Looking to add power windows & locks to my '89. Is it do-able?

[DerekTheGreat]

Hey everyone,

We recently resurrected our '89 K1500 by putting a "new" used motor in it. Runs great and stuff so now it might become my DD. I'd like to add power windows & locks to it but would like to know if it's a straight forward swap or if the dash has to come out to accommodate a new wiring harness or whatever. Looks like I gotta punch a hole in the doors for the wiring though. My plan is to find a donor vehicle in the junkyard, raid it for it's door panels, harness and all the related guts but how far do I need to go with the wiring? Are these trucks already prewired for the windows & locks at the power distribution box under the dash? Or is there a harness hanging somewhere that the windows & locks plug into up under the dash?
As you can tell I haven't got the slightest clue haha, so if you've done this before or have a better idea than me any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Derek

 

[7thdarkangel]

I'm in the process of doing the same to mine. The doors should already have the hole but you will need a 1.5 inch hole in the cab. There is already a punch mark where to drill. The doors, you will have to swap the inner assemblies and interior panels. As far as the wiring I'm not 100% yet. but it should just plug into the accessory panel below the fuse box. my dash will be out while mines getting done so I wont be able to comment on wiring. For the most part it is very straight forward.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

Thank you for the feedback!

I forgot about the cab but no biggie there. My doors are solid, there's no plug so they'll have to be drilled as well. I've had to replace a window before and it seems the whole inner black panel with the window regulator type guts come out as one piece, they're the same between power and non power windows right? I can't imagine GM would have two types of inner door skins... It does seem to be straight forward which is why I think I can do it haha. Even the lock arms seem to be the same so none of that hardware needs to change even.

 

[Gambles]

Everything should be pretty straight forward, you really just need power ground and switch 12, you would be better off rolling the dash forward and just running the wires along the top, you don't have to pull it completely, I actually went back and added another multi conductor wire behind the dash because I added my own power lock relay and skipped the factory stuff, my relay went out I guess as I was pulling the dash, I figure you could probably just put the fuses in and it would energize circuits on the fuse box for what you need, I have a 0 gauge hub run in off the battery for the stereo set up i had before the escalade swap so I ran my relays of of that, you may as well do the power mirrors while your there, mine is done just need to drop 60 bucks on 2 new mirrors, I have another post that says what the wires are supposed to be, inner skin comes off he window track and it's kinda a hassle by yourself but its definitely doable just don't let the window cut your finger off when it comes out. I have a 88 door on my passenger side and the 99 escalade inner panel for power windows went right on no problem. Keep in mind you'll need all the trim and everything as it all changes, atleast for mine, I believe I saw somewhere on the square dashes you can't put the newer door panels(plastic part not the door frame)

 

[DerekTheGreat]

Did the '88-'94 trucks ever come with power mirrors? I've never seen door panels for those.. I've started to keep an eye out for donor parts, no dice over the weekend though. The Chevy's do seem to be much easier to do the swap compared to the Ford's we've had. Not that I've swapped a Ford before it's just I've seen the door skin and Ford trucks you at least have to drill holes and such for the window motors. I like how with Chevy trucks its an assembly that bolts to the door itself. Going to try and keep the factory wiring from the donor but I'll see how involved that is when I go to pull stuff. If the dash has to come all apart it'll depend how much time & patience I have at the yard. On a side note this "new" motor doesn't use any oil at all which means it's the first V8 I've owned which doesn't. It'll take some time to get used to that haha.

 

[Chevrolay]

Any update on the power window and lock conversion?

 

[F4U-1A]

Old post. Nine Nine Nine. The only thing auto on our Chevy, is my wife's chirp, it needs to be fueled up. Good Times.