71K5 - BP71K5's Just for fun build

[bp71k5]

Update: frame straightening.

I picked up this really cool tool to help "unsquish" my rear most body mounts locations on the frame. So far, this is my favorite tool and I've used it a lot already.

Enter the harbor freight porta power hydraulic tool:


I had no idea something like this existed until a few months ago. I used to use long clamps or a small bottle jack to muscle things together but this thing makes it much easier and safer.

I also picked up a small attachment that is used to level heavy equipment but I hoped could also be used to straighten the squished frame section.


It worked pretty well. You can see in the picture the upper part of the frame still have some ripples in it. That part used to be about 1/2" lower than it is now. The attachment only has a 1/2" throw on it, but I used some scrap steel to take up the extra space.

 

[bp71k5]

After the frame was a little straighter, I finished up the second extension that inner bumper structure will bolt on to. A total of 5 bolts hold each steel tube to the frame.

Both extensions in place.


And an interior shot.

 

[bp71k5]

Update: The welding pictures...

I had to switch to the flux core wire since this metal was thicker than the normal 1/8" stuff. The stuff does seem to dig into the material much better but is not nearly as nice looking and is much messier.

First I welded some tabs that can be used to bolt the long tube to the frame extensions I showed earlier. The tabs got a long 12" gusset that will also carry attachment points for the existing bumper bolt holes:


Closer shot of the messy welding.




And this is how it sits back on the truck.


A closer shot of how the tabs lay against the outside of the frame extensions to allow a bolt to go through. That's it for now. My MIG gun died while I was working on this so I will have to spend some time figuring out what's wrong with it.

 

[82355]

Wow, I just read this whole thread. I should have went to bed a long time ago.

I do like your rig though.

Martin

 

[bp71k5]

Wow, I just read this whole thread. I should have went to bed a long time ago.

I do like your rig though.

Martin

Thanks. I did break a rule though about not doing more than one project at a time. I picked up a new wiring fuseblock from painless with some christmas money and now the dash is gutted.

 

[AJs72K5]

Thanks. I did break a rule though about not doing more than one project at a time. I picked up a new wiring fuseblock from painless with some christmas money and now the dash is gutted.

I hate it when that happens!!

 

[bp71k5]

Update: Wiring harness install

This is a pretty boring update as far as pictures go since a good wiring job is pretty invisible when it's done. It took a lot of planning where I want to run wires, but I've been consistantly making progress on it. I used the painless kit and I'd give it an OK rating. It's nice that it's prewired for some modern items like power windows, fuel pump, etc, but it doesn't have anything for some items I AM using such as fuel injection, CB radio, locker switches, etc.

The big challenge was figuring out a logical way to hook up equipment I am using to fuses that were labeled for something I wasn't using. I ended up rewiring the "fuel pump" fuse to power my TBI injection system since the ECM is setup to trigger the fuel pump relay anyway. I think I can remember "fuel pump = fuel injection system" if for some reason I need to troubleshoot a wiring problem someday. There were a couple other similar problems like that for which I rearranged wires behind the fuseblock.

So onto the cutting. First up was to open up the hole in the firewall for the bulkhead connector. About 1/4" on two sides.


And the other side after the wires were loosely routed and loomed. The most time consuming part of the process is routing the wires and making sure every one of them is accounted for and securely wrapped in loom. I've been slowly securing the looms to the truck as I cut them to length and attach weatherpack connectors to everything that might need to be removed someday. I've burned through tons of zip-ties just temporarily holding wires in place and then cutting the ties and replacing them when I was happy with the routing.


Here's the fuseblock. I moved three of the relays that used to be on the core support to right above the fuseblock. Two for the headlights and one for the electric fan. Some of the wires need to be untangled and loomed.


The kit comes with a 70A fuse and block which I mounted on the fenderwell right next to the battery. I prefer this fuse over a fusable link because it's easy to tell when it's blown and looks nicer than the typical pigtails you get for fusable links.


And a work in progress shot behind the dash. You can see most of the wires are loomed and all the dash/guage connections are terminated with a 12-pin weatherpak connection so the dash panel can be removed easily. The stereo, CB, ECM, cig lighter, are all connected and waiting for the last few wiring checks and clamps.


I was hoping to fire it up this weekend, but it's supposed to rain pretty good all weekend so I may not be able to.

 

[sponsoredbydad]

Gee that looks familiar. I do however like the sheathing you chose over my standard split plastic style.

 

[bp71k5]

Gee that looks familiar. I do however like the sheathing you chose over my standard split plastic style.

I tried to only use the plastic stuff on the interior since it seems to melt easy in the engine bay. The painless sheathing is nice though.

 

[bp71k5]

Update: I was finally able to start up the truck for the first time in months! WooHoo!

Only problem is that it won't shut off.

The wiring harness instructions say I'll need to add a diode on the alternator exciter wire to allow it to shut off properly. I was hoping to avoid any weird stuff like this. Does anyone know of a way to fix it in some other way? The old wiring didn't need a diode so I don't understand why it would now.

 

[Engineered Vintage]

Not sure why it needs a diode now - that is weird.

As I've always understood, diodes are "one-way valves" for electricity - so I would assume new harness is providing juice back into alternator keeping the rig running - hence the need for the diode?

Pure BS & speculation on my part though...

 

[bp71k5]

Not sure why it needs a diode now - that is weird.

As I've always understood, diodes are "one-way valves" for electricity - so I would assume new harness is providing juice back into alternator keeping the rig running - hence the need for the diode?

Pure BS & speculation on my part though...

Your probably close. As I look into it, the new fuseblock has a constant hot section and an ignition switched section. The ignition switch provides power to the entire switched section of the fuseblock. So if power was backfeeding from the alternator, it makes sense since the fuel pump and other switched stuff is powered from that section of the fuseblock.

When I look at my 71 wiring diagram, the alternator has a wire that goes directly to the ignition switch which means it bypasses the fuseblock and cant provide any power once the switch is turned off.

I have the recommended diodes, but I may try re-routing that one wire to see if I can avoid using the diode.

 

[bigblock72]

The original exciter wire was a resistance wire that dropped the voltage down to around 8 volts and also prevents the alternator from back-feeding the ignition switch. The new harness has a regular wire that will allow the back-feed. The only options are to install a resistor, a diode or a light bulb in the exciter wire. Rerouting the wire will not stop this problem.

 

[AJs72K5]

The original exciter wire was a resistance wire that dropped the voltage down to around 8 volts and also prevents the alternator from back-feeding the ignition switch. The new harness has a regular wire that will allow the back-feed. The only options are to install a resistor, a diode or a light bulb in the exciter wire. Rerouting the wire will not stop this problem.

A light bulb?? What the....?

 

[bigblock72]

A light bulb?? What the....?

A light bulb will provide the needed resistance to keep the alternator from back-feeding the ignition circuit. A lot of older cars are wired this way with the "gen" or "alt" bulb in the instrument panel providing the necessary resistance, so it's definitely an old idea.

 

[bp71k5]

The original exciter wire was a resistance wire that dropped the voltage down to around 8 volts and also prevents the alternator from back-feeding the ignition switch. The new harness has a regular wire that will allow the back-feed. The only options are to install a resistor, a diode or a light bulb in the exciter wire. Rerouting the wire will not stop this problem.

Now that I think about it, you're right. I was going to route it directly to the ignition switch to try and bypass the fuseblock, but the switch only has one ignition "output" terminal so both the fuseblock and exciter would still be tied together (just in a different spot).

Diode it is...

 

[bp71k5]

Diode works great. Just soldered it in behind the fuseblock. Only wiring problem is that I broke the fuel tank sender wire off the top so I have to drop the tank and repair it. It's pretty full so I'll have to drive it around a bit and use the gas up.

Thanks for saving my time by avoiding the rerouting that wire!

 

[BUDDY]

This is a pretty boring update as far as pictures go since a good wiring job is pretty invisible when it's done. It took a lot of planning where I want to run wires, but I've been consistantly making progress on it. I used the painless kit and I'd give it an OK rating. It's nice that it's prewired for some modern items like power windows, fuel pump, etc, but it doesn't have anything for some items I AM using such as fuel injection, CB radio, locker switches, etc.

The big challenge was figuring out a logical way to hook up equipment I am using to fuses that were labeled for something I wasn't using. I ended up rewiring the "fuel pump" fuse to power my TBI injection system since the ECM is setup to trigger the fuel pump relay anyway. I think I can remember "fuel pump = fuel injection system" if for some reason I need to troubleshoot a wiring problem someday. There were a couple other similar problems like that for which I rearranged wires behind the fuseblock.

So onto the cutting. First up was to open up the hole in the firewall for the bulkhead connector. About 1/4" on two sides.
View attachment 115056

And the other side after the wires were loosely routed and loomed. The most time consuming part of the process is routing the wires and making sure every one of them is accounted for and securely wrapped in loom. I've been slowly securing the looms to the truck as I cut them to length and attach weatherpack connectors to everything that might need to be removed someday. I've burned through tons of zip-ties just temporarily holding wires in place and then cutting the ties and replacing them when I was happy with the routing.
View attachment 115058

Here's the fuseblock. I moved three of the relays that used to be on the core support to right above the fuseblock. Two for the headlights and one for the electric fan. Some of the wires need to be untangled and loomed.
View attachment 115057

The kit comes with a 70A fuse and block which I mounted on the fenderwell right next to the battery. I prefer this fuse over a fusable link because it's easy to tell when it's blown and looks nicer than the typical pigtails you get for fusable links.
View attachment 115059

And a work in progress shot behind the dash. You can see most of the wires are loomed and all the dash/guage connections are terminated with a 12-pin weatherpak connection so the dash panel can be removed easily. The stereo, CB, ECM, cig lighter, are all connected and waiting for the last few wiring checks and clamps.
View attachment 115060

I was hoping to fire it up this weekend, but it's supposed to rain pretty good all weekend so I may not be able to.

It may just be me, but I can't see any of the pictures, and I'd sure like to!!
Do you have them hosted somewhere besides CK5?
Later,
Buddy

 

[bp71k5]

It may just be me, but I can't see any of the pictures, and I'd sure like to!!
Do you have them hosted somewhere besides CK5?
Later,
Buddy

They are hosted on ck5. I guess there's a virus going around and ck5 is affected somehow.

 

[bp71k5]

Update: glovebox control panel

The k5 is now back to running condition, and I found some time to fab up a quick panel for the compressor switch and electric fan kill switch. I had to ditch the cardboard glove box and will create a metal one as I finish up the rest of the interior.



I'm also including a power plug for a neat piece of electronics that should make streaming tunes to my radio much easier than before. More on that later.