Been busy the last couple of weeks. Finally decided on what to do for accessory brackets and decided on the ICT brackets with a lower alternator to try to keep the bulky look down some. The Holley mid-mount setup is nice, but pricey. A little epoxy and they blend in pretty good I think. I've spent hours researching coolant sensors for LS swaps and weighed all of the options and have decided I'm most likely going to run factory gauges. I came across these, which I hadn't seen before. Not sure what the temperature, ohm range is, but it'll make the gauge work, and I won't have to switch to a 3 wire F-body sender and reroute any wiring.
Temp Sender - Ebay
I'll have the Terminator handheld to view the most correct temperature anyways.
I tried using the velcro to attach the gas tank carpet to the mdf board, but that didn't work too well, ended up using spray adhesive. I did use the hook portion on the top painted portion though where the factory screw holes are located. I wasn't aware that the new repo stuff wasn't intended to mount that high, but rather clip on the gas tank. So I seam ripped the plastic clips off, and stuck the top portion to the velcro and it seemed to work really good.
I ordered up some black belts, just to get something in and establish the holes before the seats and console went in. Might convert to three points in the future, but just wanted to keep things moving, rather than waiting for color swatches and going back and forth.
The carpet does have a little flub that I couldn't work all the way out where it is supposed to curve back around the in cab tank, but with it being behind the seat, it's really not too evident. A flat piece of carpet with just a nice hemmed top seam would've worked nearly perfect.
I also did velcro, down the sides of the door pillars and it worked real great, just rolling the excess carpet in nicely. It makes it easy to re-access and with the speaker hole I can reach the molding hardware and door stuff easy enough.
I ended up figuring out where to put my bluetooth amp and it ended up being in a pretty easy to reach location, but hidden. I simply took the 5/16" nut off some sort of column bolt, which I don't remember what it is for, but replaced it with a coupling nut and made a little bracket with some riv-nuts for the ground and the cluster ground when the time comes. I was going to try to mount it closer to the dash and use one of those larger holes on the bottom edge with a deluxe knob like the wiper or radio would have, but this is super easy to reach under and turn on or off.
And finally, Saturday I was able to hang the first piece of metal back on. Alot of yellow tape and nerves. 1/8" alignment holes saved the day, definitely would've banged something up without them. I dissassembled my two original doors to start taking an assessment of what were going to need. I want to get them fully loaded, before I think about hanging fenders, just in case I have to compensate for the weight a little bit, although my rebuilt hinges are pretty solid. I'm going to focus on the doors, then more engine compartment stuff before we bring more shiny stuff onto the chassis. That's all for this go around.
