TA_C10: Stage 1

[MDPotter]

Yep, those are pretty sweet! Nice upgrade for sure.

[TA_C10]

Been working quite a bit on truck so updates coming soon. I had some leaks, got them fixed up, and back on the ground. So I took her around the block again tonight. Snapped a few pics, the camera doesn't focus on the DRL's right, in person they are badazz. That is a single, sharp line of light across the center of headlights. I love em.

[cornerstone]

I'm diggin' them too... but man,..... they sure are proud of them! I've bought cars cheaper than those 2 headlights. I don't really know what kind I have, I bought a set at one of the swap meets for 80 bucks I think. I'll pull them out and see what they are in the morning. Probably wasted money now that I've seen how nice those are. Keepin up with the Jones'

[MDPotter]

We can count on TA to raise the bar in the electrical and wiring standards department! You'll have to take some pictures on the road so we can see if they're capable of x-raying oncoming traffic!

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

I'm diggin' them too... but man,..... they sure are proud of them! I've bought cars cheaper than those 2 headlights. I don't really know what kind I have, I bought a set at one of the swap meets for 80 bucks I think. I'll pull them out and see what they are in the morning. Probably wasted money now that I've seen how nice those are. Keepin up with the Jones'

I know man, $500 seemed up there for me until I started looking at the price for factory lights in jeeps, BMW, Chevy trucks, etc. You try and buy factory headlights complete set for a 2019 Chevy truck and your spending same amount sometimes more. So I figured I have bought so many aftermarket lights for other vehicles, hid, led, halogen, and they all turned out cheap, didn't last, and didn't work very well. I said screw it, I want the best headlights I can get this go around. They are important to me for safety and looks. And those suckers better last the life of the truck lol.

Originally Posted by MDPotter

We can count on TA to raise the bar in the electrical and wiring standards department! You'll have to take some pictures on the road so we can see if they're capable of x-raying oncoming traffic!

Thanks for the compliments! And yeah, they look crazy mean from a far at dusk. Haven't found the X-ray button yet though

[1971Stepside]

I'm going to have to have a set of those...

[TA_C10]

Update - Windshield Wiper Motor and Washer Pump


So I got this wired up, and it wasn't working. Started troubleshooting and when I attempted to unplug the wiper motor(front plug) it completely pulled one of the male spade connectors right out of the motor. So I shoved the spade back in the motor. I pulled the cover off and this is what I found. The motor winding is VERY exposed. Super cheap. But whatever. I soldered the wire back to the spade and made sure I got it fixed before I completely installed.

So the main reason it wasn't working was that it wasn't grounded. I went through a bunch of threads and found the info I needed. I ended up gounding the motor case and got all the plug wires correctly installed and it works as designed. I made a video while I had it apart to show how the motor and washer works with the switch.

Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKWSsBkrbA0


Here if you look close you can see the disconnected wire I yanked off.







Soldered the wire, and got all the plugs correct.





Switch connector.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I'm going to have to have a set of those...

I will post how they actually function when I get them properly adjusted and drive at night. So far, they aren't adjusted right, but driving around the neighborhood the low beam is awesome. They have a defined cutoff very similar to projection lenses. The high beams however, they didn't seem too bright to me but they are pointing down pretty badly so I need to get them right, then go drive down a dark road and see how they do.

More to come on these

.

[MDPotter]

That is cheesy. You never know what you're going to get with aftermarket parts.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

That is cheesy. You never know what you're going to get with aftermarket parts.

The motor and pump was from LMC. Did you see the video? I thought it was pretty cool to see how it functions. It's old school technology, very mechanical. I love seeing how engineers built things back in the day. But then of course, these are reman units with cheap materials so they don't last i'm sure but maybe I will get lucky. Once it goes, maybe it will have a better replacement.

.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

The motor and pump was from LMC. Did you see the video? I thought it was pretty cool to see how it functions. It's old school technology, very mechanical. I love seeing how engineers built things back in the day. But then of course, these are reman units with cheap materials so they don't last i'm sure but maybe I will get lucky. Once it goes, maybe it will have a better replacement.

.

Sorry, didn't mean for it to sound like I was bashing it. Just interesting how those connectors are tied to the coil by a copper wire about the thickness of a human hair and that the connector came loose when you were working on it.

But yeah, when you dig into the mechanics of anything even these days they're really simple.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Sorry, didn't mean for it to sound like I was bashing it. Just interesting how those connectors are tied to the coil by a copper wire about the thickness of a human hair and that the connector came loose when you were working on it.

But yeah, when you dig into the mechanics of anything even these days they're really simple.

Oh I agree with you, they cheap

[TA_C10]

Update - Gas Tank Lowered for Wood Bed

I'm jumping around again FYI. I got my bed put back together to mock it up on the frame so make sure I had everything ready for gaps, hardware, bed wood, etc. Plus, I needed the bed quite frankly to store things as my garage is tiny and no room...

I put the bed rails in and quickly noticed the gas tank was not going to work. It sat too high in the frame, even notching the frame rail wasn't an option. I contemplated raising the bed floor 1-2 inches but ultimately went with lowering the tank instead. After I measured, the tank wasn't going to be a safety hazard so this was much easier to tackle. Dodged the bullet.

So I just hit up the local hardware store and came up with a quick solution to lower the tank just the right amount I wanted. 1.5" I was after. I couldn't use the 1.5" square tubing they had because there wasn't enough room between the frame rail and the flange and the bolts so I got a 1" square tubing(drilled as it turned out had the perfect spacing for the holes in my frame), and then 5/8 nuts that happened to be 1/2" thick. Good enough for a DD.

Then I decided to use plywood bed for now until I get the real stuff. That will be part of my phase II of this build later on. The PO already used plywood so I had nice templates to cut my new wood. I will seal them however and I will also mount it to the frame! The PO was driving around with the bed completely unbolted from the frame. I couldn't believe it. Whatever.

Here are the pics.











Here, what you see in silver color above trailer hitch is the 1.5" drop. I painted the bottom half of tank black so it's easy to see the drop in this pic.







One side got bolts. I am still using the welded nut plate I built on top of frame rail. That made it sooooo easy to maintain... The other side I used all-thread.

[TA_C10]

Update cont....

So after lowering the tank, it now interferes with the frame rail. Didn't want to cut the frame rail so I cut the tank fill tube Worked out great, plenty of room to clear the frame now.

For now I did a temporary 45 degree coolant hose I had laying around for the temp bed floor I installed. Eventually I will route the filler neck somewhere else like rear bed stake or something. Haven't made a decision on this yet.

Again, very temporary for now. But it should work for a while. I still need to pull the bed apart again, this is just for mockup, and then I will get it back together a little better.


Before:





After:

[MDPotter]

That's a big tank! At least 19 gallons?

[TA_C10]

21 gallon burb tank from LMC. Side fill option gave me 2 extra gallons. Top fill is only 19 gallons I think. And after getting it set, it's still around 3-4 inches above the pumpkin for reference.


.

[1971Stepside]

small garages suck...ask me how I know.

[TA_C10]

Found this info on LMC about their gas tanks. Top fill is only 17 gallons wow. Been almost 2 years since I spec'd the tank out and purchased... I wanted the largest tank I could find being my daily.

Gas Tank Dimensions:
17 Gallon: 12" H x 19" W x 30" L
21 Gallon: 13-1/2" H x 19" W x 30" L

.

[cebra]

I have a 12 gallon Wrangler tank and drive around 450 miles per week, fill it up 2x a week which isn't bad. I had the Wrangler tank in when I had my 350, I had to fill it up every other day and that was a bit excessive.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

small garages suck...ask me how I know.

Yeah bro, sucks. So you share my pain of everytime you want to work on ANYTHING you have to open the door, unload a ton of things around the truck to even get access to it, then when your done, you have to clean up everything, then load it all back in garage...? And then some things are stored in attic, some things stored in tiny yard barn out back, and even more painful, sitting in yard out back that your wife snarls at everyday?

Yeah, that's what I have been doing for 2 years.... It's any wonder I'm not burnt out on this project yet...

Originally Posted by cebra

I have a 12 gallon Wrangler tank and drive around 450 miles per week, fill it up 2x a week which isn't bad. I had the Wrangler tank in when I had my 350, I had to fill it up every other day and that was a bit excessive.

Yeah good info, TY. 21 g's is gonna be awesome.

.

[jjzepplin]

I read this a little way back when you started the thread. I got busy blah blah and wish I had subbed back then. It was a LONG read bit I got nothing but time right now. You are way above my skill level as well as budget. However I am learning tons from you and that truck sounds fabulous! Your wiring is sick. I am super sad about all of those pics missing! Anyway, I will follow along for the final finishing touches. Thanks for the detailed pics and explanations!

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

I read this a little way back when you started the thread. I got busy blah blah and wish I had subbed back then. It was a LONG read bit I got nothing but time right now. You are way above my skill level as well as budget. However I am learning tons from you and that truck sounds fabulous! Your wiring is sick. I am super sad about all of those pics missing! Anyway, I will follow along for the final finishing touches. Thanks for the detailed pics and explanations!

Thanks for the kind words sir. Yeah the pics thing is really a blow to the head.... But I plan to go back at some point and try and fix them all. I will at least fix the ones that would mean something to someone else. All the sheet metal work and crap like that I will fix last.

And for reference, I have never done anything like this before, not really. I seriously learned everything you see in my thread from research on the internet/books/videos. My stepfather was a mechanic however and he taught me a lot about those aspects, but I learned to weld, wire, and everything else on my own. So to say my skill level is above yours would be false brother, just get on the ol' interwebs and getter done!

[TA_C10]

Update - Sound/Heat Control, Carpet, High Hump

Well, I had to do it. Turns out when I flipped the trans crossmember, the 4l60e sat just a 1/8" too high. It was barely touching the floor. So I ordered a high hump and went to town. Traced around parimeter and holes. Drilled the holes first. Then cut out leaving about 1" of a flange. I just went down to Ace and used lock nuts and stage 5 bolts. Nothing fancy. I spray painted the edges I cut first. To seal the hump, I used some leftover window flashing. I cut strips of it and lined the outside edge. It's really thin stuff but because I already sprayed the floor with ceramic coating it had a texture. I also used a little permatex where I felt necesary.

Then I went to town with the sound deadner I picked up. If you don't remember, the PO already had some dynomat installed that I just sprayed over. All the sheet metal I replaced however I used the new stuff. And the final test, YES, this stuff will stick to textured surfaces! It sticks really nice. Pretty happy about that. So I did my rear wall and all the way into corners of cab.

Then I topped this stuff off with some closed cell sticky back foam I found on amazon. It's 1/2 inch thick. It also provides sound dampning and heat control. Went all the way up the firewall and all the way up the back wall. And into the cab corners. Still need to finish up a few spots but I think this cab is gonna be super effecient in both sound and heat/ac.

Layed in the carpet that the PO already had, and dang, it had a floor shifter, and I thought he just had a slit cut, but nope, it was a huge hole... I may leave it for now, and get new carpet in stage II of this build....

Pay no attention to that door! That's for another post

[Kronald_70GMC]

Looks pretty damn good man! I like the foam you have there. Do you have any more info on it? Seems like it would be a good sound deadline for sure!

[MDPotter]

So what is left for stage 2?