BUILD THREAD Rustier then I thought!!!

[RabbitHoleSS]

After spending the week finishing up the chassis, new bolts for the crossmember and brakes, verify transmission dipstick level is correct after shortening it, tightening down everything, I painted the crossmember with rattle can Duplicolor I had left over, installed the brake line flange gaskets

and made the rear brake lines, and some brackets to hold the rubber/metal line connection solid.

I tried to weld this bracket on the housing but I couldn't get it hot enough so I jb welded it on. I'll keep an eye on it but I tried to rip it off with vice grips and it didn't budge.

After all the double checking it was time to put the body back on. To say I was nervous is an understatement. To recap, I replaced the entire floor, entire roof, most of the backseat, both inner wheelhouse, 8 frame side body mounts. Both #2 ,#4, #5 and driver side #6 body side mounts. With a tape measure. Then put it on a redneck rotisserie for 2 yrs.So scared it wouldn't fit together right I was. My boy helped get it together and It was easy, dropped right on the guides and into place. Nothing hit, nothing needed cut out and moved. The hardest part was the washers in the prothane kit for #3 mounts holes weren't big enough. So the caged nut wouldn't fit into it. Once I figured that out it was smooth sailing.

I need a couple brackets for the rear brake lines still. 1 I'll buy for the axle tube. Then I'll make some for around the UCAs.

atleast 2" clearance for the crossmember and top of the transmission.

I'll admit it's kinda crappy spot for the dipstick, but I can reach it, it's out of sight and it was easy to make. I just cut it, and heated/bent it inward. The fuel line should tuck away nicely but im still gonna replace that loom with something better.

A/C box fits. Barely. It's been so long since this was together I found myself wandering if the ls sits back further then the sbc did. It looks like it , but I don't think it actually does.

My only issues is how high it sits in the back. It's a monster truck. I couldn't remember how it set but i found this old picture after i measured the spring(12")

so its stock in the back, and 2" drop spindles in the front. And the rear end+spacers are too wide. The tire sits right under the fender lip maybe a little outside of it.

Neither look is my thing. So I'm gonna get some new springs. I figure 9" springs would work. Also ill probably shorten/add 9" axle ends to an exploder axle this winter. Putting the doors and fenders on Today after family pictures. Hope to get it blocked out this weekend too.

 

[Tony1968]

You are moving along! Great job

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I had to take a break from thrashing and spend time with my family this month, but I've been doing little things here and there. I've got my gauges ready to be installed. I ordered a new water temp sensor since the needle broke, and voltmeter so I don't have to run 10g wired throughout the car for an ammeter. They'll all run through the gbody fuse box, including the lights.

I've been researching and labeling the wires on my dash harness. I'm using an uncut 86 monte ss dash harness instead of the Bonnie harness. That way I know it has all the circuits I need. The Bonnie harness was way thinner than the ss harness. I used a connector off the trucks i part out for the gauges. That way i can just disconnect them, instead of unscrewing the terminals in the dash, if i need to remove them.

I'm using a closed cell type foam for insulation instead of the jute. Both equally as flammable , we tested it. I got a bunch of it from a yard sale a few yrs ago. So im using it for the dash area and back qtr area.

I was able to combine my 2 body harness into a single unbroken/uncut harness. The gas pedal was simple to make. Cut the truck pedal at the bend, drill a hole, cut the monte pedal at the t and put it in the hole for welding. I just made marks at full travel and tacked her in place. I'll fully weld it when the Dash is in so I know for sure it'll work. I used the bottom hole on the truck pedal and drilled a 2nd above it. Feels solid.

Thanks to the info provided by SRD art I had already modified the passenger side for speed engineering headers.

The driver side i left alone but 1 of Injectedcutty threads talked about trimming the lca mount driver side. Which it needed. So after cutting a good portion of it out they "dropped" right in. They look really good though. Nice tig welds, thick flange and stainless steel for 300 bucks is hard to beat.

The brake line is really close to the header, so is the rubber from the lca. I want to make a heat shield but not sure what to make it out of. I'll probably have to remake the line but I'd still like to have a shield over it. They both line up with my crossmember nicely. Almost like I planned it lol.

Now I had planned to mount the doors,fenders to Block out but from what I understand it's really too late for that to do any good. I'm not welding on the door edges to perfect the lines etc. So I can just block out the parts individually, install them, spray 1 last stage of high build and block it out come spring. My plan is now to get the car back together except the glass, get it running. Then I'll just mask it off in the spring.

I plan on robbing 12v key, 12v, and ground from the gauge cluster connector. I assume the terminals with 2 wires in them need to stay untouched as it's like an in/back out situation. My real question is if I leave that unhooked up inside the dash, do I risk fire or electrical gremlins? I know the high beams, and turn signals run thru this piece, so I hope by leaving it intact they still work right. I also thought about cutting it off completely, soldering the double wires together and taping off the other unneeded gauge wires.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I've been dealing with all the wiring, so I started with the gauges again. I tapped into the oem dash harness for 12v light fuse,12v gauge fuse ,12v constant,fuel gauge, and the L/R turn signal, high beam indicators for an aftermarket speedo.

This is the only way I could figure out how to keep the gauges and dash easily removed from each other and the car. The connector on the right goes to the gauges, the left is obd,mil, and the oem dash harness wires I was robbing.
This connector is the tcc, and pnp wires.

Those come off the monte ecm connector. Purple is tcc, or/bl is pnp. And you ground out the bl/wt wire. 1 of these might need a relay to provide the opposite signal. I can't remember but I can put 1 in if needed.
I clipped the unnecessary bulkhead wires, and covered in liquid electric tape. I used the purple(starter), pink( 3x 12v key wires from pcm)lt tan(the brake light warning to the prop valve) the 2 reds I combined. My plan for those is to move them from the starter, to the other side of a slow blow fuse off the battery. They used to have inline fusible links. Do I need to put them back in?

I also wanted to be able to remove the harness easily. So I ran everything through those 2 connectors. I drew schematics for each connector and then a bigger picture view of everything. I think all the wires will fit thru the firewall in the square hole with a grommet.

I marine epoxied the fuse block and relays together, it somehow lines up with 2 threaded holes in the firewall. I'm gonna paint the white lol.
I ran the 10awg fuel pump wire off the relay thru the cabin and plan on drilling a hole in the trunk. If that's a fire hazard, or won't pass tech let me know please, because I can't find answer regarding safety.
All I had was 5 pin relays, I didn't pay attention when ordering off Amazon, didn't notice in time to return, plus they sent me 2 of everything in that order. So I used them. Cut 87a short and covered in liquid tape, but I think I'll marine epoxy over it instead..
These are the cruise wires for the monte, same colors as the 05 silverados harness. The only wire Idk where to hook, is the kup wire from the pcm. Set(blue) on(gray) accel(gray/bk)

My plan for pcm power was to plug in here on the factory fuse block. I wont have a/c at first either.

I also put new foam in the ductwork. My stepdad bought some for his door but was way too fat. So I repurposed it.

I remember 64nailhead saying I made a mistake with the electrical tape. Boy was he right. I made it basically unworkable. I had to heat it up in spots to get it to bend. Was a pita. Pretty sure I should just unwrap it. I ordered the cloth tape that goes with the nylon loom anyway. Another point someone made about solder vs crimp was spot on too. I soldered a connection and was able to rip the individual wires from the joint.Like the heat weakened them. Granted this took a ton of force but the crimped joint ripped the wire in half and left the joint together. Considering it takes 10% of the time vs soldering, I crimped everything. Also the flux leaves a residue behind and I wonder if it kick starts corrosion. Waiting rivnuts for the shifter. Pretty sure I'm gonna be able to use the 2004r cable, and mount since the holes match on the 80e.
I'm starting the dash cleaning process Tommorow. I want dark claret like it came with, so im gonna paint it before I install it again.

 

[64nailhead]

The solder vs crimp joint is quite a debate in many places. The secret to solder, imo, is supporting the joint with the heat shrink. This implies that you won’t be trying to bend the area of the solder joint.

Certain circuits can get away with poor connections, but many cannot. I.E. injector ground wires or anything that is PWM controlled. If you go with crimp only, then make sure you use a crimp tool that crimps every strand of wire. Both ways will work, crimp or solder, if they are performed correctly.

Looks like you’re getting close to firing it up which is GREAT!!!

The wire running through the trunk will pass any track tech without issue. But you still have to address the master disconnect.

Regarding your source for ECM power - I would not use the factory fuse block for the 12V supply, but rather use a really fused directly from either the battery or starter stud and have the relay triggered off from a 12v pin in the fuse box that is hot in run and crank (that’s how I’ve done all of mine). Reason for this is when things go wrong it’s much easier to isolate the source of the issue and it gets the PCM off from the factory fusible link. For example, if you burn up the fusible link, with my PCM power setup I described, then you know that you have a chassis issue and the car will still run if you manually trigger the PCM relay. Same goes for the fuel pump.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Thanks for the help. So this is how I have everything wired going into the new fuseblock.

Taking your advice I'll move the main power lead from the oem fuse block to the other terminal on my slow blow fuse. Although Im not understanding running a switched relay for the pcm power supply. I thought they had to be hooked to 12v constant.
I'm thinking my post was confusing though. That wire I was pointing at is to power the whole engine fuseblock,with a wire connected off it to the 2 orange wires on the pcm. The pink pcm wire is in with the rest of the pink wires.
The master disconnect is a fuel shut off switch visible outside the car correct? Does a ford inertia switch also count?
And concerning fusible links on the 2 red power wires off the starter to the fuse block, what are these in the circuit for? Mine are gone, I'm wondering if I need to get new ones.

Looks like you’re getting close to firing it up which is GREAT!!!

Yea. I need to decide how I'm gonna tune this thing. I know a guy who's done a few for my friends. He has a shop in North East Indiana(2hr away) It's $125 to unlock it, then I'd drive the car to him and for $300 he tunes it on the street. He doesn't have a dyno.
Or I buy hp tuners and try to teach myself something else. I also need the fuel pump module.
I looked into the tcc/brake switch wiring. I think I can wire a relay in like this to trigger lockup. From what I understand the gbody brake switch is normally closed, but the ls pcm wants it open when the brake pedal is pressed.

 

[64nailhead]

The brake switch used for cruise control is normally closed. They are cheap. Or you can use a relay to reverse the voltage.

The master disconnect has to make the car shut off - it’s electrical, not a mechanical fuel switch.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Right on. The gbody switch is opposite of whats needed so I was also considering using a 4th gen fbody switch. I think that's what Injectedcutty did in his swap.
I also need some help figuring out where this plugs in

It's the opposite end of the 3rd brake light wiring, and I can't remember where it goes.

 

[Flyers9928]

The solder vs crimp joint is quite a debate in many places. The secret to solder, imo, is supporting the joint with the heat shrink. This implies that you won’t be trying to bend the area of the solder joint.

Certain circuits can get away with poor connections, but many cannot. I.E. injector ground wires or anything that is PWM controlled. If you go with crimp only, then make sure you use a crimp tool that crimps every strand of wire. Both ways will work, crimp or solder, if they are performed correctly.

Looks like you’re getting close to firing it up which is GREAT!!!

The wire running through the trunk will pass any track tech without issue. But you still have to address the master disconnect.

Regarding your source for ECM power - I would not use the factory fuse block for the 12V supply, but rather use a really fused directly from either the battery or starter stud and have the relay triggered off from a 12v pin in the fuse box that is hot in run and crank (that’s how I’ve done all of mine). Reason for this is when things go wrong it’s much easier to isolate the source of the issue and it gets the PCM off from the factory fusible link. For example, if you burn up the fusible link, with my PCM power setup I described, then you know that you have a chassis issue and the car will still run if you manually trigger the PCM relay. Same goes for the fuel pump.

Standard makes a crimp connector that has heat shrink on either end. They work amazeballs!