Projects 1965 F100 father and sons project

I had to learn this so maybe someone will benefit from a few closeup photos. That or I can check back in 10 years and think, I don't remember any of this stuff. As far as temp is concerned when heating shrink wrap. I use the cooler setting on my gun then if the end doesn't quite tighten up I switch to high temp and come in a little closer paying attention to not discolour the wire, a sure sign you got it too hot.

 

I discovered a cool type of connectors called WAGO (pronounced vay-go). I ordered some for my truck for whenever I get that far. They are more expensive but are a solid connection that can be undone easily if needed.

 

I have to take the whole truck apart after this years cruising season to finish some welding, fill holes and paint the primed stuff. The only connector I found that will come through a small hole are the bull and recep I am using for the signal lights. I'll look into the Wago - appreciate the tip!

 

Hard to finish a project when you're not working on it. Back from fishing, mountain biking and driving my kid's, new to him, OT mid 80's import back from holidays. Little 5 speed got my mojo going again to get the old iron done and on the road so back to wiring tonight.

 

Getting there. Need to final check routing and wiring connections. All that's left to wire is in cab under the dash. I need to finish brake lines and sort out steering. Will run our power steering as manual until we get into the engine next round because I only have a single belt pulley on there now. PCV in place of our road draft yet to do. 3 good long days worth of time should be ready for start up. To end up with this as the only visible wiring unless you hang over the engine has taken a lot of time. Solenoids are mounted under the battery down low. Read on another thread where show cars would try to hide heater hoses by hard piping but, that's officially going too far. I'll wrap wiring eventually but, after a summer of driving. It will be abrasion protection only for now.

 

I have to complain. So I'm stuck in the wiring loop for 2 days with a kit that has prewired female connectors with 2 supplied types of female GM column connectors, 3-7/8" and 4-1/4". My column, being a Ford has no such bits so I look through the kit to grab the male complimentary part to the supplied female - Nothing. OK, I go to the parts store and am met with a laugh. Go to GM he says. I look on Amazon, $10 US. By the time it ships it's $49 US + customs for a piece of plastic plus 10 spade connectors. WTF. I want to make this an easy disconnect as I'll be pulling the truck apart this winter. This #@$#@ Hot rodding can be total @#$!@#!!.

 

Those are weird connectors on the wires. Are they supposed to go into the black connector which I assume is the column connector? What do the connectors look like inside the black thing? Something doesn't seem to add up. Normally the wiring kit comes with a mate to whats on your column. Or it comes with its own mate that you wire into your column wires. Having a mating connector would make taking apart much easier...but you know that already.

 

Yup, I expected the typical needing more of each thing but, not this. As I researched connectors, because I didn't know any better, I found Ididit has a quick video on their columns and those connectors. There they are, fresh and new. I just happen to live in a corner of the world where you tell your people to handle it, not you handling it. I'm 45 min to the closest Hot Rod shop who I'm fairly sure would either yank one off the shelf or stare at me blankly. I sent a text to a friend of a friend who restores Chevelles. He will cut one off a stash of steering columns he has for the price of a coffee. 2 days from now and 1-1/2 hrs back and forth. These things sure don't fall together do they. Whining about it here helps because you all know what I'm talking about - 30 sec into me blazing away to my wife got me a glaze over and a pleasant smile. Not the response I needed. I needed her to say, it's ok Will, you can get one at _____, call Dave and he'll have one couriered over right away. Bleepin wiring harness.

 

Wow, 45 min to the closest Hot Rod shop....that's a bummer. At least you'll have something you can use in a few days.
That's how it is working on these old cars. Something out of the ordinary always happens and ya gotta do some research and deal with it. I'm sure the boys are watching how Dad deals with these situations!
Keep on truckin' Will!!

 

Is this the connector you are looking for?
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1965/ford/f-100/parts/14489b.html

Could you cut the connector off your old harness and splice the wires to your new harness?

 

Unfortunately the old Ford stuff is long gone. I'm installing a new harness but, it uses GM connectors just not all the connectors I need. I've learned my achilles heal is hardware and electrical components. I do have the old connector for the headlight switch thankfully. Every riddle I solve through this electrical phase reminds me it was wise to yank it and start from scratch. I would never have figured this out otherwise.

 

Ignition switch wired, although it looks like I have the wrong retainer ring. It looks like the ring for a '57-60 F100. Doesn't look or hold the ignition quite right. Moving on, headlight switch wiring done, harness to column female side done. A previous owner did individual connections for each wire on the column. I'll install the male part of the connector to simplify. Coiled up the included wiring for neutral safety, in the event I want to wire it to the clutch later. Also kept but, not using wire for courtesy lights, power windows, power seats, stereo etc. Instrument panel left then check and scratch off the list.

 

Question for the experts out there concerning idiot lights. In my wiring harness, which is GM oriented, there is no provision for an alternator idiot light, instructions show gauges. I don't have volt or oil pressure gauges either(yet). In principle is the exciter wire from the ignition solenoid supposed to go to the alt light wire with the 2nd wire from the light going to ground?

I was on my way to go pickup a connector that turned out to be a 2 hour round trip. No hot rod is worth that for a lousy piece of plastic. Went into our closest local parts store (the one that has no stock of anything these days). They had 4 weather pak connectors - 4, exactly how many I needed. Asked them when they arrived. No one knew. Next time I need some intellectual conversation I'll head down there. As a diversion yesterday I sprayed high temp header paint, cast iron. I like it, the photo makes it look more silver than reality. Think I'll spray my lower intake the same colour and paint the upper gold so I don't have multiple colours going on.

 

Hey Mike, your post shows on my phone but, not on the laptop? Jammed myself under the steering column just a bit too long, I'm coming up for air with the 'Hangries'. My column has 8 connections so I bought 2 - 4 gang weather paks as the next closest connector they had only had 6. Signal lights are in 1 connector and everything else in the other. Swapped 1 connector end for end so they will only connect to the correct mate.

 

Yeah, I don't know what happened. What you got there is the same thing only different from what I did. I found the GM connector to be too hard to get. I used an eight pin Deutch connector to get 'er done.
Looking really good! These wiring kits are really a blessing. Everything on mine has worked the first time. But still, I didn't crank mine out in an afternoon or even a weekend. It took several sessions, but I didn't have all the elements in place to begin with. So it was "ok, this is installed, soI can run the wiring to that part."
BTW, I did not run idiot lights. I made a gauge bezel early on, eliminating the stock panel. I also used a one wire alternator, eliminating all that regulator stuff, So I can be of no help on the idiot lights!

 

Thanks Mike. I will do some more research on the idiot lights. My wine tastes will see me potentially doing something like a chrome '65 Mustang rally pac for gauges but, then after seeing @MRW1994 Stewart Warner gauges I'm torn. My floor shifter comes too close to the dash to do an undermount so I might use the stock radio location for voltmeter and oil pressure gauges and the rally pac for the tach and 'oost'. I need to get more than idiot lights, which are OK at this stage, telling me what's going on by the time I get to phase 2 and 3 of this build. Only those who are in the know, can be in the know, for this forum.

 

I think that Rally Pac cluster would look really nice on the column.

 

I agree and I was all set to go with this then saw your gauge setup this morning, which I sort of skipped over when you first posted. Now that I'm on the hunt for something beyond idiot lights I went back and looked at your half sweep tach and that got me going. Yours has a much more nostalgic vibe compared to the mid 60's look of the rally pac. I could scrap the rally pac font and insert the Ford script I guess. Bottom line I need something more than a clock for gauges plus the price of these things is a bit steep. Have to figure out if I can get another gauge besides the clock to fit in the chrome housing or I need to set up a couple of gauges in the gaping hole left by the previous owner's stereo install. Don't think I'll ever put tunes in the truck with a phone and mobile speaker easy to carry.

 

I really love MRW1994s thread, and I love the look of the SW gages.

 

Thank @Mike Lawless I appreciate that! @WhitewallWill going with the Ford script over the Rally Pac would look awesome. I know what you mean about not wanting to order one to find out if it'll work for what you want though. I've got a pretty good bit tied up in gauges just from starting with those electronic gauges but I feel a lot better with the mechanical gauges in there now.

 

Just did a little photoshop and think I'm leaning towards SW gauges mounted outboard on the stock gauge cluster for oil pressure and voltmeter then maybe use the alt light and oil lights as signal lights. I saw a 3D printed low profile knockoff of the rally pac housing on EB. I think I will have to go to a Mustang show and see if I can look at the rally pac to see what's possible with it. At the least for the short term if I want a functioning tach, I can always just pop it on the column. I'm more a drive by ear type. Photos are progression of gauge ideas.

 

Hey WWW,
I don't know if you are asking for opinions, but I got one. LOL. Take it or leave it.
I think the 2 gauges outboard of the gauge panel look great. The 2 on the column look too crowded. Then add a steering wheel. Plus do you need a clock? My thought would be to add a tach up on the dash to the right where it levels off. Something you'd see in the 60's on drag race cars.

 

Ha, ha. All I had was my opinion so I welcome another, thank you.

Up until I put together a little clip art last night it was all working in my head then after doing it I immediately thought it looked too busy so I posted it looking to lure some different tastes but, I'm with ya. I also have a need for gauges as my intention is to get this on a drag strip after it's fully built to see if it will do what I hope it can do. I don't want the clock but, that's what the rally pac comes with so if I went that route I would pull the clock out and put in a different gauge. The hole left from the stereo cutout is a possible spot for oil and volts but, if I put anything there it has to be behind a flip down panel as I'm liking the clean look of nothing there. If I ever put a stereo in, it will be in the glove compartment. I'm going to cruise the 'Where did you put your tach thread'. The 60's vibe of having the tach on the dash is something I discounted initially but, maybe I just need to open my mind a bit.

 

Summer of holidays, contrast to the last couple of years. Truck wise, it's Master of the Mundane. I'm logging 15 min every 4 days. Gas pedal, steering wheel, more brake lines done. Running a jumper wire to figure out the brake light switch. Once I figure that out with a little battery power, I'll cut it back and do it properly. List is smaller. At the risk of putting the hex on myself, I'm going to commit to trying to fire up this weekend. Sure, I'll post a photo today because, just blabbing is boring.

 

Hit the ground running this morning for more parts. Steering column was sloppy at the bottom of the column. Pulled the plastic bushing, ha, ha, ha. No milling machine, no lathe, no nothin' that makes this easy. Got a 3/4" ID bearing and a coupling then made a couple of shim rings, welded them in, one inside the coupling and the other on the outside. Ground the id to allow the bearing to friction fit and voila, steering column is nice and tight again. Next up, steering shaft fab and hook 'er up.

 

Steering shaft mocked up - 3/4 smooth to 3/4 - 48. I know the transition to 5/8" pinch for the Jag Universal looks weird. Couldn't trust the 3/4 - 48 from Sweet,/Ididit and others as they couldn't confirm theirs would fit the Jag rack. If I recall, to prevent binding you are supposed to clock the yokes 90 degrees like this?

 

Upcoming SOON will be artsy photo time shot around various locals around Vancouver - courtesy of wife and/or kids because I'm brutal with a camera. We started a contest years ago in our household, who can take the worst photo. I'm the reining Champ. Only so much you can do when the subject has only moved back and forth no more than 20' in the last year and change.

 

Here is info on u joint orientation:
https://www.borgeson.com/Designing/angles.html

 

Thank you sir, exactly opposite of what I thought! I see Borgeson doesn't do 5/8" shaft but, Jag did. I'd feel better 3/4" as well. Will send a message to Borgeson to see if their 3/4 - 48 fits the Jag rack. Sweet never got back to me and I moved onto other items on my list.

 

Doh, first time cutting something then realizing it's too short - on this project. Fubar'd the steering 3/4 smooth shaft. Cut it a bit long to get it lined up then realized the angle was too acute and I should have shortened the column instead. Now that the column is shortened I tacked a bit of length on the shaft so will need to get more 3/4" round bar to remake. The other option is to cut the added length off the shaft then cut the bar in the middle and put a coupler in which would assist install and removal at a later date.