86 Silverado Father and Son project

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Looks great, Mike.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by 1972SuperCheyenne

Looks great man. I wish I knew where I could get me a nice set of drop shackles like those!

Thanks! sorry, I had to jump on those shackles.

Originally Posted by SIC-K5

WOW. i just read through this whole thread. i cant believe the outcome. looks great.

Thanks! It has been a long journey! still working on it.

Originally Posted by scotts62

Wow I haven't checked in in a while, looks awesome and nice work guys!!!!!

Thanks Scott.

Originally Posted by DBLSPRT68

I agree!!!!!

Thanks!

[mcbassin]

Update:

I purchased a pretty much complete interior from guy on Craigs. It is in really good shape. The carpet is new and the door panels, and seat are really nice. Unfortunately, there wasn't a dash pad. We will get some pictures as soon as we get it installed (just a pile of parts now).

Also,I scored an electronic speedo cluster from RandyP. (thanks!)now I'm trying to make it work with the oem harness and it's not working out too good. For some reason GM changed the flex on the back and basically none of the gages work.

[Jonboy]

Look at the wiring diagram on the Autozone website for a 91 Suburban. You will just have to move the wires in the connector around a little bit, but most of them will work. I ran a wire directly to the output on the PCM to the speedometer. Just use the end of one of the wires that you dont use and lengthen it to go to the PCM. The colors will correspond to the later pinout, they are just in different locations.

Here is the diagram: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/rep...00c1528008f3ce

I know I printed these, and I also had the factory wiring diagram for my '79 (thanks, ebay!). I did get the connector and about 6" of wire when I got my cluster, so that made it a lot easier. I was looking over that diagram, and I don't see the VSS output wire in the schematic. I know there are some diagrams on www.73-87chevytrucks.com also. All of my stuff is in storage, so it will be a little bit before I could dig it out to see the notes I made.

[glock35ipsc]

I got your PM, and I'm sending you an email with the pinouts for the electric cluster and some other info.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

I was looking over that diagram, and I don't see the VSS output wire in the schematic.

That is weird. I was looking them over too, and even selected a few different ones, and none of them even came close to how my electric cluster was actually set up.

Best bet, when in doubt, is to follow each circuit from the gauge to the connection and note what goes where.

[RandyP]

I should have cut the connector off when I yanked that cluster.
I don't even remember how/where the VSS was attached on that thing. I just remember getting it out and going "wow, this is different" and buying it anyway.

[Jonboy]

There is a DRAC module that went under the radio originally in the truck. I am pretty sure the buffer is in the ECM, as I wired mine directly to the ECM without any trouble.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

There is a DRAC module that went under the radio originally in the truck. I am pretty sure the buffer is in the ECM, as I wired mine directly to the ECM without any trouble.

Did you use the brown wire A10 or B3? on yours

[Jonboy]

I really don't remember. I did mine about 8 months ago, and the first cluster I had, the speedometer didn't work. I went back and rechecked everything, and it still didn't work. The odometer worked, but no speedo. The funny thing is, I swapped that cluster for one that the speedo worked, and the odometer did not. I figured that was the lesser of two evils. Mine also had an LT1 in it, so the PCM is different. I found the VSS output wire in the PCM, and wired it directly to that.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

I really don't remember. I did mine about 8 months ago, and the first cluster I had, the speedometer didn't work. I went back and rechecked everything, and it still didn't work. The odometer worked, but no speedo. The funny thing is, I swapped that cluster for one that the speedo worked, and the odometer did not. I figured that was the lesser of two evils. Mine also had an LT1 in it, so the PCM is different. I found the VSS output wire in the PCM, and wired it directly to that.

I hooked A10 up to the speedo and it didn't work. I wonder if the speedo is bad or I connected the wrong wire?
HERE is the diagram I used for the ecm.

[mcbassin]

Well it has been a busy week. Got quite a bit done on the truck. We gutted the interior to prep it for paint and the new to us interior. Still working on the speedo issue.
here are the pics:

Got all the interior removed:


Lots of junky parts:


Prepped the headliner for new material and used Elmers wood glue. We tried
THIS but it just fell back down. I used the wood glue back in the day and it worked great so I went back with it.


Turned out really good:


Painted the interior:

[joe231]

Nice!

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by joe231

Nice!

Thanks Joe!

I got everything but the dash installed on the inside, this is a lot more time consuming than it is taking it out. Also, I scored a nice rear bumper at Pull a Part today. Here are the pics:

Headliner installed:


Carpet, seat and everything else:


Like the new door panels:




New bumper:

[joe231]

Wow Mike!
Quite a transformation!!
Nice score on the bumper, what did it cost from pull-a-part?
I need to pick up a new front and rear bumper...

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by joe231

Wow Mike!
Quite a transformation!!
Nice score on the bumper, what did it cost from pull-a-part?
I need to pick up a new front and rear bumper...

Thanks Joe for the props! The bumper was $30 with the brackets and bolts. I also got a few trim pieces, pass. kick panel with the vent assy., a pillar cover, DRAC module and two windshield trim pesces for the grand am and I spent a little over $55 total.

[joe231]

I love that place, as long as you can get to the good stuff before the jackasses tear everything up.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by joe231

I love that place, as long as you can get to the good stuff before the jackasses tear everything up.

You got that right! I think they had just added a few trucks this week. I saw some stuff out there I would love to have for other projects. I have got to this one done so I can move on to the 69. Just need to rework the dash or buy a cover. New windshield, tag, fix the a/c again, and few odds and ends.........hopefully, by thursday.

[my67chevytruck]

Very nice progress Mike!, truck looks awesome, I know your son has a perma-smile

[scotts62]

Very nice

[nuke1]

Truck looks jsut amazing Mike. You have to be proud of what you have accomplished so far, just a little bit more and on to the next one! and yes it needs to some down just a little bit more now.

[0331grunt]

Truck looks great! Bet that boy of yours is excited!!

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by my67chevytruck

Very nice progress Mike!, truck looks awesome, I know your son has a perma-smile

Thanks Heath! He is pretty excited, I just dropped the cash to get it tagged and insured. So now he can legally drive it.

Originally Posted by scotts62

Very nice

Thanks Scott!

Originally Posted by nuke1

Truck looks jsut amazing Mike. You have to be proud of what you have accomplished so far, just a little bit more and on to the next one! and yes it needs to some down just a little bit more now.

Thanks James! Yep, I think 2.5 up front and 2 more in the back.

Originally Posted by 0331grunt

Truck looks great! Bet that boy of yours is excited!!

Thanks! Yes, he is pretty pumped!

[grayharville]

Nice truck,now it looks like all it needs is a trip to the exhaust shop! can you give more detail about recovering the headliner? I want to cover mine with a confederate flag, but not too sure how.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by grayharville

Nice truck,now it looks like all it needs is a trip to the exhaust shop! can you give more detail about recovering the headliner? I want to cover mine with a confederate flag, but not too sure how.

Thanks and Yep, we are more than likely going to cut off the big chrome tips for now and put some tips that turn it down where they can't be seen. The future plan is flowmasters on both sides.

As far as the headliner goes. It's a pain in the tail but definetly doable. The main thing we had to do, get off all that nasty foam backing. You won't get anything to glue to that crap. You can scrape it off with a piece of cardboard or similar. The one in his truck is the fiberglass type. So the first night I put a liberal coating of the wood glue over the whole surface. Then let it dry overnight. This will seal the glass and give a good surface to glue to.
next day we glued the headliner on and worked it down flat. Keep in mind to give it slack as you lay the material, so not to stretch it. It seems to pull away from the backer if it stretched. Then just cut out for light and visors with a razor. I used a soldering iron to burn holes for the screws. It takes a few hours but worth it. Not sure how much a new one cost but we spen about $15 in material and $6 on glue. Good luck!

[scotts62]

They are around $65 to get one covered, thats from Truman fabric off i-44.
I bought my stuff from them and got a roller from Lowes and as i sprayed it rolled it smooth, seems to be holding up through all this heat we have had here lately so i must have done something right