70 Jimmy--Rusty Rebuild

[toomany]

Did the seam sealer yesterday, then bottoms of the rockers today. Normally I'd wait to unmask till everything dried. This time I pulled it off when it was still wet. Wanted to make sure I didn't get any overspray on the first coat. Not really a big deal in the long run, but the two products are slightly different colors and it's way easier to clean up before it dries.

 

[toomany]

Bolted the body down, ran into my first clearance issue. Driver's side valve cover hits firewall. I knew it'd be close, but I've got like zero clearance. Cover wouldn't be able to come off as is. Not a huge deal in the long run, will get fixed when motor comes back out for paint.




The passenger side is close too. Number 7 coil hits the firewall. Easy fix there is to offset it or use the top bolt and rotate it a little.

 

[toomany]

Cut my first holes into the new firewall.

Started by mounting up the pedal box and dash.




Bracket on there to get get my hole locations.




Holes drilled and master cylinder mounted.




Shot of the linkage that works it.




And all three pedals in place. The height of the clutch and brake may change once I get a booster and fluids in those systems.

 

[toomany]

Was finally able to track down a Vintage Air system that was in-stock.




Not wanting to drill holes in the firewall for it, welded some studs to hang it. Thought about welding the bracket right to the firewall, but figured it'd be a huge pain to bolt it back in once the lines were installed.

I did the test fitting with the dash in place. The unit pretty much only fits in one spot if you want to use the supplied replacement glove box. Without that, you could move it a few inches either way.





That's about as far as I could go with that. Waiting on a bulkhead to show up before I cut holes for the lines to come through.

Moved on to trying to mount the next biggest thing behind the dash, which would be the Terminator ECU. Didn't get very far, decided to wait till a few more parts are installed. What I could do is mount the main fuse block.

Bent this guy up.




Goes in the space to the left of the pedal box.




...and the fuse box gets bolted on.




Doing it that way accomplishes a few things, pevents holes in the firewall and gives me a spot to mount a couple relays easily. None of the inside is finished yet so having the plate removable let's me prime, paint and seal everything. Also future proofing if for some odd reason I want to make changes, this let's me do that without much hassle.

 

[toomany]

HVAC bulkhead came in. I hoped I could have used the supplied lines that came with the evaporator, but I can't. End up with two male ends and no one makes a union for AC o-ring lines. Not a huge deal in the long run. Regardless, it's in now and I can move on.









Knowing the space I had to work with now, bent this up.




Goes in here.






Terminator box gets mounted to the top corner. Have some room to mount the various relays and fuses that are required.






Can still see the lights on top of the unit for diagnostics...as long as the radio isn't in. I may angle the top down a little bit to get a better view of them though.


Pulled the transfer case off and removed the main shaft. Sent it to Tom Woods for SYE modified. This needed to be done before starting the motor. Could have stuck a slip yoke in the end to keep fluid in, but I need all the room I can get underneath to fit the x-pipe where I want it. SYE should give me a couple more inches the better driveshaft is an added plus too.




Tomorrow I plan on cutting holes for the wiring harnesses to pass through.

 

[toomany]

Spent way too much money on these for what they are. They are nice pieces and will provide a clean way for wires through the firewall. I'm not against things on/through the firewall, I just want it to be done in a way that looks good.




Big one went here. Needed a somewhat flat spot for it. Could have dropped it a little lower, but then it would have been more visible under the dash.




With some of the harnesses through it. With the factory harness, didn't have a whole lot of freedom in mounting the bulkhead. Standing at the front of the truck, it doesn't look all that bad where it's at.




Hung the driver's fender and inner. Needed to find a good spot for the chasis harness to come through.






Both of them are multi piece. They come apart to pass the ends through without depining.

I need to track down a few ends that I can't save from the factory under dash harness. Mainly for the turn signal switch.

 

[toomany]

The chassis harness I'm using has Packard 56 terminals on its ignition switch ends. It's terminated for a column mounted switch though. De-pinned it and used the stock connector off my factory harness. Did have to lengthen the wires going to it as well. I think it's a combination of where the box is mounted, switch is mounted and being a universal part. Had to add about 8" of wire to get a good routing.


Cleaned up the wiring on the Vintage Air unit. I'm guessing that the wiring on these isn't application specific and that all of them are the same no matter which evaporator you have. They give you about 15' of wire to go 6". Mounted the relay and circuit breaker to the bracket. Glove box still fits, but it's tight.




Debating on running all the big (main) power wires to the starter. Versus having them go to the battery or a distribution block. As of now there are only 3 (Holley, fuse block and hvac) but there will be a few more. I'd rather not have a bunch of wiring running around the engine compartment. Also don't need 8 wires going to the starter either.


USPS lost the mainshaft that I sent to Tom Woods. Box got a hole in it apparently. I double boxed, bubble wrapped and foamed it so nothing could move and they still managed to screw it up. Was able to source another one on ebay and having it mailed directly to them.

Driveshaft came in on Friday. Correct length for the SYE and flange at the end. 1350 u-joints throughout.

 

[Truckman4life]

The lost part sucks, guy I used to work with lost an irreplaceable Snap-On reamer once. Snap-On sent it back after repair in a big brown cushioned envelope and it showed up empty with a hole in it.

 

[toomany]

I insured it for $500. Mainly because the guys at Tom Woods said they have had a lot go missing in the past. Already filed a claim and have the replacement parts. Probably set me back about 2 weeks...which isn't a real big deal. I think there are 3 big items I need to purchase yet plus a bunch of small stuff I need to get done before I can move on with starting the motor.

 

[Greg72]

The chassis harness I'm using has Packard 56 terminals on its ignition switch ends. It's terminated for a column mounted switch though. De-pinned it and used the stock connector off my factory harness. Did have to lengthen the wires going to it as well. I think it's a combination of where the box is mounted, switch is mounted and being a universal part. Had to add about 8" of wire to get a good routing.


Cleaned up the wiring on the Vintage Air unit. I'm guessing that the wiring on these isn't application specific and that all of them are the same no matter which evaporator you have. They give you about 15' of wire to go 6". Mounted the relay and circuit breaker to the bracket. Glove box still fits, but it's tight.

View attachment 418599


Debating on running all the big (main) power wires to the starter. Versus having them go to the battery or a distribution block. As of now there are only 3 (Holley, fuse block and hvac) but there will be a few more. I'd rather not have a bunch of wiring running around the engine compartment. Also don't need 8 wires going to the starter either.


USPS lost the mainshaft that I sent to Tom Woods. Box got a hole in it apparently. I double boxed, bubble wrapped and foamed it so nothing could move and they still managed to screw it up. Was able to source another one on ebay and having it mailed directly to them.

Driveshaft came in on Friday. Correct length for the SYE and flange at the end. 1350 u-joints throughout.

View attachment 418601

Very interested to watch the progress on your VintageAir AC unit… not sure I’ve ever seen a detailed account showing a 1st Gen install.

-G

 

[ashman]

not sure I’ve ever seen a detailed account showing a 1st Gen install.

-G

You'll be able to watch mine in a few weeks.

 

[toomany]

Very interested to watch the progress on your VintageAir AC unit… not sure I’ve ever seen a detailed account showing a 1st Gen install.

-G

I'm thinking yours will be more inline with mine than what @ashman did. His was more of a "stock" install. Mine is slightly modified with the bulkhead fittings and no fasteners through the firewall. Other than that it's how they intended it to be done.

I searched for a long time for someone documenting an install when i was on the fence about it. I could find some of the older Vintage Air systems but nothing with the current style.

I did find one where they put a bulkhead in the fresh air vent and ran the hoses that way. Thought about going that route, but you are still left with the hoses in the engine compartment. Even running them through the fender...it's hard to make them disappear. If you try too hard then it almost becomes obvious. I feel what I did was a decent balance. Still out in the open but better than bare tubes poking through.

 

[ashman]

I'm thinking yours will be more inline with mine than what @ashman did. His was more of a "stock" install. Mine is slightly modified with the bulkhead fittings and no fasteners through the firewall. Other than that it's how they intended it to be done.

I searched for a long time for someone documenting an install when i was on the fence about it. I could find some of the older Vintage Air systems but nothing with the current style.

I did find one where they put a bulkhead in the fresh air vent and ran the hoses that way. Thought about going that route, but you are still left with the hoses in the engine compartment. Even running them through the fender...it's hard to make them disappear. If you try too hard then it almost becomes obvious. I feel what I did was a decent balance. Still out in the open but better than bare tubes poking through.

Given how modified his firewall is, you are probably right.

 

[Greg72]

Given how modified his firewall is, you are probably right.

I should probably just stop speculating about it and open up the damn VintageAir box with my mock-up unit in there.... LOL

Guess I'm being stubborn. Imagine that.



-G

 

[toomany]

Had a short day at work due to the weather. Took advantage of that and got a little more done.

The Packard 56 terminals came in the other day. These get used on pretty much all the under dash connections.





Using my Weatherpack crimper I get decent results.




Ignition, headlight and wiper switches are wired. Will need to go back and add the ground wire to the dome light post on the headlight switch.

The one set of terminals I can't find is for the turn signal switch. The factory uses a half moon connector with square pins. Most of the aftermarket harnesses come with an adapter to go from the flat style to what I currently have. I think American Autowire might have them. If not then I'll make an adapter.

Put the column back in. Had to drill two holes for the lower bracket.






This is not the column I am going to use. Couple years ago I picked up a fully restored, tilt, floor shift column. It cost a decent chunk of change as they didn't make a whole lot in that configuration (and I didn't want a cut down van one either). Rather than take the chance getting it scratched/dinged up, I'll use the stunt unit for now.

 

[Greg72]

Tell me more about the brake bracketry under the dash? It looks like some kind of offset / 90* pivot setup to change where the booster comes through the firewall?

I've got all sorts of issues left to solve related to placement of my hydroboost setup, so this all has be curious.


-G

 

[toomany]

Tell me more about the brake bracketry under the dash? It looks like some kind of offset / 90* pivot setup to change where the booster comes through the firewall?

I've got all sorts of issues left to solve related to placement of my hydroboost setup, so this all has be curious.


-G

That's for the clutch linkage to the master cylinder. Stock, the linkage goes across the top of the pedal box then through the firewall/floor over by the throttle pedal. I believe it is CaptiabFab over at 67-72 that sells the parts.

You are correct that it offsets where it connects to the pushrod. The motion of it is still 1:1, just moves the master down into a place it won't interfere with the booster.

Hydroboost is one of the next things on my list. The hole for the booster pushrod isn't cut yet. Probably going to use CPP stuff. I can try getting some better pictures if you like.

Just out of curiosity, have you watched any of Project Binky on YouTube? They're taking 20lbs of crap and sticking it in a 5lb bag. Can't remember off the top of my head which episode it is, but they built some linkages for the pedal box (then had to modify again later). Could give you some ideas. Even the episodes where they dealt with the door locks is good on that type of stuff.

To fully appreciate where they are now you really need to start at the first episode. Probably 90% of that car is hand made and looks better than stuff rolling off the factory line today.

 

[Greg72]

The MiniCooper / 4WD Celica project?

Got it bookmarked and am starting at Episode 1. This could take a while….

-G

 

[toomany]

The MiniCooper / 4WD Celica project?

Got it bookmarked and am starting at Episode 1. This could take a while….

-G

Yes that's the one. The first couple episodes are a little slow. It's well worth the watch especially if you like their type of humor. Think I'm on my 4th or 5th time through it now. What they manage to accomplish with just a grinder and basic tools shows how little you actually need to get fantastic results.

 

[ashman]

I LOVE project Binky. so much good stuff stuffed into that tiny package.