HG's Bigass Farm Truck

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Jstock85

Did you reuse the original fuel tank and Did you have to do any cutting or anything to the fuel tank?

You can use the original fuel tank if you want but the 87 and newer tanks are set up for an in tank fuel pump for EFI with a sump built into it. I bought a new tank and sending unit with 3 lines. One is the supply and the pump connects to it, one is for the return line and one is a vent. No cutting involved. If you use an earlier fuel tank without the sump you "might" have issues with the pump sucking air when the fuel level is low, but I've used a non-sumped tank in my 71 for years with no problems.

I didn't work on this project this weekend. I did get to the junkyard and got the air intake tubing and air box with mass air flow sensor though. The new harness and mufflers will be here soon. Unfortunately my job will be in the way of making much progress on this over the next couple weeks.

[Jstock85]

Its been a couple weeks! Hows your progress coming??

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Jstock85

Its been a couple weeks! Hows your progress coming??

Not great!!

I was out of town for work a lot. And spent time on some other projects. I'm shipping the ECU out soon for reflash. The harness is getting settled into place. I got the new air intake but still need to get the MAF sensor. I'll probably have to plug the steam vent line rather than my redneck plumbing job because it's in the way of the air intake. Then wiring, wiring and more wiring.

Also plucking away at the rust repairs. I'll probably get the inner rocker for the front passenger door done soon. Maybe tonight. And I have new mufflers to get installed, the old blown apart ones are cut out.

[Jstock85]

HG I got the walbro 342 and an 87 sender unit. I got a problem with the wires matching up. Did you have this same problem?

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Jstock85

HG I got the walbro 342 and an 87 sender unit. I got a problem with the wires matching up. Did you have this same problem?

There is a post from 2/22 showing my pump and sending unit wiring. Basically you have 2 wires for the pump and 2 for the level indication. You can use a common ground. On the outside I think the ground can go directly to the frame. Depends on how the power lead for the pump is. Some use a ground wire to the pump, some don't. They use a chassis ground. I've seen both.
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[hgs_notes]

I haven't been working on this lately. I'm just about ready to do the engine swap in my 71 and I'm building a porch onto my house. There are updates on the other threads in my signature below. Once the 71 is back on the road I'll get back on this project. I'm busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest. An oldie but a goodie.
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[Jstock85]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I haven't been working on this lately. I'm just about ready to do the engine swap in my 71 and I'm building a porch onto my house. There are updates on the other threads in my signature below. Once the 71 is back on the road I'll get back on this project. I'm busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest. An oldie but a goodie.
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Ha! No doubt. Thanks for hollering back HG you've been a big help!

[hgs_notes]

Its been over 3 years since the last update. Anybody that was following along probably thought it was abandoned like so many projects on the board but basically I just got distracted by too many other things. Work, family, house, motorcycles, cars, etc. It's true that this sat a long time without much getting done. In 2019 I was motivated to get going on it again. One of the big problems was the truck wiring. It's hard to describe how bad it really was. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new harness for under the dash and front lighting. Not the engine harness though because very little of that gets used after the LS swap. That was ordered in August and the guy building it said a few weeks lead time. A few months later I actually got it. It was winter and that garage isn't heated and I was done until it warmed up. I had other things to take up my time.

Anyway, summer 2020 comes along. I'm stuck at home like so many are and you would think I would jump back on this, but that didn't happen. Anyone that knows me knows I have several irons in the fire at all times. This particular iron was not one of them. Towards late summer I was looking at this one and the guilt of letting it sit so long finally overcame the reluctance to get the wiring fixed. Working under the dash of any vehicle is the work I enjoy the least of any project. I detest it. It's uncomfortable and frustrating.

Now that I've provided a fairly complete list of reasons for dragging my feet I'll get on with the update. The short story is it runs and drives. Very happy with it. The long story will follow.

I started by pulling out the old fuse block and dash harness and getting the new one installed. Wasn't too difficult. The harness was supposedly custom made for a 79 using a gage cluster from a 91. I'm not sure yet if that's what I got. Anyway, once that was in I sorted out the engine harness, eliminating the unneeded wires. Then put the new lighting harness in. Then I went back to the LS swap harness install instructions to find where I left off and recheck everything done before. I needed to fix ground wires and connect a few wires into the cab wiring. I sorted out the starter wiring that had been hanging there for a few years, crossed my fingers and cranked the engine over for the first time since I bought it.

I spent a couple of days working under the truck getting the exhaust Jerry rigged together, wiring the fuel pump, pulling even more old wires out, getting the transmission wiring and tranny cooler hooked up. Basically just rechecking everything and trying to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything.

I had built an ECU mount last year for the driver side inner fender. Everything seemed to be powered up and ready to rock. So I turned the key and heard the fuel pump run. Did that a few times and then started cranking the engine. It fired for about 1/10th of a second. Multiple times. And never more than that. Dammit.

I talked to the local mechanic who helps me out occasionally. I borrowed his fuel pressure test setup and found that I had fuel pressure but it fell off as soon as the pump stopped. So it was getting fuel to the rails at least. And he suggested spraying ether in the intake. That allowed it to run for a few seconds. Long enough to know the ignition side of the equation was good. He also said that it was common for the junkyard engines that sat for awhile to get stuck injectors. I borrowed his injector signal tester and they were getting the signal to open so it wasn't a problem with the ECU. I pulled the injectors out and soaked them in cleaner and rigged up a battery pack to fire them but couldn't get them to open.

So off to the injector cleaning place in Mankato they went. Picked them up a couple days later and reinstalled. Time to hold my breath and give it another shot.

Success!! It fired up and idled along. Revved it a couple times and shut it down. No driveshaft. That was August 20th.

[hgs_notes]

In all its glory on 8/20/20

[hgs_notes]

Two big things to do next, driveshaft and cooling system. The driveshaft was too long because of the additional length of the 4L80. No matter how far forward I put the engine it wasn't enough. In hindsight I should have put the engine back about an inch or more to have more room for radiator fans but I was attempting to save a buck by not having the driveshaft shortened. It didn't work and it's for the better anyway because the driveshaft needed new u joints and hanger bearing anyway. A shop in Mankato did the work and a fantastic job of it for a good price. And I picked it up the next day with fresh paint and rebalanced.

That went in and it was ready for its maiden voyage. Forward and back. It moved under its own power!! That was 8/21/20.

[hgs_notes]

The driveshaft.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice, it always is a nice feeling when they run. A major hurdle overcome!

[hgs_notes]

The cooling system was going to be the stock radiator and electric fans. While shopping for the electric fans and shroud I found it was about the same price to buy an aluminum radiator with the fans and shroud included. I have a spare radiator for the plow truck now. It was supposed to be a direct replacement fit but wasn't. Of course not. The new radiator was a couple inches shorter in height. So I made some mounts to lift it up and installed it. I bought it on eBay from a Minnesota seller. A few bucks more than the sellers working out of a cargo container in NJ.

[hgs_notes]

Pics

[hgs_notes]

After the cooling system was in I went for a drive. I had to know if the transmission would work. I bought it used and had no idea if it was good or if the ECU was going to control it properly because it came out of a Silverado 4x4 with the 4L60. My good fortune held up and my trip down the quarter mile long driveway was enough to get it through all the gears, both manually and in drive.

I was done enough with the drivetrain to move on with other problem areas. Rust. I had started the passenger side rocker replacement years ago and it was time to get that side done at least. Still needs cleaning up and body work but the rockers are in and passenger side doors also. I might change the front door again. The blue door was a clean reproduction set I found at a junkyard this summer. I think it's thinner metal and I'm not thrilled with the fit. I'll check if I have a better GM door to use even if I need to fix some rust in it.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking good!

[hgs_notes]

More rust repair. I found some rattle can brown that's a close enough match.

[hgs_notes]

The right rear door was in decent condition. The bottom seam was bad from the factory. The door bottom was pushed up and the outer skin is folded over but the inner wasn't all the way in. I split the seam and pushed the bottom down where it's supposed to be. Cleaned up a tiny bit of rust then used some panel adhesive to close it back up properly. That will prevent rust starting back up in the seam.

[hgs_notes]

The right front door is solid. I just don't like the fit and it seems weak. But it's on until I find a better option. And that is pretty much how it sits now. I started it up yesterday for the first time in weeks. Popped right off. I might work on doors this winter but probably not the driver side rockers until spring. I have some parts to install to lower the rear a bit and will probably just cut the coils in front to level it out. Not doing an extreme drop.

Other plans are bucket seats and console in front, I have a new grill, and I have a camper to put in the bed. I'm hoping to do a road trip next summer with it.

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks for the update. You're doing some nice work on it.

[daddyjeep]

Nice... Glad you got back to it.

[Dieselwrencher]

More nice work good sir! It's almost hard to say but finding decent front square body doors is a bit challenging in our area now.

[hgs_notes]

I started it up yesterday and drove it up and down the driveway. I put the bench seat back in (not bolted down) because the old bucket seat was flopping around. No problem starting after sitting all winter. Still need to wire up the radiator fans.

The past few weeks I have been working on doors. Like I said last update, not happy with the front doors I had. They are an aftermarket one, no rust but just off a bit. So I dug out another pair I had in the parts stash and looked them over good. The driver side one is great, the passenger side had a dent across the bottom right above the pinch weld. I tried pushing it out but it wasn't cooperating. I used a patch on just the lower outside skin. The inside was great. I just need to change them over to manual windows from power. I like the idea of power windows but not the wiring lol. I really have no problem cranking a window once in a while. The driver side rear door was surprisingly good. Minimal rust in one corner. Took me about half an hour to clean up, tiny bit of weld, grind it smooth and spray it.

The driver side rockers on the other hand are not good. The rear one isn't real bad, just a couple small patches I think is all it needs. The front one is trashed. I need to pick up a new inner rocker as well. I got as far as cutting them up and stopped for the day. I might have to do the front cab support on this side also. I haven't dug into yet. I did get new cab mount bushings though. Fix the rust, replace the bushings and then get the doors to fit.

Time to post some pics...

The last one is the new husky, Crazy Ivan. We were going to the vet to get his shots and chip inserted.

[hgs_notes]

More pics...

Ivan with our other husky Svetlana. We got her last year. She needed a playmate. We were going to breed them but that isn't happening now. They are almost inseperable.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on the truck and beautiful Huskies! Is Ivan a red? That sure is a pretty color on a Husky. I'm not sure I've seen one of those before.