Project: Just Keep it Nice

[AK49BWL]

Well it's been too long. Not TOO much has happened but I'm missing a few pics here so I'll throw em up.

I see I did upload the pics of the passenger side chrome door handle install, but none of the later-installed driver side and tailgate - they're done now. I also put in Caddy chrome interior handles for both sides. Anzo taillights installed as well, replacing the circuit-board taillights.

Removed the rear seat and swapped over my sound system from the Blazer for the time being, but someday will probably have a custom box built for a pair of 15s or an 18 (haven't decided). On the fence about whether to keep or sell the immaculate rear seat... I'm also now in possession of a Sundown SAE-100.4 amp for the mids and highs in addition to the Sundown SAE-2000.1D amp for the subs working on it!!! -- but the former is not installed yet, or for that matter even out of its box. For the head unit, I'm lined up for a Pioneer DEH-80PRS. The Alpine will go back in the Blazer.

The wiring is a mess in the back right now so I'm not gonna post a pic of that...

Battery wiring under the hood got redone with 4 gauge wire running from battery to fuse block with an inline 250 amp breaker, and all grounds (battery to frame, body, engine) are now 1/0 - the breaker is going to be used as a cutoff switch more than a protection device, so I don't have to pull off the battery terminals anymore when I go back to driving the Blazer. IF I go back to dailying the Blazer lol. Well I'm gonna have to if I ever get around to tearing the whole truck down like I want to..

Let's see... Tried to fix the A/C but that failed miserably. Replaced both schraeder valves and the orifice, filled it up, it worked!! 4 weeks later it was dead again. Damn leaky compressor!! Meh.. Thank God it's winter now. Gonna tear everything out and rebuild like I did the Blazer.. Get a parallel-flow condenser and Sanden compressor, all new lines, evap and dryer... We'll have her blowing cold for next year.

On the other hand, I **FINALLY** nixed my misfire issue by twisting the distributor! Did some re-tuning, so it runs literally better than ever now! So happy about that. Humidity is no longer Sierra's Kryptonite.

Interior changed a bit, now I have a later Suburban-style rear seat dome assembly which got retrofitted recently with bulb sockets from a Blazer's overhead console. All lights are now wired to the dome lights circuit as well as the map lights still retaining their individuality. The interior mirror has been changed from a GMT400 comp/temp to a GMT800 comp/temp with a blue LED and blue display filter. The overhead console DIC now has a temperature sensor hooked up to it as well, which is currently mounted at the back of the OHC to monitor interior temperature. I pulled a HomeLink insert from a Blazer, Blue LEDified it, and installed it as well. No word on if it'll ever get used as I don't currently have a garage, but we'll see. It looks good in there at least

Oh, how could I forget the Escalade 120mph cluster I cleared the idiot light filters on and installed? PRND321 is a little annoying but I don't even notice it anymore.

And lastly for now, the bed rails got an LED strip installed, along with a new fuse panel that I can custom-build into any configuration I want. Some may say "Why so complicate?" I say "CUZ I WANT TO." lol ... The box is currently "installed", but I have a friend of mine from work who said he's going to make a proper enclosure for it. Then I'm off to rewire the rearend with a few more new additions.

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Future? hm... You know what, I'm not even gonna bother lol. Most of what I had in my other lists in this thread has changed even. Part of me is still hyped for a 94 interior swap, but the other part of me is thinking that it's never gonna happen. All that work on the 94 electronics? WHY? ... Cuz I could. And what the hell, maybe I can find another use for the stereo bits at least lol.

I did find fairly recently that I need to replace bushings under my frontend, so replacing those will at least go along with the thread title right? Get me some Polyurethane bushings for the A-Arms and sway bar ends. I still need to do wheel bearings as well. Posi-Lok cable needs to be adjusted, and I have to get a new button for it in the interior because the old one finally fell apart. I have a 1999 Camaro Body Control Module to install, and that WILL be done - I just need some time, and space to pull out the interior again. Not happening in this trailer in West Texas.

I'm about to have two full weeks off for the holidays, so we'll see what I can manage in that time. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time lol. Maybe I'll try to keep this thread updated instead of piling everything in the "What Did You Do" thread all the time

 

[98chevy2500SS]

The truck is looking pretty sharp!

 

[AK49BWL]

Ha....hahahaha. Well I guess it's about time for another new update! Hell there's so much it might end up being TWO updates

My 94 dash swap has become a reality.

This has been a work in progress over the last 3 months, mostly because I didn't dedicate myself to it full time. It's still not ENTIRELY done lol. But as of a couple days ago, it can be driven again!

So ... What's new?

- LMC 92-94 Dash Core
- Tilt steering column and intermediate shaft from a 1990 auto K1500 (all electrical replaced with brand new parts except the flash-to-pass headlight dimmer switch from a 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood)
- Steering wheel from a 1992 K1500
- Steering column support bracket and brake pedal from a 1994 GMC Suburban
- Cluster from a 1994 Suburban (which I cleared the needles on)
- Misc dash parts from various junkyard trucks (instrument surround trim, cluster trim, cluster bezel, glove box and door, right vent, cupholder) ... I'm only short a gray tape deck vent bezel and the lower column cover.
- Body Control Module from a 1999 Chevy Camaro
- LM487 flasher unit (style used in 2003-2007 GM vehicles), dedicated harness from a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer
- Stereo parts from various 92-94 GMT400s with blued everythings...
- ..........Stuff!

The entire interior AND firewall forward got completely rewired. Every wire in the truck is now basically custom-run, except a few things on the engine that actually remained as they were.

Anyway... Well let's try to start at the beginning, shall we?

The rewire project technically began back in December when I pulled everything down from my overhead console back, redirecting wires and making it so everything from the overhead console all the way back to the cargo/brake light assembly is now on one harness running down the A-pillar to the dash. Most of this didn't even get hooked up until very recently lol.

At the very end of the year, LMC came out with a reproduction dash core for the 88-91 and 92-94 trucks... Given my desires, of course I snagged one. Delivered to me on December 31

Soon after, I discovered some problems... And the need for more parts. So I sat on this for a while and headed back to work.... Blowing out a tire on the way. So I bought a set of new Goodyear Wrangler LT265/75R16 tires.

Mmmmmm mmmmmmm tread

Near the end of January, I quit my job in West Texas and "moved" back home - aka I dragged my 24 foot travel trailer back to my house in Longview lol.

Once I got there, I got the truck inspected, and dropped by some salvage yards for some needed parts. The biggest issue was the steering column support bracket. Old dash wouldn't fit the newer bracket. So I drilled one out of a 94 Suburban. Then I scored a column and wheel in great shape!

Oh yeah, the bezel too...But that's not the final one. . . Assuming I can find one from a 92-94 Suburban or Blazer with all the cutouts...

Got home, tore down the column and ordered new switches for it. Also swapped on a 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood headlight dimmer switch, which is a 4-pin switch designed for Flash-to-Pass functionality. It fits PERFECTLY where the factory dimmer switch does

Then... Feb 4, THE TEARDOWN BEGINS.

Drilled out my column support and installed the new one.

Verified fitment... IT! WORKS!

 

[AK49BWL]

So .. GREAT! This thing might actually be moving toward reality!

The steering column replacement switches came in, so I wired everything up. All of the various separate connectors (blinker/hazards, wipers, cruise) got meshed into a single, aside from the ignition switch.....which still got changed up a bit.

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Figured out where I'm going to put my BCM...

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Directly under that will be the flasher module. Then I also decided to add in a MaxiFuse block.

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While in the midst of all this tearing stuff out and everything.. I decided to (with the coaxing of a couple guys here lol) rip out the HVAC box and redo everything in it too. So I did that. Ordered all new A/C components: Evaporator core, parallel flow condenser, variable orifice, manifold line set, dryer, and a Sanden 4440 compressor. Ordered new mode doors and blower for the HVAC box, and later discovered I should have ordered a new resistor pack as well... Heh. Did all that work to the HVAC blower box, cleaned it, resealed it, custom-rebuilt the HVAC wiring harness with much beefier 12-gauge cable for all the blower connections, and put it all back in the truck again.

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Somewhere in the midst of this, I drilled a 2" hole in my firewall. Why?

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WeatherPack 22-pin bulkhead connector, that's why see, my intent here is to get rid of ALL the "Passthrough" mess - that siliconed block of wires that just go through the firewall with no connector.... Yeah, all that got ripped out. Now I can disconnect the interior from the exterior without having to remove 20 different things.

And then I went insane.

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Engine harness? What engine harness? Oh, you mean THIS engine harness???

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Removed all unused wires, changed a lot of things around, replaced the factory fuse block with two fully customisable fuse blocks, reloomed it all in blue, and reinstalled

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As you can see, the A/C stuff under the hood got replaced during this process as well lol.

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[1ton-o-fun]

We're a lot alike on the "list" that is ever evolving and/or completely changing.
One of those things for me is the paint color... Dark Autumnwood Metallic or Pullman brown (UPS) with gold pinstripes or black steelies and W/T grille? Redo the original white with chrome bumpers and grille? And let's not forget my favorite blue...

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Yours! Light Quasar Blue Metallic. Whenever I start thinking that a crew cab long bed truck is too much blue, I look at this pic and think, "what's another 3 feet? It'll work!" Lol

 

[AK49BWL]

Under the hood was pretty much done after all that... So on to the interior rewire! NOTHING is factory in the interior wiring anymore. For one, all the regular modules have been replaced by the single BCM, so no RKE module, no lighting control module, no rectangle beeper module on the convenience center, and let's not forget this isn't a 97 interior anymore... Anyway.

Cluster is from a 1994 Suburban, of course I cleared the needles and lit it all up in blue, save for the ABS indicator that can't be an LED.

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Later, added two LEDs to the upper bezel to work as security indicators, since the BCM provides a factory alarm of sorts

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Then I mounted what will be my dome lights switch, my reverse/flood lights switch, and my cargo lights switch. These are the ones between the factory headlight switch and the two knobs. Yeah, I ultimately decided against using a factory cargo light switch. The two knobs are my new instrument lighting and display PWM dimmers

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The panel with five switches in it has been reduced to three switches, which are now my E-Fan override, Retained Accessory Power override (which activates the large relay in my convenience center), and the quad-beam enable - so I can have my lows and highs on when in high-beam mode, or just have the highs by themselves - it's selectable

Modified my BCM a bit now I can flip a switch to turn off the dinger, and flip another to put the BCM into keyless program mode or diagnostic/feature programming mode, and that one has a status LED so I know when it's in program mode.

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Decided for now, I'm hanging onto my current 97 interior door panels until someday comes to pass that I find good-condition 92-94 SUV door panels to use. Until then.. I created a new door-to-door wiring harness and modified the existing doors to connect using the new-style connectors.

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Installed

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Disassembled, cleaned, regreased, reassembled, installed my new (old) 1990 intermediate shaft

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Unfortunately, the rag joint on this one is a little worse off than the one in my 97's shaft, so my steering is now a little loose. Highly considering the Jeep u-joint shaft now... Anyway, put the dash in again (it's been in and out of this truck more times than I can count now ), tested a load of things... Installed a new set of Infinity speakers in the dash, wired up my rear pillar Alpine Type S 4x6 speakers, and even found a way to make the door jamb switches work between the 94 dash and the 97 doors!

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Yep. Wire nuts screwed onto the pins HEY IT WORKS!

So that leads me to how the truck currently sits pretty much. Threw the driver seat back in, took it out on its maiden voyage with the new dash on May 13th And EVERYTHING WORKS I also absolutely love having dash speakers again, I can already tell the difference - the front to rear audio actually sounds balanced without having to fade it forward.

Eeeeesss BLUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEE

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Today I had it out and cleaned it up of all the pollen and dust that had accumulated over that three-month project span. NICE N SHINY ONCE AGAIN!!!

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Aaaaand I still need to get the hood and roof repainted....

 

[MrPink]

love the color of your truck, I am a bit bias though as my truck is also Lt Quasar Blue Met lol. I am going to be doing the older quad lights on my truck too I just need to head to a JY by me.

 

[SUBURBAN5]

This is gonna be a badass truck once its done

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Very nice! With all that blue, you need a Sonic the Hedgehog in there somewhere LOL.
And as for the combination of parts, if you have the best bits from the various years, that seems like a good setup. As long as you know what year a part is actually from when you're working on it.....this is my auto parts store experience, (and years of Dad modifying our vehicles in similar ways to what you've done) talking.
But don't get me wrong, I love your truck! Something kinda like it is what I want in a 400 pickup. Need an extended cab to fit everyone in, and I grew up with long bed pickups so I prefer them. And we're used to long trucks from having so many Burbs.....but a short bed with a topper wouldn't be a deal breaker. There's one in Humble I've seen on 5miles, that the guy wants a fair price for, but he says "it's a great truck but I don't want to work on it anymore "..... That raises all kinds of questions and red flags with me. I understand I'm not just going to walk into the perfect truck, but at this point I cannot have any more projects.
Sorry to derail your thread a bit, I'm getting off the soapbox and getting some breakfast LOL.

 

[AK49BWL]

So I've spent much of the last year with it as I ended the last post, not done much to it in that time - until about a month ago, I tore out the seats again, did a little more wiring, added some sound mat to the ceiling, back wall, and floor, got my 4x4 PosiLok reinstalled, changed the wiring so now I have separate indications of the transfer case and front diff engagement, reinstalled the carpet, reinstalled all the plastic interior bits, modified the passenger A-pillar trim so I can still use the grab handle over there (97 A-pillar trims can't be used with the 94 dash, they're different because of course they are), modified the parking brake release cable to work with the 97-style parking brake mechanism (who knew those changed between 88-94 and 95+ too?), wired in my aftermarket stereo for power and RCAs, bolted my old 2x12" sub box to the floor in the rear using the old rear seat belt bracket studs, installed my brand new 4-channel Sundown amp, wired the door speakers to it, power wired the amps and ran their respective remote knob lines, reinstalled the seats, and now my Sierra looks like a proper truck on the inside again, and EVERYTHING WORKS!!!! And even better, went to get my annual inspection done and she passed with flying colors That's my baby!!

Next? Well now I need to clean out the bed again, finish the wiring between the front and rear, my fuel gauge doesn't work anymore... had been flaky since about a month after the rewire so I'm not sure and need to figure out if it's related or coincidental, but I'm thinking there's something wrong between the new connector and the sender itself. Or it IS the sender itself. Dunno yet. Anyway... Have some new lights to install in the rear for reverse and flood lighting, need to figure out a good place to mount my trailer brake controller but all the wiring for it is done at least, that's going to plug into my convenience center - and last but most definitely not least.... I am now trying to figure out a good-looking and secure way to mount my Alpine stereo under the factory tape deck, angled the same as the latter, but still stay out of the way of the shifter. I know how I want it to look, but I'm no interior fabricator and I have no clue how I'm gonna make it work.

Anyway I'm sure you're sick of reading so have some pics now!

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Not full coverage. I got real tired real quick of trying to work around all the little bumps and nooks and divots in the sheetmetal of the truck... But I felt like this should still easily make a difference. And it definitely did!

Carpet reinstall! UGH I still need a gray tape deck bezel!!! .. and that piece that goes under the steering column...

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Plastics back in!

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Hmmmmm boom stuff. A pair of Alpine Type R subs (actually it's an older Type R SWR-1242D paired with a newer Type S SWS-12D4 both rated identically), Sundown SAE-2000D, Sundown SAE-100.4 ... oh and the wiring is cleaned up more now, this was just a pre-lim "get it working" shot lol.

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Subs and door speakers currently provided audio by my Alpine CDE-HD149BT ... And this is how it sits currently, pending me figuring out how tf I'm actually gonna mount it lol.

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A little demo of my 4x4 function now... Since I have manual engagement of both the transfer case and front axle, I was able to make use of the switches on both to do what I want

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