My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!

[Modges'66]

I've been wondering if I have ADD lately...
Been working on a bunch of different things.
I kinda want to start this thing up before putting the front fenders on.
I really want to know that everything is cool with the motor before encapsulating everything!
Spent a bunch of time tracing out engine wiring, figuring out the radiator hoses, getting the correct...or at least a pitman arm that would work!!
I also made some cool plugs for the air tubes in the headers to eliminate the smog BS!
I also spent countless hours mocking-up the steering column shaft, & making sure that all of the electrical connectors on the column inside the cab would work, and not interfere with the brake pedal assembly...What a PITA!!!
Man, I feel like I have endless things to do!!!
My main goal this weekend was to bend & hook-up stainless fuel lines, but never even touched on it!!!
Here are some boring pics!!!





Air-tube plugs in the headers were made from modified cummins diesel oil-pan drain plugs!


I got the Pitman arm installed, and started to fab a steering shaft, but changed gears...More pics to come.

[Bomp]

Engine bay is coming together clean and mean.
Be nice to make sure everything is in order before tossing on the fenders.

I've never done an LS swap before but I do have an extremely newbie question.
Forgive me for the ignorance on this question but the plug wires going over the headers? Will they get too hot?

If I ever get to wrench on Daphne(the green '72) planning on dropping an LS in her.

Looking great

[Low Elco]

Looks Great! Keep it rollin'!

[flips72]

aint been on in awhile and boy have I missed out, absolutely beautiful. you are doing some awesome work my friend. it s not going to be long and we be voting on this one for truck of the month and it will defintley be deserving.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Engine bay is coming together clean and mean.
Be nice to make sure everything is in order before tossing on the fenders.

I've never done an LS swap before but I do have an extremely newbie question.
Forgive me for the ignorance on this question but the plug wires going over the headers? Will they get too hot?

If I ever get to wrench on Daphne(the green '72) planning on dropping an LS in her.

Looking great

Bomp, thanks for the comments!
I am really getting pumped on startin this thing up!
Not really an LS swap (LT-1) but regardless, the pics look deceiving, as there is 3/4" to an 1" of clearance between the pipes and the plug wires...I think that all is good!...If I ran the plug-wires underneath I think that the same, or worse conditions would exist.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Looks Great! Keep it rollin'!

Thanks dude, I am trying hard to get it rollin'!!! LOL!

Originally Posted by flips72

aint been on in awhile and boy have I missed out, absolutely beautiful. you are doing some awesome work my friend. it s not going to be long and we be voting on this one for truck of the month and it will defintley be deserving.

Hey, where ya been Flip?
For a long time I counted on your posts to keep me inspired!
Need some current pics from your side!
I am doing this build the only way that I know how...As correctly as I possibly can!
Thanks for the comment!

[Modges'66]

I have been studyin the wiring for my engine computer, and realized that if I disconnected the entire harness from the engine, and fed all of the individual plugs out from the cab, it would take a much smaller hole in the firewall to do so, as opposed to feeding the computer plugs in from the outside...
So I unplugged everything, and did just that.
I am going to mount the ECM near the steering column to help eliminate any interference with the A/C unit.
What a job!...Nothin is ever easy!!!
In addition, I have began to work on the wiring of everything else!....
I am overwhelmed!

I really hated to cut a hole in the firewall!!!


A view from inside.


The finished harness entrance into the cab.




And now I only have this to deal with!!
What great bit of luck!!!

[pdxhall]

The truck's coming along great! That wiring project gives me a headache just looking at it. Good luck.
By the way, I noticed that you filled in the firewall drip rail where it connects to the body. I didn't see in the thread where you went over this. What did you do, if you don't mind me asking.

[chad64chevy]

truck looks great, I really need to start my wiring harness too! keep it up, it wont be long and you'll be driving it and the headaches will be gone!!

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

The truck's coming along great! That wiring project gives me a headache just looking at it. Good luck.
By the way, I noticed that you filled in the firewall drip rail where it connects to the body. I didn't see in the thread where you went over this. What did you do, if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks for the comments dude!
As far as the drip-rail on the firewall goes, the PO started that upgrade & didn't finish it!...It is basically capped-off with with a piece of sheetmetal, metal-finished with a grinder, then I seam-sealed the imperfections to make it have a factory appearance. Sorry, I didn't document it.

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

truck looks great, I really need to start my wiring harness too! keep it up, it wont be long and you'll be driving it and the headaches will be gone!!

Thanks Chad!
The wiring & arrangements of it are kicking my a$$!
Hard to even take pics of the accomplishments!
At this point I just want to get it wired enough to start it up!
That will hopefully give me the motivation to finish the wiring up!

[chad64chevy]

Originally Posted by Modges'66

Thanks Chad!
The wiring & arrangements of it are kicking my a$$!
Hard to even take pics of the accomplishments!
At this point I just want to get it wired enough to start it up!
That will hopefully give me the motivation to finish the wiring up!

ya, I was thinking of that too! just wire up the dash and engine, just to heard it run!!

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

ya, I was thinking of that too! just wire up the dash and engine, just to heard it run!!

Yeah Chad,
I have been working very hard to figure out all of this engine management wiring! Holy crap! There is a lot of B.S. to think about...Relays for the cooling fans, electric water-pump, fuel-pump, and I also added a relay that will drop-out the fuel-pump in the event that the engine gets over 250 degrees, because I am unsure about the reliability of the electric water-pump on the street....Then we added a separate fuse block for all of the relays...Wires here, wires there, wires everywhere!
At the same time, I am trying to keep everything sanitary looking, and document how it is wired for the future. What a P.I.T.A.
Things are getting a lot closer to firing her up though!
I have almost all of the engine wiring completed, but need to run fuel lines, and block off a few vacuum ports, and finish connecting the steam tube line to the radiator...

I haven't taken many pics lately, because nothing looks much different.
I did however, fabricate a cool mount for the engine computer from aluminum, and mounted it to the side of the steering column support, so that it is tucked-up nicely under the dash, and easily removable in the event of more re-programming!

A view from under the dash.


Here is a view looking thru the gage cluster opening


Kinda hard to see, but a view from the passenger side floor.


I also messed around trying to figure out the air-cleaner/intake tube set-up that I will use. Far from done with this though, I don't really like the way it looks, so I ordered a bunch of stuff from Summit for this!




Gotta run for now!
I need to get back to work on this thing!

[chad64chevy]

wow, that is a lot of wires! now the ecu wont be in the way of the duct work of the defrosters or the heater knob cables??

[Modges'66]

I don't have much to post right now, but I would like to wish that everyone has a spectacular Thanksgiving holiday!
Good times spent together with family & friends is never forgotten!
Have a great day everybody!!!

[TJ's Chevy]

Same to you! And that is A TON of wiring!!!! Wonder ware it all goes! lol!

[Trsmotrhed]

Originally Posted by Modges'66

I don't have much to post right now, but I would like to wish that everyone has a spectacular Thanksgiving holiday!
Good times spent together with family & friends is never forgotten!
Have a great day everybody!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

wow, that is a lot of wires! now the ecu wont be in the way of the duct work of the defrosters or the heater knob cables??

A lot of wires is an understatement!!!!
You got me Chad, it looks like the computer may interfere with the heater controls/cables...But I have a built-in solution!
Since I am determined to use the billet heater knobs that I built, and I am also gonna use a Vintage air unit, therefore, I will also be using Vintage air's cable converters....
This will allow me to flip over the lever bracket on the heater controls, so that the fan switch is on top, and also flip over all of the levers!
This means that my cables would be pointing up instead of down, but clear the ECU.
My A/C controls will then work in reverse, but who will know?
I will post more pics on how I WILL make this work when I actually do it!
I may need to tip the computer slightly, but my goal is to keep everything hidden from view.

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Same to you! And that is A TON of wiring!!!! Wonder ware it all goes! lol!

Ha-Ha!
I am finding out where it all goes as I pick away at it!

Originally Posted by Trsmotrhed

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thanks man!
I had a great day, hope you did too!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Modges'66

I will post more pics on how I WILL make this work when I actually do it!!

Dude... That is so totally like a mentality quote I can identify with !!

Rock on man, you will get this, I am sure of it

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Dude... That is so totally like a mentality quote I can identify with !!

Rock on man, you will get this, I am sure of it

Ha-Ha!
I hate to say it, but Chad was right!
Dude, I am sooooooo close to starting this thing right now that this issue is the least of my worries!!!
I've Been bendin' stainless fuel lines & wirin' the fuel pump!!
So close.

[Modges'66]

I have been making some slow but steady progress lately...Not nearly as fast as I would like to be moving, but moving forward nonetheless.
I finally got the wire conduits for all of the wires to my doors installed, which was no easy task, considering that the reinforcement at the front of the door blocked this area, and needed to have a portion removed to do so....Man, I love plasma cutters!
I also wired-up my gage cluster with plugs that disconnect, so that I can simply remove it at any time, in order to address any areas behind the gages.
I also installed a hidden headlamp switch under the dash, as I didn't want to add any exposed switches, and retain a really clean look to the dash.
I used a headlight switch from a '95 astro, and made a bracket to mount it under the dash...It all worked out pretty slick!
Here are some pics!





Check-out my plug-in gage cluster!
BTW! It is always good to have a cluttered workspace when performing delicate work!


My hidden Headlamp switch...


Some pics of the gages operating under their own lighting!

[TJ's Chevy]

Oooooooooooh! Looks sweet!

[Bomp]

I almost can't stand looking at your build. I swear it makes my brain hurt.
Cool stuff Man! Coooooool Stuff!

If for some reason you look at my build in a few years when I get to where your at and you say,"hey, he copied me." you will be most correct.

Looks Awesome!

[McMurphy]

I had the same issues with the door man.
Would have liked to see how you resolved it with your plasma cutter.
I used a step drill and a lot of curse words....

I wish I could find those multi wire connectors you used on your guages around here. I did my guage harness with a ton of flat spade connectors and though I achieved the removability, it isnt as clean as I would like.
Yours turned out awesome!
I may revisit mine now....

Love the look of the shaved guage bezel too, so much nicer without all the controls popping out of them!!
Nicely done Modges

So what is next?

[65Gregg]

Murph if you will PM me your address I'll send you the ones from my Painless harness that I didn't use, I spliced mine back into the factory plugs. It still unplugs and works fine.

[Ta2Don]

Recently got an offer from a bud, complete LT1 with computer and all accessories... Cheap

Gonna have to steal the ECM mount idea you are using...

Merry Christmas!!!

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Recently got an offer from a bud, complete LT1 with computer and all accessories... Cheap

Gonna have to steal the ECM mount idea you are using...

Merry Christmas!!!

Very cool, Don!
If I happen to take the mount out for any reason, I will take some pics of it for you.
BTW, I hope that you, and everyone else on this site had a...
Merry Christmas!