Inliners International Forums General Discussion Electrical Project re-wire the '51 gmc

I've been wanting to do this for several years as the 1st effort while reliable was not a tidy install - good enough to get the truck on the road, which at the time was good since it was a ground up build. It was kind of like who has the worst plumbing - the plumber ... ditto here (wires are us). The '90 harness was just messy after many mods to get it functional with things like the 4L60E etc..

So I'm 120 hours into re-wiring the '51 from bumper to bumper and while progress is being made its tedious work..

Started with a '96 GMC 2500 harness and peeled out all the un-needed functions. Then started adding support for items like line loc etc...

Oh well it will be a lot cleaner than the original install..

Figure close to 700 terminations/splices/adjustments by the time I'm done..

A few yeas ago GM sold delphi off and they had to start selling product to anyone with $$$ to survive - what this means is almost all there connector products can now be bought via a distributor:

Delphi connectors

For example here is a link to the Delphi page for a 10 position connector

10 pos sealed series 150 metric pack

The level of information available here is true engineering detail including 3D cad models for a lot of the parts.

I have a GM manual for the '96 harness which lists all the connectors used, and by looking up the pn on the delphi site I can find out which pins/seals and mating parts work with a given part.

I'm just trying to get beyond crimpers and squeezey things. MY '53 needs to be done again a lot has changed since '78. All those modern plastic connectors give me fits. I break a lot of them trying to figure out how to release the locks. Thanks for a source for new ones.

Well another 30 hours applied time... gone by at least the engine compartment is getting there. Almost all the sensors and injector/coil outputs have wire on them at the load end. The rest of the non-efi underhood wiring is done at least for now. Once everything is running again I'll take another whack at the main bulk head to relay/fuse center wiring to make it look better. I just don't have all the right terminals to get the job done right now, it'll work as it is.

Hope to get the engine side done by tomorrow PM.. then the ugly side starts under the dash...

Another 24 hours... at least the engine compartment is close to being complete...

[url=

The 4L60e harness and the EFI sensor harness is terminated on the engine side. Working on the EFI outputs (injectors, coils, & VVT)

Out of small wire seals for the connectors so... Tomorrow the 9" is coming out and the dana 60 is going in. The dana has a eaton true trac in it so no more problems with the 9" trac loc. Finally will be able to get both tires hot in the burnout box...

Part of the re-wire will add the control for the 12 72#/hour meth injectors. Later once I have the changes settled done, I'll add the fuel supply side for the meth injectors. I have 80% of the parts on the shelf. Got a decent deal on an Product Engineering series EFI pump... they claim the pumps draw 40 amps at full load.. Good thing they won't be running for more than a few min's at a time... Supposedly they will support 1800 hp .. More pump than what I need but the price was right.

If ever a job would scare me, it's running all those wires correctly. Good Luck with that.

The key to it is planing ahead - list all the wires(what they do) and make a wire run sheet, "map of the cat" and then hang it in the shop so if you find things are different you can mark it up as you go then redo it once your complete. Excel spreadsheet works well.

By the time we are done my guess 1200 connections/splices/adjustments will have been made.

It helps that I do electronics and my buddy Ron is helping. Ron's a hot rodder who has been working on electrics/electronics/hot rods before I came around. By the time I could spell wire Ron was already doing engine swaps... and I'm a year short of double nickles...

Well down to less than 10 wires under the hood to finish. The inside portion of the EFI/trans control harness is started.

Next up is the ugly side - finishing the GM under dash harness and wiring the gages in..

More pix coming up soon.....

engine side almost done

almost done - wide band and some misc. wiring but all the engine control stuff is done. Under dash EFI/Trans control harness 50%.

Good job!!
Hope to see the results in Summerland in June.
Al

The EFI/trans control harnesses are 80% complete, after going around in circles on weather to pass the ground wire though #1 connector - decided to go ahead and do that - so it will leave 2 spares. So the #1 connector to block ground cable needs to be made then the engine side is done-done.

The EFI/Trans control will get pinned through to the engine side tomorrow.

Then onto finish the main GM harness under the dash - its 80% done - had to stop and sort out which wire was going where in the engine compartment 4 weeks ago - now that's known the inside can get finished..

Sure be glad when this is done.

Some of you must be chuckling...

1 coil wire
1 tach wire
1 alt wire
1 temp wire
1 oil pressure wire
1 starter wire

done...

Randy, what connectors are those at the firewall?

They look plenty stout.

Congrats on getting that close to being done with this stage of your project.

Love the clean wiring install. A lot of work up front but when it's done it looks good, reliable, and easy to work on.

I have a long ways to go on mine. Right now it's just make the connections and be sure wires don't get burned or pinched.

Connectors come from 22 position connector

They are a delphi weatherpack connector - which is good as replacement pins are easy to come by.

Marc

Engine compartment is finally completed. The EFI/trans control harnesses (cab side) are 80%. Overall getting close to 90% done.
I'm not looking forward to wiring the gauge package... Has to be done in-situ hanging upside down... ugg.

More pix of the engine side tomorrow.

No pix yet...

By Wed. the cab side EFI & trans control harnesses should be completed and tested plugged into the engine side harnesses and the loads/sensors using my DVM, this is a critical step before connecting any of the control electronics.

The cab side cross-harness (connects the efi/trans control to the GM harness) is started. This allows functions like speedo output from the trans controller to run the speedo and get the brake switch input back into the trans controller to unlock the convertor when at a stop...

Overall its getting there, unless the sky falls on Sunday,(enough hype going around.. not worrying me at the least though) it should be ready to power test by the end of the long weekend.

engine side complete

EFI & transmission controller harnesses get beep tested tonight up to load/sensors ! Yeah big step forward. Still some tidy up under the hood - my priority now is to get the truck moving under it own power again.

Next up finish the main harness under the dash,,,,

You do good work. That was quite an undertaking and most people who see your pickup will never know how much it took to get it right. A true PIONEER!
Beater

Beater - thanks. I keep looking over my shoulder every once in a while looking for the settlers to follow..

Your right on the amount of work..

Not done yet... but by the end of the long weekend it should be fired up.

Once the wiring is done I have mechanical work to do; rebuild the transmission cross member, and finish installing the dana 60. As part of the rear axle install I have to fab new upper and lower shock mounts.

Later I'll be taking on part 2 of the wiring - installing the EGT/turbo pressure/air temp data logging box. This should allow me to find out why I had such bad power surging on the dyno last fall which terminated the season.

Started hot testing the electrical system for non-efi items tonight. Considering the amount of changes we made in the under dash harness so far only 2 items to chase and fix.

I'm running only a single element lamp in the front for turn signal & running lamps. So it take a few relays to make every work and somewhere during the relay wiring the rear running lights feed got missed. The under dash/dome lights are not working.

Getting closer to rumble..... Tested the starter are it worked....

Main under dash harness is installed YEAH! The 2 gremlins from yesterday got banished... The speedo and quad gauge stub harnesses are terminated with quick disconnects.

Next up is to finish wiring the gauges in, fab and mount the wire support on the firewall for the EFI harnesses and then mount the harnesses to it.

Nice to have the extra underdash lighting.

After tying the main harness into branches, it went in and is quite tidy, the bulk of the wire is stuffed up and hidden. I was considering shortening the main harness between the fuse block and the bulkhead disconnect - but now I think its good to go as is.

The light at the end of the tunnel is real bright now..

24 applied hours later - 98% done. Some warehouse jockey put the wrong connector in a parts bin, and when I ordered it of course they shipped this part @#$!@ ! What luck. - NOT. So back on the phone tomorrow.

Less than 15 wires to terminate now. Need to fabricate the mounts for the ECM's (EFI & Trans control) before I can finish dressing the harness.

2 more nights...

one more night of making electrical connections then build the ECM mount and dress the harness...

IF someone said this is going to take 9 weeks when I started this I would have looked at them strange..

Found the wiper motor is partially toast. Needs to be changed before finish installing the speedo/quad gage.

Ever night I go and spend 2-4 hours working on this... I starting to think the wires are breeding while I'm at work...

I'm really determined to get ALL the wiring done before I fire the truck and start tuning as I know the little things won't get done ....

Getting closer...

This pile is 1/3 the size of what it was when we started building the EFI/Trans control harnesses + 80' of SXL black wire.

[url= Uploaded with ImageShack.us]Remains of the wire farm[/url]

Speedo and Quad gages showing the quick disconnect plugs - finally will be easy to get them out without fighting the harness.

[url= Uploaded with ImageShack.us]In dash gages with service disconnects[/url]

Science Project gages...

[url= Uploaded with ImageShack.us]rocket gages....

Three screws and they all come out as one assembly...

Under dash shot showing added 1x1 wire support, back side of the 22 pin bulk head connectors, the mid-dash relay panel to run; lineloc, transbrake/NO2, and manual shift control for the transmission. When the shift relay are active the transmission controller has no effect on gear changes, just line pressure and TC lockup (I have a manual lock to force the TC to lock for dyno purposes - in direct/LU - its more like manual 4 spd than an auto for power drain).
[url= Uploaded with ImageShack.us]mid dash relays[/url]
mid dash relays

Still one more night to finish wiring. Once the EFI/Trans controller is mounted & tested the under dash harnesses will be tied up properly.

Crimpers are in the toolbox

1/2 way done changing the wiper motor.

Is the drivetrain all fixed?

Ready to go to a track soon?

MBHD

Short answer - not yet.

The truck still has the stock 4L60E in it - has enough capcity to allow the truck to move. The built 4l60E is repaired and ready to go back in (has been since xmas..). The 4L80E is on the stand waiting until the brake relocation/steering/electrical refit was done, so the built 4L60E is going back in for now.

3 weeks ago the Dana showed up and while its installed to hold the truck - its next on the list once the EFI stuff is completed tomorrow. I sold the 9" and a set of lincoln rear disk brakes for 70% of the cost for the dana and I needed a better posi for the 9" so it was time to upgrade.

Sheet list...

Swap transmissions
revise the transmission crossmember
Get the driveshaft shortened.
Verify the pinion angle - weld perches, paint diff. Replace the brake shoes.
Fab upper and lower shock mounts.

Goal is next sat to head to the first summer car show... not sure if I'm going to get all this done.

The next must attend event is the inliners Canwest BBQ.

I wish you lots of luck getting it all done. I'm heading to a show in Virginia City in an hour or so without my pickup. Tried to get another layer of flat paint on it and found a lot more work than expected. Will be hard pressed to get to our Inliner show next week. Looking at your pictures makes me cringe. What an under taking. Swapping engines and such is nothing to all that. No ash tray? Something is bound to be smokin'!

Just curious what adaptor do you need to run the 4L80E?

Did you determine what caused the breakage on the chassis dyno,tieing down the rear axle? or?

I see a lot of guy w/there Syclones & Typhoons switching over the 4L80E's & not having one problem after they do the change.

The 700R4 built ones,65E 5 gear planitary unit, w/cryo treated/billet parts all seem not to last long @ all in there A.W.D. turbocharged torque monsters.

When the trans has to deal w/A.W.D. brake launching @ 500+ ft lbs of torque, something has to give & it's usually the tranny.

I never liked the gear spacing on the 700R4/4l60/65E's that's why I bought a 4L85E for my Camaro,plus the 4L85E can take a lot of abuse ,even in stock form.

Plus my car is a street car & having a high stall lock-up converter is the way to go in my book.


MBHD

New thread started.... on topic

Wirings done - engine is running.

As I'm the first to run the 4200 with the new MS3, at the end of the day I have to do the final s/w testing. The s/w guys can bench test but they don't have a 4200 and engine test stand at hand. Again I'm trailblazing.. Some times I wish I could be riding in the wagon... Just bolt on and go...

So its a double edged sword ... On one hand I have to do and sort out (report) s/w issues on the other hand the s/w guys are quick to turn out a fix. Upside is I have the tech background to be able to do this.

With a commercial aftermarket system, the s/w is better tested for applications that are common e.g. LS series engines, but try and get new engines added can be painful. And if a bug is found the turn around time can have your ride stuck for a while.

Well after a 5 day thrash to get all the updated/repaired mechanical items installed, I finally took the truck around the block tonight.


Now onto tidy up and finish the small loose ends. Then tuning. [url= Uploaded with ImageShack.us]engine complete[/url]

Back to the fun stuff. It'll be good to see what the new s/w and tune does.

Making progress getting everything settled down.

Have some brake issues I'll post in the correct spot...