New Member - 72 Jimmy: Project Knuckledragger mountain commuter

[NTR72GMC]

Looks nice and clean.

[snowblind]

Originally Posted by NTR72GMC

Looks nice and clean.

It's getting there a little bit at a time... The cooling system is working top-notch now. New thermostat, radiator cap and water pump took care of that.

I did a few other things over the holiday also...

I finally put in new rear shocks. I had replaced the fronts about a month ago but still had the crusty old rears. The fronts I already had are yellow Bilstein HDs but this model has been discontinued for the rear of the 72's so I went with a Bilstein 5100s with a zinc coating. According to the salespeople the shock internals are the same.

The difference in ride is HUGE!!! I didn't realize how out of control my rear springs were until now. The PO put a 2.5" block and an add-a-leaf under the stock rear springs so it has a bit of kick back there and the worn out shocks were doing NOTHING to control it.





I also got started on a wiring upgrade for power seats, stereo, electric fans and headlights. I want to run a little stand-alone system of relays and breakers and leave the stock wiring alone as much as possible.

I found a pretty nice breaker box at NAPA that I'm using as a "fused" distribution center. The box has 6 x 20amp breakers installed and I can change the breakers out with a higher amperage if I need. The box and breakers are mounted close to the battery and will eliminate the need for any inline fuses in the engine compartment.





I only have a the rad fan and a temporary seat wire hooked up right now but this shows how the wires connect. There are rubber grommets that install around the wires/openings and a cover that bolts over everything. The final product will be well sealed against the environment.



I also replaced the heater defrost hoses, replaced the heater control box, installed new rear carpet, cleaned and re-installed the rear seat, painted and re-mounted the rear bumper and replaced the plastic wiring channels in the engine compartment. More pics to come later.


Matt