86 K10-Orion

[toomany]

Sprayed the heat control Lizard Skin this morning. Went down real nice. Was able to get way up into the dash by laying on the floor and sticking the gun up there. Have good coverage over the entire firewall, back wall and floor. Used about a gallon.

Few weeks back I ordered a firewall insulation pad. There are various levels of quality for these out there. From complete garbage to almost NOS OEM. I wasn't about to spend the $250 that Classic Industries wants for theirs. Nor was I going to buy the LMC one (heard that one fits horribly). Took a chance on a guy from eBay that makes each one to order. He had good reviews and no negative feedback. Cost $100 and had a 3 week lead time. I'm actually surprised at the quality he was able to produce. Nice thick rubber and close to 1" of jute behind it. Fits the firewall great. None of the holes are cut out, but they are marked and stamped. Even with a fresh razor blade it's hard to cut through the padding.




Have it sort of installed right now. Needed to drill two holes as he puts more hold down darts in it. Once I get the HVAC in, I'll finish mounting it. It's kind of flopped down in this picture, but it fits very well when you hold it in position. Easily one of the better aftermarket products I've bought for any vehicle in recent time.




And speaking of HVAC, that will be next to go in. I took the easy way out on this one. Only having about 60% of the factory parts, I went aftermarket. If this was a non-ac cab, I probably would have used a factory system for just heat (have a couple complete setups). As it is, I only have the outside box, inside box and a froze up control panel. Missing the evaporator, vacuum lines, ducts/vents, hoses. The condenser that was on the truck is packed full of dirt on the inside so that would need replaced too.

Pushing the EZ button gets me the Vintage Air setup. I think the only thing I'll have to source now is the vents for the dash. I loose the ability of the fresh air vent, but the wing windows work for that. Also only have recirculate now.

Not shown is the firewall plate...took that out to the barn already.




Being that the unit is all under the dash. I wanted to get that in there before I started running wire and mounting stuff. There will be quite a few things going under there and the last thing I want is to get it done and have to move it all. Working around that box is the best way to go I think.

 

[toomany]

Mounted up the Vintage Air unit. They say you can do it with only removing the inner fender, had the windshield been in, I don't think I could have gotten it done. You have to line up a 1/4" bolt and spacer through the firewall and get it into the bracket. If I wasn't able to stand through the open windshield and hold the box while trying to line it up, I can't imagine what kind of pain in the ass it would be...it still took me a good 15 minutes to get both bolts started.

This is before putting the outer bracket on and the suction line.






Outside the firewall. God help me if I ever need to remove the big plate. I've moved away from regular silicone and only keep RightStuff on hand now. Instructions say to put a bead around the perimeter of the plate. I was smart and used an old fuel pump o-ring for the blower block off, so that one isn't a permanent addition to the cab now.




The column that was in the truck had a blown out upper bearing and the tilt had seen better days. Dug though my stash and found an auto/tilt/cruise column. This is one of the early/mid 80's ones before the wiper controls moved to the stalk... perfect for what I need. I did have to swap the lock cylinder out from the original one though. Brake pedal and booster found their way back in too. Undecided on what I'll use for a wheel just yet.




Going to mount the inner fenders and battery trays next then probably the throttle pedal and TAC module. Once that is done I can begin wiring.

With all of the "big" stuff in place under the dash, wiring can begin to be mapped out. The electrical system is where this build moves away from the simple and easy to almost unnecessarily complex and modern.

I wanted some features that are common place on newer vehicles that I've gotten used to. Retained Accessory Power (RAP), auto running/headlights, Bluetooth radio, power windows, power locks, keyless entry and remote start. Fortunately, the aftermarket has options for most all of those.


In this picture, is most everything that has to live in/under the dash or at least start there. Not shown is the WeatherPack connectors, heat shrink and loom or the needed factory wiring from the donor truck to run the engine/cooling fans.




Starting at the upper left is the Vintage Air control panel, duct hoses and wiring harness. Below that is the relay harness for the headlights. Next is the Viper remote start/keyless entry. Below, BpAutomotive stand alone harness. Top middle is the RAP module which also does the auto lighting. Dakota Digital VHX gauges on bottom. Top right has power window relay harness. Middle right is a 4 gang relay box for the power locks and will also be used to trigger them from the keyless entry (almost all aftermarket keyless entry systems output a negative signal for triggers, will need to convert to positive through a relay). Far edge are some Daystar firewall grommets and at the very bottom is the Ez-wiring full chassis harness. I believe I also have a couple distribution blocks I can use for HOT and ACC power too.

Sounds like a lot because it is. But breaking it down into individual systems and completing each one at a time will be the plan of attack. The trick will be getting everything to play nice with each other.

 

[Capt Ron]

Top middle is the RAP module which also does the auto lighting.

Any more info you can give us on this? Part # Link? Thanks

 

[toomany]

Any more info you can give us on this? Part # Link? Thanks

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dak-pac-1300/

I didn't pay that for mine, but that's the one I have. Gets wired in between light switch and lights, has a sensor that mounts in the dash. For the RAP function, it times out after a certain amount of time with whatever accessories you wire into it, radio/windows.

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten home in my 92 Formula and turned the car off and only to have to turn the key back on to put the windows up. My daily beater is an 02 325i and it has RAP as does my 02 Silverado, so I've gotten used to it and really miss it when I realize I don't have it.

The auto lighting is just an added bonus of the module, but it to is a nice feature.

 

[toomany]

Put the inner fenders and battery trays in. Before I did that I robbed the steering arm from my S10 build. Didn't want to, but that truck isn't moving anytime soon and I figured it'd be easier to do with everything out of the way. While I was in there, tossed a washer under the spring to tighten up the kingpins. The bushings looked good, but it couldn't hurt. Hooked up the steering shaft to the column when I was down there too.




Because it was raining pretty hard and the other parts I needed were in the house, I started on the radiator and fans. Looks like I can use some 1 1/2" exhaust tubing to catch the lower mounts then reuse the factory 86 upper mounts. Maybe adding a tab to grab the fans.

 

[toomany]

Finished up the radiator. My core support isn't the best and I'd rather not spend the money on an aftermarket one, so I didn't put too much work into mounts.

Took some small exhaust tubing, welded a bolt and washer into it, then drilled holes in the lower core support for them. Simple and easy to move to another/better one when I come across one. The rubber mounts fit very snug into the tube.




For the upper mounts. I took the stock 86 ones, cut the outer tabs off and redrilled them. Welded on a piece of angle iron for the fan to bolt to as well. Switching the drivers side and passenger side, the bends worked in my favor. Had to drill new holes in the core to weld some nuts in.



There is a slot on the bottom of the fans I'll probably do something with too, just to keep them from flopping around in the middle. I wouldn't be afraid to run them as is though. Might put something over top the radiator to cover the gap too. Once I get an ac condenser in there I'll have a better idea on what it needs.


Plan to use the factory intake and air box. Trying to track down a lid for it yet (donor trucks was missing). Looks like it will mount on the passenger side battery tray. Coolant tank will mount next to it just like in the 05. Keeping with the theme of using all easily found replacement parts (hoses/filters,).

While I was in there, I hooked up the power steering return line and remounted the master cylinder. Not going to happy with how the brake lines came out. Down around the frame the look and clear great and I had the smaller one going into the master perfect. Went to put a spiral into the big one and kinked it. Was able to save it, but it's shorter than I'd have liked and doesn't look the best. Ended up shortening the other line to match it.

Ordered some factory transmission lines. Think I'll be able to use them without having to shorten any. If anything, they might not be long enough from my quick measuring.

Have headers and some exhaust parts on their way. Started getting into the engine harness, laying out what I can eliminate and clean up in it. If I can find a good way to reuse the PCM mount, I will. It and it's bracket are an odd shape though.

 

[jekquistk5]

Your continued progress makes me feel incredibly lazy. Keep up the good work.

 

[toomany]

Your continued progress makes me feel incredibly lazy. Keep up the good work.

Tying to get something done everyday., even if it's small. Or at the very least get out in the shop for a little bit. With my current schedule, I get out of work around 1pm and have the rest of the day to myself so it's easy to make progress.

 

[toomany]

Put the transmission lines in. Had to lengthen them about 4" to get them just right. Would have worked as is, but they would have been at a bad angle coming out of the radiator. From looking at them, I'm going to have to put some bends in around the starter to clear the headers. Will know more once those show up.

Spaghetti'd out the wiring harness. Have a good idea on where I'm going to mount the PCM and fuse/relay block. Plan for tomorrow is to attack that.

 

[toomany]

Mounted the PCM, BpAutomotive harness, TAC module and chassis harness.

Decided to put the PCM on the drivers inner fender. I would have liked to used the factory 05 bracket and mount it underneath the battery, but it just wasn't going to work the way I wanted it to. So I cut a few pieces out of that bracket and put it on the inner. Has plenty of room behind it for the hood spring and to run some wires.




Next up was the under hood fuse block. This went between the PCM and battery on the fender. Apparently I forgot to take a picture of that.

The TAC module went on the firewall to the right of the wiper motor. Used one of the existing holes to run the wires inside to the pedal, which has yet to be installed. Also in this picture are two of the Daystar grommets and a plate to cover up the old hole where the fuse block came through. I think will add one more grommet. One for engine wiring, one for chassis wire and the third for engine sensors. These two went into existing holes. Spot where the old throttle cable came through will probably get the other one.




On the inside, fuse block went into position where the factory one sat. Being based of a GM unit, it bolted right in. The random relays that I need will go to the left above where the paint line stops. Out of the way, but easy to get to.




Spent about 4 hours thinning out the engine harness. Followed the guide on Lt1swap. Found one broken wire and a couple questionable splices. Undecided if I'm going to keep the battery current monitor, once I figure that out I can wrap up the loose ends and install it and get it wired into the truck side.

 

[bsgreen]

awesome work. Truck's coming together fast.

 

[toomany]

Another productive day in the shop.

To follow up last night's post, this is the Bp harness mounted on the fender.




Before I could even get out to the barn, my headers showed up. Went with Speed Engineering 1 3/4" long tubes. Stainless and have nice thick flanges. For what they cost ($300), they are seem well built. I know I've spent more one worse quality headers.




Loosely installed them at first because I thought they didn't send the bolts and gaskets. Eventually I found them taped to the inside of one of the flaps when I was breaking down the box. Paid for the upgraded MLS gaskets over the regular stamped metal ones.

Fit is very nice. Plenty of clearance around the shackels and frame rails. I did have to rebend the transmission lines, but I knew that was coming and you can't blame that one the headers.





Under the truck, they don't hang too low and point straight back. Looks like I'll have a little jog in the passenger side pipe to get around the transfer case, which is pretty normal. I also moved my fuel line over to the drivers side. Crossed it over at the cab crossmember. Routing just worked out better that way and got it away from the exhaust heat.






After that was done, I dove back into the engine harness. Most everything had been accounted for last night so I basically had to straighten it up and wrap it. Used zip ties as I un-taped it so it wouldn't loose shape. Cut them off as I went through with the tape.

Naked harness. The loose/flagged wires get run into the cab.




Dressed harness. Once I confirm everything is good with it, I'll close up the end at the PCM.




The "essential" wiring where it connects to the Bp fuse block is done through WeatherPack connectors. One for power in, one for relay ground triggers and one for into the cab.

This one is the power in plus the fuel pump relay trigger.




Installed on the engine. For the most part it is how GM had it. There is an extra couple of inches coiled up under the TAC module, but I wouldn't call it excessive. Found a bracket in my stash that I used to hang the harness under the master cylinder. Going to have to extend the wires for the GBCM (battery current monitor) as they aren't close enough to the battery cable now.




Found an air box lid, so got the base mounted to the passenger battery tray. For as odd shaped as it is, it pretty much bolted right in after drilling some holes.




Tossed the cover on. I "shouldn't" need to be back under there anytime soon.




Next up will be getting the coolant tank in, heater hoses ran then moving inside to work on the rest of the wiring.

 

[toomany]

awesome work. Truck's coming together fast.

Thanks!

I set a goal of having it running and driving for around my birthday in October. I don't know if I'll have it driving by then, but it at least should be running.

 

[toomany]

Not nearly as much done as I'd like to have gotten, but still progress. Spent a few hours with the chainsaw and log splitter, so that ate into my time.


Mounted up the coolant tank and ran heater hoses. Again, it almost bolted in. Had to heat up and bend the lower mount to the angle of the fender. The lower outlet is close to the air box but it does clear.




If you aren't using as many factory parts from the donor... you're doing it wrong. I see so many of these swaps on Facebook and other places with everything cobbled together and I can't understand why. With very little effort most of the stock parts fit into the square body just fine.


Once I had that in, I moved to the plugs and wires. Nothing fancy, new plugs with the old wires. Access around the headers is great. One boot looks real close but it isn't touching. Will keep and eye on that one.

 

[jekquistk5]

If you aren't using as many factory parts from the donor... you're doing it wrong. I see so many of these swaps on Facebook and other places with everything cobbled together and I can't understand why. With very little effort most of the stock parts fit into the square body just fine.

Yup, and makes sourcing parts so much easier when things do fail.

For me I have to get my inner fenders mounted, cut to clear the coilovers, then see if I have room.

 

[toomany]

Only had an hour or so before I had to head out of town for the night.

Installed a power distribution stud for a source of constant battery power. This will be where the lights and PCM draw power from and anything else that needs a constant connection.




There will be another one in the cab along with one for switched power and a ground bar.

Put the starter on, a charged battery and rolled it over a few times. Was just with a wire to the solenoid, nothing is wired up beyond the engine harness yet.

 

[toomany]

Worked on wiring for a few hours tonight. It's tedious and kind of boring but I actually enjoy it.

Pulled some of the Ez harness through the firewall. Some of the wires won't be needed (power antenna, sending units, alternator exciter) so those had to be seperated. For now, I just pulled them back into the cab until I decide I won't need them for anything else. Put the turn signal switch and ignition switch plugs together. Tied the main power wire into the distribution stud next to the battery.




Tied the Bp harness into the truck wiring. Used some of the factory fan wiring and got that hooked into the relay block and engine harness.

Trying to make it so things are removable/serviceable. Nothing will be wired so it can't be taken out easily. All of the connections are through WeatherPack. Only thing I don't like about them is they are bulky for what they are. Instead of the split loom that the factory uses, I'm using a braided style. It's sort of like a Chinese finger trap in that it will expand when pushed together and gets tighter when pulled. Being a braided wrap, it takes a little more planning because you have to slide it on before terminating the ends. The loom gets attached to the wires with some adhesive lined shrink wrap. Same that I use whenever a ring/spade terminal is needed.








So far everything has been tested for operation and passed. Motor rolls over with key, fuel pump relay comes on then off, other PCM relays come on, throttle body moves, fans work.

Next task is going to be, finish front and rear electrical before moving into the cab. I need the lighting, dome and lock circuits done before I can get into the remote start/keyless entry. And, I'd like to test them before adding anything aftermarket to them.

 

[Richcz28]

Subscribed! Holy sound deadening!

 

[toomany]

Subscribed! Holy sound deadening!

Between all the sheets and sprayed stuff, there is maybe another 120lbs added to the cab. Hope it makes a noticable difference.

It's like a black hole in there now. Nothing escapes. One of the side effects is the dark grey color absorbs the light and it's hard to see not a lot to reflect off of anymore. Even with the light right there it's still dark.

 

[toomany]

Put a solid 9 hours in today and got almost all of the "outside" wiring done. That includes, rear lighting, fuel pump, front lighting w/relays, wipers, headlight switch. Only thing I haven't done yet is sockets on the ends of the front lighting harness. Everything has tested fine. For the most part, the Ez kit follows GM wire colors, but there are a few that are different. Going to try running door and dome wiring tomorrow. Then I think I'll be ready to start getting into the RAP module and remote start once I know those circuits work correctly.