's with 258 sixes were tbi converted. My current 1990 Jeep Wrangler has a 95 350 tbi installed and has worked out very well.

Well my rosy outlook for starting the engine has already fallen by the wayside. With the uncooperative weather, me being under the weather and the need to order more parts, it just ain't gonna happen.

My engine harness and fuel pump did arrive and I got the pump and filter installed. So at least the fuel plumbing is finished.


I was ready to do the engine harness but realized I didn't know where to make the hole on the firewall for the ECM connectors to enter the cab. The plan from the beginning was to have a Vintage Air(VA) unit installed. In order to avoid any real estate conflicts between the VA unit and the harness entry location, I figured I should install the VA unit first and then find a suitable location for the engine harness entry point. The Vintage Air kit should be here in a few days and then I can get going. I'll post back soon with that part.

[Blue666(2)]

Originally Posted by 72cs20

Thanks again. Gary, I really am a big fan of the 87-95 GM tbi engines. They're reliable and ruggedly simple and lend themselves well to vintage vehicles. Personally, I don't mess with carbureted fuel systems anymore. My last couple of CJ-7's with 258 sixes were tbi converted. My current 1990 Jeep Wrangler has a 95 350 tbi installed and has worked out very well.

Well my rosy outlook for starting the engine has already fallen by the wayside. With the uncooperative weather, me being under the weather and the need to order more parts, it just ain't gonna happen.

My engine harness and fuel pump did arrive and I got the pump and filter installed. So at least the fuel plumbing is finished.
Attachment 1617781

I was ready to do the engine harness but realized I didn't know where to make the hole on the firewall for the ECM connectors to enter the cab. The plan from the beginning was to have a Vintage Air(VA) unit installed. In order to avoid any real estate conflicts between the VA unit and the harness entry location, I figured I should install the VA unit first and then find a suitable location for the engine harness entry point. The Vintage Air kit should be here in a few days and then I can get going. I'll post back soon with that part.

I love this project. A cool daily driver is also my goal, don't meed crazy HP or custom paint. Did your engine harness also come from American AutoWire? I'm still torn between doing the stock GM TBI and just going the FiTech route. I have a tank with a TBI fuel pump already mounted.

I mounted a hand operated brake on my A833 using an extra shifter mount & two pieces of 1/4" steel welded together. The handle pulls dual cables to the rear wheels. Doing the same on a 700R4 along with a trans mounted shifter would require some thinking.

[72cs20]

jdl71 and Blue666(2), thanks for your input to this thread.

My engine harness came from Howell Fuel Injection. I really like their stuff. I've used them for TBI systems for three Jeeps and this truck. Their Jeep harnesses are pretty much made to fit and easy to install. For the C20, I had to either lengthen or shorten about 2/3's of the sensor leads to make it fit right. No big deal.

I also looked at the FITech systems and had a conversation with them. I asked them about their Fuel Command Center system so that I could avoid running a fuel return line. They told me that their Fuel Command Center systems don't support the factory GM two barrel TBI units. Again, no big deal. Ran a return line to a new fuel tank that came with a return line fitting. With a vented fuel tank cap, no gas smell in the cab.

So lately I've been taking care of the more mundane detail work to get the truck fully functional and testing the various and new-to-the-truck accessories.

I've finished my end of the Vintage Air install with the installation of the vent registers and ducting. The next step is the ac shop for system charging.



The dash-to-firewall cavity has gotten somewhat crowded with all the new wiring and ac stuff.

I re-installed the wiper linkage. The Newport wiper motor w/delay works great.


Installed these new LED tail lights. Got them from Brothers and I really like them. This step tests the light fixtures as well as the wiring harness and the Ididit steering column. Running lights, turn signals and stop lights all good.


And finally, I re-installed the original ( I think ) horn and it tested good. Again, this tested the Wiring harness, steering column AND the steering wheel kit.


I have been very fortunate in that, so far, all functions have been coming up without re-work. Reading instructions two or three times, asking the selling vendor to clarify certain instructions, and taking ones time definitely pays off.

[72cs20]

Lastly for today, I tried my hand at a little body filler work. The only rust repair I had to do was at the rear bottom of the front fenders. The young man who did the repair did a fine job so only a small amount of filler was needed to smooth the weld seams.




A little more sanding and then paint and final installation this week. Yay!

[Katrina/10]

Hey, I have an 89 Wrangler I put a TBI 305 in, works great! I also have a 350 TBI in my 71 truck. I used the 1227747 ECMs on both of mine.