i've spent a lot of time working on Daisy. she doesn't look much different to show for it but we're making progress. i spent a lot of the weekend looming harnesses and figuring out placement/routing. i get discouraged from time to time, seeing other guys doing LS swaps that are running long before mine but i keep reminding myself that i'm doing a new dash and chassis harness as well. not just an engine swap. there's very little about the drivetrain that is stock.
current condition of the interior.
my friend Henri working on wiring in the dash.
i installed new rear speakers.
worked on this
ran the oil pressure, coolant temp, a/c, and starter wires to their locations. that looped green wire sticking out there it for the a/c, i don't have the relocation kit for the compressor yet so that wire is gonna stay as is til i need it.
I picked up a new pass front caliper to replace the locked up one. more wiring products ordered, relays, fuse blocks, etc, there's more to this than i ever expected. battery cables are done, the positive cable will be clamped down across the bottom of the core support and through a 150a circuit breaker.
O2 sensors are in, Y-pipe is installed. the pipes spread a little during welding so i wrapped a come-a-long around them and squeezed until everything fit, it bolts up perfectly now. you can see my oil pressure sender in the background, drilled and tapped the block off plate for it, super easy.
out with the old, in with the new.
saturday Henri came over and we got a lot of wiring done. fans are wired in with fuses and relays on the inner fender. the engine is all wired into the chassis harness and every connection on the truck is soldered so i don't have to worry about butt connectors or loose crimps coming apart. we laid out some more wiring under the dash and installed the HVAC ducts so i can put the dash pad on and install the instrument panel.
we got to a point where everything outside the cab was done and needed to start powering up circuits to check for issues. we found a couple problems so far. front marker lights aren't getting any power, i probably wired something up wrong when i installed everything. i turned the key and everything powered up but the starter exciter wire. we had power coming out of the switch on the column but nothing a the starter. we eventually found an unplugged wire that was the cause but in the process we accidentally started it and it scared the hell out of us, haha! Henri energized a wire under the hood while i was in the cab, he didn't know i had the key on and i didnt know he was gonna crank it. we ran it for a few seconds, enough to get a couple neighbor's attention and shut it off. the next time we fired it my wife got video and we ran it long enough to check for leaks. the only leak found was a pipe thread fitting on the transmission cooler, not bad considering everything that i've assembled on this truck.
here's a video of the second start where we let it run a few min.
that all brings up to today. the rest of the exhaust, a Lokar reverse light switch and a new fuel sending unit are all ordered. this week/weekend I'll be finishing up the wiring and reassembling the interior so next week i can weld up the exhaust and tow her to a local 4WD shop to have custom drivelines made.
