#3 The Sickness Continues

[Captainfab]

I've had to mess with the brass contacts in the turn signal switch before. I spent many hours trying to figure out a tail light/turnsignal issue, and all it was, was the brass contacts were messed up inside the switch. Never could figure out how that happened inside the switch

[protrash64]

I hear ya Cap'n...I took apart the column three times in two days...sometimes it pays off.

[protrash64]

Being that I've had a bunch of positive outcomes on my last wiring projects I decided to fix my back-up lights. I pulled out the harness from the rear and cleaned it up. I Armor-All the wire as it seems to recondition the jackets; anybody know how to recondition wire?? I found some housings that I had for 10 years and they were ready to go. I cleaned up the sockets and installed new bulbs.

On the inside the original harness was intact but not working due to the column shift being disconnected somewhere along the line. I just unplugged the line on the firewall and added a loop from my fuse block thru the B&M shifter and fed the original plug. After messing with some grounding on the housings they worked just fine.

A few pics of the stuff.

[lolife99]

You do good work.
Your progress motivates me to get somthing done.

[bubba327]

You cannot really re-condition wire . The oils in the insulation deteriorate over time and that is what makes the jacket brittle and crack. Armour-all may help if it is not dried out too bad.
New stranded commercial electrical wiring is insulation class THHW / THHN-2 which is gasoline and oil resistant and somewhat sunlight resistant.

I added a ground wire to the frame of the back-up light and on each one of the turn signals and grounded each to the frame.
A good heavy wire with soldered connections(and heat shrink tube) clean sockets and a good ground will have reliable bright lights . Most lighting problems are usually due to bad grounds and poor connections on old trucks.

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by lolife99

You do good work.
Your progress motivates me to get somthing done.

Thanx again, lolife!! It keeps getting easier; spare parts go on this truck...changed my mind and that stuff gets used on the other!! You've got three so you know what I'm sayin'.

Originally Posted by bubba327

You cannot really re-condition wire . The oils in the insulation deteriorate over time and that is what makes the jacket brittle and crack. Armour-all may help if it is not dried out too bad.
New stranded commercial electrical wiring is insulation class THHW / THHN-2 which is gasoline and oil resistant and somewhat sunlight resistant.

I added a ground wire to the frame of the back-up light and on each one of the turn signals and grounded each to the frame.
A good heavy wire with soldered connections(and heat shrink tube) clean sockets and a good ground will have reliable bright lights . Most lighting problems are usually due to bad grounds and poor connections on old trucks.

I use THHN every day and had no idea it was auto spec now. I had thought about using WD-40 on the wire but didnt want the oily mess. The Armor-All was an attempt at trying to put some life back in the wire.

The grounding path from the bulb to the body on these trucks passes thru too many pieces for my taste. I 100% agree with the added ground wires.

[bubba327]

I do not know if THHN is auto spec or not, I know it is usable and works just fine

[Doug19]

THHN is not for autos. You should be using something like GXL for automotive purposes.

[6flee3]

signs of the sickness ... often browse these Chevy Truck sites and download 100's of pictures of awsome trucks ... look at Craigs list and dream of buying all the old Chevy trucks ... spend money I don't have improving my 63 Fleet ... screen saver on computer displays 100's of different Chevy Trucks randomly ... wife says I have a problem ... hmmm and I don't think there is a cure? Well at least I'm not alone!

[bubba327]

Originally Posted by Doug19

THHN is not for autos. You should be using something like GXL for automotive purposes.

This may be true.. But I am a master electrician and can always find THHN-2/THWN in any gauge and any color I need in the scrap box at work.
And the price is FREE!!
Have not ever had a problem using it on autos or tractors.
I will check out the GXL so I will know about it.

Update---
THHN has a thicker insulation and a gasoline /oil resistant jacket but is rated at 90*C dry
GXL is auto spec for Ford,GM and Chrysler and has a higher 125*C temp rating
Actual conductive Wire is dimensionally the same with the same stranding.
Difference is in the insulation jacket

[protrash64]

From living in the desert I know that 40*C roughly equals 100*F. Seems like THHN would work just fine.

I wonder what the rating is on the stuff from Autozone. I have also seen some DC auto amperage charts and most THHN would be overkill in a car as far as I'm aware.

[protrash64]

Threw on some gas shocks last weekend and then used 'em for the first trip to Home Depot this morning. I'm expanding some shade in the backyard as the summer is approaching!!!

[bubba327]

I hear ya . I was in Yuma AZ two weeks ago and It was over 100* when I left town..
It was snowing the next night when I pulled in to Ely Nevada

[AZ66GMC]

The ride's looking good

I bet it was a fun trip to HD




Tony
Posted via Mobile Device

[protrash64]

It was fun!!! Made three trips this weekend and it was great to drive the '66. It's funny loading up stuff next to the sea of Duramax and Superduty trucks.

[protrash64]

I haven't been on here lately 'cuz I've been working out of town and doing yard projects.....the '66 has hauled a bunch of stuff but the speedo hasn't worked so I decided to fix it.

Picked up a cluster from hickuppickup(Rob) and tore mine out. I found it was working; just that the needle was in 3 pieces inside the housing. I ended up swapping just the odometer and speedo portion to my cluster as I liked my temp gauge better; it has 2 curved blue lines as opposed to 1 blue straight line. I also know all the stuff works, too. Painted up the pointers and am now painting the bezel silver. My bezel is really warped!!....how does that happen??

Anyway, here are a few pics...next is the heater control.

[lolife99]

Glad to see an update!
I like this truck build.

[daverod]

I was begining to think you died and dried up. Good to see you working on the truck.

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Glad to see an update!
I like this truck build.

Originally Posted by daverod

I was begining to think you died and dried up. Good to see you working on the truck.

Thanx guys.....I pop in and look over stuff once and awhile but I decided to use the summer for doing other stuff and my work has eaten up too much of my time and energy.

This truck has been very reliable and a lot of fun to drive around. I'm waiting for fall and some temps to moderate so I can work on more truck projects.

[Dinos63]

nice work kat, glad your back

[SBTork]

very cool truck, I like your style

[Captainfab]

Good to see you back

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by SBTork

very cool truck, I like your style

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Good to see you back

Thanx very much guys....here's the latest. 20% off from Classic Industries and I ordered a new gauge bezel and new knobs. Also got the new wiper switch. Parts info first.

New dash bezel; doesn't fit. The locating pins are too large and need to be filed down. You may need to enlarge the holes in the gauge tin cover. I also filed the edge of the plexi to fit in the new bezel. FYI.

Also, the wiper switch in Classic Industries catalog doesn't tell you that it has the button for the washer. It does, its pictured correctly. Works good too!

I ordered the knobs with stainless to match my cig lighter. They are not exact copies of the original but fine for me. Just letting everyone know as some people like things completely original. We all know how this re-pop stuff is...


Here are pics of the parts. Painted the bezel Duplicolor chrome which looks like aluminum to me. Polished the plexi with plastic polish to get out the scratches and cleaned all the dirt out. Reassembled and see what it looks like. Nice to hear this fire up after a month of sitting...just need to check the dash lights when it gets darker. I will be driving around this weekend

[mosesburb]

Looks great man!! Nice job!!

[protrash64]

Thanx!! The speedo works and it appears Im in business.

After doing this I had an idea. I would like to use the button on the wiper switch to activate a washer pump in a newer style washer bottle. Anybody think of a bottle that would lend itself to being adapted to a 60-66 underhood area? I had a '90 p/u with the set-up Im thinking of and wonder if it would work. Chime in if you can think of one.