1991 V3500 Project Heavy Hauler

[joe231]

Thanks Marcus!

It is a good feeling knowing your truck inside and out!

[MTCK]

Was able to make a good hub out of the pair of used ones in my parts bin. Everything is back together. Good thing too I have some dirt work to do around the house so I can throw a shed up. Over the scales at 22,500. Man this thing pulls like a dream. It has to work but keeping up with traffic is doable.

[MTCK]

15k with the dump trailer. That's even easier. I filled up prior to all this towing so I can compare to the 7.8 mpg I was getting with the 5.7.

[y5mgisi]

Nice! How do you like all the interior work you have done? Anything you would do differently?

[MTCK]

Thanks! Interior has been great. I like the tough rubber floor, stereo, A/C, gauges on the a-pillar, headliner, steat fabric, power ports, LED lights and I've actually used the seat heaters on a couple cool mornings.

What would I change: someone should fix my drivers vent window whistle and I wish someone would finish wiring my switches and relays for my light bar, fog lifts and backup lights! Shed first... Plow truck is going to haul some lumber later this week.

[watahyahknow]

a trick i read about a long time ago :
get some black silicone , saranwrap and soapy water in a spraybottle
open the vent window and aply some silicone directly on the rubber seal
let it dry a little then aply the soapy water over the silicone cover it with saranwrap and close the window
once the silicone is dried out open the window again and remove the saranwrap
you should have a perfect fitting seal now between the ventwindow and the rubber

[rgunlock]

Originally Posted by MTCK

I wish someone would finish wiring my switches and relays for my light bar, fog lifts and backup lights!

Glad the truck is working out for you Marcus. Don't ya'll up there in Alaska have elves that come out in the middle of the night and handle things like wiring chores?

[MTCK]

Thanks for the tip on the window. It is actually an older wing window assembly that is totally hammered in every way. I have a newer one from the junk yard along with felts and seals ready to install.

The wiring is pretty involved and I'm going to install everything similar to what I did on my dad's 2500HD last spring. Waytek wire sells tons of cool power blocks, circuit breakers, relays, fuses, switches etc. and I sourced everything from them.

On Dad's truck, added factory fog lights, a Rigid LED light bar in the bumper opening, and LED backup lights in the rear bumper. Stock switch for the fog lamps, override switches for the backup and light bar wired into the ashtray hole, buss'd power distribution block under the hood where the auxiliary battery would go.

[MTCK]

Ran all the wire in braided loom with heat shrink on the ends. Light bar switch is powered by the high beam circuit so it comes on when the switch is closed and high beams are activated. Backup light switch is powered by the positive lead to the backup lights so they come on when in revers and switch is closed. Power distribution block is buss'd and powered direct to the battery with a 100 amp breaker. Used weatherpak connectors for the seat heaters which are also powered by from the distribution block, on a relay that energizes with the ignition in the on position.

[MTCK]

His truck turned out very nice. It was a lot of hours, but my goal was a maintenance and trouble free install as my folks live in a different town. Also installed mud flaps, window vents, tint, spray in bed liner and new tires before I delivered it. Couple shots going through Three Guardsman Pass in April.

[Dieselwrencher]

Marcus, looks like your truck is doing great! Very nice wiring work on your Dad's truck. That is very nice! I've spent some money at waytek too. I as well don't want to be redoing wiring in a few years. Bad wiring can reak havek on a person! Is that you hangar? That's a nice space to work in.

[MTCK]

Thanks! Hanger is not mine, but I've been able to use it through the years. Funny thing is I did my largest project (L29 swap) at my house without going there. It's often full of planes but great when available.

[ryanroo]

those lights are bright! install is great too.

[whitels1]

Nice job on the install!

[NewType72]

Love those lil cubes definitely have grown into a fan of leds and better lighting

[MTCK]

Thanks guys. I'm hoping I can muster up the gumption to do all my wiring before it gets too cold to work outside. Filled up after all the heavy towing work and got 8.5 mpg. Not great but better than it would do with the 350 on the same project.

[MTCK]

Cut a lap to anchorage last weekend. Truck worked flawlessly. Got the standard 11 mpg with the hubs locked almost all of the way. The only complaint I have is the vintage air system doesn't pull moisture out worth a crap, and my windows want to fog up. Most OEM hvac systems have an option for inside or outside air, and it seems my only option is inside air. A/C on or off seems to have no bearing. Here's a couple pics of the trip.

[MTCK]

Temps got as low as -4F on the way down and road was pretty slick on the way back. Dang it this truck has a headlight out too!

[MTCK]

Supermoon assisted my LED light bar on my return.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice trip. Man, does it usually get this cold up there this time of year? It seems early to me but I have no idea what the norm is for up there. I'm sorry to say, but keep that white stuff up there for a while longer would you? How do you like your led light bar? Any cons to it?

[MTCK]

Yeah that's pretty normal for this time of year. I've seen -40 at Thanksgiving, but not lately. We didn't hit -30F last winter for the first time ever. Generally winters are much more mild than they used to be 20+ years ago. I was in Waterloo in October last year and it was nice and warm!

LED light bar is pretty nice. It throws a ton of light, but doesn't get it down the road as far as the old light force lights I had on my '98 Chevy. It's a cheap $90 bar, but my dad's $600 Rigid has similar characteristics.

I wrote to Vintage Air and asked about the lackluster defrost. They wrote back that the A/C should pull moisture out of the system as long as the temp switch in the heater box sees 34F. Only inside air is used, so it's not bringing any fresh air into the cab. I'm going to have to figure something out because the windows are impossible to see out of. It will only get worse when I add the wife, kid and dogs. For starters I'm going to add a cold front, put the 195 thermostat back in, and try running with the passenger vent in the foot well open. Hopefully the cold front and hotter t-stat will let the A/C run, and the vent will bring some fresh air in. That plan is out if my wife has a skirt on!

['63GENIII]

All I can say is wow Marcus! I just read the entire thread. You've got one heck of an updated truck now.

I wish I had known about this thread a few months ago. Looks like you encountered some of the same issues that I did as well. Very nice write up and your mechanical skills are on point as well.

Fun read. Hoping mine is temporarily finished up for a while though as we all know they are never fully done.

Great job!
Chris

Exhaust jail... Im still laughing!

[MTCK]

Thanks Chris! I know what you mean, the list never ends. I need to get her in a garage and finish the wiring and do a little maintenance.

[400/400]

Hopefully you can get the defrost working well. I was curious about how it would work pulling only inside air. Does the AC have a drain to outside of the truck?

[MTCK]

The A/C does have a drain outside the truck. I think the sticking point is the 34 degree temp switch that only lets the A/C cycle when warmer than that. Hopefully the cold front and hotter thermostat will let it run and it will drain without freezing.