TA_C10: Stage 1

[TA_C10]

Good point. Now you have me thinking of bleacher seats and things alike. I will have to research this a little more now before I finalize my decision. I was thinking the aluminum would have been re-inforced on the bottom to make it strong, and then also not have the maintenance that wood would have. I spoke to another member with one of these floors and the smokey road rod shop owner, when asked "what about dings and nicks" he replied your going to get the same with wood if you drop something heavy or something on it's corner for example. But thinking about your point, aluminum may dent easier if its not built well enough, wood dents(for the most part) can just be sanded and re-stained/sealed. Aluminum is dented forever unless you can hammer it out.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Good point. Now you have me thinking of bleacher seats and things alike. I will have to research this a little more now before I finalize my decision. I was thinking the aluminum would have been re-inforced on the bottom to make it strong, and then also not have the maintenance that wood would have. I spoke to another member with one of these floors and the smokey road rod shop owner, when asked "what about dings and nicks" he replied your going to get the same with wood if you drop something heavy or something on it's corner for example. But thinking about your point, aluminum may dent easier if its not built well enough, wood dents(for the most part) can just be sanded and re-stained/sealed. Aluminum is dented forever unless you can hammer it out.

Exactly.

Have you compared pricing to a nice wood set-up? I saw the 'Smokey Road' display @ a show & recall the $$ investment was a bit more vs wood? Quick Google numbers:
Smoky Road
Short fleet painted strips = 1299 + 115/ship = $1414
Short fleet SS/polished = 1399 + 130/ship = 1529
LWB fleet painted strips = 1399 + 180/ship = $1579
LWB fleet SS/polished = 1400 + 225/ship = 1724

Mar-K (no ship prices listed)
Short fleet, pine, painted strips = 451 + 101 = $552
Short fleet pine, SS/polished = 451 + 221 = 672
LWB fleet pine, painted strips = 466 + 111 = $577
LWB fleet pine, SS/polished = 466 + 251 = 717

Yes, you still need to account for the finishing costs for the wood in addition to the parts but tell me you would chunk something on top of a $1500-1700 floor??

While I agree wood can be damaged just as easily, that's the difference. Both damage easily but wood can be purchased MUCH cheaper. I purchased equal or better quality wood vs that listed above from my local Lowes (same GRADE pine, Kiln dried, but planed on top & bottom vs top only for the bed wood supplier/Mar-K) for about $230. Granted, it needs to be modified to work for a bed floor but that's still a significant amount less. I can't afford a $1k floor that will probably be dented the first time I throw the cooler or whatever heavy object back there because my trucks get used as a truck (I do put cardboard down or moving blankets for heavy/irregular items).

Now, if it's a show-boat or parade-queen that only gets a blanket laid down & some light weight aluminum chairs + small plastic cooler chest I get that.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Maybe this isn't the place for this discussion, but why wood over steel? I worry less about damage from loading and unloading, and more about the wood rotting away in the sun and rain.

What about an aluminum bed with a color matched bed liner? I really like the upol or sem stuff.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

Maybe this isn't the place for this discussion, but why wood over steel? I worry less about damage from loading and unloading, and more about the wood rotting away in the sun and rain.

What about an aluminum bed with a color matched bed liner? I really like the upol or sem stuff.

It's just a personal choice or preference (like everything else when building a truck).

[TA_C10]

Update - Bed Installed(well, mostly)

Ice Cube said it best, today was a good day...





Original parts, what can I say, they just line up so nicely makes you wish all those other re-pop stuff did the same.













I flipped the temp bed floor pieces and drilled all the holes I wanted to secure it down using the cross sills. Since I had to use 2 4x8 sheets of plywood I plan to make a strip of some kind for the center of the floor.

[TA_C10]

Update - Bed Wiring

Saturday the bed went together. Sunday I completed the wiring harness for the bed/tails. Every light in this truck is LED, so the side markers didn't get those stock connectors. Everything else did. I have 2 extra wires I ran in the harness. The 3rd brake light wire(in case I end up installing one of those strip lights under the tailgate for brake/blinkers. And also a red power wire for the cargo lights I plan to install. Going to put a switch in the bed somewhere havn't decided where just yet but it will be somewhere at the tailgate end. Those 2 extra wires worked out great with the main harness connecter at rear of frame, it had 6 connections but stock only used 4 of those.









Can anybody guess what I did wrong here? LOL, I fixed it in the next pic. Knothead.....








Got everything ran to where it goes, cut to length, checked everything twice. Zip ties really help get wires bundled before you loom everything. I also tested all my wires before I loomed. And I use the TESSA tape to wrap up the ends of the loom.










After testing all the wires, they all work, but I do have 1 gremlin to chase. When I hit RH blinker with switch, LH also turns on. Bleeding over. Other than that, everything works. One other thing too, Looks like the new LED tail lights don't fit exactly perfect, they hit just a little on the bottom outter corners. But then again, I don't have the tail light inner buckets fully installed so I will be attending to this when I get all my new hardware in for the bed.

[MDPotter]

I'm just glad that you didn't make up that connector before getting the wires through the grommet!

I like the paint job - it's unique for sure with the sheen and metallic. I have a factory bed assembly for the 69 and it definitely fits together nice, but has a fair amount of damage and had to be sandblasted so the jury is out on whether it was a good choice or not.

[1971Stepside]

It is a truck!! Looks great man. Get it out in the sun and post more pics.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

I'm just glad that you didn't make up that connector before getting the wires through the grommet!

No kidding!

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

It is a truck!! Looks great man. Get it out in the sun and post more pics.

Yeah I dunno, i'm a bit embarrassed to show my whole truck in sun now that I figured out all my paint was done wrong. I'm seriously considering masking the cab and doors and re-spraying everything forward of the bed now...

[TA_C10]

Been waiting the arrival of parts to finish bed. Trickling in.

Here is the complete SS bed bolt kit I just got today. I can already tell it's not for a longbed.

[TA_C10]

Update - Temp Bed Floor

Well I got the temporary bed floor installed. Should last me a year or so till I get real bed wood I'm on the fence with the black. I used a black sealer on purpose to see if it would look good for when I get the permanent floor planks. I like it, but not sure yet. Maybe it will look better with SS strips between each board and really pop. If not, I may go with a deep brown/red stain.

I also got the grill installed, turned out pretty good. Needs trim now. I don't know what I am going to do about my hood. It's getting too cold here and I have slow reducer for paint. I dunno..... Maybe rent a booth...

I took it down the road to alignment shop, couldn't help it. Stuck my old plate on a simple bracket just in case but since we have to do the windshield stickers in Texas it probably wouldn't have done much good... I made it, but too late they were about to close, gonna go back today probably to get it aligned.

More coming soon on the mirror install and backup camera. I have it fully wired and installed. Just waiting on 1 part to be 3D printed by siggy and hopefully this thing is ready for action. Stay tuned.










Oh yeah, and I got my trailer harness wired in too. The American Autowire harness doesn't come with the OE style plug in rear harness, didn't realize that they change that plug to some generic thing. I bought a towing harness that would have just "T" into the old harness, so I just cut that off and hard wired it in.

[MDPotter]

Really looking like a truck! Are you painting the bumpers or sticking with chrome?

[SkidmoreGarage]

Great progress, and thanks for bringing us along. Reminds me that I need to tend to my build thread. You may have luck finding a booth to rent on Craigslist. There is a guy locally who rents his booth for $160/day.

Have you seen the hollow pin deutsch connector kits on amazon? I bought one and I was impressed. It uses a standard crimper (not the barrel crimp, which is technically better), and they are waterproof. I wanted to share as I thought you may be interested for future projects.

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Really looking like a truck! Are you painting the bumpers or sticking with chrome?

Going to stay with chrome. Match the trim, mirrors, and door handles/locks.

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

Great progress, and thanks for bringing us along. Reminds me that I need to tend to my build thread. You may have luck finding a booth to rent on Craigslist. There is a guy locally who rents his booth for $160/day.

Have you seen the hollow pin deutsch connector kits on amazon? I bought one and I was impressed. It uses a standard crimper (not the barrel crimp, which is technically better), and they are waterproof. I wanted to share as I thought you may be interested for future projects.

Thanks for the info, I put those connectors in my saved lists on Amazon. Those are not butt connectors however, those are the heat shrink solder connectors that are also water resistant. You heat them with a heat gun and it melts a little band of solder around each wire, then there are 2 rings at each end of connector that shrink tight and seal the wires. After they cool then are super solid, can't pull them apart.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[SkidmoreGarage]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Thanks for the info, I put those connectors in my saved lists on Amazon. Those are not butt connectors however, those are the heat shrink solder connectors that are also water resistant. You heat them with a heat gun and it melts a little band of solder around each wire, then there are 2 rings at each end of connector that shrink tight and seal the wires. After they cool then are super solid, can't pull them apart.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll check those out, and I have no negative commentary on what was done. I was just recognizing that you might be a wire snob, as well, and wanted to share.

https://www.amazon.com/Glarks-Waterp...6759845&sr=8-3

[TA_C10]

LOL, wire snob. I have a love hate relationship with wiring. I want it to be perfect, and then I get in a hurry and the plan changes.... But then again, I am rushing this truck a little so it's not getting my full OCD approach on every turn of the wrench

.

[TA_C10]

Ran a vent line from my Tanks INC unit(rollover vent) to where the new gas filler will be ran in side of bed. I used a 9/32 vacuum line. I found this dorman vent cap at local auto parts store. Should do the trick. Used same line and dorman cap on axle vent. This line is kinda small, but it's what came with the Tanks INC pump unit I installed in my tank. So I ran it all the way up so it will be installed in same place the gas filler cap will be, but it will be secured higher than the cap. Once I get the rest of my parts to complete the gas filler setup and get to drive to pump and test it, I won't know if the 9/32 line will be large enough or not. If it's not, I have another 5/8" nipple on the tank I will use instead. But I will have to find a vent cap for that size of line, not sure if they make one that large...







Here you can see vent line from Tanks INC pump unit rollover valve.




.

[TA_C10]

Update - Backup Camera Wiring

Link to backup camera system I am using: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Picture:




Turns out, our tailgates already have most of the provisions needed for shoving a wire through the trunnion/hinge. All I had to do was drill one hole in the center of trunnion space in the tailgate and install a grommet. Sorry I got in a hurry and didn't take a picture of this. But the trunnion is hollow (stock hinges) and the bed sides where they mount already have a nice centered hole in them (why I don't know as they don't serve a purpose). I stuck a grommet in the bedside hole as well.

I already posted pics of how I installed my camera in the tailgate, but the wire just gets phished through to the hinge location and pulled through the new hole you drill. I just a wire to phish the wire. Then, you can go ahead and install the trunnion/hinge to the bedside. Then with a helper, I held the tailgate close to trunnion while my helper phished the wire from tailgate into the bedside through the hinge. While I installed the tailgate first on that hinge my helper pulled the wire from underneath the bedside. That’s it, next install other side trunnion on tailgate, slide tailgate into location, bolt on the trunnion to passenger side bed, adjust, tighten all hinge bolts.

Now, you have the tailgate installed, and wire hanging from under driver bedside. This particular camera has a plug you use to connect the remote wireless transmitter. I am going to use the double sided 3m tape already installed on transmitter and stick it on front bed panel between cab and bed. Instruction recommend putting inside vehicle but I am going to open it up and seal the case completely with silicone. But even if you put in cab, the wire you need to phish along frame rail out to rear of vehicle. Connect plug.

Then you need to splice in the hot wire to reverse light wire in truck harness. Then connect ground wire to ground.

I did all this soldering my connections securely and including in my truck American Autowire harness on the frame rail. Ground was connected to frame.

Here is the plug connection from transmitter to camera in tailgate. I connected the plug and taped it with Tessa tape. I also used a little dielectric grease in plug to help seal it from elements.





Here you see the trunnion/hinge on drivers’ side, I forgot to picture the connection during install but you get the point. It feeds out of tailgate, through the center of trunnion, and into the bedside. Then it hangs down and I am snaking it along with rest of tail-light wires. Here you can see I have taped it with Tessa tape (black tape, black wire) and its getting snaked through the rear cross-member.





Pic of the backup camera installed in tailgate.






Now I move on to the cab rear view mirror wiring. I ended up drilling a new hole in top of A-Pillar and snaked the wire up from kick panel. I couldn't go through top of roof and down back side with cab courtesy light wiring because the pinch welds in roof don't allow access. This was next best path for me. I then notched the sun visor mount and snaked the wire over to the rear view mirror location. I drilled another hole behind the rear view mirror mount and installed a grommet. From here the wire will snake through the rear view mirror mount and out the arm hole. Worked out pretty nicely.



Hard to see here, but through the access panels in kick panel I snaked a wire down from top of new hole in A-Pillar and pushed wire through.






Connect plug to mirror wire, wrapped with Tessa tape, phished through sun visor hole to mirror mount.










This end of the wire here was soldered to the rear view mirror. I disconnected these wires during our R&D on the new 3D printed pivot ball for mirror connection to OE mirror mount. So these wires will be re-soldered back to mirror later.




grommet installed.




Sun Visor notched with die grinder and carbide bit.











Now I am just waiting on new 3D printed ball to complete the install. Thanks goes out to member siggyfreud for the 3D printed pieces during the R&D phase. The last step is to solder back the 3 wires to circuit board in rear view mirror and install. The real test is the wireless transmitter location. Instructions say to keep it at same level as mirror, so sticking it between the cab and bed up as high as I can get it should work out. I have not stuck it yet though, just in case I need to drill a hole in bottom of cab and install inside cab somewhere. But I doubt this will be needed. I work with 2.4Ghz WiFi every day and it shouldn't have any problems. As long as cell phones in truck don't interfere.... The kit was designed around SUV and CAR's, so the instructions are thinking you’re putting this in a trunk or rear of SUV, but outside the truck shouldn't be any different but you will need to seal the transmitter if you mount it outside like I am.

I will post more info when I complete this install and test it out.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Ran a vent line from my Tanks INC unit(rollover vent) to where the new gas filler will be ran in side of bed. I used a 9/32 vacuum line. I found this dorman vent cap at local auto parts store. Should do the trick. Used same line and dorman cap on axle vent. This line is kinda small, but it's what came with the Tanks INC pump unit I installed in my tank. So I ran it all the way up so it will be installed in same place the gas filler cap will be, but it will be secured higher than the cap. Once I get the rest of my parts to complete the gas filler setup and get to drive to pump and test it, I won't know if the 9/32 line will be large enough or not. If it's not, I have another 5/8" nipple on the tank I will use instead. But I will have to find a vent cap for that size of line, not sure if they make one that large...

.

I may have missed it, but wanted to offer my experience/learning. Thanks for sharing the dorman part. I'll be needing a couple of those.

It sounds like you created the vent tube for the tank (with rollover valve). This should be sufficient to purge the tank during heat cycling and normal fuel use. I would use low pressure fuel line for this, rather than vacuum hose. Even with vapor, I wouldn't expect the rubber to last very long with ethanol. You will also find that it will create a lot of fuel smell as it is more porous than fuel hose.

If you want to be able to fill the tank using a modern pump, you will want to use the 5/8" line and run it up to the filler neck above where the pump nozzle terminates when inserted.

I have a vanagon,and from the factory they have undersized filling vents. It means that the filler will puke fuel everywhere when it auto shuts off, even at low flow, and on some pumps it won't stay on.

[MDPotter]

I may have missed this earlier in your build, but what made you decide to use a rearview mirror/camera instead of a double din radio as your viewing tool?

[TA_C10]

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

I may have missed it, but wanted to offer my experience/learning. Thanks for sharing the dorman part. I'll be needing a couple of those.

It sounds like you created the vent tube for the tank (with rollover valve). This should be sufficient to purge the tank during heat cycling and normal fuel use. I would use low pressure fuel line for this, rather than vacuum hose. Even with vapor, I wouldn't expect the rubber to last very long with ethanol. You will also find that it will create a lot of fuel smell as it is more porous than fuel hose.

If you want to be able to fill the tank using a modern pump, you will want to use the 5/8" line and run it up to the filler neck above where the pump nozzle terminates when inserted.

I have a vanagon,and from the factory they have undersized filling vents. It means that the filler will puke fuel everywhere when it auto shuts off, even at low flow, and on some pumps it won't stay on.

I figured that. I will have to figure out 1 of 2 things now.

1. Can I somehow attach my large tank vent line to the custom gas filler tube somehow?

2. If number 1 is a no, what filter can I use to just attach to the vent line(1/2" or 5/8" are my 2 choices). And this filter can't be too large, it going in a small space.

Originally Posted by MDPotter

I may have missed this earlier in your build, but what made you decide to use a rearview mirror/camera instead of a double din radio as your viewing tool?

I wanted to keep the stock radio and dash look. That was main reason. When I build a console, I may mount a tablet in there but i'm on the fence with that idea still.

[TA_C10]

I just re-thunk this. #2 can't happen. That negates the rollover valve, fuel could get out in case of rollover. So #1 has to happen. Or a second rollover valve installed in the 5/8" vent.

[SkidmoreGarage]

I don't recall seeing your filler neck, but #1 can happen with most fillers. You can use a thread sealer (or threaded with epoxy) to install a 5/8" nipple (I have seen a 1/4 npt cast iron tee 90* mig welded to a steel filler). It doesn't carry pressure or liquid, so it doesn't need to be fancy. You also want to position it to avoid splashed liquid.

You can also weld a little pipe to the side of the filler as well.

[TA_C10]

It's one of those 2" flush mount marine gas caps. It's stainless steel I believe. I'm thinking maybe drill and tap it with a NPT 1/2" barbed 90 maybe? I could cut the NPT threads in half so it doesn't screw into the filler neck too far and use thread sealer to seal it.

[SkidmoreGarage]

That sounds like a plan. If you can get a steel fitting, you could tack it in place to prevent it from backing out.

Regarding the cutting of the thread, I wouldn't recommend it due to the taper cut of the threads. If you don't over drive the trap into the hole, and don't thread the elbow in to far, you should be set.