55.2-59 Help please.....door hinge, coolant reservoir, horn wiring

[Missyblue]

I'm hoping to get this girl on the road and hitting a few road blocks so need the experts!!!! We got gauges all working except speedo so far so pretty huge victory there! And she starts and runs for 90 seconds and dies so working on relays haha but my next jobs I'm a little stuck.......

1. Hinge.....top bolt is missing the nut on the backside...looks like they cut part of the hinge area out to accommodate.....am I good to just try and get a nut back there with a wrench somehow......debated like a jb weld but worried I'll get it in the threads.........although my dad has a tap.kit if I do 🤔 I also have several in my bumper bullets that will be this same problem...

2. Coolant reservoir......any reason i shouldn't put it here? Havent seen the truck fully together so trying to understand what might attach onto the filler panel....theres lots of holes in it haha.....I have a 1957 if that makes a difference

3. I have a 1979 gm van column and a aftermarket wiring harness......is this the wire for the horn? I have a 3 prong horn plug off the wiring kit but dont know if these tiny wires are meant to be for that or cruise control haha. They have a plug that looks like the plug when I google a new horn harness for the year......basically any help on horn wiring and also horn placement would be appreciated.......I'm almost done with rear wiring so researching front.

4. Also going to drill holes for seatbelts......how do you not accidentally drill through to the sky haha.....someone said maybe I can tape the drill bit for the shallow depth between metal layers?

Thanks!

[dsraven]

hinge- there should be an access panel on the inside of the kickpanel just inside the door. you can possibly get a not on the back side from there. you can weld a stiff wire onto the nut if you cant get your fingers in there and maybe use that to position it. jb weld will harden up and then you won't be able to move the nut for hinge adjustment. originally the nut was a cage nut, a square nut that is held in place by a sheet metalcage around it. they are available from the fastener supply places so you could repair it back to a useable stock state. if the hole you have in the sheet metal is square, you could simply buy the cage nut with the sheet metal cage that snaps into that square hole.
https://questmanufacturing.net/produ...-silver-50-pk/

bumper bullet mounting nuts-for siezed and broken off bolts try heating the nut to red hot and let it sit to cool off to room temp. the hit it with some penetrating oil. if there is any of the broken off bolt sticking out file or grind it flat and center punch a mark in the middle. drill into that with a small bit. then drill larger until it will fit an easy out. you can try to remove it now with the easy out but if it is still too tight remove the easy out and heat the nut till red hot, quickly install the easy out and try removing the bolt again. usually works. if it doesn't get the easy out out of the hole before it gets too hot and loses it's temper. try the heat and easy out thing again. worse case scenario just drill the hole out and tap it or cut the nut off and weld a new one on, or drill right through the old nut with a bigger bit so the bolr slides right through and weld a new nut onto the end of the old one so the old nut will act as a spacer

coolant reservoir- that spot should work fine. ensure you have a rad cap and rad filler neck that match for a closed system and good seal on the hose that connects the two. also the correct pressure rad cap, likely 15-16 lbs. if using a stock old truck rad also ensure it will take that kinda pressure

horn wiring- the horn button simply grounds the horn relay so it will turn on and honk the horn. I think the horn wire from the column is black or maybe dark green. that is from memory so don't take it for gospel. you could easily test to see which one is a ground when you hit the horn button on the steering wheel.
here is a thread on horn stuff that may help
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=787400

seat belt hole drilling-try a step drill, they drill nice round holes but also stop you from busting through and drilling into something behind your hole, as long as you take it easy.
something to think about would be reinforcing the sheet metal behind the seat belt mount so it will actually hold your body weight should an accident happen, you don't want the bolt to pull through. ensure to use adaquate thickness steel under the nut on the back side
are you planning on lap belts or shoulder harness style?
if drilling through a muli-layered floor area, like where the old seat used to bolt on, ensure to use a tube inside the air space between layers so when you tighten down the fasteners it doesn't just crush the layers down. use a good sized wall thickness on the tube as well.
https://www.irwin.com/tools/drill-bi...eel-step-drill

[Hcb3200]

In your wiring picture the horn wire will be the black one on the far left of the wiring block. it will be the ground to the relay to then make the ground connection to the horn if normally wired.

[Hcb3200]

That wire in you picture I believe will be dash light connection for column shifters that have some backlit stuff in steering column. based on some research.

DSRAVEN great post clear and detailed and to the point

[_Ogre]

Since your truck has a stock type radiator with a top/bot tank, you really don't need a coolant overflow tank. Just run with coolant an inch down from the top. All the tubes are covered, so the radiator is working 100%. By all means, run it if you want it.

[mr48chev]

All GM steering columns from 1969 and maybe earlier have The same basic color code for the base functions. The later ones with more widgets and gadgets on the column have more wires and what amount to add on plugs. Those might plug into the A-E part of that plug.

As Ogre said, with that radiator with the correct coolant level that jug is just a barf jug in case it does overflow but the radiator shouldn't have any coolant getting past the cap if everythign is setup right. A good thing to have though as it keep antifreeze from getting on the ground or floor where you don't want it to be.

The horn relay you are looking for fits many 77/88 GM cars and trucks a good number to hunt with is STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS HR151
Using the rock auto cheat sheet.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...orn+relay,3468

It has little notches for the tabs on the plug.

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

hinge- there should be an access panel on the inside of the kickpanel just inside the door. you can possibly get a not on the back side from there. you can weld a stiff wire onto the nut if you cant get your fingers in there and maybe use that to position it. jb weld will harden up and then you won't be able to move the nut for hinge adjustment. originally the nut was a cage nut, a square nut that is held in place by a sheet metalcage around it. they are available from the fastener supply places so you could repair it back to a useable stock state. if the hole you have in the sheet metal is square, you could simply buy the cage nut with the sheet metal cage that snaps into that square hole.
https://questmanufacturing.net/produ...-silver-50-pk/

Thank you! Yeah I'm realizing that one was also a cage nut I forgot. I need to find those alignment threads I saved and remember how to try ro make ut all work. Mine definitely hang wonky but missing like 5 bolts so makes sense haha. Didnt realise I could find it on the inside access panel. Have to take a peek.

My bumper bullets are just missing the nut again and it seems you cant hold it from what I remember when I tried to put them on like 2 years ago haha.

Originally Posted by dsraven

coolant reservoir- that spot should work fine. ensure you have a rad cap and rad filler neck that match for a closed system and good seal on the hose that connects the two. also the correct pressure rad cap, likely 15-16 lbs. if using a stock old truck rad also ensure it will take that kinda pressure

Ok great! It's a champion radiator and it came with the cap so hoping it works right.

Originally Posted by dsraven

horn wiring- the horn button simply grounds the horn relay so it will turn on and honk the horn. I think the horn wire from the column is black or maybe dark green. that is from memory so don't take it for gospel. you could easily test to see which one is a ground when you hit the horn button on the steering wheel.
here is a thread on horn stuff that may help
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=787400

Awesome I'll check it out! I have a black and a green I think on the Column harness

Originally Posted by dsraven

seat belt hole drilling-try a step drill, they drill nice round holes but also stop you from busting through and drilling into something behind your hole, as long as you take it easy.
something to think about would be reinforcing the sheet metal behind the seat belt mount so it will actually hold your body weight should an accident happen, you don't want the bolt to pull through. ensure to use adaquate thickness steel under the nut on the back side
are you planning on lap belts or shoulder harness style?
if drilling through a muli-layered floor area, like where the old seat used to bolt on, ensure to use a tube inside the air space between layers so when you tighten down the fasteners it doesn't just crush the layers down. use a good sized wall thickness on the tube as well.
https://www.irwin.com/tools/drill-bi...eel-step-drill

I have shoulder belts for the side and lap for the middle. I did buy good hardware and they come with reinforcing plates for the shoulder and floor like you see from
Here
https://www.wescoperformance.com/3poremokit.html
I wasnt sure yet how they would measure up to the location of the original seat used to bolt. Guess I kinda thought I would go behind that point.....or in front......

And I love my step drill....I guess I do have pretty good control just have to see depth I have to get for the 7/16th bolt and see how deep the drill bit goes. I also still usually do a pilot hole before using it too

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by Hcb3200

In your wiring picture the horn wire will be the black one on the far left of the wiring block. it will be the ground to the relay to then make the ground connection to the horn if normally wired.

Ok awesome thanks! I did have to rewire a new plug but I kept everything the same.

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Since your truck has a stock type radiator with a top/bot tank, you really don't need a coolant overflow tank. Just run with coolant an inch down from the top. All the tubes are covered, so the radiator is working 100%. By all means, run it if you want it.

Ok thanks. Yeah indebated not but we have all kinds of critters and just didnt want to worry about it puking coolant at home for some reason. We had a 72 for awhile that didnt but I have had bad radiator and coolant luck lately so figured precautionary haha. Plus my dad tried to train me to check fluids often but figure this would give me a little wiggle room on that

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

All GM steering columns from 1969 and maybe earlier have The same basic color code for the base functions. The later ones with more widgets and gadgets on the column have more wires and what amount to add on plugs. Those might plug into the A-E part of that plug.

As Ogre said, with that radiator with the correct coolant level that jug is just a barf jug in case it does overflow but the radiator shouldn't have any coolant getting past the cap if everythign is setup right. A good thing to have though as it keep antifreeze from getting on the ground or floor where you don't want it to be.

The horn relay you are looking for fits many 77/88 GM cars and trucks a good number to hunt with is STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS HR151
Using the rock auto cheat sheet.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...orn+relay,3468

It has little notches for the tabs on the plug.

Oh gosh this makes so much more sense. I think my kit came with a new relay. I just had it in my head the original one I removed was in the engine bay and couldnt process what went where. But i guess i just plug that relay into the relay terminal plug which is now in the cab that i pictured. Thanks!

[dsraven]

if using a shoulder belt and you are looking for a possible mount point you could look at some newer vehicles with an adjustable shoulder mount point. these attach with what boils down to a rail that attaches to the cab with a couple of bolts and then the shoulder belt attaches to that with a height adjustable part. it will be tough to get behind the corner sheet metal but possibly a preformed bracket with the nut(s) welded to it and a short stud threaded into the nut(s) could be fished up using a wire that goes through the attachment hole and then is attached to the stud. draw the stud up through the hole, hold it with some needle nose pliers while you install a flat spring clip to the stud to hold it in place until you can install the rest of the parts. remove the wire after the part is in place and held with the flat spring.
here os a link to an example of a spring clip retainer. its for a brake rotor but you get the idea
https://www.idparts.com/rotor-retain...30-p-6101.html

[_Ogre]

Most of the aftermarket harnesses have the horn relay on the fuse panel. You have 2 wires, 1 to the horn and the ground to the horn button. The ground should be in the steering column bundle of wires.

[dsraven]

maybe you could fish in something like this for your seat belt shoulder harness anchor. something you could build yourself.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/o...hoCn60QAvD_BwE