Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Here are some more pictures of the power steering lines.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Dude. :metal:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks for the pics. That helps a lot. I need to get back to working on mine.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Man, your really pounding out some good work here :chop:

I really like your steering wheel. I've done a grant or two in my day and while they aren't bad, having a quality wheel, column, and internals really makes a big difference. I think grant has low budget, and high budget stuff ;)

Fuse block setup looks nice, I'm thinking of that same 3 relay fan setup as well. Hopefully I pinned the PCM correctly and won't have to go back and redo the engine harness again...

So what exactly is leaking on your fuel setup? I'm using the tanks Inc PA-4 series and didn't have any problems at all back when I pressurized the system and fired up my motor. I'm using A/N to braided line looks like it's the only difference. Curious to see how this one turns out.

Looking good man, keep it up!

.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks guys.

TA - We tested the fan wiring by grounding out the wires we identified as the ground trigger wires to be connected back to the PCM and confirmed that they work as they should. Only time will tell as to whether the wires I have coming from the PCM will send the ground triggers when they're supposed to! I had a mail order tune put on my PCM so that's another variable. Per the GM diagram, once the coolant temp reaches its higher limit, both wires should be grounded. If only the high temp wire is grounded, only one fan will run full speed. But with both wires grounded, both wires run full speed. With only the low temp wire grounded, both fans run half speed.

The first leak is the single supply fitting coming out of the regulator - the one that has all the play in it. I should have lubed up that fitting before pressing it in, I may have messed up the o-ring. I might end up ruining the regulator in pulling that fitting out because of the teeth. Or it may already be ruined if I messed up the o-ring.

The second leak is somewhere at the top of the pump assembly. I tightened up the supply and return fittings and I think they quit leaking but it almost looks like fuel is seeping out where the pickup and returns penetrate the mounting plate. I used Permatex aviation sealant on both sides of the cork gasket and the threads of the screws, but maybe I overtightened the screws. I used anti-seize on the supply and return fittings so I want to take those back out and put Permatex on them and make sure they aren't leaking. I'm also wondering if maybe the fittings are putting some side load on the pickup and return tubes and causing a leak. So lots of variables to explore.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Ok homie.... How did you wire your 3 relay fans with A/C? Are you using a trinary switch? I went through all the old threads and I don't see where anyone really answered this question with certainty when it pertained the following details:

LS Swap - ECM controlling fans
Vintage Air A/C
3 relay setup

LS1Nova71 was the closest I found to explaining this setup but looked like it was never verified....?? http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=781007

Thanks man.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Call VA. They told me that I needed the trinary switch.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

So for now, I am wired without any A/C considerations because it's going to be awhile before I have my Vintage Air system.

Here's a link to a thread where I found all the info for both scenarios: https://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo...d.php?t=617142

Post #9 (also by ls1nova71) shows the GM schematic for the 3-relay/2 fan setup without A/C. Further into the thread, post #49 from dayj1 has a bunch of schematics on how to keep the PCM and Vintage Air happy. It looks like the links to the pictures are broken, but one of the last 2 diagrams on that post are what I plan on using. I'll reach out to dayj1 about the broken links.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

You guys....it runs! I mean, it really RUNS. Saturday we got a lot done:
-Sealed up fuel pump leak (thank you Rectorseal 5)
-Finished the trans fluid lines
-Finished the coolant lines
-Bled the brakes
-Installed shift linkage
-Filled all fluids

We had it running just before lunch - I couldn't believe that it fired right up. We finished up a few items after lunch and by 4:30, it was ready for its maiden voyage. So we threw the seats in it and put about a mile on it. It was starting to get dark, it was a little chilly, I don't have any glass in it and we had to hold the doors closed, but it was awesome. This thing flat out RUNS. I was so glad to hear it start up and that most everything works. No check engine light, no leaks, fans function just as they should, and it's got a nice chop at idle. The steering is easy and the brakes are strong. We were doing about 25 and I gave it about half throttle and the tires broke loose since there's hardly any weight on the back.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Oh man! That is awesome to hear. Very excited for you. You did a good job to get that far and not have any bells, whistles, or leaks.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

SWEET!! :truck::burnout::burnout:

That's gotta feel good man. Congrats. I wanna see two black strips on pavement real soon!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Way to go man! Congratulations! :metal:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks guys. It was a huge accomplishment and I'll be starting it just to hear it run every chance I get now. But I have to wait until I have the bed on to take it on a real drive.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I cleaned up/rebuilt the marker lights. New lenses, gaskets, and lamps. I'm developing an appreciation for OEM parts. For instance, these buckets are quality pieces and no repro part could ever match it. All I did was clean it up a little bit and it looks as degraded after 51 years as a modern piece would look after 10 years.

I didn't use the rivets that came with the lenses because I hate them, so I used aluminum rivets we had on hand. Then I found out that I need to relocate my trans cooler lines because I can't get this assembly in on the passenger side!

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looking good. I'm glad you posted this. Im planning to recess my parking lights so you can't see them and I need to mock this up now before I install my trans cooler lines in radiator...

Your not going with LED? What's your reason on this man....? ;)

.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I got a few little things done this weekend - mirrors, locks, door handles, and VIN tag are on. I had to file on the driver side lock hole in the door to get the lock in; that was painful. Also have most of the front lights wiring done, just don't have lights to hookup yet.

I buffed my old front bumper a little bit, but decided it would look bad next to the fresh paint and compared to the new rear bumper so I'll have to order one.

We finished out the day and took it for another short drive. I like to take it for a spin whenever I can to get the bugs out. The tach isn't working right though, it seems to be reading low and it has quite a delay so I need to figure that out eventually. I don't know what the tuner set it for but I might be able to fix it through programming the gauges.

Progress is going to be a little slow for the next couple months with Christmas and having to buy a bed soon. Next steps will be the sound system and some lighting, maybe a new front bumper and glass.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looking good man. How did you clean up your vin tag?

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looking good. You got a lot done since last time I checked.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I just sprayed some glass cleaner on it and wiped it off, it was in pretty good shape already. I might hit it with some metal polish one of these days if I really want it to shine.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Looking good, you gotta love that blue in the sun.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Truck looks hot on a chilly day in Western Colorado! You have came a long ways in what seems like a short time. Hoping to get back on mine after the first of the year. Wife decided she needed new windows for the house....

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks guys. That day, the sun came out for about 10 minutes just as I was finishing up a couple things to take it for a spin. I have to get it done before I get married because it won't be as easy to spend time and money on projects after that. At least that's what I'm told!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Congratulations! That's not always the case. There are a lot of variables. A lot of it depends if children are in the picture.
Brian

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Not entirely true, you can work on the ones you have, acquiring new ones is the challenge!

Looking great, you have come a long way this year...

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Happy New Year everyone!

My dad and I had the day off yesterday and we got a lot done on the sound system. We built an enclosure to take place of the stock fuel tank (using the fuel tank mounting holes) to house two subs and two speakers and the amp, wrapped in vinyl. The subs are shallow 10" driven by a 1000W amp and the speakers are 6" components. I have slightly smaller speakers to install in the front kick panel vents next and the system will be complete. The specs on the subs indicate a minimum box volume of .35 cu ft and I'm at .44 so it worked pretty well. The system (even without front speakers) sounds great. They are slim subs with small boxes, but I'm not looking to shake the truck apart, just get some good bass.

When we modified the dash, we used a double din sleeve from an Alpine double din unit we had laying around. What I found while looking for a head unit was that Alpine seems to be consistent with their chassis size, so the head unit I bought fit perfect in the sleeve. I like this iLX-W650 because it's so shallow, light, and affordable. The only trick with it is that it's got a safety feature in which a lot of the functions and settings are unavailable unless the parking brake is on. However, "parking brake engaged" is a relative term - it just means that the unit needs to see a ground on the parking brake wire in order to unlock those functions. But it can't be a constant ground, the unit needs to see the ground appear after it's turned on. So I just ran it to my ground buss bar under the dash and installed a toggle switch in line so I can fool it whenever I need to. No relay or microbypass needed.

My console also arrived - it was pulled out of a 14-18 GM pickup/SUV before it went into service for law enforcement so it's basically brand new and fits perfect between the seats. They robbed the USB and charging ports out of it, but my head unit came with a USB cable that I ran under the carpet so I can plug my phone in from the console and charge or use Apple CarPlay.

I know some guys are cringing at the quantity of speakers and the modified dash, but I value a good sound system and I love the double din receiver.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Speaker box looks good. Giving me ideas...

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Yeah I like the speaker box too. But those look like coax speakers not components... Components normally have the crossover box and tweeters mounted outside the mid-woofer? I'm no expert, just been doing a lot of research for my truck. I'm really happy to hear your details having .44 cu ft. Makes sizing subs easier for me now :thumbs:

I plan to do something similar. I like the idea of the new speaker mounts in the cab corners from brotherstrucks but not sure about that yet. I plan to do components in my doors and remote mount the tweeters somewhere higher in the door. Or maybe put them in kick panels only. I dunno. P.O. cut holes in the door for 6x9's so.....

Sweet man :metal:

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

You're right, they're coax. The boxes could have been slightly deeper by decreasing the angle of the front panel and making the box longer, but I'm happy with it and it sounds good.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I have the same speaker in a 10 inch version, only one of them, in my daily driver... a single cab Sierra. It rocks flat out in such a small space. With those 2 subs, you’re liable to shake the fillings out of your teeth. Looks great, as usual.;)

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks. I'm not going for a bumping system so it's a little overkill, but I wanted it to be symmetrical and have plenty of adjustment.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

The front end lighting is done. I bought the halogen upgrade headlights from LMC and I'm pretty pleased with them. They use a modern 9007 lamp and I opted for the blue-coated lamps for whiter light. Working with 4 headlights makes me jealous of you Chevy guys - it's twice the struggle and there's barely enough room in front of the core support for the housing and lamp pigtail so the wires are almost stressed on the inners. Also, I couldn't remember how the spring hooked on the buckets so I fought that for awhile.

But the LED sidemarker lights from SOKY were easy to install and look great too.

I need to figure out how to reset the glass in the channels though. I haven't been able to find much info on this task yet. It seems from the factory they were just pressed in with some rubber without any adhesive. I ordered the "glass setting rubber" from LMC and it's basically just strips of rubber. The passenger glass fell out of the channel during door disassembly so I took the driver side apart and sandblasted and painted the channels while I was at it. If anyone has any tips on this, let me know please.

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Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I noticed my door glass was set in the channels using butyl rubber. Not sure if that was factory....

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Potter, I'm trying to change out the fittings on my Astro Hydro unit. Do you have any idea what size the fittings are? I'm thinking I need the RUS-648060 for the Input and the RUS-648080 for the output, but don't know for sure. I also can't find what the size of the low pressure return fitting is.

I want to put new fittings that will 90 out and give me more control over where my lines run. Thanks

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Those should be correct - (1) 16MM and (1) 18MM (not sure which is input and output though). I don't know what the return fitting is, mine had a 3/8" barb fitting on it already. But from some internet searching, I would guess it to be 1/8" NPT (same as 5/16"-24). Here's a link I came across that has a whole bunch of fittings - I found the Hydratech HBS9100 and HBS9101 about 3/4 of the way down the page.

http://www.hydratechbraking.com/hose_fittings.html

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

When I did mine, I asked a buddy that works for a mobile windshield repair company, and he gave me a partial tube (leftover from another job) of windshield adhesive. It was black, kinda thick and in a caulk type tube.

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

So you didn't use any rubber? Just glued it to the channel?

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Yep

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

I just ordered a tube of 3M windshield adhesive, wish me luck!

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

The truck's looking good!
What seats are you going to use with that console?

Re: 1968 GMC - Ol' Blue
 

Thanks!

I'm using the 04 Escalade buckets. They're graphite so they won't match everything else, but they're fine for now since I'm going to recover them eventually.