85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

Countdown to Throwdown! I'm so excited this morning. I couldn't sleep so I went out early to check on Scarlett. Her firewall has an excellent shine and the paint is dry. Motor assembly will begin today.

[RodsGreen10]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Countdown to Throwdown! I'm so excited this morning. I couldn't sleep so I went out early to check on Scarlett. Her firewall has an excellent shine and the paint is dry. Motor assembly will begin today.

About time lol. Great work Ken keep it up brother. The clock is ticking....

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by RodsGreen10

About time lol. Great work Ken keep it up brother. The clock is ticking....

We be just a stroking.

[N2TRUX]

Today Chris and I worked on assembly of the motor accessories and installing the @slosh_tubz core support filler panels. Here's a peak at the panels while I break for dinner.

[RodsGreen10]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

We be just a stroking.

Lol. Well stroke away.

[N2TRUX]

Chris and I are seeing progress on the motor accessories assembly. We started at the back of the block and slowly working forward. We are refining each component and fine tuning the fit as we go so it's tedious.

It's times like these that a build partner is so beneficial. It's so much more productive having someone to work on refinements as you assemble. Combine that with another perspective to agree or disagree with how things will look as you make changes.

[rustytruck50]

Beautiful under-hood work at this stage....the end result is going to be stunning!

[owner 84]

Way awesome. I saw these picturs on the Instagram. @gm.nasser_060

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by RodsGreen10

Lol. Well stroke away.

Early and late.

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Beautiful under-hood work at this stage....the end result is going to be stunning!

Originally Posted by owner 84

Way awesome. I saw these picturs on the Instagram. @gm.nasser_060

Thanks for the kind words and following my feed

[N2TRUX]

Yesterday was a blur and now another weekend is gone. We got a lot done but it still doesn't seem like enough.

Chris took on the challenge of making the primary harness look nice. Its a slow and tedious task, but he is persistent. He cleaned the grunge from all the wires, then repaired a few bare spots and bad splices. All of the repairs were soldered and covered with waterproof heat shrink. He followed this with wraps of 3M tape to help contain it, then used braided harness sleeve to contain everything.

We still have a couple of sub harnesses to build, but this was a big step in moving forward.

[aggie91]

Very nice work. I have been using that braided wire wrap too, I love the look it gives to the harness.

[N2TRUX]

While Chris focused on the main harness, I worked on the prepping the core support filler panels for install, along with several other small parts. Once he finished the main harness we had to route and fine tune it. We ran the bulk of the wires under the brake booster then relocated and rotated the power distribution block. That will allow us to run the wire out of view as much as possible.

To ensure that the routing would work we installed the water pump, followed by the alternator, then routed the fuel lines. The alternator wires had previously been repaired and were now too short to allow proper routing. We had to extend the wires and were able to find a clean path.

From there I worked my way down to the starter wires. I cleaned and reshaped the battery power cable then added a clamp to the oil pan studs. I tucked everything away from the headers for heat safety.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Very nice work. I have been using that braided wire wrap too, I love the look it gives to the harness.

Karl it really cleans things up compared to the old plastic split loom. I used that for years till I discovered the split braided mesh. We lay out the harness and wrap it with quality electrical tape every few inches to contain the wire in the tightest and most efficient bundle. This make the loom much smoother and eliminates the possibility of a wire sneaking out.

[LDO]

Where do you pick that up at and what size is used for the majority of the wiring?

[GAc10boy]

Amazing progress, Ken. Can't wait to see at LST.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by LDO

Where do you pick that up at and what size is used for the majority of the wiring?

I have ordered it from a couple of sources. Last time I bought it from Dennis Carpenter truck parts at a swap meet. There is some cheap crap on ebay so avoid it. 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 are the most used. I picked up some 3/4 but it's rarely used.
The stock split loom is deceptive. They used much larger than required in many places.

Originally Posted by GAc10boy

Amazing progress, Ken. Can't wait to see at LST.

Thanks for the kind words.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by LDO

Where do you pick that up at and what size is used for the majority of the wiring?

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

I have ordered it from a couple of sources. Last time I bought it from Dennis Carpenter truck parts at a swap meet. There is some cheap crap on ebay so avoid it. 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 are the most used. I picked up some 3/4 but it's rarely used.
The stock split loom is deceptive. They used much larger than required in many places. ...

I order it off of Amazon. We use TechFlex brand at work in the mining equipment industry. It is good stuff. Here are some links to the split loom:
1/4" split sleeve, 20' length
1/2" split sleeve, 10' length

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

I order it off of Amazon. We use TechFlex brand at work in the mining equipment industry. It is good stuff. Here are some links to the split loom:
1/4" split sleeve, 20' length
1/2" split sleeve, 10' length

Thanks for sharing

[N2TRUX]

Last night was mixed between success and failure. I decided to work on the crossbrace in front of the motor. We had put off painting it as it was a great place to stand while working on top and behind the motor. Chris had already unbolted the brake proportioning valve and scuffed it down. I gave it a quick clean up and shot it with satin black.

While the crossbrace was drying I prepped the bolts for the crank pulley. As they were drying I masked the crossbrace and spray the proportioning valve. Meanwhile my dye job was failing so I installed the crank pulley.

[N2TRUX]

While the crossbrace was drying I worked on the last shipment of parts I had received from Brothers Truck parts. The map pockets and arm rest pads had been on back order, but they arrived last week. They were only available in carmine red, so I had to dye them Napa red to match.

I masked off the back side, and sprayed them with bulldog. I let that cure and started laying down the dye. I noticed it was blushing and realized that a front was blowing through our area and the humidity level went way up. I tried using a small heater to dry the air around them and coated them with dye again. It went from bad to worse.

I finally gave up and called it a night.

[N2TRUX]

I worked late so only had time for one small task to be accomplished. I tuned and transmission cooler lines. They fit a little tighter to the oil pan and I add some line clamps. I will adjust as needed once they are hooked to the radiator.

[N2TRUX]

I got up early today and spent some time in the shop. I can see that early and late sessions are going to be normal from here on out. I used my time to mock up the A/C system on the firewall. I had previously modified, prepped and painted all of the separate components, now it was time to see how they fit.

I used stainless button heads where possible and bolted everything together. Now that I know it all fits correctly I will pull it apart and ad new sealer. It will go together one last time after I install the header on this side.

[lolife99]

Ken,... Where are you buying all your stainless button head bolts?
I've used Totally Stainless before.
Just wondered if you had a better source.

[JohnJ@RideTech]

Looks killer man!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Ken,... Where are you buying all your stainless button head bolts? I've used Totally Stainless before.
Just wondered if you had a better source.

Keith I have ordered from Totally Stainless in the past. They do sell a big variety but they are a bit pricey. Now I use Alloy Boltz. Great to work with and more reasonable prices.

Originally Posted by JohnJ@RideTech

Looks killer man!

Thanks for the kind words John