Well I have been going trough my engine bay rerouting wires and so far it looks really good. I routed the driver side fender wires under and had to cut a hole to pass them through. The horns are now mounted between the radiator and grill just behind the upper valence. Radiator over flow tank is mounted inside the lower front outer corner of the drivers fender with a shield being mocked up to prevent road debris from puncturing it. I made some new cooling lines for the xsmn out of -5 aluminum solid line from work. I ran them down the frame rail vice along and between engine and xsmn. So far it looks much cleaner. I did however discover why my right brake light wasn't working. Turns out one of the factory wire harness frame clips let go and allowed the wires to burn on the exhaust. I have spliced it with some crimps and shrink wrap to weather proof it some more. I am using spiral wrap to keep it all together since I know I am going to be adding more wires to the back. I didn't feel like taping it just to have a few wires tied to it later. The radiator needed some mounting tabs welded on it so I can bolt it on all four corners. The external oil cooler is also mounted seperately from the radiator on the vertical bars just under the hood release.

I still have to bend the -8 stainless steel fuel line to come up the back of the xsmn. I didn't like the fuel line running across the driver side of the engine. I can't do that until the engine is installed though. The numberous holes in the inner fenders are also going to be welded shut and ground flat.

I do have questions converning the voltage regulator. Its mounted on the inner passenger fender and I want to move it to the underside. Has anyone done this with no issues like shorting it out? Its a sealed unit from the factory but I am thinking in terms of the wire connector. I can get some cannon plugs from work to make it a water tight connection but I don't see this as a good idea since I am again cutting the harness.

All in all the progress is showing. A little slow at times but this is what I can do until I figure out what I need to do to my engine. Money is tight as it is with most people and using the CC is not an option. Ok I am off my soap box for now. I am off again to do some more.

 

Sounds really nice. Get us some pictures when you have time!

 

Hey Mark, When it came time to clean up wires in engine compartment I routed wires to the inside drivers side wheel well, connected to a Terminal Block for easy-to-work-on if needed. I posted two pictures in my gallery of this. pictures # 20 and 21 let me know what you think. I hope this helps not that you need it your truck is looking awsome. Just thought I'd share.

Staying low for now
Robert

 

The only issue I have with leaving the terminals open like that is rain. Terminal boards on the aircraft that we use are notorious for corrosion unless they are in a controled environment, sealed panel or the cockpit. I like cannon plugs for the simple fact that they are water proof and can be disconneted with a little twist of the locking halves. Only problem is getting ahold of the correct size with the right sized pins for a 2 ga or smaller wire all in the same plug. One thing I do want to ask is if you have the little cover that shields the terminals from accidental contact with a forgien object? Make a long story short, we have a diesel Cut V that we are getting rid of and it is loaded with all sorts of wire and terminal boards. So if you need something let me know. I can pull some of that stuff off if you want it.

FYI I am grounded from the garage for the next few days. I spent too much time neglecting the better half this past weekend. So I am going to spend a little time with the wife and son hangin out. I will post some pictures once I figure out how to do it directly on the posts. For some reason I don't have the ability to attatch them.

 

Mark I think you have to be a supporter to put pics in posts.

 

Rich, I think everone has the ability to make a gallery to load their photos in, and then link or make reference to it, rather than including them in the posts.

thanks

John