66 4x4 my sons new project

[argonaut]

Hey guys. I have been working steadily on the truck when I have a few free hours here and there. The main focus has been the wiring lately. I had bits and pieces of stock wiring harnesses but decided on going with all new and bought the classic update kit from AAW. Overall I like the kit and some of their reworked wire routing but I still managed to find a few things I didn't love. So I cut and moved things around, reused some factory connectors and got it mostly how I want it.



Can't upload pics right now but its come together pretty well. At this point all I need to do is wire up the rear lights. Also need to install the backup switch into the sm465 and cut the holes in the bed for the backup lights. I decided I didn't like the factory rear license plate holder so I just bolted the plate to the rear bed panel and used some LED bolts.

Also found the every spare horn I could find between my stash and my dad's stash were dead. I searched and found a pair of Hella horns for around $30 so bought those and mounted them in front of the core support just behind the upper part of the front panel. One is 400Mhz and the other 500Mhz and the dual tone is pretty good. But holy crap are they loud! Its probably amplified by all the in insulated or damped sheet metal of the truck but dang ill tell you it will scare the pee out of anyone withing sight!



Once the dash and engine harnesses went in I couldn't resist. I topped up the coolant and the oil, tightened all clamps and fuel line fittings, threw in a new AGM battery from Azone and cranked her. Once the fuel got flowing Big Ugly fired right up! Although it was pretty dang loud with open manifolds so I didn't run it long.



I also discovered that my heater core had split a leak right where the inlet tube is soldered to the end cap. Well my attempts to clean and resolder failed. But I figured what the heck and drove to Truck Shop to pick up a new one. Got it home and found out that the inlet tube wasn't tall enough to fit the little brace that clamps to the tubes on top of the deluxe heater box. Since I'm horribly picky (anal retentive) I just couldn't handle it. I pressure tested my recirculating air heater core then installed it. Reconnected the hoses and fires the motor up again. No leaks so I'll run this heater until I can find an appropriate deluxe heater core.




I bought a battery tray, without the sides, from Classic Industries for a 67-72 pickup. Those years use a wedge clamp at the base rather than the top clamp on 60-66. I drilled the spot welds and tacked the new tray into my battery box. Looks a lot cleaner now with my AGM battery clamped at the base and using side post terminals. I'll post up some pics in a day or two when I get back to my laptop.



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[argonaut]

Originally Posted by 71cheynne402

Where did u get your 402 air breather sticker
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The sticker came from Truck Shop in Orange, CA. Look at the back or the catalog. They've got several different options for decals, some replicas some not. I don't think this decal was ever made from the factory but it fit on my air cleaner and looks pretty good, I think.
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[argonaut]

Oh, I did a little minor, unimpressive interior work too. Cut holes in the door panels and mounted some arm rests. I hated it when passengers would yank on the door latch handle to pull the door closed! Grrr



I also did some research and found that a 63 Impala ignition switch has the same pin configuration as our trucks, but is a five position switch, including a true "accessory only" position: ACC-LOCK-UNLOCK-RUN-START. Pretty sweet; I always hated not having an ACC position. Funny though now that I think about it as I don't currently have plans to put a radio in the truck




I also cut up an old cigarette lighter housing in an attempt to illuminate the ignition switch similarly to the impalas. Alas it doesn't illuminate inside the lock cylinder very well, and it casts a lot of light off beneath the dash. I'll try reworking it a little more and see what happens. I'll probably have to cover the bulb better and widen the slot in the ignition switch housing if possible.

I'm pretty happy with my gauge cluster too!




You can see just an itty bitty bit of light in the ignition.

[Zane M]

Things are coming along nicely!

[1985-GMC]

Looks good man!

Hey I don't know if it would work but the square bodies use a fiber optic line from the back of a instrument cluster bulb to light up the ash tray and the 67-72 trucks do the same thing for the auto shift indicator. Maybe you could try something like that if the bulb back there doesn't work out.
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[argonaut]

Bled the master cylinder and calipers after work tonight. The bleeding was pretty painless but I did have a few leaking fittings. One of the stainless steel hard-line to hose-end connections just doesn't seem to want to fully seal so I might have to pull the line out and see why. Kind of annoying since all the others sealed up just fine.
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[argonaut]

I also called long beach muffler for a quote on a dual exhaust pipes. They wanted $550 just to bend a couple pipes! And that's without even supplying any mufflers since I already have them... unbelievable. I figured maybe a couple hundred for two pipes and turn downs in front of the rear axle. Maybe I'm just crazy thinking that it should be that cheap. I'm thinking of buying one of those kits with various mandrel bent bends and straights and fabricating the exhaust myself.
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[C/10 King]

Outstanding Jason!!!!! Are you ready for the "Brothers Show"?

[argonaut]

Not quite ready yet, but close. I'll be ready in a couple of weeks.
Exhaust and some wiring will get me there.

[RANDY COX]

Hey Jason,I see your coming along,I really like the dash with tach&vacumm gauge panel....Hey I like Big-Ugly...

[duallyjams]

Buy the kit with the mandrel bends, that's how the exhaust was done on my dually.

[argonaut]

I think you're right James. I'll try my hand at fitting and welding it myself.

I've done one exhaust system before, but it was stainless and I had a tig welder and argon to purge with.
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[argonaut]

Picked up a couple new (to me) doors and fenders last weekend from 66 Burban at Pomona. Put them on today.



I'm putting the other doors back on my 64 C10, where they came from. I'm putting that truck back together as a little run-around-town truck for my mom to use to get her gardening stuff.

I have been working on some final wiring details under the dash. I pulled the gauge cluster back out and while it was out I adapted in an early 80's Camaro voltmeter. I've been wanting to do this because my wiring isn't set up for an ammeter and I think a voltmeter will be more useful. It turned out to be pretty easy. I sliced a section out of the mounting bucket then tack welded the top back on. Then I was able to drill a couple holes and bolt up the new volt meter. I swapped gauge faces and needles, epoxied both of them on.







Trial fit it in a spare parts cluster i have before putting it in the good cluster. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

[argonaut]

Got a big box from UPS this past week, containing all the mandrel bends and flanges and other parts I needed to make my exhaust. Spent a few hours this weekend getting things trimmed and tacked together.



I'm making the system with multiple sections so that it can be more easily pulled apart and taken out in the case that I need to get in to service the drivetrain. I hate having an exhaust system that can only be cut out.



I still need to put in a few hangers, flex pipes and crossover "H" pipe, but for now these duals with turn downs will suffice to get me to the Brother's show at the end of the month.

[argonaut]

Been doing lots of work on the truck to get it ready for the Brother's Truck show. I'll have to enter it in either the under construction or ugliest truck categories!

I fully welded the exhaust. I was surprised to find that flux core worked much better for me than MIG. Better penetration and flatter smoother welds. Who knew. Exhaust is bolted up but I have yet to cut in some braided flex sections.

Also finished up the base wiring for the truck. I'll add more courtesy lights, under hood light, backup lights and glove box light later on.

Had to contend with stripped clutch pedal splines. I ended up just welding it together in place so I can drive the truck until I get a replacement one.

Then finally tonight Big Ugly backed down and out of the driveway under his own power! I am so psyched! Need to complete a few more things but now I've really got the itch to drive it.
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[C/10 King]

Jason, flashback 4 years ago..........

[C/10 King]

And......4 years and 1 month......... See you this weekend!!!!!

[MTCK]

Awesome. Looking forward to the pics!
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[chevyboy73]

sorry man, didn't mean to offend you if i did. i was just saying if someday i have lots of money, but i wont, i would build a truck like this. this thing is soo cool! i really like the 62(?) grill!

[argonaut]

Levi,
I took no offense, I knew how you meant it man!
Thanks for the compliments and interest in my pickup! It does have a 62 grill and emblems, even though its a 66 chassis, because the 62 is my favorite grill.
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[vectorit]

Jason's rig is really cool to see in person, you can certainly see all of his dedication and hard work in this truck!
It was great to meet you and your Dad, and park next to a fellow 4x4 owner at the Brothers show.

Looking forward to your latest update!

[argonaut]

Chris,
Thanks for the compliments! I'm just glad that the truck survived its maiden voyage!

The show was fun (except for the heat) and I'm glad I got to meet Chris! I have had a picture of Chris' 'burb in my "inspiration" folder for over a year as I've been building mine and it was a very pleasant surprise when we ended up connecting at the Brother's show!

[argonaut]

I must say that I was pretty happy overall with the how the truck drove on Sunday. The only unfortunate thing was that the tachometer, in the dash that I traded some valuable parts for, doesn't work... let the buyer beware! New one's aren't cheap either, yikes!

I discovered that I should have stuck with the 0.75" bore clutch master cylinder that I started with, and not the 0.70" that I swapped in. I'm a little short on total actuation length at the throwout bearing.

There was also what seemed like some excessive vibration or boucing at the front end at around 65-70mph. Maybe its the crappy, worn out tires; I'm not really sure the root cause. It wasn't like death wobble or anything. In fact the steering wheel didn't really have any side to side vibration. It just seemed like the front end got sorta bouncy or bumpy when the speed got over 65mph. I'm kind of at a loss for why this would be happening.

[Raider Rudy]

I don't think those tires were balanced were they?

[argonaut]

Yup, I had them balanced when i mounted them on the wheels.
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