1971 Stepside LS Build

[Putzer]

Originally Posted by 71cadc10

really looking great.

question, on the fuel gage for the Dakota...did you have any trouble? I have the same setup...could not get a fuel gage reading. I ended up taking the bed back off, to get to my underbed tank easily. And I had to run 2 wires from the dash back to sender, twisted pair. Ground wire attached to the flange and then the sender wire to the sender terminal. Any other scenario I could not get a reading for the fuel gage in the cluster. Just curious if others struggle with this.
not until I tried twisted pair of wires did I get it to work, untwisted pair of wires...nothing. I was about to call them and see if I should send it back...but now it seems good.

I did have an issue with mine but turns out I had the wrong wire from the tank hooked up. Switched them around now it works well.

[TA_C10]

Looking really good step!

For the DD fuel sender. The instructions say "recommend" you run 2 wires back to sender. I did not do that and it works pretty accurately from what I can tell.

1. I ran the 1 wire back for data connection on sender.
2. Sender grounded to frame.
3. DD sender ground connection(I just ran this to ground buss in cab via the AA wire harness.

I have ran the tank empty couple times, put in 5 gallons once, put in 10 gallons another time, they all read correctly. I think the issue is ground here. If you don't have an excellent ground, resistance and/or noise on the grounds could make the gauge not read correctly(like when your radio isn't grounded well and you hear engine rev in your speakers). Using twisted pair helps reduce noise on those lines.

I won't say this is perfectly spelled out here, someone can correct me if needed, but you get the picture. Check them grounds!

[1971Stepside]

Good to know. My setup appears to be working and I don't want to mess with those two wires ever again

[TA_C10]

Yeah it should be fine. If it doesn't read at all I would say you have either a wire connected wrong or damaged, or, you didn't go into the DD setup menu and calibrate the sender to proper ohms.

[1971Stepside]

71CadC10 was having the issue. I am not. Hopefully, this will help him though

[AU Doc]

I have DD gauges in my Camaro with an LS swap. I love the gauges, but they do have their quirks. I had to send the BIM back to them multiple times in order for them to get all the gauges working, and even then I ended up running a separate oil pressure sender. They're also sensitive to EMI.

But once they're working, they are really nice!!!!

At any rate. I love this build! Keep at it!

[71cadc10]

yes thanks...the twisted pair was the only solution I could get to work. Just wanted to ask others experiences.
Had the 0-90 GM programmed in setup
originally had 1 wire going to 'sender' on DD box.
tank flange grounded to the frame right by the tank.

I hooked Ohm meter to the sender with bed off, I would get a good reading with key off. As soon as I would turn key to run position, the ohm meter would show 1- (infinite resistance I believe = open circuit).
Once I ran 2 new twisted wires, the 2nd wire I hooked to 'sender -' on the DD box. ran this to a screw on the tank flange. Now it works...maybe someone better in electronic circuits can explain it...I'm just happy to put bed back on and be done with that issue LOL.

[1971Stepside]

Started working on the sound system. I want the tweeters up higher and not in the kick panels. I've seen a couple different ideas where they are cut into the dash above the ac vent, but I don't want to cut the dash. I think I really like this location. Now to see if I can fabricate a housing that fits into this area and looks like a mini ac housing for the tweeter. A 3D printer would be really handy right now, but I will have to use fiberglass or keep it simple and go with a plastic pipe that is made to fit.

[TA_C10]

These trucks are difficult to put things like tweeters in inconspicuous locations. I have decided to go with component front speakers, mounting the tweeters in the doors. When I have new door panels made down the road, I will have tweeter pods built into them so they angle the tweeter towards the center of cab rather than flat on the door.

I think your idea here will be just fine. They should be up higher for their intended use, but dude I don't think they would look good above the A/C vents and also, your probably not going to notice much difference anyways having them a little low. Especially if your not daily driving it and hearing it on a regular basis. Looking good!

.

[MDPotter]

I find myself shutting the radio off and listening to the truck more often! Just to hear it and also to listen for any odd noises...
But I'm also glad I have a good amount of bass-I like to feel my music too.

[1971Stepside]

29 years later she backed out of the garage on her own power and with brakes

Of course, it was raining yesterday when we finally got the brakes bled out. That kept me from going around the block. I am now on a mission to get a better tune loaded so it will run well enough to enjoy the trip. The initial tune is so rich that it just loads up and dies without a little throttle at all times.

Still working on the stereo speaker placement. I'm leaning toward just putting the tweeters in the kick panels like everyone else does....boring!

[SkidmoreGarage]

Congratulations! Big milestone.

What ecm are you using? I'm considering a holley. Also what size wheels/tires are you using?

[1971Stepside]

Congratulations! Big milestone.

What ecm are you using? I'm considering a holley. Also what size wheels/tires are you using?

I'm using the GM PCM from a 05 Yukon Denali that came with the motor. Wheels are 9.5 x 18 rear and 8.5 x 18 front.

[MDPotter]

Big day - congratulations!

[TA_C10]

It looks killer man. Excellent job. Ready to see that bed install!

[Custom 68]

SOOOOO CLOSE!
Looking awesome.
Dave

[Low Elco]

Fantastic! Been seeing the progress on the ol FB. Hoping to get down there and see this at the meetup in April!

[IronCanine]

Big step. Looking awesome. Congrats.

[72 tigger]

29 years- wow! Good for you!! Looks nice

[tucktuck]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I put a single 10" in my son's 99 regular cab and it is plenty. With that said, I'll probably go with a 12" in this truck since the price is so close between the two now. Looking at a JL Audio shallow sub with Hertz speakers.

I just plan to leave those spaces open. When I say storage what I mean is a place to put some cleaning cloth and a couple cleaners



The amp will either go on one side or under the drivers seat. Will map that out once I have it purchased. Probably hide it under the seat. I think the corners will be a tricky fit with the mdf, but I like the look of them being closed off.

I have one 10" shallow JL in my 4 door F-250 and it is plenty IMO. I can't imagine one in a reg cab. I went with the JL C5's in the doors and it never distorts even at full volume. Awesome build...its an inspiration for mine that I just tore completely apart. Hope mine turns out half as nice as yours.

[1971Stepside]

What a weekend. I decided to drive her around the block on Saturday. It was a little nerve racking to say the least. The tune continues to be a struggle. My local tuner only wants to put a baseline tune in until I take him the truck. Because of this, it runs really poorly and wants to die when I slowed down at an intersection or turn. The transmission was slipping, but that was just a low fluid situation. Guess I should have tightened the bumpers up all the way because I could hear them rattling I did notice that I can hear the power steering pump moaning more than I would like. Is that normal and you just can't hear it on the moderns? Lastly, it seemed to get hot quick. A fan kicked on and the gauge was reading over 220. I must have an air pocket or something. Have to resolve that.

Getting closer for sure. I'll take it to the tuner after Christmas and see if we can get it lined out.

[1971Stepside]

Since I couldn't resolve the tune issue and just didn't want to mess with the temperature problem I decided to work on my kick panel enclosures. My original mock up was quickly trashed due to the dimmer switch being in the worst location. Tip for those of you building and wanting to go with kick panel speakers...move your dimmer out about 2" now.

So, I worked on this set up. I can just get my foot under the speaker to hit the dimmer button. I don't think I will ever use the high beams on this truck as it won't be out on back roads at night unless something went really wrong. I can hit it for the inspection though

This was my first time building something like this and using the fiberglass resin. I was a lot of fun and was a pretty easy project. I did get in trouble for smelling the entire house up with the resin

[MDPotter]

Sorry you're having so much trouble with your tune. I had a tune put in my PCM by Tunedbyfrost.com as they are pretty reputable on LS1Tech and it ran really well. Started right up, idled great even with my cam. No issues with dying or running rough. Once I got HPTuners, I did a couple scans and the trims weren't very far off. I've spent some time fine tuning it, but I was impressed at how well it ran out of the box. It's about $250 and you'll be without your PCM for a couple weeks though.

You'll have to add coolant as you drive it around - probably an air pocket. Did you fill the engine through the upper hose first? That's what I did and then monitored the overflow tank and no issues now. Also keep in mind that these engines run pretty warm from the factory. Tuners typically lower the fan temps so they come on right around 200 which is 10-20 lower than factory. I thought if you were running a standalone water temp sender that the temp could be reading differently than the OEM sender, but I believe you have Dakota gauges reading through OBDII so they should be accurate if coming from the factory sender.

Also check your power steering fluid and spend some time turning lock to lock to get it bled.

Just keep taking it for short drives and checking everything and soon things will normalize and you'll get to where you only have to check fluids once a week and can just get in it and drive it without worrying as much. But I know the feeling-after having your hands on every single nut and bolt and now having a running vehicle you're constantly listening for noises and things out of the ordinary.

Those speaker enclosures look sweet!

[TA_C10]

Great progress man, kicks are awesome!

[1971Stepside]

Thanks guys!

I do understand why they want the truck to tune it. They have been burned by putting in a "close" tune and then the guy goes out and runs the crap out of the engine and then blames the tune for something failing. At the same time, I think they should be able to get it close enough that it will at least go around the block. I think I will check out the place you suggested. I can live without the ecm for a couple weeks.

I did fill the upper hose initially. Should I let it idle with the radiator cap off and see if I'm getting bubbles? I felt the heater core hoses at the firewall and they were warm so I think the water pump is pumping. I didn't change out the thermostat or water pump on the engine...I probably should have when it was all apart.