Rebuild - But not Restore, K3500 Farm Truck

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My plan for years was to get a hard working Truck and rebuild it from the ground up.

Being Slightly OCD, I laid forth a plan.

Truth Table:

Making my own wiring harness will be the fun part, I did it with my 89' YJ TBI.

Basically all #14 Blue stranded wire, Waterproof connectors, wire number labels to correlate with the factory numbering scheme. No frame grounds, run back to collection points. Any OEM wire larger then #14 will be a special case scenario.

The Garage:




I've cleaned the shed up since.

The Truck before tear down:

Well this is going to be neat to watch! Can't wait for the ride. Good luck.

Following this one! Going to be fun to see an OCD frame off 'Tune-up' in progress.

Good to have a plan and a list of what needs doing. Looking forward to seeing your progress! Nice shop too BTW!

Cool shed

BuiltToWork said:

Basically all #14 Blue stranded wire, Waterproof connectors, wire number labels to correlate with the factory numbering scheme. No frame grounds, run back to collection points. Any OEM wire larger then #14 will be a special case scenario.

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Please don't take this as a whining session, but rather advice learned the long, hard way.

Are you color blind, or just cheap? I'm a card carrying cheapskte, but PLEASE DO NOT REWIRE YOUR TRUCK WITH ALL ONE COLOR. If you're color blind, please consider that you may not be the next guy wrenching on it, and wire numbers rub off. The Air Force wires all our equipment with white wire with numbers, and we spend a lot of time reading wiring diagrams to see which terminal a wire is supposed to go to because we can't read the wires. I had to re-wire a nitrogen servicing cart control box that burned, and even with two example boxes, a wiring schematic, and a wiring diagram I had to guess what a couple wires were. Go here and order the wire colors you need. https://4rcustomswire.com/

I'm re-wiring my race car from scratch. The previous harness was a mish-mash of colors, and wrong wires got cut and spliced when other people installed stuff in the car. I spent about $200 on all the wire I need to build the harness from scratch. It's completely worth it because I'm going to put a laminated wiring diagram on the firewall. If anybody splices into a circuit that's not the white accessory circuit, they're gonna get shanked.

Use frame grounds. Keep them clean and tight and they work. Ask anybody who's had to wire a fiberglass car. Running separate grounds is more troublesome.

There's a reason the industry standard is colored wires and frame grounds. It works. You're not going to "beat the system" by deviating in this area.

Also, #14 is big. I'm running nearly everything on 18 gauge. Circuits that need more current, like the radiator fans, are getting quality 12 gauge wire. A stock alternator needs at least 10 gauge. Consider 4 gauge for a big alternator. The battery cables are 1 gauge.

Here's my wiring diagram if you'd like a reference.

Got the Truck running - it was the EMC. Fired up after sitting 1 year plus. Drove it to the shed, and it barely fit. Next weekend I will pull it out and turn it around so the front is by the roll up door.

Erik the Awful said:

Are you color blind, or just cheap? I'm a card carrying cheapskte, but PLEASE DO NOT REWIRE YOUR TRUCK WITH ALL ONE COLOR.

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Thanks for the advice Erik! All advice is appreciated. As far as the numbers wearing off, my plan is to have clear waterproof heat shrink over the top of each number. One number at each termination point and another at every turn/penetration (within reason). I plan to follow the factory wiring diagram, with the following exceptions:

1) limited to no frame grounds (aside from bonding frame to body etc.)
2) elimination of the thru cab connection blocks

What!?! Wait, how will I take the cab off if all the wires are point to point?

Gooseneck wiring with grommet thru fire wall. If I need to remove the cab, I will have to remove all the wiring in the engine bay and pull back thru into the cab. I'm OK with that.

For lighting/turn signals I might leave the connection blocks, I have to think about it.

The new wiring will be 100% in place before I remove anything from the original. Then I will swap, one at a time, each "circuit". Once tested, out with the old.

Then when proof of concept works, pull out new harness also and the frame up rebuild will start.

This is a project truck, I'm in no hurry to get it working and it may never be on the road again, just quietly enjoying chores around the property every now and again.

Ah, and the all blue #14. Hummm. Maybe white. White reminds me of the waste water treatment plant control wiring panels. It could take days/weeks to wire one up, each wire trained and if real OCD, the factory wire markings all facing the same way. Nope. Not going that far.

What is driving you to rewire the truck? Is there damage to the harness? I have found that many times as long as the tape or covering did its job the wires were in good condition. Now I would suggest replacing the wire loom and retaping if you have everything apart. Like was mentioned having factory color coded wires makes diagnosing or adding circuits much easier down the road. One of the first cars I wired I did not color code as much as I should have and have come to regret it.