51 GMC (customers truck)
 

I have been asked if I work on other peoples trucks. Up until now the answer was always no. A guy reached out from the Gram to ask if I would work on his 51 GMC to sort out a bunch of "issues". He was a friend of a friend so I said bring it over and let me look at it first. He also has looked over my Suburban at local shows.

Back story - Bo purchased the truck off eBay site unseen from Canada. The truck runs and drives. The truck was built with a bunch of top notch parts. Examples: Scotts Hot rods suspension, 6.0 LS, Latest AccuAir set up. RideTech adjustable shocks and vintage air to name a few. I just think they thru it together for a quick sale. Like I say they fumbled at the 1 yrd line.

I will focus on the following (for now):
*Remove all faulty existing wiring.
* Rewire the entire truck (AAW Highway 15 kit). For now leaving the LS side of the wiring alone as it was a repined stock harness (not my favorite)
* Add interior lighting.
* Hook up exterior push button door handles to work with the Altman latches. (I removed a door popper kit)
* Wire in a fan controller. (same one I used in the Suburban)
* Fix the AccuAir as it does not calibrate correctly.
* Add horns.
* Added door jam contacts like I used on the Suburban for the wires that pass thru the door jam.

He purchased all he parts I suggest. I asked for 1/2 down and 1/2 on completion. So far I'm about 65% done.

He has another friends truck (59 Chevy -RS chassis) that he wants me to work on next but I said lets get this one done first and make sure everyone is happy.

The LS wiring is scary now that I have gotten into it. There is colored labeled wiring that was used for other circuits where they dont belong. It makes trouble shooting down the road impossible. We might be rewiring that with a BP Automotive harness later but for now I will concentrate on the chassis wiring and hope the LS side of things we can use. I have provided examples of some of the wiring surprises.

Thanks
Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

The way you work, I'm sure this will turn out well.

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

looks like a lot of fun in a short space, lol.
you're probably correct in just starting from scratch with a new harness. likely be less time spent that the owner has to pay hourly for anyway. I have this conversation with some people when I am fixing their vehicle. like, yes, I can have the brake rotors machined and it is cheaper than buying new rotors, but unless you wanna come pick them up and drop them off, wait for them to be machined and pick them up and bring them back to me, then it is cheaper to simply buy the new rotors. I don't drive your parts around town, wait for them to be finished and tie my shop up in the meantime and do all that for free.if I sent you across town for a pizza would you not wanna get paid for your time and your fuel?
nice work you do, always enjoy your posts with pics

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Thank you

Helps that the owner is level headed and not afraid to spend money to make his truck more reliable/drivable. All I'm doing to his truck is stuff I've already done/installed on my own. I will get the pics caught up. I have a good share of the wiring completed. I need to run wires up front and out back for lights next.

Thanks
Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

I always look forward to see pics of your work,

Hope all is well

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Marc, looking forward to more pics and how it turns out...Jim

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Thank you. All is good,

Marc

Thank you. I'm about 35 hrs in. I have most of the wiring from the cab back done. I have the headlights, horns and fan controller left up front. I have all the interior lighting left and gauges on the inside. Then some other odds and ends. I quoted 60 hrs. all in so I feel like I'm doing good.

I will snap some pics this week. Nothing too earth shattering, just wiring.

Thank you
Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Yep, sometimes on wiring it's easier to start over. Major pet peeve of mine is when wires change color inside the loom. Makes trouble shooting almost impossible.

What did you use for the fan controller? Was it a single or dual fan?

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Yeah I have found headlight labeled wires used for the trinary switch for the A/C. Like you said wires switching colors under wrap. I found a main power feed to the ignition that started red finished in blue by the started and was not soldered or crimped, simply twisted together. He's lucky he didn't have a fire with this wiring.

I really like the controllers by Cooling Components. Its not cheap but small, you dont need to run extra relays and works great. It is adjustable and waterproof so you can mount any where. Single fan but this is is 2 speed controller. I used one in my Suburban. On my last (2) builds I also used their slim 2 5/8" fan with shroud. Really moves some air. Their tech line and customer service is top notch too.

https://cooling-components.com/produ...ntroller-ss-2/

Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Here is the license plate led light bolts I like using. They are cheap ($10 for 4), stealthy and put out great amount of light. The only drawback is you need to be creative so you dont see a bunch of wires showing. That stuff bugs me. I used 3m trim tape on the back side of the license plate to hold the wires tight to the back of the plate. This one was challenging based on the fact of where is plate was mounted. I attached a pic of the Suburban in daylight with the lights on to give you an idea of the amount of light these kick out.

I also attached a pic of the main fuse panel. Keep in mind once I'm done running all the wires I will tighten up the wires and loom them neatly. Just showing my process.

Thank you
Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

I'm a big fan of two-speed fans. I really just can't stand the sound but let your fan screaming on full speed all the time. And toggle switch is just annoying me. Dakota Digital makes a good one that can be wired into use whatever temp sender is already in there or plug into the box if you're running Dakota Digital gauges. Bluetooth setup single dual or two-speed fan options. Have you said on several customer builds and have been very happy with it.

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

I'm approaching the end of this project. The truck fired up which was a big relief due to the repined harness and other no marked wires. The plan all along was to leave the Engine wiring as is.

I installed the door jam switches. I love these. They have great adjustability to how far the buttons stick out. This is the 3rd set I have installed. They are not cheap but provide a clean way to eliminate wires going thru a door. This set has a built in dome light button. You can get them in many different configurations.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dak-mgs-3

I retrofitted an LED panel for the dome light. I like these 24 LED panels off eBay. They are cheap and effective. I used a little dumb dumb or puddy to secure them to the housing.

I'm attacking a final punch list and hope to have it finished within 2 weeks.

Nice weather in MI. I have had the Suburban out a couple times as a parts runner..

Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

for the level of solution, I'd hardly call those connectors expensive!

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

I agree but some might.....You need 2 sets at a minimum so it can add up.

Combined with my last (2) builds I have over 10 yrs of use with these connectors and they have never failed (that is a lot of door slamming)

Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

One thing I ran into that I thought I would mention to help others.

This truck runs all LED for tail lights, and parking lights. Really the same set up I'm running on the 53. The tail lights/parking lamps are a full LED light/circuit board (not just a LED bulb). The American Autowire (AAW) Highway 15 I'm using comes with an LED flasher (Same as the one I'm using in my Suburban). I should have been good. I could not get the blinkers to flash or hazards to flash. After frustration I contacted AAW. They said I most likely needed some resistance. They noticed the full LED tail lights/ parking lamps do not have minimal resistance needed to activate the flasher. They suggested I wire in some resistors in the left/right blinker wires.

I grabbed (4) 55w resistors off Amazon for $10.00.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0838XHWR5...t_details&th=1

This was the fix.

This tripped me up because I didn't experience this with my 53 running almost the same set up.

I hope it helps others as blinkers can be especially frustrating to trouble shoot.

Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Great work as always Marc, Thanks for sharing.

I am confused about your door switches. It appears that the switch needs to be attached to the 'jam' and the 'door'. So why/how do you not need wires in the door? as it looks like the back side of both sides need wires?

I read the Summit ad and just dont get it?

sorry, I must be missing something


Dakota Digital Magnum Shooters eliminate those unsightly wires in door jambs, trunks, trailer ramps, pickup beds, and tailgates. They are spring-loaded and fully adjustable from 1/4 in. to 11/16 in. Dakota Digital Magnum Shooters can be used with power windows and locks, remote entry systems, stereo systems, alarms, and many more.

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

You need wires on both sides of the switches as you mentioned. Without these you would need to stretch wires across the opening of the door. As we know wires tend to break/fail when they are repeatably bent as the door opens and closes.

It basically eliminates the need for something like this. It is a much cleaner solution in my honest opinion.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/a...CABEgJ0tPD_BwE

Make sense?

Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

This is the first customer job as I mentioned. I always knew wiring was a time suck. I quoted 60 hrs total. I broke down as 20 hrs to remove and trouble shoot existing wiring (mess) and 40 to install new wiring harness and trouble shoot the AccuAir system. I went over the 60 hr estimate this week and I still have to wire up the gauges and finish the dome lights and add a return spring for his brake pedal.

I mention this because as you start to track the time spent it is surprising how much time can be spent on something like wiring. Like any job I'm sure it can be done faster. I always try to think out how I will run the wires so they are not an eye sore. Neatness counts. The customer was familiar with how I wired my Suburban and he basically said I want that.

Thank you
Marc

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Thanks Marc, but I am still confused

you say you need wires on both sides of the switch, So, you will still have to run wires through the door jam to get to the door switch. (what does it eliminate?)


sorry, I am not getting it

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

I get it now, sorry

The wires on the back side of the doors go directly to the electrical switch (door lock, power window etc)

So, these won't work if the door is open, but they avoid the bundle of wires through the door jam.

sorry, I am a little slow today,


Thanks for your help, and I am very sorry

Re: 51 GMC (customers truck)
 

Really good information Marc! Thank you for sharing.