1955 Ranch Wagon Cruiser

Vents from an F-150 or E series van?

Dirtyrat said:

Vents from an F-150 or E series van?

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I think so ( sort of forgot). Ford uses similar vents in the F -series, in the Mustangs and probably many other cars. I got them from a Ford dealer.
I spent a couple days roaming Pick a parts without finding what I wanted.

I have been wiring the dash while it's sitting on the bench. Lot's easier than trying to do it installed. The fuse panel is located in the glove compartment, which should make future trouble shooting a little easier.

I am able to put power to the panel and check that everything is working.

wiring

Here's a couple pics of the dash from the back side. (Not sure why they turned upside down.)

I decided to check out the ac wiring.

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Then the engine harness. I also pulled the wires to the front lights and horn, but I didn't get a pic. The wires to the rear are laying on the floor, but I'm not sure how to route them to get to the tail lights and fuel pump.

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Which led to installing the air cleaner so I could see where the MAF went and needed a brace to hold the air cleaner.

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The engine harness has turned intimidating again. I'm having to go back and re-learn most of what I need to do it tie it into the fuse panel and the gauges. The VSS has me confused.

DJ3100 said:

The engine harness has turned intimidating again. I'm having to go back and re-learn most of what I need to do it tie it into the fuse panel and the gauges. The VSS has me confused.

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That yellow one there, going across the valve cover, it goes to the pitot tube. I see you already have those pink and yellow wires connected to the radio altimeter relay, so that part is done. You're doing great. Keep going. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

"The engine harness has turned intimidating again. I'm having to go back and re-learn most of what I need to do it tie it into the fuse panel and the gauges. The VSS has me confused."

I started pulling the engine out of the 03 Tahoe today and I can relate

8literbeater said:

That yellow one there, going across the valve cover, it goes to the pitot tube. I see you already have those pink and yellow wires connected to the radio altimeter relay, so that part is done. You're doing great. Keep going. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

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I started pulling the engine out of the 03 Tahoe today and I can relate [/QUOTE]

You need this site: http://www.lt1swap.com/

I was confused about the VSS:

Two wires to the speedometer. Two wires on the VSS - one says high signal the other says low signal. The VSS is ac so those wires are not + and -. I only need to splice one for the gauge and then send the other gauge wire to ground. Lots of things like that need an explanation for me.

DJ3100 said:

I started pulling the engine out of the 03 Tahoe today and I can relate

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You need this site: http://www.lt1swap.com/ [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link. I am aware of this link and have read it a couple times
Brendan is not too far from me, about 1 1/2 drive

The goal is to get the dash installed.

Installed the wiper arms and motor - that was a struggle without the dash in place. I don't think I could do it with the dash in. Powered it up - didn't work. The ground wasn't. After changing the ground it works as expected.

I found that the defroster ducts didn't match the size of the defroster ducts/hose/ outlets. I welded an exhaust reducer on. Then found there wasn't enough hose in the kit. A trip to Socal netted me the hose, a dome light cover, matching Ford knobs, courtesy light switches and a couple other things.

Found the glove compartment lock, but it was locked with no key. I took it to a lock shop. They got it working, lubed it and made a key, all for $15.

I keep finding other wires to run in the dash, but I think I'm ready to install the dash, after we eat some turkey.

I wish my dash came out like that, perhaps on my next build I'll do something like that.
Your wiring looks nice and clean! At some point I would like to re-wire inside the cab with a cleaner install like that.

Dirtyrat said:

I wish my dash came out like that, perhaps on my next build I'll do something like that.
Your wiring looks nice and clean! At some point I would like to re-wire inside the cab with a cleaner install like that.

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This is the first time I have had the option of wiring the dash on the bench. It's way easier. It is also the third complete wiring job I have done in recent years, so I have the tools, materials and procedures figured out.

On the 3100 I had the harness in and wire tied nicely. It was neat and looked great. Then I installed the AC and the neat went away. When the stereo went in the wiring became a total rats nest.

This time I don't have the stereo yet, haven't addressed the power windows and I plan on adding a bunch of LED lighting to light up the rear and the floor. I will probably end up with the rat's next again.

Heh, I hear you on the rats nest thing... Starting with any modern factory harness is a real pain... I have a ways to go, but anyhow again, nice work!

Boy the wiring can really get out of hand if you're not on each time you modify or add.

DJ3100 said:

.........and I plan on adding a bunch of LED lighting to light up the rear and the floor.

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What do you think of this?

It can be bought with fewer conductors.

Good for longer distances, neater?

hansgoudzwaard said:

What do you think of this?

It can be bought with fewer conductors.

Good for longer distances, neater?

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I have used that or similar stuff. Works well for pulling the wires to the tail. Maybe it could be used for the front lights as well. Not good for the stuff behind the dash - switches, gauges, wipers.

Got the dash mounted. There is absolutely no room behind the dash. That evaporator and the air/ defroster ducts take up a most of the space. There's a mess of wires that have to go somewhere. I pulled the wires to the tail down through the A pillar, into the rocker and out the other side. Figuring out where and how to route the wires can be a challenge.

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I removed the engine harness. Too many loose wires and gaps in the loom. (This is the before pic.) It was harder getting it out than putting it in. I changed the length on some wires and generally worked at making the bundles smaller. I'm replacing the corrugated loom with woven split loom that is easier to get in place and I think looks better. Actually I'm still working on it.

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This car is gonna be a dream to drive***

I took the engine harness out , pulled the plastic corrugated split loom off. Moved some wires to make the bundle smaller where it needed to go under the booster and figured out some of the unknowns. Here's what it looks like now.

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I laid the dash on a padded couple milk crates so I could make the connections behind. The AC ducts are in and most of the wiring is hooked up. Been leaning on the fenders and dragging wire across the paint, but I figure if anything does make a scratch it will come out in the cut and buff. Looks ok so far, though.

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That's going to be an awesome ride. Very nice job.[cl