Rodstored-72's 1986 DD build

[rodstored-72]

I also tackled the washer fluid tank and hoses. I washed the inside with dish soap and hot water (letting sit for awhile. The hoses I scrubbed with SOS pad and soap. I let dry over night and then coated with Mothers “VLR”. I wire wheeled (gently) the brass water outlets and the spray bombed with a very close matching color from rustoleum… it is a bit darker red but close enough to match at a distance.. !!

The overflow tank was a little more worse for wear.. I repeated the same process for it. I will run a new hose to it. The tank cleaned up pretty good on the outside, but Inside there was remains of the effects of the old rusty radiator, but it will work for now.

[rodstored-72]

The MOST important thing I did was switch the front speakers to mount under the bracket… as directed by the yoda’s from here….

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by rodstored-72

The MOST important thing I did was switch the front speakers to mount under the bracket… as directed by the yoda’s from here….

Good job

[rodstored-72]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Good job

..thanks!!!

[rodstored-72]

Well it has been a few days.. LOL!! I have been busy still working on wiring of things. I finally have all four O2 sensors wired. I am finishing up the tracing of all the wires to figure out what I want or need to do to them. I have also basically finished the V.A. system installed. I will clean up wires and clamps as re-assemby occurs.
…More to follow….

[rodstored-72]

I have done a few things that are picture worthy. I decided to paint the steering column, I did this on my ’72 & I really liked the look. I figured I would try it out on this build as well. I am just using a close color match of rustoleum the interior color (to me) seems a little darker than the exterior color so I am going to roll with it… I removed the column & cleaned it up using “the purple stuff” and brake cleaner. I cleaned up the wires as well as the terminals.. I try to take after the “high end builders” on here…

[rodstored-72]

While I was working on the column I figured I better do something about the crusty old steering column plate at the firewall. I am not sure why or how it got soo rusty , but the good thing is that the rubber seal & the firewall area under\around it was still in great shape & all I had to do was clean it up…. Paint was good & no real scratches. After wire wheel the upper part I was like… well this still looks like crap!! So I thought well… I have alum plate, I can’t see why I couldn’t just re-create it using the plate. I guess it turned out good. I just used 0000 SOS pad to “polish” it. As of now I did not put any type of a coating on it, I guess I will make sure it will work ok & then I may clear it?? ...thoughts??
Anyways enough jabber jawin’…. On with the pics!!

[rodstored-72]

Ok.. now for you guys to put your thinkin’ beanies on & give a fellow brother some help….
I have located the 2 obdii wires for the obd connector (circuit 2500 & 2501) tan\blk & solid tan. The connector I bought (recommended) is the ICT connector (4 wires-ppl,orng,2 blk) I believe the purple wire is my “data”, the 2 blk are grounds (signal & chassis) and the orng is constant power. I am not sure what to do with the 2 “data” wires from the ECM in relation to the purple wire?
1) Do I need to get a factory connector from a donor? (what years would work)
2) Can the orng wire connect to the fuse block?

I have posted this in the electrical section to try to get a little traction on this..

thanks!!!

[rodstored-72]

hello all,
I was able to figure out the obdii wire situation, I posted the result/findings in my thread in the electrical section (for those interested). I have been busy trying to knock out some “to do’s” on the list. I decided to take a week off (birthday time…) I cleaned & painted the cowl vent screen, it was not in too bad of shape so I decide to keep it. I also decided to mock up the fenders so I can start with the permanent mounting situation for the engine's underhood fuse box & wiper fluid container. Those with a sharp eye might notice a difference about it. I decide to try my hand at installing “rivnuts” or nutserts, I tried the youtube version of the nuts & spacers method. It seems ok, although the big key to this is being able to apply pushing force while turning. Also for those that might try it for the first time…. MAKE SURE the whole is just big enough to push in the nutsert, the bigger the hole the less chance of it biting.. in my experience anyways. On with the pics….

[rodstored-72]

Another “to do” item was to finish the installation of the factory transmission lines to the radiator. I was finally able to gather all the fittings needed, they included 3/8”steel tube to AN fittings and then AN to radi. Thread fittings , I can look up the specifics if needed. I am not knowledable in these fittings so it took my some trial & error before I figured out what I realty needed. I think it turned out pretty good. I was trying to get all black fittings, but I would have had to wait 2 wks. for the next shipment & decide to just get the red/blue fittings & be done with it. It will work for a daily driver!...

[evan]

Looking good!

[rodstored-72]

I finally am finding the time to update my thread. I kinda have the wiring location of things somewhat figured out so I thought it would be good to start on the front suspension & assembly of the front end in general. I sanded & primed the new batt tray along with my modified old one. The original one was in pretty bad shape hence the new tray. I thought I would try to find a way to use the old one as opposed to just putting it in the scrap pile. So I configured a aluminum plate to use as a bracket to bolt the underhood fuse box on & then the bracket bolts to the old tray. I wanted to put the fuse box in a similar location as on the ’13 truck. That location lined up right with the washer fluid bottle location so I cut the old tray in half and took out about 2 inches. I welded up the resized halves and prepped for paint. I used my new found knowledge of nutserts & relocated the washer fluid bottle. I think I did a pretty good job on painting the brackets. I recently purchased a HVLP spray gun ( TCPglobal brand) I thought that it would be good enough for me to use for “non essential” items… otherwords items that if I messed up on would not be a big deal… so I painted the bracket, batt. Tray & the fender bolts. Overall I like the way they turned out – considering it was my first time using a HVLP gun without guidance from a knowledgable friend. I know everyone wants pictures sooooo…..

[rodstored-72]

The week before last I started on the fenders, the inside of them anyways. I will work on the outer paint and body after the truck is running & drivable. I cleaned & prepped both for paint. I had my friend come back over to lay down 2 good coats of paint & 2 good coats of clear. The prep & procedure was the same as I did for the firewall & radi. Support so I won’t bug you with that stuff. I am really happy with the way they turned out!! Now I will begin the front suspension tear down & rebuild…. Oooohh bouy!!

[TKCR]

Lookin good!

[rodstored-72]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Lookin good!

thanks!! if I could get this to look as good as your seat & seatbelts do I would be satisfied!!

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by rodstored-72

thanks!! if I could get this to look as good as your seat & seatbelts do I would be satisfied!!

Well send me your seatbelts, and I’ll restore those for you. And I can build you a seat and ship it out to you

[rodstored-72]

Well I have been busy on the truck… but I did get sidelined for a small project. I was doing some work on the truck when my little craftsman table finally gave up it’s holding capability – the table top part broke. Well it did last for over 14 years! So I guess I shouldn’t complain. I decided to “improve” it since I was going to repair it. I removed the broken top (1/2” MDF) I made the top larger out of ¾” stair wood – left over from when the house was built. I made it large enough to be a bottom support for a left over metal shelf from a old rack. I cut it to size & then drilled the mounting holes. I then sprayed 3M adhesive on both pieces and then mounted the shelf on top of the wood base. After drying over night I painted the “new” top with leftover bed liner from when I sprayed the inner fenders. I think it turned out pretty good & it gave me a few more inches of workspace between my grinder and vise. Now for the obligatory picture….

[rodstored-72]

Well after a little break of fixing my table it was back onto the truck. I decided it was time to go thru the front suspension & install the new pieces that I purchased. I tore the front down to just the frame & crossmember. I cleaned everything up and gave them a good sanding and scuffing. I wiped everything down with wax & grease remover and then proceeded to spray a few coats of POR-15 on everything. The suspension pieces that were not being replaced I did the same thing to. Side note: cleaning all 4 control arms was a daunting task. If I am in the same position again, I will choose to do what I did on my ’72 and just take them to get powder coated. Anyways here is a few pics of when I started and during the process.

[rodstored-72]

With the frame ready to accept the painted and new parts I begin the tedious procedure of cleaning and painting the miscellaneous parts that were going to be re-used. the control arms brake shields and rotors. Each were prepped and then painted with por-15 or in the case of the brake shields I cleaned & “polished” them. The rotors were cleaned and then painted with VHT silver (I taped off the pad areas to not get them even though the rotors were going to get turned. Luckily both had just enough material to be able to be turned down.

[rodstored-72]

Well I guess I did not take any pictures of the control arms before putting everything back together… . Anyways I got them set with new bushings and ball joints all around & then painted them. I had purchased a rebuild kit so most of the suspension was replaced with new pieces. I took some pics after all was complete.

[rodstored-72]

ohhh.. on a side note, most of you probably already know this but it is ALOT easier to replace the bumpstops BEFORE you assemble everything....
... I of course know this, but it was indicated after I bought them that they were lost during shipping... sooo I just kept the old ones and assembled everything. wouldn't ya know that about a week after I received a surprise box on the porch! yes you guessed it.... 2 new bushings! sooooo I put them in after assembly....

[rodstored-72]

I am in the final stages of the wiring needed to try the first fire after the motor change. I have to admit that it is very nice to be in a state (area) that has a lot of truck enthusiasts. I am even more blessed to be very local to some high-end builders. The “big 10 garage” is about 20 min. from me & I have been very busy bugging to death Jason Bowman (owner). He is a VERY nice guy and even more giving with his time & expertise. His assistance with my MANY wiring questions has been invaluable! I am going to try to finish on my own, but I may end up taking it to him and be lucky enough to have him work on the truck. I would HIGHLY recommend contacting him for any truck related assistance – he would be a great person to help you with a trick build! Below is a pic of misc. wiring state…. More to come!!

[rodstored-72]

With the wiring mostly addressed (at least I think it is…) I decided to turn my attention to the final front end assembly. With the help of my glorious wife (holding things in place while a scrambled around to install bolts) I was able to get the inner fenders, outside fenders and the front-end pieces that I have installed. I still need to purchase front end pieces to complete, which I will order soon. I managed to install everything with very minimal scratching – none really. I will have a couple friends come over & help me with the gaps – hopefully new years weekend. As always, I have a few pics to make it worth your wild to read….

[rodstored-72]

I have ordered my Dakota Digital gauges (w/ BIM Module) so I also turned my attention to the dash bezel. The previous owner tried to “rehab” the dash bezel & it was not a stellar effort…. It is showing its wear, the radio opening was cut & the corner area around opening was broke off. the upper driver side corner was chipped too. I rebuilt it with some left over plastic and
J-B WELD. Since this is a daily driver I decided to clean and paint it to re-install. I still have a small amount of touch up to address, but I think it turned out much better than before. Below is a picture of it after I did some "work on it. I will replace it with a new one after the bugs are worked out and running good. Now… If I can get some guidance on the actual appearance of the bezel… does anyone know or can tell me if the inside of the gauge circles have “chrome” portion inside or are the circles all black? I am trying to make it look like the original Silverado gauge bezel.
Thanks!!

[TKCR]

For guidance, I believe they do have the chrome around the rings. There may have been some that didn’t, but I believe they do.
Of course my new dash Bezel is a repop, not a NOS. But it came with the rings chrome. I liked it so well, just the way it was, I couldn’t bring myself to install the brushed overlay.