it's always been a sour spot for me too ... never looks good, factory makes it always harder than it should be, etc. this harness not only made it not suck, but was pretty satisfying.

I like the loom tool. That is pretty cool.

My J10 could use a new harness. The factory jeep wiring under the dash is a rats nest (from the factory)

I pulled all the wiring out of my flat fender and intend to use a universal set up. I need all of about 4 circuits though :lol:

first look at full concept! fenders mounted back n slightly down on the bedside, bedside mounted high and outboard. at full drop i have a very tight 1 finger between the tire and the fender. So unlike factory i actually lined up the body line between the cab to rear fender.

the running board is just sitting on the ground, i'll have to bend up some filler panels to get them mounted. also some kind of support cuz someone will stand on them. i'm debating how i deal with the gap to the cab after the fender moved back. buy a new re-pop board and just splice a section in? cut up 2 new boards to make one new long one? the passenger side is easy cuz it's space for the exhaust, so maybe i mount something else at the back of the cab? my only thoughts have been a Jerry Can holder for spare fuel or WMO. ... NOS bottle? :lol:

grabbed some scrap CORTEN steel i still have left over from from building the house to make the new wider header for the bed. i freaking love weathering steel, specially for a project like this. the bent sections worked out really well and is actually really stiff. it's not attached to the frame yet for access reasons ... but i'll eventually get that bolted.

5'2" wide, 9' long, 13" deep, and a flat floor. that's actually a considerable amount of space, especially for a slammed truck. i helped my wife cut all the plywood bed floor sections, used 3/4" pressure treated. once it's had some time to dry, she wants to paint or stain something interesting in it. i'm hoping to just find a 5x9 rubber mat to lay down in there.

https://i.imgur.com/SGnUFYB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8AxKkYX.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/cPKLIBe.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EulC9mP.jpg

No words :rock:

The List:
(before i drive it to work)
- bracing for the rear of the bed side (made, just needs welded in)
- cut the bed sides in the fender well to fit both tires back on
- taillights (have brackets and lights, wiring 90% run)
- new battery box to mount the new single GP31 commercial
- charge cooler hoses, mount reservoir, fill with water
- final zip-tie'ing of junk along the chassis
- alignment

(before i drive it to WI in July)
- screw down bed floor
- gauges
- f/r bumpers

Update us on the WI venture in July - where and when, specifics, cuz I'd love to see that bitch in person!

X2, you'll probably drive right by!

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7...%20pixels_.png

https://www.iolaoldcarshow.com/

if all goes well, driving up July 11th ... show 12th - 13th ... driving home 14th. a buddy who lives in the WI thumb invited me and a few other friends up for the weekend, we might only be doing one day at the show.

last night was busy ... got the rear bed side supports in and they worked amazing. that bed is SOLID now. i'm actually getting excited for the body work to build a tailgate. i'm torn between stitching 2 re-pop together or building one from scratch that'll open level with the bed floor. i'm leaning that direction currently.

got he tail lights installed, but not wired yet. they weren't fitting well down low with the fender crammed against the bed side upright ... then i found the exact spacing and and angled holes again up top, with a hole to run wires from already there. they just bolted on, kinda felt like a sign. up higher on the dropped truck will also be easier for the other idiot drivers to see.

chopped up the 2 battery tray's i had to make one bigger jobbie that will fit my new Group31 commercial battery. same battery as my 1st gen 12v truck, i do like to standardize. pretty sure it will actually fit on the outside of the frame behind the passenger tires with easy access by just popping off the little bed floor square back there. thinking about how to make that section quick disconnect too.

https://i.imgur.com/7EqQEYr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/BGE0yQY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/iFO08li.jpg

That looks awesome. Who are you visiting in WI? Anyone from MTU?

so right now it actually looks like Colin (philyZJ) will be riding with me out there, Stevie is driving up, and we'll be staying with Kevin (had that stock tan/burgundy square body Dak at MTU)

would be awesome to see other ppl at the show!

Dammit, Iola, I knew that was going to be it. Bownut always went to that prior to moving to CO...it's a good show, you'll enjoy it, but likely a bit too far for me to jaunt when I already have cabin things on the calendar :p

Let me know what day you end up going, it's a ~3 hour drive for me and I bet my neighbor and his kid would love to tag along.

I wouldn't drive the K5 that far but would bring the 300C at least. I'd be happy to show off the K5 on your way by though, my house is only 15 minutes off I-94 (Gurnee exit) and I could meet you somewhere closer if you need to make time.

Maybe I'll need to take a cruise over that way to say hi to you fools. Only a few hours away.

Dat a$s!

https://i.imgur.com/fxFM652.jpg

they backfilled the barn yesterday, so as soon as the new battery tray was sorted i went for a photo op! and immediately got stuck.

https://i.imgur.com/3BqlTGc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IlHy4Jg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/cEXwHJ1.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/996DPj1.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/FtQUH0w.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3IUaupW.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Nh7W0rE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Z7dxtC5.jpg

Hell yeah, that looks so awesome! Gonna be one of the coolest tow rigs out there.

That thing is sooooo long, and sexy.

LOL, made for good pix tho, so getting stuck was worth it!

that was a shockingly productive weekend even though it feels like i wasted a lot of it in couch-potato mode.

the gauge cluster is officially installed and fully functional! the Dakota Digital guys really do make it super easy. i already had sensor wires in the painless harness and their kit had whole new pre-terminated runs with nice connectors. playing with colors, i was thinking more subtle but the wife wanted the green :lol: it's amazing how many wires ended up behind the dash too, freaking crazy. everything is in harness form, so it's actually pretty organized when your hands are in there, and the dash modules have a service loop to all pull out of the dash for access. still looks trash til the cluster is screwed in :lol: there are also 4 different coils of multiple wires for future add-ons or unused circuits shoved back there too. ideal i'd pull the entire harness back out and remove a LOT of wire. one day, just not today.

as part of finishing up all the wiring while i had that mess out, i needed a phone charger. found a USB adapter in my cabinet and got it mounted to the factory dash strut. easy access, out of the way, and mostly hidden. i actually had the dash control rocker switch there, but was too weird to hold a button while turning the key on for setup. left hand access is way better, and easier to toggle screens while driving. i still had no way to cover the last remaining factory hole in the dash til the wife said phone mount. so obvious now! quick print and she's really solid. after I'm sure i don't want to make any more changes I'll print it in carbon filled matte black to match everything else. eventually i'll toss the bluetooth retro radio in there and the phone will control it all anyways.

i'm a little stuck waiting on parts at the moment ... new 1410 double cardin to take in and have a new drive shaft made ... extension adapters to get the air suspension sensors hooked to the dash so i have a setpoint to do an alignment from ... that's when i actually get to do a real test drive.

https://i.imgur.com/t5Sffa9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VMgnibM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/cRqxd2X.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SfnRUyc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/cIURSUY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VD4RLXY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4jY9YJT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OcbFvmd.jpg

I like the blue, more subtle, not sure what other color I'd want in there...but something uniform and light. Not green. But, happy wife...

Super clean dash, all of it is clean inside there - nice! I've gotten more patient w/ age, and wanting things more particular. When I did my dad's shifter wiring I took my time, got it all off and back on w/o breaking a single tab...15-20 years ago I would have had to order more parts to replace what I broke taking something off :lol:

oh yeah, that's just day mode ... as soon as you turn the headlights on it totally changes! right now it's set for much dimmer, all red numbering, soft blue-white pointers, dim grey text on the screen and again red numbers.

gotta keep that night vision honed

i actually even got a vid of that!

https://i.imgur.com/UCtW0bg.mp4

:rock:

Looking good, Matt.

Details on your 3D printed phone mount? I think you've mentioned it before, details elude me though.

it's the magnetic QuadLock mount with wireless charging. i have the locking one in the jeep to keep things from falling out. but they are SUPER nice to just slap it up there, it's clocked and won't slide, plus charging.

https://www.quadlockcase.com/collect...42042648887467

as for the 3D print ... just the same ball size on a base that fit the dash hole, one screw thru the middle and a washer trimmed for the cord hole on the back. i've made these ball mounts before and the thin post can be a weak point, running the screw up into the ball makes them super solid.

https://i.imgur.com/M9yn7Lh.jpg

testing FTW ... holy crap ... i think i was getting close to an electrical fire. the fuse block i used in the back is NOT up to the task!

i got some speed valves on the front bags for dump, and 4 corner psi sensors wired to the dash. while testing the sensors and setting the valve speeds the compressors, fans, and water pump were running. i didn't want to go over the pump duty cycle, so i turned the truck off and went to pull the fuses ... WHERE I BURNT MY HAND! not just ouch, like blistered 2nd degree burn on the '+' stud! whole panel was hot enough to smell it. all the wires were cool 6-8" away so they are doing fine, but the panel was cooking everything.

pumps were probably pulling 15+ amps each ... the fan bank was maybe 15 total ... and the water pump is like 3. new fuse panel is rated for 40amps per fuse or 150amps total. the grounds i'm also splitting off into a separate block.

FAKK ... :james:

What panel was it? Was it a Blue Sea Systems?

How does that case compare to others - thicker, lighter, heavier?? :dunno:

I like my case now, and my 67 Designs - but that system is pretty decent...and I have multiple vehicles I could use it for that the 67 Designs doesn't build them for.

But it really looks like it comes down to having to use their proprietary case for that head to work.

i love the case. one pc, real snug, has proven very protective and robust, and the whole integrated mount is basically an unnoticeable thickness. last 3 phones have all had these cases, not one issue.

I love the Dakota digital dash in my j10. Wish I would have done it sooner.

everything has been perfect, first shot, but i was actually having issues with one of their modules ... called, got what sounded like a less than knowledgeable tech ... then he had me fixed up in like 3 minutes. game on.

they do now make a set for my Ram too, but not the fancy one

I was all about making my original gauges work in the j10. And they did but the temp gauge was wonky (like a lot of them fsj). Now I’m a convert, anything old that Dakota digital makes gauges for will get them. Just work so well

100% agreed, if there's any question just do it. they even have a sick HDX now for the XJ/TJ!

new fuse block is much nicer, and much cooler!

found a new suspension sensor was leaking, hope that's fixed now

driveshaft should be ready today or tomorrow. i'm so anxious for street trials!

worked out the alignment last night and that went easier than i thought for my first attempt at an IFS. i was WAY off to start, so there's no way this isn't better :lol: tech tip, rather than buying the spendy alignment plates, this worked amazing. 2 dollar store pizza pans on a drip tray with oil between them. i could wiggle the truck and move it side to side, i could turn the steering, engine off, full weight of the cummins, with one hand reaching in the window.

https://i.imgur.com/XbXdriM.jpg

https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2...FeCI/giphy.gif

IT'S A REAL TRUCK!!! holy sh!t, shoot, crap, AAAAAHHHHH!!! i'm can't even contain myself i'm so excited. it has no business being as good as it is already, i'm freakin out.

https://i.imgur.com/2eFusK4.jpghttp://
https://i.imgur.com/81SmUtw.jpg

ok, so reality. first drive went REALLY well.

did a little around the block and some quick back n forth while the wife was at home on-call to get me if issues ... then grabbed her and we drove right out to town for bolts. the idea was back roads out to tractor supply and back. well, they didn't have what i needed, things were going well, so WTH n down the road to ACE. they had what i needed and ended up with about a 23mile loop.

it rides good for no adjusting yet, brakes are awesome, clutch is nice, shifts smooth, runs strong, makes all kinds of turbo noises even at next to no throttle, shockingly quite to drive, the air suspension has stopped leaking after the drive even! the looks i got were fun, we'll say it catches some attention.

engine needs more gauges and a good bit of tuning. won't idle below 1000, has a haze at idle, and won't start without a throttle blip. i'm pretty sure the governor springs are set wrong, and i just needs lots of time turning screws. the big issue is that i'm 98% sure if i go full send, i'll YEET the head gasket. so i'm trying to be careful!

steering is a touch stiff, but less notching while driving than i thought it would be moving around the yard. i'll still want to adjust angles one day, but good enough for now. speedo isn't showing, hopefully just need to re-sink the gps module to the dash, S475 turbo drain is leaking oil, and the breather is NOT enough and started blowing oil. much more breathers need added.

https://i.imgur.com/wYniLsX.jpg

All I got is.... :rock: :us:

It's crazy how far that truck has come. I'm thrilled to hear that it went as smoothly as it did for the first ride, that has to be a shot in the arm to getting the details sorted now.

Can't wait to see it with an Airstream behind it!

thanks!

and as much of a shot as it's been to keep dialing it in ... i need to start building my shop now. no clue how much time that'll actually take.