59 Chevy 7.3L IDI swap

IDIoit

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looking great!!!
the only thing i deleted on the engine wiring to get it fired up on my run stand was the fuel heaters.
i still have the high idle and advance hooked up.
 

ptwcruiser

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I'm getting going on this project again. Uncle Sam sent me on an all expenses paid desert vacation. Since I got home I have relocated the batteries. There really wasnt enough room in the engine bay so I put them in the bed. I did make the mistake of buying 2 gauge wire rather than 0/2. I will fix that later but for now I just make sure not to crank on it very long. It has been starting in about 3-5 sec of cranking.
My next project is the wiring. The old stuff is a mess so I decided to just start over. I'm going to keep connectors but throw all the old wiring out. I drew up a rough schematic to figure out what size/length/colors I will need. It includes all of the lighting, key(keeping original on/off rather than an off/run/start),ignition circuit, glow pug button, fuel pump, alternator, and temp sensor. (if I want to keep the option of adding A/C later, should I do anything about it now or just wait till the time comes and splice it in?)
 

ptwcruiser

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if I were you, I would invest in this.
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Universal-22-Circuit-Wiring-Harness,229874.html

more than youll ever need, but its an excellent kit.

I really like those kits and that one looks more affordable than most that I have seen. When I look at them though, I feel like I could make the same thing with a little effort. If I could save some money by putting in a few hrs of my own work I would like to do that. The wife is never thrilled when I spend money on this truck so id like to spend less, but not if it is going to mean poor quality. I havnt decided for sure to build it myself so Ill keep your link. Thanks

If I build it myself, is there any connections on the IDI that should have waterproof connections for normal rainy day driving?
 

IDIoit

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I really like those kits and that one looks more affordable than most that I have seen. When I look at them though, I feel like I could make the same thing with a little effort. If I could save some money by putting in a few hrs of my own work I would like to do that. The wife is never thrilled when I spend money on this truck so id like to spend less, but not if it is going to mean poor quality. I havnt decided for sure to build it myself so Ill keep your link. Thanks

If I build it myself, is there any connections on the IDI that should have waterproof connections for normal rainy day driving?
only everyone that can get wet lol
most stock pigtails have weather packs, and dialetric grease, you should be good,
there is a 12 circuit harness somewhere on their site that's only 130.

I have wired multiple cars the way you want to.
I have used 800 dollar painfull wiring kits,
this one by far is the best bang for the buck.

when ive done them from scratch, ive spent just as much on wires, a good fuse block, solder, shrink wrap etc.
not to mention relays and flashers are integrated, and with the amount of time youl spend making what I linked,
you will have efficiently found the modifications to the wheel, and found them undesirable lol

unless you have a supply of free wire layin around, I say get the kit.
 

laserjock

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The thing about building your own is that the little things add up quick. Buying a kit that is an 85-90% solution and modifying from there is to me a no brainer. Weather pack kits themselves are damn expensive.
 

ptwcruiser

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Hey yall. I'm back from another deployment. Time to get back to work. I got my hands on another ZF5 for a 4x4. I got it to swap the C6 out of my daily driver but I was thinking about swapping it to the 59 in the future. Im not real sure I want to swap it to 4x4 cause every picture Ive seen of 4x4 Apaches it looks like you need to bring a ladder along to get into them. If I can find a way to keep it relatively stock ride height I would be interested. Currently the front axle is and I beam that has about a 6 or 8in drop to the spindles so a tube axle up front would start by putting it 8in higher. Anyway, my question right now is just would I run into problems running the ZF5 and T-case with no front drive shaft while I brain storm/fabricate my front axle options. Also, if I were to raise the engine mounts and have the driveline mounted at a downward angle, will I run into problems? How much of a nose up angle can the IDI/ZF5 handle for indefinite periods of time?
 

Thewespaul

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Welcome back and thank you for your service!

You can run with no driveshaft with no worries, as far as negative angle, I can’t really speak on that. On all the idi swaps I’ve done I try to replicate the stock angle to be safe, I can’t really say what will happen when you wander from that spec
 

ptwcruiser

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Thanks. If I keep it all level I will have to accept that the truck will be lifted or that I will have to lift the whole driveline and fabricate a tunnel for the cab. I guess there are other options that can get more complicated but they will test my ability to be patient and do things right. I have a bad habit of rushing things when Ive made up my mind on an idea.
 

Thewespaul

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I think I would go the tunnel route personally, it’s actually real handy to have the ability to unbolt the whole tunnel and have all that access to the trans and back of the engine. It’s a good bit of fabricating but it makes owning and maintaining the truck much easier down the road. If you keep it simple it shouldnt be bad, you could even make it all square so you don’t have to bend any sheet metal or do any odd angles
 

ptwcruiser

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I want to use the brake booster off of the IDI donor truck. I am planning on late 80s era 3/4 or 1 ton front brake system as well. With modern brakes up front and the brake booster, will the proportioning valve from the 91 F250 supply the proper pressure to the 59 rear drums?
 
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