Manual doors to power doors

[namkyoo98]

Is there alot involved with upgrading from manual doors to power doors on an 86 silverado? One guy told me that these trucks are prewired if you want to upgrade to power windows/locks.
If it is possible is it very complicated to do?

[nbpro]

did a google search this some of what i was reading
There is no wiring, no relays, and no fuses. You're on your own up a creek as far as that is concerned.
That said... new door locks are easy... just drill & install actuators a few inches from the lock- a little bent hook clamped to the existing bar is all it needs. You can pickup power from in the dash console, or you can bring it through the firewall (You'll want power thats live at all times, which the ignition has). Windows are pretty easy also... unbolt existing crank mechanism, the arms are just in tracks, and they will slide out the end of the rails.
note this all from a installation kit



good read also
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=148263

[BLE 'BURBAN]

You will need to drill 4 holes, 1 in each door and one in each door jamb. If you look carefully at the door jambs in front of the doors and at the front leading edges of the doors you will see 3 dimples at each location aligned vertically. the center ones you will need a 1 1/2" bi-metal hole saw to open them up the top and bottom dimples are for the retaining screws for the boots covering the wiring from the doors to the body.

You will need to get the window regulators, wiring harness's for each door, as well as the harness that runs from side to side under the dash. Disconnect everything off your favorite donor. making note of where the harness plugs into the fuse block for the power windows. If you're installing power door locks as well,make sure you get the relay for them that's mounted just above the "GO-PEDAL" When you install it make sure its mounted to a good ground otherwise the locks won't work. You will also need the door lock pull rods from the donor doors since the bottom ends of them are longer to reach thru the lock solenoids as well as the lock mechanism.
When I upgraded mine 3 years ago, I couldn't find any of the lockrods anywheres up here and they are no longer available from GM or LMC so I had to make my own out of a piece of 3ft long metal rod the same diameter as my original lockrods. A little bending,measuring,more bending, cutting and threading and about an hour later I had 2 perfectly good homemade lockrods that are still in use today.

[motornut]

just a note that my 87 with manual windows and power locks, seems they wired them diff than with both power.colours not the same and wires in plugs in dif locations but if your doing a whole swap should be ok,i tried following and testing and gave up went to maual in fixing my 85

[68 TT]

I just picked up a set of front doors off a Suburban and grabbed the cross over harness assembly too. The power window & lock harness is independent of the dash wiring so it is easy to remove from the donor.

I needed a better driver side door anyway so why not. Got sport mirrors to go with them too. I will need to paint them to match my truck but the truck needs repainted anyway so why not upgrade at the same time.

It was a simple matter to disconnect & remove the extra wires in the harness for the rear doors. I will just have to put a two window switch into the driver door to replace the four window control switch.

The cross over harness makes three connections to the truck, two at the fuse panel and one on the ground tree next to the cluster. Pretty straight forward. There were different connectors used depending upon if you have glass fuses or blade type fuses. I just soldered on the right connector ends to fit my older fuse panel.

[joebuick]

Hey 68 TT,, I was looking at installing power windows on my 80 K10 and have a 88 Suburban picked out to be the donor. I hope to use the harness off the front window motors and will wire these up to the fuse box. I have not had a look at the harness yet, but won't the motors just need 2 hot wires and one ground thru the switch? I'm still looking for a 2 button switch for the driver's door.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by joebuick

Hey 68 TT,, I was looking at installing power windows on my 80 K10 and have a 88 Suburban picked out to be the donor. I hope to use the harness off the front window motors and will wire these up to the fuse box. I have not had a look at the harness yet, but won't the motors just need 2 hot wires and one ground thru the switch? I'm still looking for a 2 button switch for the driver's door.

Once you get the rear door wiring taken out of the harness it is pretty easy to see how it works. All color coded by function. The front & rear doors all have their own connector coming out of the driver side door harness so it is just a matter of sorting out the rear door wiring and pulling it out. Just a few connections that need to be cut where they are shared with the front door wiring.

I think your 80 still has glass fuses so you will probably have to alter the cross over harness connector ends like I did to make the connection to your fuse panel.

K5 Blazers, full size vans, midsize Chevy cars like the Monte Carlo and second gen F-bodies use the two button switches too in addition to the trucks.

The BOP cars tend to have the buttons integrated into the door panel design but you might get lucky with one of them too, probably a late 60's & early 70's version before they started getting more plush.

You can grab the glass fuse panel connectors for the cross over harness & relay off of one of the older cars and solder them into your 88 Suburban donor harness to make it work.

[soule64]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

Once you get the rear door wiring taken out of the harness it is pretty easy to see how it works. All the power goes through the relay and is fed to the motors. Color coded by function. The front & rear doors all have their own connector coming out of the driver side door harness so it is just a matter of sorting out the rear door wiring and pulling it out. Just a few connections that need to be cut where they are shared with the front door wiring.

I may be wrong, but I think the power for the window motors is a straight shot from the fuse. I did the door and harness swap a while back and forgot to ground the relay. The windows worked fine, but not the locks. Once I grounded the relay everything worked fine. Here's a pic of the harness:

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by soule64

I may be wrong, but I think the power for the window motors is a straight shot from the fuse. I did the door and harness swap a while back and forgot to ground the relay. The windows worked fine, but not the locks. Once I grounded the relay everything worked fine. Here's a pic of the harness:

You are right. That is what I get for trying to remember something I did a year ago without looking at it again.

[Orange77]

This is all good info guys but wouldnt it be easier to order a universal kit from a place like the hoffmangroup "autoloc"...they have power window kits http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...c=powerwindows power door kits http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...powerdoorlocks they even have this cool think that mounts like a window crank handle but is powered http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...ricwindowcrank

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Orange77

This is all good info guys but wouldnt it be easier to order a universal kit from a place like the hoffmangroup "autoloc"...they have power window kits http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...c=powerwindows power door kits http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...powerdoorlocks they even have this cool think that mounts like a window crank handle but is powered http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...ricwindowcrank

Probably the same amount of work or a bit less to put in one of their kits vs. installing a set of stock power window regulators into your existing doors but at twice the cost. $200 for the universal kit vs. under $100 for a pair of doors off a Suburban from a pull it yourself wrecking yard.

After the initial install another window motor will run you less than $10 used and is as close as the junkyard away. Who knows what it would take with a universal kit if a motor went out.

If power windows were not so common on square bodies then it would be another story. Try finding stock used power window regulator parts for a 68 Camaro. My entire truck cost less than what a set for my Camaro goes for.

[soule64]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

Probably the same amount of work or a bit less to put in one of their kits vs. installing a set of stock power window regulators into your existing doors but at twice the cost. $200 for the universal kit vs. under $100 for a pair of doors off a Suburban from a pull it yourself wrecking yard.

After the initial install another window motor will run you less than $10 used and is as close as the junkyard away. Who knows what it would take with a universal kit if a motor went out.

If power windows were not so common on square bodies then it would be another story. Try finding stock used power window regulator parts for a 68 Camaro. My entire truck cost less than what a set for my Camaro goes for.

Absolutely! I spent $100 on junkyard doors that were mint, $10 for the crossover harness (only because I didn't know to pull it at the same time...) and a few hours of labor and I had it wired in. It is too easy as long as you check all of the information on this board.

[thirdstreettito]

Your best bet is to do what I did with my burb. I bought a parts burb that had power doors, and put them on. I had a friend do it in trade for painting his house. Im not sure what all was involved but I do know that it is MUCH easier than putting power stuff in a manual door.

[soule64]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

You are right. That is what I get for trying to remember something I did a year ago without looking at it again.

Ha! I have those moments too! You have to understand, I wired mine up when it was like 20 degrees in my garage last winter. After all of the the cursing was over and I realized that it was a ground problem... Well... It is sort of ingrained in my memory...

[joebuick]

You know,,, after reading all this good info,,,I'm going to do like thirdstreettito,,,,I'm going back and make the owner of the parts burb a lump sum offer for the whole thing. Then just swap out the doors and run some new power wires. this is a GMC, so will have to figure something out with the door panels. And,,,,,I think it also has power door locks,,!! My 80 was air conditioned but condensor and hoses are gone and the burb has all that too. Hmmmmm.
One more question,,, this burb had a 350 engine and auto. Engine is gone but tranny still there. What trannys were available in these? Too bad this wasn't a 4X4.

[thirdstreettito]

If its an 88 with auto its most likely a 700R4. Could be a TH400, but I doubt it, being that there was a 350 in front. Plus you get the wiring harness and all from the 88, and whatever else it has to offer.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

If its an 88 with auto its most likely a 700R4. Could be a TH400, but I doubt it, being that there was a 350 in front. Plus you get the wiring harness and all from the 88, and whatever else it has to offer.

I have seen quite a few 87-up 3/4-ton Suburbans with the T-400 and TBI 350. Not quite as many with a 454, maybe 25% as many.

If it is a half ton Suburban it most likely has a 700R4.

[namkyoo98]

Thanks everyone for the info! I am new to restoring a vehicle as this is my 1st one. I have been to several salvage yards and have yet to find any manual doors in good enough shape. I have came across power doors so I am leaning towards doing this. I am just not sure what wires I need to pull out of the junk yard truck. Mainly the ones under the dash.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by namkyoo98

Thanks everyone for the info! I am new to restoring a vehicle as this is my 1st one. I have been to several salvage yards and have yet to find any manual doors in good enough shape. I have came across power doors so I am leaning towards doing this. I am just not sure what wires I need to pull out of the junk yard truck. Mainly the ones under the dash.

The power window cross over harness and door lock relay are on their own separate little harness under the dash that is separate from the main under dash harness. It is easy to spot and pull out of the truck. The relay is a little tough to get out but not too bad.

The hardest thing is getting the accordion like grommet that connects the doors to the body off the truck as some of them are riveted in place while others are screwed in place. My gasket scraper and a hammer took care of the rivets pretty easily. Get those loose and the wires pulled out of the cab before you pull the door hinge bolts and drop the door as you could damage the wiring if you tried to drop the door first.

Take a friend with you if you can so they can help hold the door when you are pulling the bolts out so you don't damage the door.